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I spent a few weeks working on crafting this article. It is commentary on how the Dreamcast is miss-represented by an individual/party/organization. In this case, RedSpotGames/MaxScharl. It is a blunt, straight forward, and often times abrasive article which attempts to counter some of the damage that has been done over the years to the Dreamcast Community.
---- RedSpot/Max Scharl - Please Stop the Madness. The Dreamcast first launched in Japan during the latter part of 1998. Almost 9 years later, with the Dreamcast no longer a part of mainstream retail, you would expect the silly marketing roller coaster to be over. No, unfortunately it is not. We still have to put up with ridiculous PR Marketing Campaigns and stupid Propaganda which at this point, only serves to belittle the faithful fan-base the Dreamcast has managed to sustain. Marketing and Advertising is a con. The whole point is to spam potential customers with enough visual / auditory material to then shill your product for as long as you have their attention. It is aimed squarely at the gullible consumer, who has zero attention span, and requires a series of flashing lights and dancing monkeys to stay interested in anything for more than 5 seconds. I am going to clue any stragglers in on a well known fact: The underground community sees right through the dancing monkeys. Unless a musician contributes an original music score for a video game, they should not be associated with the Dreamcast Console, or the hobby. Max Scharl is trying to copy all of the big name publishers, by trotting out a musical act to grab people’s attention at a Public Trade Show. Max Scharl is quoted as saying: “…we aim to show how well organised an underground scene for a console which is no longer a forerunner in the marketplace can be…” Insecure, contradicting statements like this are what hold back the Dreamcast community. Who are you trying to show? Are you trying to show the Halo / Madden audience? or the business side of the games industry? Mainstream consumers are sheep by nature. They actually require a hyped marketing campaign to herd them from release to release. These people are the least likely candidates to be receptive to what the Dreamcast has to offer. Alternatively, if the “underground” video game community at large is your target, then your application of Mainstream Marketing Tactics is deeply flawed. The whole reason why we are all still here is because we genuinely consider the Dreamcast to be viable. Hype is not needed for us to keep playing our Dreamcasts. Not only is it not needed, but it is not wanted. At this stage, it comes off as insulting. Especially when the hobby we have invested so much time into is falsely represented in the public eye because of this Hype. News recently circulated of new products being published by “RedSpot Games” on the Dreamcast. (RedSpot is supposedly a Homebrew Game Publishing company founded by Max Scharl.) As best as I can tell the first news broke on Arcade Renaissance, and then trickled down to blogs/news syndication sites from there. The article does in-fact make it a point to clarify these new games as having independent origins. This dispels the idea of them being in any way official. However every other news post about these “HOMEBREW” games to be published by RedSpot, fail to point out the fact that they are indeed homebrew, and not official. So far Max Scharl has taken no action to correct this. In my opinion, I am sure he prefers it this way so people mistake these homebrew games as honest-to-goodness official Dreamcast releases. I say this because if you as a company fail to fact check a post about your business on Kotaku, then you either A.) have little interest in the public representation of your company, or B.) enjoy all of the assumptions users are making based on the vagueness of these press articles. This type of approach is irresponsible and attempts to mislead the reader to the false conclusion that any of these games are official. Now, one could counter argue that Max Scharl is leaving it up to the consumer to decide what “is or is not” official. Sure, I do agree to some extent this is open to interpretation. However this argument is shattered once you start packaging games (such as Last Hope) with insert designs directly lifted from Japanese Official Releases. In addition to this the game was packaged with a white case inlay, and has a spine card with Japanese text on it. The developers of this game were German. Most of the people that purchased it were international game hobbyists. It surely wasn’t directly targeted at the Japanese audience. So why have Japanese text written on a spine card for Last Hope? Why even print up spine cards to begin with? Answer: RedSpot intentionally tried to mimic an Official Japanese Dreamcast product. They made every single effort to emulate the experience of an official release, even going so far as to add a Limited Edition version. Though after all of this, the real kicker is the price. Not only did you have to pony up $39.99-$59.99 USD, but you also had to pay IMPORT shipping prices for a game that was developed in Europe, and marketed mostly to North America and PAL Territories. This process dupes the uninformed consumer, and flat out insults honest Dreamcast fans by desperately trying to market Last Hope as one of the big boys. In the end this charade backfired, and tainted the independent development scene on the Dreamcast. People are less likely to support future releases specifically because of the Last Hope debacle. Users are actually encouraging piracy of future homebrew releases in order to avoid another disappointing purchase. What we need are grass roots underground organizations, promoting underground ideals for underground game players; not soulless startups like Redspot trying to copy the business practices of EA or a modern day Activision. There is nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about marketing and business. It is just a shame that Max Scharl has chosen an underground hobbyist community as his stepping stone into the world of mainstream Public Relations and Marketing. |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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god forbid a company should actually want to make money by making a product look official. I know you think that they were miss leading, but since us "hardcore" gamers shouldn't be fooled by this anyways right? I guess when they should have just not advetised the game at all. Why should any company advertise? I mean if they know the "hardcore" gamers don't listen to hype then they could save money and not advertise at all and put more money into making less official products so that they arn't trying to be miss leading. I didn't ever get to play this game, but from what I've heard it was nothing special, but its an independent home brew company trying to make money, I don't know if it's just me but I really think you're being overly critical Nikon. and yes I read the whole article, come on ppl give some opinions on this, don't be scared. | |||
| _________________ I need to get back into quake 3 so get at me! |
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I personally didn't like the way they tried to make it look as official as possible. | |||
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The only annoying thing for me is the Last Hope price, it's like an official release!  |
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The article is good styled But I wished you had brought this after a reply from Redspot / Max. | |||
| _________________ for sale: limited edt. shikigami no shiro II sealed new incl. pre-order bonus (ebay) |
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noonotthat wrote:
god forbid a company should actually want to make money by making a product look official. There is a huge difference between making a product look slick, clean, and professional; versus trying to outright copy another products design scheme. There have been other instances such as the NeoGeo community's creation of "SHOCK BOXES" for MVS Arcade Carts with insert designed to mimmick that of NeoGeo games. There was also the time Yakumo created those professional Propeller Arena inserts. What is the difference between that and Last Hope? With Last Hope there is an implied deception. Everyone knows MVS Shock Boxes, and Propeller Arena's cover art were fanmade creations designed to spruce up an already drab looking item. The way Last Hope was marketed implies that it wasn't just an "homage" to the Dreamcast's official games. Last Hope was presented as if it was trying to pass itself off for something it wasn't. noonotthat wrote:
I know you think that they were miss leading, but since us "hardcore" gamers shouldn't be fooled by this anyways right?
I guess when they should have just not advetised the game at all. Why should any company advertise? I mean if they know the "hardcore" gamers don't listen to hype then they could save money and not advertise at all and put more money into making less official products so that they arn't trying to be miss leading. It all comes down to HOW you advertise. Just because the Dreamcast community for the most part makes their own decisions and doesn't blindly follow hype, they can still hear it. The Hype is still crammed in our faces, associated with the console we are interested in, and the community we are all a part of. We shouldn't even have to put up with the Hype at all. So RedSpot comes along, and is marketing its projects as if we are all "gamers". Sure, many people won't be "fooled", but do you like being talked to as if you are a fool? I sure don't. It is insulting. I wonder how pissed off everyone would be if I started to treat everyone here as if they were of the lowest possible mental capacity. How long would you all tolerate it if I began every tutorial with "Ok do you know what a web browser is? Ok You need to open that, and click on File (located in the upper left part of the browser), BUT DON'T HIT THE "X" in the UPPER RIGHT!!!!" Or better yet, lets get some Google ads up on this thing. Maybe some sponsers? OnlineConsoles.com brought to you by Maxwell House - "When your up late fraggin some guy named Joe, don't forget your CUP of Joe." Wait. I just had an epiphony: I will code a brand new online game for the Dreamcast. I will even host the servers for it. Ok after I sold so many games, and time has passed it is time to release the sequel. "ATTN: The online servers for my old game will be going offline on October 30th. I would like to thank the community for their support, OH and btw the new sequel comes out in December with online! Be sure to BUY IT!" I need more money right? I mean, I can justify almost any sleezy backhanded cheap tactics as long as I say "I have to make money somehow, it is a business." All of the tactics RedSpot used, are just like those used by game companies when they kill off an online game to force people to upgrade to the new sequel. Interestingly enough most people do it. They bend over backwards and go where the company tells them to go, as they are herded around like sheep. But you know what? There are some of us, like many people here at OC who don't do that. We loved that original online game, and wanted to play that title online still. That is why we are all here or at any other Dreamcast community talking about games that are no longer at the forefront of the Industries focus. So when RedSpot comes along trying to emulate habbits used by EA / Activision / Ubisoft, I can't help but get offended. grubensau wrote:
The article is good styled But I wished you had brought this after a reply from Redspot / Max. Well, if I was looking to have a direct discussion with Max I would have sent this directly to him. However I am not necessarily trying to do that. It isn't an "open letter" like the ones he likes to write. I don't have a personal website such as a "blog" (hate that term), where I post my views on things. I do not interact at many other online communities anymore, just OC. So I posted it as a topic of public discussion, in the forum where I most frequently chat. Plus at the same time I highly value this community, so I wanted my comments to reach the members here, so they can be better informed and make logical decisions about how they support Dreamcast Homebrew in the future. Even if people do not 100% agree with me, it gets people thinking about how Dreamcast Homebrew releases should be presented to the community. Last edited by lordnikon on Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:45 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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Not to be a jerk but Lordnikon, you need to calm down, max is not trying so rip people off, infact it's the oposite.
When I bought my copy of last hope last year I made sure to look at the case first, and guess what? it said: REDSPOT GAMES on it, Max is just making his product similar to official because, guess what? sega has discontinued the support of the GD rom. At least I get a good looking case with a great game. You might aswell make a rant about the goat store, their games look like official US releases, with the black bar on the side. So chill man, and give Max a break. |
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NAOMI wrote:
Not to be a jerk but Lordnikon, you need to calm down, max is not trying so rip people off, infact it's the oposite.
When I bought my copy of last hope last year I made sure to look at the case first, and guess what? it said: REDSPOT GAMES on it, Max is just making his product similar to official because, guess what? sega has discontinued the support of the GD rom. At least I get a good looking case with a great game. You might aswell make a rant about the goat store, their games look like official US releases, with the black bar on the side. So chill man, and give Max a break. When Last Hope was released, there weren't rumors about the GD-ROM discontinuation. And after Last Hope, there were two official games released. |
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NAOMI wrote:
Not to be a jerk but Lordnikon, you need to calm down, max is not trying so rip people off, infact it's the oposite.
When I bought my copy of last hope last year I made sure to look at the case first, and guess what? it said: REDSPOT GAMES on it, Max is just making his product similar to official because, guess what? sega has discontinued the support of the GD rom. At least I get a good looking case with a great game. You might aswell make a rant about the goat store, their games look like official US releases, with the black bar on the side. So chill man, and give Max a break. The only similarity between the GoatStore's releases, and US releases, is the crescent shape on the cover insert. Everything else about the packaging is original. A single shape is not enough to warrent claims of full on stealing. This motif has been used in countless ways, on countless covers, in millions of different designs. In-fact Nintendo themselves used an inverted crescent on both the GBA and GameCube cover designs. (Note: I have a decent perspective on what is or is not outright plagiarism when it comes to design. I am a industry professional in the graphic design field, and have been so for over 6 years.) GoatStore markets their games to the independent community as homebrew games, and packages them accordingly. Redspot does not do this. They miss-represent their games to the public, as explained in the original post. JKKDARK wrote:
NAOMI wrote:
Max is just making his product similar to official because, guess what? sega has discontinued the support of the GD rom. When Last Hope was released, there weren't rumors about the GD-ROM discontinuation. And after Last Hope, there were two official games released. Quoted for accuracy. JKKDARK is correct. |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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Um...ok. So are you saying don't support this or just be mad at unofficial offical...stuff. Kind'a confused as to why there is beef over this. To be honest with you, I was looking forward to the game. Yeah, I know it's sort of a R'Type clone (one of many anyway...), but it seems to be a really nice game. Downloaded some movies from their site and liked what I saw. I mean, aren't there still companies making "official games", if you will, for the Dreamcast? What about those other shooters like Trizeal (and some other names I can't spell...) that are out now. Where they before or after the Dreamcast ended? Not trying to be smart or anything, just trying to understand why folks are upset about it. | |||
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I am not against Independent/Homebrew games. Notice how multiple times in this discussion I have expressed my support for how GoatGames has managed their Homebrew releases. They have done a great job so far. My comments are all focused on how Max/RedSpot does its business, and how it negativly impacts the Dreamcast Community.
All of the shooters such as Trizeal, Under Defeat, Shikigami No Shiro II, Chaos Field, etc etc were all official Dreamcast releases. Karous was the last one, which was released this past spring of March 2007. Also, feel free to buy Last Hope. This thread is not intended to call for a boycott, or to persuade anyone not to purchase products. My comments are designed to simply say "Look at what is happening here, see the facts I have presented, and keep this type of stuff in mind going foward." In simple terms, I think mcmonkey said it best in a previous thread when someone said "atleast RedSpot is supporting the Dreamcast" : mcmonkey wrote: Yes, but that's like saying "at least a stalker likes you".
Source Thread |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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This little rant of yours is pathetic, redspot is a business, just like sega, they have to charge 50 bucks a game, but does that make the game bad or any differant? nope, it doesent.
If you don't want to buy any redspot releases then whatever, I just think it's pathetic bitching about Max like this when his website is fighting for you and every other dreamcast fan with petitions for official games, and promoting you're dreamcast servers. And since I have no need for any of the servers you operate I see no point in staying here any longer. If anyone needs to send their smartass comments to me I will be at DCS. Peace. |
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NAOMI wrote:
This little rant of yours is pathetic, redspot is a business, just like sega, they have to charge 50 bucks a game, but does that make the game bad? nope, it doesent. Nowhere did I state that it was bad to charge $50.00 for a homebrew game. I also made no mention of Last Hope's quality as a video game. If you intend to continue interacting in this thread, please read the article, rather than basing your replies on a quick skim of the text. NAOMI wrote:
If you don't want to buy any redspot releases then whatever, I just think it's pathetic bittching about Max like this when his website is fighting for you and every other dreamcast fan with petitions for official games, and promoting you're dreamcast servers. It is important to make a clear distinction here between Max, and the Dreamcast-Scene website which he doesn't really manage very much. The dreamcast-scene wiki, and the forums, are pretty normal and exist as your average Dreamcast community. The problem is when Max shows up at that site and uses it for all the wrong reasons, which at times can be embarrassing. |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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lordnikon wrote:
NAOMI wrote:
This little rant of yours is pathetic, redspot is a business, just like sega, they have to charge 50 bucks a game, but does that make the game bad? nope, it doesent. Nowhere did I state that it was bad to charge $50.00 for a homebrew game. I also made no mention of Last Hope's quality as a video game. If you intend to continue interacting in this thread, please read the article, rather than basing your replies on a quick skim of the text. NAOMI wrote:
If you don't want to buy any redspot releases then whatever, I just think it's pathetic bittching about Max like this when his website is fighting for you and every other dreamcast fan with petitions for official games, and promoting you're dreamcast servers. It is important to make a clear distinction here between Max, and the Dreamcast-Scene website which he doesn't really manage very much. The dreamcast-scene wiki, and the forums, are pretty normal and exist as your average Dreamcast community. The problem is when Max shows up at that site and uses it for all the wrong reasons, which at times can be embarrassing. Well you did complain about the price, maybe you should read you're own posts' more clearly, check out the 4th last paragraph of you're first post. Why do you dispise Max so much anyway? did you think that "last hope" was official and you bought it? Or is it some sort of personal vendetta? |
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NAOMI wrote:
Well you did complain about the price, maybe you should read you're own posts' more clearly, check out the 4th last paragraph of you're first post. Yes I discuss prices, but the stress is on the Import shipping prices, not the actual price of the game. I probobly could have worded this to be more clear. NAOMI wrote:
Why do you dispise Max so much anyway? Where did I use this word? NAOMI wrote:
did you think that "last hope" was official and you bought it? No. I do research before making a purchase. I did not buy Last Hope for many of the reasons I have explained so far in this discussion. |
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| _________________ I'm already numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list... |
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