bottom shelf

[flag4]

went into my local Game shop to ask about sh5 - to see and hold the thing myself, check out the spec and all that.

i asked the three assistants where could i find it, they didnt know immediatley, i said it was a new release - but it was not on the new release shelf. one of them found it under 'S' on the bottom shelf.

could'nt even see it.

so how can some one who does'nt know about the SH series hope to accidently find it - serendipity!

[SteamWake]

meh... thats the retailers issue plain and simple

[Jimbuna]

What retailer was it?

[Nordmann]

Retailers, don't support them. Buy from someone like Amazon, at least they know how to provide a decent service (most of the time).

[Fivepast]

What retailer was it?

Game.

Same thing happened to me, in the same chain. Day before release I asked the teenager behind the counter if they'd be stocking it. She'd never heard of it (for a while she thought I was talking about Silent Hill).

[GreyWolfGhost]

Bought mine at Gametraders (Australia) the day before the offical release date. They had 2 copies, but both of them were in prime viewing spots. At $5 off the regular price too.

[flag4]

What retailer was it?

'Game,' in my local town.

i felt really sorry for it!! it went like this

"have you got the new silent hunter 5?" (me)

"er." (looks at other assistants)

"yeah...it's...." (looks at the new releases)

"it is a new release" (me)

"yeah...it's" (looks towards other assistants)

"..under 'S'?...there?" (points to lower shelf)

(flicks through various S's)

"here it is. this one?" (hidden at the back)

"yeah. thanks" (didnt buy it, just wanted to look at spec)

yes. i realise i have written a one act draaaama!:haha: but it did go this way.:yep:

makes me wonder how it was rolled out across the rest of the country?

i remember when 4 came out it sat in the new releases, on the top shelf - i was excited to see it!!:DL

[Nisgeis]

You obviously shop at the mensa branch of Game. A branch where they still know PC games are being made, surely a sign of higher intelligence. I'm not sure what the rest of your complaint was - it was on the bottom shelf, because... it was sorted in alphabetical order right? So, 'S' would be on the bottom shelf then? From what I last saw of Game, they have a 'pre-order section' which is the top shelf, then the rest of it is the top 10/20 selling games and the rest of it is in alphabetical order. There is no 'new release' section as such. Unless it makes it into the top 10 chart, it won't be in the 'top 10' section. It's perhaps assumed that the top 10 chart is the new releases, but it's not as the WoW time card is usually up there at number 4.

Perhaps next week when the figures are in, SH5 will be decreed to be in the top 10 by head office and the mensa staff will move it up. But, if it isn't, it should still be at position 'S' (on the bottom shelf). There's nothing to be inferred from it being on the bottom shelf, other that 'S' is at the end of the alphabet.

[flag4]

You obviously shop at the mensa branch of Game. A branch where they still know PC games are being made, surely a sign of higher intelligence. I'm not sure what the rest of your complaint was - it was on the bottom shelf, because... it was sorted in alphabetical order right? So, 'S' would be on the bottom shelf then? From what I last saw of Game, they have a 'pre-order section' which is the top shelf, then the rest of it is the top 10/20 selling games and the rest of it is in alphabetical order. There is no 'new release' section as such. Unless it makes it into the top 10 chart, it won't be in the 'top 10' section. It's perhaps assumed that the top 10 chart is the new releases, but it's not as the WoW time card is usually up there at number 4.

Perhaps next week when the figures are in, SH5 will be decreed to be in the top 10 by head office and the mensa staff will move it up. But, if it isn't, it should still be at position 'S' (on the bottom shelf). There's nothing to be inferred from it being on the bottom shelf, other that 'S' is at the end of the alphabet.


good logic. but when 4 came out it was on view - for all to be seen: had its own cardboard cut-out. how do they hope to 'promote' a new title if it can not be seen by a wider populus, after all it is 'THEY' who UBI are hoping to attract . the only inferrence i can think of is that it is not so important as COD mod warfare or other such titles.

if you make a new car and want to sell it - it has to be promoted/seen or nobody knows it is there. it could have had its own poster in the window - you know, JAZZ it up a bit, fly its flag, push it etc: but no. it resides in its alphabetically correct position on the bottom shelf under 'S' for Silent.

can you imagine if 'COD' was given the same treatment.

i can only inferre that SH5 is not so important - hence its position and lack of promotion.

[ryuzu]

I'm surprised you're surprised. Over the last 15-20 years I've seen PC games move from a dominant position in high street stores to a single rack somewhere out of the way.

It's only the MMOs that have kept PC games in shops at all - I suspect that will change again soon and we'll simply see PC games disappear from high street shops altogether (as has been threatened a few times in the last 5 years).

On top of that, Silent Hunter is a small time game even on PC - the target audience is tiny compared to almost any other genre. I'm surprised Game had it at all and I'm more surprised that anyone buys it from them (or anything else for that matter) when it's cheaper elsewhere.

Simulations are a dying genre in sales terms - every other game these days claims to be "realistic" - see Modern Warfare 2 or BFBC2. The concept of realism is everywhere now but proper simulation is dying out as a result since there's a very small market for it.

What the subsim genre needs is a developer like Eagle Dynamics or eSim or even Sonalysts, who will stay in the market and provide a deep sim experience even though the user base is small and the competition is minimal.

While Ubi dominate this niche area unchallenged, sub simming will remain a dying genre.

r.

[flag4]

I'm surprised you're surprised. Over the last 15-20 years I've seen PC games move from a dominant position in high street stores to a single rack somewhere out of the way.

It's only the MMOs that have kept PC games in shops at all - I suspect that will change again soon and we'll simply see PC games disappear from high street shops altogether (as has been threatened a few times in the last 5 years).

On top of that, Silent Hunter is a small time game even on PC - the target audience is tiny compared to almost any other genre. I'm surprised Game had it at all and I'm more surprised that anyone buys it from them (or anything else for that matter) when it's cheaper elsewhere.

Simulations are a dying genre in sales terms - every other game these days claims to be "realistic" - see Modern Warfare 2 or BFBC2. The concept of realism is everywhere now but proper simulation is dying out as a result since there's a very small market for it.

What the subsim genre needs is a developer like Eagle Dynamics or eSim or even Sonalysts, who will stay in the market and provide a deep sim experience even though the user base is small and the competition is minimal.

While Ubi dominate this niche area unchallenged, sub simming will remain a dying genre.

r.

i guess you have answered my question....under S for Silent...

[Nisgeis]

when 4 came out it was on view - for all to be seen: had its own cardboard cut-out. how do they hope to 'promote' a new title if it can not be seen by a wider populus, after all it is 'THEY' who UBI are hoping to attract . the only inferrence i can think of is that it is not so important as COD mod warfare or other such titles.

I honsetly don't remember seeing any cut outs or large ads for SH4 anywhere, but it was in the top ten (or 20?) for a loooong time and got a slight boost when the add-on came out, which was also in the top selling chart. I think the companies would know what the big sellers were going to be, as they'd have an idea od their market and they'd know what volumes to order. With AC2 coming out very close, they'll concentrate on that, as it's going to give more return. Was SH4 released alongside another big hitter?