[sffrrrom]

13: What do you mean by the game still isn't ready? If you mean that it still needs serious balancing and gameplay work, then I agree with you, and did in my above post. My point was that the broken street release date most seriously negatively impacted performance/crashing/unplayability, especially people who tried to play the retail version without patching (because they couldn''t patch yet). Many of those issues have been addressed by now, and I don't see that they really should constitute a black mark against Stardock. On the other hand, the fact that the game isn't really much fun to play at the moment, because its so poorly balanced, should certainly count against them.

Also, whether or not you think close contact by Brad and the others is a good thing or not, it's really the only way for Stardock to pursue their business model as an indie company. There are plenty of large, impersonal corporations out there who take no notice of their fans (cough, EA, cough).

Zeldor: No, or at least not in Stardock's case. The fact is, retailers DID break the street release date, and this probably represents a breach of contract. However, suing those retailers who did is impractical (Stardock even stated this themselves), at least for a small independent company like Stardock. Maybe a huge company, like EA or Blizzard, who commands millions of dollars in sales of one product, might be able to pursue litigation. But the reality is that in pursuing legal remedies, Stardock would likely be forced to spend far more money than they would ever see in return - money they don't have to spend to prove a point, like Blizzard or EA do.