Deunan - If I were a rich man

Deunan

If I were a rich man

31st-Mar-2008 08:41 pm

At least some of you must realize that developing Makaron is a time consuming process. Time I could very well be spending doing things that bring me money. I have expenses you know, mostly PC hardware and software but also Dreamcast games and other stuff (like a new oscilloscope, as the old one died on me sometime ago).
I'm happy people use my emulator and find it useful, but I also belive it's only fair I got someting out of it as well.

Having said that I've came up with an idea of Pay to Play system for Makaron - prepaid style. Makaron will be free to download and try out but to play longer you will need to purchase an activation code. Simply put, in exchange for money you'll be given a limited time to use my emulator. Once that time is up you'll need to pay again, very much like you would for a cell phone number.
Payment options will include credit cards and other common money transfer services, but I haven't yet decided on the rates so it'll take a few days to set everyting up. I will be done with the activation code shortly too.

~~This is the last free version: Makaron T10.~~

UPDATE: I've changed my mind - I'm going to start with payment system right now. If you've managed to download the free T10 then consider yourself lucky.

Tags:makaron
Music:Dire Straits - Money For Nothing

Comments

31st-Mar-2008 07:26 pm (UTC)

snappycrunch

Fair enough. I understand how you want to be compensated for your time. I wish you the best.

Keep in mind, though, that when people pay money, so many things change. Problems that they'd be willing to put up with in a free emulator become unacceptable when they're paying money. Makaron is going to have to be a whole lot more user friendly before many people are willing to pay for it. Also, people feel like they have the right to nag you with problems when they start paying money.

You'll also have to deal with rampant piracy problems as your user base increases. Keep in mind that most of your customers are people who don't mind downloading and playing games they don't own. I don't think many of them will have a problem downloading a cracked emulator.

The biggest problem you have to face is that your competition is free DC emulators such as nullDC. It's really difficult to compete with free, no matter what your price is. You'll need to be able to provide something that other DC emus don't provide, or better yet - can't provide.

I wish you the best of luck. If you choose to go the for-pay route, you're going to need it.

31st-Mar-2008 10:19 pm (UTC) - agreed

Anonymous

I was basically going to write the same points, but after noticing your post I'll spare everyone the space/time. Suffice it to say, so many other emu authors that have gone this route have faced major disappointments and given up in the end. This is one of the many reasons the MAME team patently refuses to accept donations etc. - they've stated that emulation development should feel like a hobby, not work. It stops being fun when money is thrown in the equation, for the reasons you've already stated. I would imagine this would apply even more here, where other valid alternatives such as nullDC exist.

If this is his decision then so be it, as the author he certainly has a right to charge, though it's definitely unfortunate. Sad day indeed.

31st-Mar-2008 10:59 pm (UTC) - Yeah...

legend80

I just can't believe its time based!! I will not be bothered by watching how much time I spend playing my games worried that if I get stuck on a part of my game that I'm wasting money - that seems outrageous!! The more you play, the more you pay?!

I can see a flat upfront fee like PJ64, but not this. 10-20$ donation should give users unlimited access to that build (or ideally to all future builds like PJ64). That's my peace. :)

1st-Apr-2008 03:27 am (UTC)

Anonymous

I'll go for cheaper and more reliable... I'll use the real Dreamcast.

It's too bad some emu authors get greedy along the way. It was a fun ride, I'm just sorry it was so short.

1st-Apr-2008 11:18 am (UTC)

Anonymous

Ok, I've been had.

In my defense, I was tired and getting to bed when I posted this comment. It's only about 10 minutes later that it came to me this must be an april fool's joke.

1st-Apr-2008 03:58 am (UTC) - ummm

Anonymous

I think we've been had, in the worst way.

Happy April fools to you too, Deunan. ;)

I knew someone of his caliber wouldn't implement a silly "pay to play" system... just took a while to sink in. :)

1st-Apr-2008 06:39 am (UTC) - CheK

Anonymous

dknute, and you, too, with the first of April:))) I almost believed)))

1st-Apr-2008 08:42 am (UTC) - Happy...

Anonymous

...April fools.

It's so blatantly obvious is funny. Pay to Play?!? Who would use such a thing in this day and age?

Waiting for the real release though :)

NiuuS
"Think and act, begin with yourself"
"Piensa y actúa, comienza por tí"

1st-Apr-2008 09:21 pm (UTC)

Anonymous

Too bad. You just turned evil.
I think there is nothing wrong to distribute a working, good, and polished emulator as shareware but this pay to play system is just wrong. It is a very unfair system for the customer and a very profitable for the seller.
I don't think many people will falls for this poor practise. It is probably much cheaer to buy a dreamcast console or use any other emu. 2-3 years ago it might have worked for you but nowadays there are other working dreamcasts emus.

So long sucker..

1st-Apr-2008 10:34 pm (UTC)

legend80

I think Deunan should confirm that this WAS indeed a joke before too many people think its real, get pissed and leave forever...

Leave a Comment to the Entry

This page was loaded May 13th 2008, 6:04 am GMT.

Advertisement

Advertisement