HN in general has weird standards around game quality considering many of the users work on software as service start-ups that launch as almost broken MVPs. I understand NMS asked players to pay $60 up front but they've put their money where there mouth is and continually supported and updated the game.
Thank you so much for saying this. This community is very toxic in a few ways, and this is one of them.
It had everything to do with what promised / implied vs what was actually delivered.
If the creator had slapped a Open Beta tag on the box and charged $20 (and simply upped that number as they got closer to release), everyone would probably still be talking about it.
But instead they delivered on 25%-50% of what they claimed was in the game.
I, and most people I knew who bought the game at launch, were disappointed but also REALLY enjoyed the game. I still play casually to this day and the updates since launch have more than made up for any disappointment I originally felt, and it's currently one of my favourite games of the last few years.
It's a stunningly beautiful, peaceful, and endlessly enjoyable creative explorer. On par with Minecraft and Astroneer.
The devs did the right thing by their customers which is sadly quite rare these days.
1. Massive hype suspended the critical faculties of many gamers (maybe fueled by Murray's geeky and somewhat confused countenance) and the game saw substantial pre-orders.
2. Sandbox, infinite exploration nature of the game meant massive numbers were playing after launch despite disappointment and frustration in the game. It does offer a unique experience.
3. After a period of keeping their heads down as an organization -- probably partially to try to avoid a lawsuit -- they started rolling out free updates that pushed the game forward enough to maintain interest.
The game was hugely successful, even by AAA standards. Combined with a tiny team means they could likely put out free updates for another decade.
I have a feeling they're playing the long game. Once they've unequivocally won people over with updates they'll likely use their war chest and momentum to roll out another insanely ambitious title, though they might stick to a PC release so they can manage expectations better.
Was overhyped, but it probably 50% is press fault.
You don’t go in debt by making a ton of copies that don’t sel and you don’t lose money when you lower your sale price to clear inventory because there isn’t none.
If you continue to develop and support the game you can create a continguous stream of revenue even if it’s a small one, for a small studio without investors it’s a very viable business model.