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S2 Games Outlines Savage 2 Release Plans

By Alex Petraglia on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 6:00 PM EST  

Savage 2 Sales

S2 Games announced today its release and sales procedure for the upcoming strategy/action/RPG hybrid Savage 2, outlining a unique and forward-thinking online distribution plan. We spoke with S2 CEO Marc DeForest.

The first Savage was made available for sale online and at retail simultaneously. Even though S2 self-published and only had to deal with a distributor, the profit margin per-sale was considerably less at retail compared to digitally.

“We were pressured by long-standing industry members to do the ‘traditional thing’ of putting it on the shelf, charging $50, and only getting $20 of it,” says DeForest.

Interestingly, S2 was unable to sell the online version at a significant discount due to pressure from retailers. The game debuted online at the same $50 price-point, with S2 making a more substantial $47.50 on each sale. The company then was able to reduce the price, and while only 20% of all Savage sales were made online, S2 ended up making more money this way.

In an effort to make Savage 2 a practical choice for all players and avoid the cut-throat competition that comes at retail, “we decided to go with our initial thought of Savage 1 and make Savage 2 available exclusively online,” continued DeForest.

The game files will essentially be let “out in the wild;” download them directly from S2’s site or any other game site that hosts them. Get the files with Bittorrent or copy them from a friend.

Gamers can play via LAN with zero obligation and without an account. They can also play online with no obligation for 3-5 hours in “demo mode,” which is missing a few features, such as persistent stats tracking.

In order to play the full-version online, you’ll need to buy an account for a one-time fee of $29.99, either through the game itself or S2’s site. You can even purchase and create an account while in demo mode while on a server.

DeForest is confident in his team’s decision: “It is quite unique and fully encased system that allows us to do some unique things and show our faith in the gaming population as a whole. It also allows us to charge only $29.99 for a game they would easily be paying $49.99 in stores.”

Look for more Savage 2 coverage from us very soon.

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One Response to “S2 Games Outlines Savage 2 Release Plans”

  1. S2 Games Sets Savage 2 Release Date : Primotech on January 3rd, 2008 3:56 am

    [...] September we reported on S2’s unique, digital distribution-only release plans Savage 2. The game will be made [...]

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