Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
Hi everyone. Wow! What an eventful and exciting day it has been for Trainz today.
We’re only half way through the first day of the “Early Access” launch of Trainz Railroad Simulator 2019 and we’ve already seen record Day 1 sales (as well as a wide range of emotions on our forums).
It’s great to see ecstatic fans enjoying their first foray into the new world of TRS19, however, there are a few fans expressing concerns about some of the options we have presented, or still in need of additional TRS19 info.
This Open Letter therefore sets out to explain our reasoning behind some of the various options provided for the TRS19 launch, and to hopefully clarify any misunderstandings.
Subscriptions Versus Pre-Orders
Today we introduced two new options to access Trainz and DLC items (along with a whole lot of other benefits as well).
It is important to note that these membership options are not replacing the traditional store purchase method, but are instead providing users with additional choices. The Trainz Store operates today just the same as it did yesterday, with Trainz products, DLC and FCTs available to buy.
We don’t expect everyone to take up the new membership options, and we’re more than happy for people to decide which option suits them best. By providing more choice, we believe that more people will get to experience more of Trainz. (And judging by the number of subscribers so far, which is well ahead of pre-orders, it appears many people agree.)
Cost of DLC
One of the biggest complaints about the train simulator concept in the past has been about the cost of DLC items. The new membership options offer a solution to that problem.
Instead of people spending hundreds of dollars a year on DLC items (or missing out on a large range of DLC items altogether due to the expense) the Silver Class membership provides the option to access 60 DLC items a year of membership, plus 15 bonus items just for getting started. That’s all included for the price of three or four regular DLC items.
The Gold Class membership provides all that DLC content as well, and includes access to TRS19 and much more.
If you’ve been reluctant to spend money on DLC in the past, the memberships will allow you to experience more DLC for less.
“Early Access” and Pre-orders
When we worked out our schedule for Early Access release, we wanted to ensure that our Gold Class Members felt extra special. One of the key aspects of Gold Class membership is that you are first to experience everything Trainz has to offer. You get to experience the latest (and best) version of Trainz, you will get to try out the new DLC items before they hit the store, and get to explore new game features long before they reach a full retail product release.
Pre-order purchasers, by definition, order a product that they need to wait for for some time period. In the past, we have opened up pre-orders a couple of weeks prior to the product shipping. (This is usually to give us time to prepare the boxed versions).
In this case, the difference is that the product being pre-ordered is already available to be used by subscribers.
In addition, our marketing message didn’t indicate exactly how you would be able to jump into Early Access, only that it would be available today. We wanted everyone to visit the launch page, find out everything about TRS19, and choose their favourite option.
Our team have met and discussed this issue, and we’ve decided to lift the pre-order waiting period on Early Access (effective immediately). Our servers and new systems are doing well with the initial rush and we’d much rather see as many people as possible enjoying the new version of Trainz right now.
So if you’ve already pre-ordered log in to MyTrainz and get downloading!
Pre-Order Pricing
The N3V team has invested a massive amount of effort into TRS19, and when you look at the quality we’ve achieved, the results speak for themselves. As such, we feel that with the amount of content included, USD$69 (which is at the upper end of regular game pricing, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary) is quite reasonable.
Also, when compared to any other hobby, $69 is incredibly cheap. A pair of joggers - $100-$200. A golf club - $500 (and green fees on top). A model trainset - $1000+ (name your price really).
Pretty much all the sales revenue generated by Trainz is reinvested into more features and more content. Therefore your support of the product ultimately leads to a better, more enjoyable product for the Trainz Community in the future.
Gold Class Pricing
At $14.99, some people are getting out the calculator and working out $14.99 x 12 = $180 (possibly missing the option of the annual membership saving $30).
However, the membership option includes far more than just the game. You also get to explore a couple of hundred bucks of DLC items, explore new DLC items before they hit the store, you get a 25% store discount code, an FCT (RRP $8 a month) - all for $14.99 for the whole month.
So the game component is only a part of the package. We know from our surveys that the average user plays Trainz for 5-10 hours a week, so we’re looking at something under 50 cents an hour for the average Trainzer to enjoy their hobby.
Still Confused?
There have been a number of people confused about membership features, boxed versions, FCT Discounts, existing FCTs and so on. We’ve prepared an FAQ page that addresses your questions and we encourage anyone who isn’t sure about any aspect to check out the page.
http://www.trainzportal.com/pages/trs19-faqs
The TRS19 Product
Oh wait - there was a product release today as well - I almost forgot
With our amendment to the pre-order process, more of our fans will be experiencing the latest version of Trainz sooner. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback (and see your screenshots!).
Our beta testers have been telling us for weeks that this is easily the best version of Trainz ever, and I’m pretty sure people are sick of hearing that from us, so now it’s your turn to let everyone know what you think
Thanks once again for your support. We’re a small team, and we’ve worked long and hard to keep on improving Trainz. Today we’re very happy to be delivering a great product to our great Trainz Community!
Tony Hilliam
CEO, N3V Games
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