Upgraded e-Store!

[Annette]

News Release For Immediate Release


Shrapnel Games Unveils Its Newly Upgraded e-Store!
Just In Time For Christmas The New Gamer's Front Is Now Live!


Hampstead, NC, 13 December 2005

With only twelve shopping days left until Christmas (thirteen, if you're the cheapskate
that shops for presents at the corner gas station on the way to visit the family) Shrapnel
Games is pleased to announce that your shopping worries are over! Simply stop by the
newly retooled Gamers Front, the official Shrapnel Games' e-Store and your one-stop
virtual shop to strategy gaming nirvana!

So what's new with the Gamers Front you might ask? Well, if you drop in by visiting it
at www.GamersFront.com (http://www.GamersFront.com), the first thing you may notice is the newly redesigned look.
Sleek, easy to navigate, with all the information you'll want to know at your fingertips.
More details on the games you know and love, with screenshots and demos a click away.
If the interface was a texture it would be rich velvet, and believe us, if society would
allow it you'd want to drape yourself in it. But the new Gamers Front, while good
looking, has much more to offer beneath the hood than graceful lines and tight handling.

New membership options allow you to earn credit towards future purchases when you
shop through Reward and Bonus Points programs. Reward Points are awarded based on
each full dollar you spend on the store, with each dollar spent equaling one Reward Point,
and for every 75 points earned you receive one dollar in discounts. The more you end up
spending, the more you can save!

Bonus Points work a little different though the net result, saving you money, is the same.
Bonus Points have a higher ratio of earning, with ten Bonus Points equaling one dollar in
discounts. Bonus Points must be converted to a gift certificate to be used, but the gift
certificate can be to yourself. Bonus Points are also awarded in various fashions, such as
purchasing a particular game for that month. They can also be awarded in a variety of
other ways. Currently, anyone who signs up for the Premium Membership (it should be
noted that your old Gamers Front account will not carry over, so old members will need
to re-sign up) earns Bonus Points totaling to a five dollar gift certificate, which again, can
be used by yourself or given to someone else. Hurry though, as this offer only lasts
through December!

Other new features of the new Gamers Front include the ability to purchase gift
certificates in whole dollar amounts, which can then either be sent via email or good ol'
fashioned snail mail. Easier payments through Paypal, and of course the Gamers Front
still features the ability to pay with a wide variety of credit cards, including Discover and
American Express.

Another truly cool feature of the new store is an integrated customer support base.
Previously to access the customer support features you had to create a separate login from
your store account. Obviously this was somewhat awkward. Now your one registered
account takes care of both ordering new games and any customer support that you may
need!

We're excited with the upgrade, and we think you will be too, so please stop by the new
Gamers Front today! Remember, if you register in December you'll receive Bonus
Points that will get you a $5.00 gift certificate, applicable immediately. Apply it towards
one of our hot new releases, like Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, Land of
Legends, or Prussia's Glory. You can even earn more Bonus Points this month by
purchasing Coliseum, The War Engine, or the Charles S. Roberts award-winning Horse
and Musket: Great Battles of the Eighteenth Century.

See these specials at:
www.gamersfront.com/xcart/offers.php (http://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/offers.php)

Visit the new Gamers Front at:
www.gamersfront.com (http://www.gamersfront.com)

[Combat Wombat]

I like the new store. Wish I didn't have to remake my account though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Does this include the system that will allow you to have more games available to be purchased as a download?

[Richard]

Yep, that's all in place. Now we have to sort out the details with developers to get their games setup on this.

[Annette]

Combat Wombat said:
I like the new store. Wish I didn't have to remake my account though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif



I'm not fond of change, personally, but as I work with it I'm beginning to really enjoy the new features this upgrade brings. We realize having to register a new account is tedious, so please don't forget the bonus for doing so:

anyone who signs up for the Premium Membership (it should be
noted that your old Gamers Front account will not carry over, so old members will need
to re-sign up) earns Bonus Points totaling to a five dollar gift certificate, which again, can
be used by yourself or given to someone else.

[StGabe]

I hope you can take this as an honest wish to see you guys get better sales:

Your e-store was BY FAR the worst buying experience I have had when buying an online game. It was very hard to find what I wanted (Weird Worlds, download version). Once I did it took forever just to find the "buy button" (a well hidden "add to cart"). When linked to the game itself from the Shrapnel Games page I was sent directly to the "DVD case" version even though I wanted to download it. Then I ended up getting an ISO file (I don't have any blank CD's around) instead of the .ZIP I would have much preferred. And why is your service the only one I've ever been to which required an address and phone number?

Find a better way to sell your games. I don't want to have to work to buy a game. If I hadn't absolutely loved Weird Worlds I wouldn't have waded through all that. And I certainly don't feel terribly motivated to buy any other of your games.

Make the buying process streamlined. Get me to enter my credit card info ASAP (after all, that's what you want, the longer I take to get there the larger the chance I'll flake out). Get me to downloading the game ASAP. Better yet, give me a code to enter into the demo that I've already downloaded to enable the rest of the game.

[Annette]

I regret to hear you found our store difficult to navigate. I'd be curious to know what browser you use, as that may make a difference in how some of the images appear.

Please understand your address and phone number are required so that your credit card (or PayPal) transaction can be verified and approved as a non-fraudulent sale.

Also, there is not an option between types of files for delivery of the game. Please do burn the .iso images to CD, as that serves as your backup when the need arises to reinstall the game.

We do appreciate your feedback and would like to hear if other customers have the same feeling about their experience at GamersFront.

[StGabe]

I use Mozilla Firefox.

I would have to ask why you are the first of any online game site that I have used to require a phone number and address for my credit card. Neither ArcadeTown nor Reflexive ask for this.

I can burn a .zip file onto a CD if I want a backup. It's still not clear to me why I would want an .iso or why you would use a method that is so non-obvious to more casual users. I've got an advanced degree in computer science and this is the first time I've even seen an .ISO file -- if it was jarring to me how is it going to be to someone with less computer experience? What if I hadn't had a CD burner (most computers ship with one these days, but home-made computers or computers where the CD is busted might not)? I was never even warned that I needed one to use the file you would give me.

I just suggest doing some market research. Other online distributors of games use much more streamlined methods because a low barrier to entry will assure them more sales. The longer I dither about whether I really want to give you my address or not (actually I don't care about that stuff, but I know a lot of people who do), fail to find the "add to cart button" or get confused about which version of a game I want to buy, the less likely it is that you will get a sale from me. You must get sales out of only a small % of the people who download a demo, how much higher could you get if the full version was only a few clicks and a credit card number away?

I say this as someone honestly concerned because Weird Worlds is a great game, the type of game I'd like to see more of, and I have to wonder how much better it might sell if it had better distribution.

[StGabe]

Actually, I was wrong. I checked and ArcadeTown does require an address/phone number but still has a much quicker and more obvious ordering process. PopCap requires address but not phone. Reflexive doesn't require either however and has a very nice, very obvious interface built directly into the games.

Even if an address or even a phone number is required I still think the whole process is very onerous on the user and ordering games from those other distributors seemed to be MUCH easier.

[Captain Kwok]

I'm surprised you had such a difficult time. I was curious to what you were talking about (in terms of navigation) and found it extremely easy to do the same steps. I mean the download version of Wierd Worlds is not only listed under its genre, but also tops the best selling list - clicking on either of those took me directly to a screen where I could add to cart and checkout. Overall, I've found it no worse than any other online shopping experience.

However, the search function doesn't seem to work very well. I entered weird worlds and performed a search and kept getting 0 returns. Even with quotes or the full title of the game...

[douglas]

Captain Kwok said:
However, the search function doesn't seem to work very well. I entered weird worlds and performed a search and kept getting 0 returns. Even with quotes or the full title of the game...


Did you search for "Weird Worlds" or "Wierd Worlds"? I got 2 results for the first (download and DVD versions) and none for the second.

[Captain Kwok]

Hmm. It works from the little search box but not from the advanced search dialog...

[StGabe]

I actually didn't enter from the store but rather from an external Shrapnel Games page for Weird Worlds. My confusion really came from being thrown into a buy page and not knowing what I was getting -- and this was relevant when it turned out I'd been sent to the "DVD case" version of the game and not the "download" version.

It's not like I couldn't eventually figure everything out. I did, obviously. I just figure that I am well above the average computer user when it comes to such things and if it felt onerous to me, it must turn other people away. And I think if you check out the web page design and process of buying a game from some of the top ten game distributors you'll find that they are a lot more clear.

I finally did get a blank CD and make a copy of the game to use and it did work fine -- although all told I think I received 4 seperate emails about the order.

[eshock113]

Okay, so am I missing it somewhere? Is there a way to download the games you purchase. Sorry, but waiting a week or two to get the game in the mail sucks.

[Annette]

To see a list of our games which are available via download, please visit our store at www.GamersFront.com (http://www.GamersFront.com) and choose "games by availability." A link to the downloadable games page is HERE. (http://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/Downloadable-Games-c-258.html)

If you have questions or problems using our store, please enter a customer support ticket at http://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/support_ticket.php