Actually, that's a great attitude for a company to have. Ability to take care of a few over the cries of the masses will be a much lighter task and probably allow the game to grow through the years in the companies vision and not bending to pressures. Not often you see a company pass up money for the chance to see their vision come to life. ~salute~ for that. I also like the idea that 100.00 invested would make the user actually get involved more. makes sense, although less money. In the end as we grow old , we learn money isn't everything.

If you don't like the price, you don't have to buy it. But $125 isn't too much to ask for such a great package: all the detail and realism of a true hard-core sim and all the variety, flexibility, and fun of a survey sim. Almost equally good at both single player and multiplayer gameplay. You can always ask for more, but this is plenty for the price.

I first read about Steelbeasts on Frugals many years ago, searched and found the eSim website then seen the price and at that time it was out of my reach which is probably as well as I did not have the time to play it. I looked at the SB forums every now and then but still the price tag put me off, then one day trying to load up M1 Tank Platoon on my PC and everything looking so poor and difficult to control made me wish for a better tank sim and I remembered SB, by now I had retired and had a bit more time to myself so I took the plunge in 2007 and purchased SB Pro PE, it is the one thing that has remained on my PC ever since.

Recently UK Armour started up as a unit to play SB with a British flavour and that prompted me to play online, I had got a second licence for my son and my multi player experience was limited to that. Now with some ex army chaps in the squadron they are taking us through a training session to get us to fight as a unit, wow, I wish I had tried this sooner it is so much better when fighting as a combined arms team and I look forward to the online sessions.

SB PRo PE has come on a long way since 2007 nevermind how far it has come since it was first released. If you love tanks you will love this sim and the on going cost of it is very little, esp. if you see what my son spends on Call of Duty/Battlefield type games. If I had the chance to have a demo like they have now all those years ago I would have bought it long time ago.

Alicatt has said it all ... As a newcomer to SB (and UKArmour) the price didn't phase me. If the software works, and works well, developers deserve their return ; business doesn't run on fresh air. As far as the business model is concerned, I like it. I don't have to have a PC the size of a refrigerator and it has a realism which is refreshing and totally immersing. The other point is one of simple service. It is so refreshing to be able to talk (email) to a person, and Snake never seems to sleep! This is something one doesn't experience with many software simulations.

One other aspect of note is the absence of people on SB forums venting their spleen in some kind of a rant! There are differences of opinion. but they seem to be just that. Most refreshing!

I would underline what Alicatt said about having access to more experienced (and professional) people. SB is a steep learning curve, but man, have I learned a lot in a very short space of time because of other members in the online company. We make mistakes, we encounter problems, but it's fun, because we're learning together. Surely that's the point of it all ..?

...at least providing an entertaining learning experience was one of the more refined points that we hoped to achieve.

I just got access to the trial late last night and stayed up until 3am playing some Leopard tutorials, so I haven't actually spent the $125 yet. But here's my thoughts.

When I moved to Australia in 2006, the typical price of a new game was between $100-120 AUD, which is pretty much the same in USD at the current exchange rate. Now if you shop at the right places, a new game is usually $68-100, so prices have come down a bit. The point is that for Aussies, $125 isn't too far off the price we're used to paying for games.

I think more people would spend their money on such a game if it wasn't so damn expensive and came with a better advertising standpoint. Coming from an outside view, I'd value a tank sim such as Steel Armor: Blaze of War over SB because it's
1.) cheap ( I purchased my copy at $10, never breaching the $50 mark even when not on sale)
2.) has a more realistic crew intercom system (in comparison with the promotional video's)
3.) has the capability for amazing graphics, even if you're like me and can't use them all.
4.) Isn't $125


Not all of us "Tank Nut's" are rolling in cash, which is really the only reason I haven't purchased it yet. I'm also alittle worried about purchasing the current version because I've been under the impression that you have to buy each successive update, which is a real killer for me.

Also, the demo refuses to work for me for some reason.

whukid - what is the error or problem that you are having when trying to play the "demo"?

if you don't need a printed manual and dvd SB Pro PE costs $100 dollars: http://www.esimgames.com/purchase.htm

some define $100 dollars as a lot of money, but many will think it is the best $100 dollars they have ever spent on a pc "game".

yes, eSim Games, does release an upgrade for SB about every year and a half that we pay $25 dollars for, but it always contains additions that are well worth that $25 dollars.

i am happy to pay the price, and i think it is great that eSim still supports their product by making these "upgrades" for it.

#1 and #4 are essentially the same argument. There's a number of solutions for that - you could start monitoring eBay for a used copy; they aren't terribly cheaper than the original, but still. (By the way, this also says a lot about how much money it REALLY costs if a game that is out since 2006 can still be sold through eBay for about 80% of its nominal price - in other words, if you bought it on release day 2006 then and now sold it for $80, it would have cost you in total $65.- in six years, or $10.84 per year. Sounds like the price is actually very close to that in your argument #1... Occasionally there are special offers from eSim Games. Last November we offered SB Pro PE for $85.-; there was a similar deal at the 10th anniversary for more than three months; similar offers may be made in the future. Fundamentally though, the age-old problem of not having enough money to buy X has a very traditional solution - start saving.
I know, it's not a popular advice, but it's known to be reliable. It works.

The upgrades aren't mandatory, but it seems like they have been juicy enough for most of our customers to actually buy them. How else are we supposed to make money for the ongoing development effort? You may be working long hours for your money - so are we. We need bread and a bed too, and there's a group of us who need to be kept alive. Our effort is worth it - at least to us. Whether it is to you, only you can decide.
Don't tell me that you can't afford it. If you don't want it, that's okay. But already by owning a computer-game suitable computer you demonstrate that there's disposable income for needless luxury. Of course there always still the question whether or not you value a product high enough to justify the price, and since value judgment is a highly subjective matter, only you can decide.


I guess, what it really boils down to is that you couldn't yet check out the demo. Fine, let's work on that. Did you contact the official demo email at SteelBeasts.com, or did you try to set it up with someone else who was willing to borrow you a license? Unfortunately, the demo is technically a bit more challenging to set up than the normal version, so you need to think a bit about firewall configuration and port forwarding in your router.

But we're here to give you advice, if you need it.

Well. I'm going to take it that this; http://www.fileplanet.com/45253/40000/fileinfo/Steel-Beasts-Demo-v1.19 isn't the demo.. In which case, I'll be right back.