To be honest, I think it has a really unlikable art-style, it looks like a children's game, and the market for side-scrolling platformers is currently over-saturated.

I feel sorry for them, so I'm going to buy a full-price-copy instead of something from the weekend promo today.

But I think it is a problem that indie developers and the digital distribution market created themselves. Most gamers have huge backlogs today and there are constantly sales and bundles everywhere. So if a game doesn't create a certin hype before release day (so the people feel the urge to play it right away), more and more gamers don't buy on day (or week) one, but wait for a huge discount (even 60% isn't enough for many of them) or for a bundle where they can get it dirt cheap. And the problem is they don't have to wait for long: There are several indie games that appear in bundles or promos only one month after their initial release.

I really think developers are shovelling their own grave this way. In a long run it might also not be a good idea to give away more than one key (Desura, Steam, GOG, DRM-free download) with a purchase. Sure, there are lots of people that don't abuse it and who are just happy that they can add the game to each of their libraries. But there are even more that use the possibility to multiply the license (they paid just a few cents for) and give away or sell the keys they don't need.

So, what can be done? Unfortunately nothing for the short term I fear. But in the long run, developers and digital distribution platforms have to stop spoiling the customers. Don't give away your games more or less for free just weeks after release, don't agree to 90% discounts within months and don't give away multiple keys with a purchase (why not offer them and letting the customer decide which one he/she wants?).

I just fear it won't happen as nobody has the guts to make a start.

Just some more thoughts:

Honestly, I think the release window thing they mention is rubbish. There's always AAA games being released. I highly doubt that GTA had a huge impact on potential Ethan customers. Personally, I have no consoles, nor any desire to play GTA V - yet I didn't even wishlist Ethan. Even if there are two games I want that are being released at the same time, I will at least wishlist both of them...

Their idea of value seems to stem from quantity (they seem very excited about the fact that it has 50 levels). To me, the amount of levels has no bearing on what I consider good value - it is all about quality. If anything, the prospect of 50 levels has the opposite of the intended effect; games with heaps of levels often feel like a chore. I'm glad they have acknowledged this, but the quote "Good value and focus on Gameplay are not appealing" rubs me the wrong way =/

I can imagine how confusing it must be to release a game like this. It's easy to look at objective metrics and other high profile games and just assume that you'll do well - there seems to be a million nebulous things that factor into what makes certain games successful. More than anything though, I think you really need to excite someone - Anyone. Preferably someone loud though. Most people aren't just going to buy any and every game that is released - if there's someone that genuinely seems passionate about a game, then that can create an enormous snowball effect.

Anyway, they have a good attitude about all of this - when it comes down to it, they made a game that they're happy with. Also, they allegedly didn't kill eachother, which seems like a very good thing :P

What Went Wrong: "Good value and focus on Gameplay are not appealing."

Yeh, that's probably it. Not like your game was a totally un-noteworthy entry into an extremely over-saturated marker or anything!

Or ... or ... GTAV? Yeh, that's probably it.

I shouldn't be mean, it must be excruciating to devote the time, energy, and money to a game and then see it tank. But I'm not convinced that they are taking home the correct message from this.

^^^ this

I read the article, and think that the devs may be missing the point (a bit), or perhaps my own perspective of the game is simply different from that of other customers.

But when I looked at the game on GOG, I quite literally thought "Why is GOG releasing another run-of-the-mill platformer with generic artwork and no interesting features that would stand out?" The only thing that seemed to set it apart from the numerous (and often cheaper) competition was that it was supposed to be hard. And that was actually the thing that made me lose interest completely. I don't mind playing hard games, and I even enjoy the challenge (I completed Giana Sisters), but I want it to be _my_ decision on which level of difficulty I play. Games that are specifically advertised as "Hard" typically do not give me that choice and force a level of difficulty on me that I may or may not enjoy for that particular game. I felt reminded of games like "Project Black Sun" or "Bunny Must Die", where I consider even the 1-2$ (that I spent on them) wasted because I can't progress beyond the first boss, and more than 80% of the game is simply closed off from me.

Advertising the game specifically as "hard" also meant that the large number of levels had no meaning for me. What good are 50 levels if a game might be getting too hard for me after the first three? Gambling 10$ on what might turn into an hour of frustration before I give up just doesn't sound like a great idea.

It's not just "market saturation" or "bundle bubble", imho. Those are factors, but their influence on my purchase decision was only indirect. The existence of bundles means that I might think "I'll get that game in a bundle eventually" instead of "I'll get that game in a few years from a bargain bin or simply not at all", which was my approach before digital downloads and the Indie movement took off. But even without bundles and without competition, I simply wouldn't have bought "Ethan". Or, to put it another way: Even with only a handful of competing products around, I probably would have picked those over "Ethan", provided that they had at least one interesting stand-out feature, and didn't threaten to close 90% of the game off from players who aren't good enough.

I do buy lots of games, and I don't only rely on bundles or sales. Just this week I gambled a fiver (full price) on "Paper Sorcerer" because of its original idea and unique art style. I also nearly bought "Contrast" for 12$ for similar reasons, and might still do so, but decided to wait a bit longer for opinions from people who played it. But, as harsh at it sounds, I didn't feel the slightest bit of inclination to gamble 10$ on a generic platformer that might end up being just frustrating.

get it, it is brilliant. OK?

Wow, color me stunned! This game is actually on my wishlist, even though it's not high up at all on my "dying to buy" o'meter.

I thought it looked like one of the better platformers out there, with richer graphics, then the usual RPG maker or retro pixelated ensemble.

Perhaps, things might get better for them when the winter sales hit?

I think the real question is: why didn’t you buy the game for a full price?

As others have suggested, it seems pretty generic game that the indie world if full of. That alone dropped it into the "I'll probably buy it when it enters sales.". It doesn't seem like a bad game, but I think my backlog have lots of similar indie games already. So it definitely didn't make me scream "I have to have it now!!!". I am currently busy playing Icewind Dale, do you really think you can compete with that? :)

If you want me to buy your game day one, either it has to be something special, or even a small launch promo helps too. Take for example yesterday's Speedball 2 HD release: the promo discount of mere 20% pushed me over to not to wait for Christmas sale. But it helped too that for me SB2 HD was an exceptional release, a HD version of a game I used to like a lot. Of Ethan, I know hardly anything, except that it is an indie platformer game.

Or Outlast: I bought it on release, but it helped I was actually looking forward to the (GOG) release of it. I don't remember now if it had a launch discount promo, maybe it did.

If it helps you, I don't normally buy new AAA titles during the first month either. :)

And it was certainly an interesting tidbit that even the PS3 sales were disappointing, even if the reasons there might be somewhat different (like people waiting for PS4, and knowing that their PS3 purchases will not run on PS4).

It doesn't help that on the gamecard Ethan looks like a twat. Face like he's trying to pass himself off as a Giana Sister. -_-

Unepic may not be the best of examples, as it had already been on sale for a long time before coming to gog.

It had also been in a bundle. Which is normally a hindering factor when trying to sell a game on GOG.
My point is that a launch discount would have probably helped bring in some customers that would normally be eager to see what the game is about. But a full price is hardly the way to get people to know you.
Also, are game shows really a thing when it comes to promoting a game? How do they help in this flood of indie games?
(Seriously, I've never attended one, but I'd assume there's a ton of indie (and AAA) games to check out there. How do you stand out?)

Unless you do something amazing with a platformer right now, your game will be ignored. Personally I am completely tired of them. I still like classic apogee and epic mega games platformers. The thought of playing another indie platformer with a "gimmick" literally makes me feel a touch ill at this point.

Game shows? I know that being used by certain YouTubers (Total Biscuit for example) do make a lot of difference. In some of the other post-mortems they see peaks right after the game have been reviwed by one of them.

edit - sorry, those game shows... yes, it is important to get the press to know you and thereby have them make articles about you.