A number of people have reported receiving 3DO reissues from Limited Run Games that are on CD-Rs instead of pressed discs.

This is problematic for a number of reasons. Not only do CD-Rs tend to have limited lifespans but there are some 3DOs that do not read them. Meaning that Limited Run is shipping games that they know, or should know, that some of their customers won't be able to use, without any kind of warning.

This seems...incredibly stupid. When you're selling a reproduction version of Plumbers Don't Wear Ties you're doing so knowing that the people who buy it will all be hardcore collectors either of 3DO games, oddities, or Limited Run releases. Those groups are all among the most pernickety of game buyers, the types of people who are still outraged that games no longer come with manuals and consider Day 1 patches to be personal affronts. To think that you could ship a game on a CD-R, especially for a system that struggles with them, is the height of arrogance. Maybe they thought their buyers don't play the games and just use them as display pieces. Maybe they just don't care. Regardless, it's a terrible look for a company that has a mixed reputation at the best of times (with incredibly late delivery of products and their entire business model seemingly based on FOMO) and really makes the whole licensed reproduction market look even sketchier. I am on record as being somewhat confused by this market, but even if I don't personally understand it people should still be getting what they paid for.

Just an awful, baffling, decision if true, and a demonstration of a company that absolutely does not understand its customer base.

LRG got Embraced, and things went from bad to significantly worse there since then.

That said, I do like physical games. I'm one of those insane people who likes having shelves filled with games, both old and new (but not a total lunatic who screams about patches, because patches typically make games better). Their FOMO thing was never a big thing for me, I just liked having physical copies. They kind of got rid of it by transitioning to doing open pre-orders for several weeks for most games.

The 3DO (in my experience) is pretty weird to begin with. I have two of the Panasonic systems (FZ-1 and FZ-10) and have unique issues with certain games between the two. For example, the FMV gem Daedalus Encounter crashes at a certain puzzle on the FZ-1, but works fine on the FZ-10.

The fact that LRG is sending out burned discs is a huge issue regardless of what system they are for. Kind of destroys their whole "forever physical" when burned discs experience rot way sooner than pressed discs.

@the_unabomber: I don't think there's an issue with liking physical games, though I do find the fanatics who refuse to acknowledge how the games industry has changed amusing/annoying. But just enjoying the physical objects is an aesthetic preference no more or less valid than any other.

Limited Run has apologized and is trying to make things right but again I feel like this is something that never would have happened if they understood their customers.

The burned discs would be an issue no matter what, it's true, but for a system where some versions just plain won't run them it's worse because you can't even argue that you delivered a functional product (albeit one with an even more limited shelf life than most.)