DLC pricing (renamed)

[eezing]

This morning, I read about the $5 dollar Versus mode multiplayer add-on for Resident Evil 5.

So let me get this straight, you wan't to charge me for something that should have been in the game in the first place? Give us a break here guys!

Basically, if you live in the state of California, and want the full Resident Evil 5 experience, you gotta through down 70 loots!

Enough with raping cough cough... I mean pay for add-ons!

Not as bad as WoW though... Did you know, if you're a WoW player who started on release, bought both add-ons, and are still playing today... You've dumped 800 bones on that bad boy.

... and some wonder why people pirate games.

 

[Lefungus]

It'll stop when people stop buying. Vote with your wallet.

 

[vazel]

It'll stop when people stop buying. Vote with your wallet.

Unfortunately that doesn't work. Everything in the history of mankind has always depended on most being idiots or people that do know better but feel they have no other choice.

 

[eezing]

Unfortunately that doesn't work. Everything in the history of mankind has always depended on most being idiots or people that do know better but feel they have no other choice.

I agree with this statement.

I do vote with my wallet, but most people out there don't. I have a close buddy who jumps at any new release whether good or bad. It's a damn addiction!

When I walk into a game store, 9/10 times I walk out empty handed because there's nothing I feel is worth the price.

 

[Xmas]

Maybe some people do feel that whatever they buy is worth the price?

 

[infinity4]

User Generated Content is the way to go.

 

[eezing]

Maybe some people do feel that whatever they buy is worth the price?

Yep, I would assume so considering game prices jumped up $10 this generation. I just hope next generation we see a change in the video game pricing scheme across the board. Why should a game that is rated 5/10 be the same price as something that is rated 9/10? or why a game is the same price as something with twice or three times the features that offers more playability? You wouldn't pay a Ferrari price for a Honda Civic would you?

Maybe the overall point I'm getting at is that we as gamers need to stop giving what publishers what they want and start giving them what the deserve. Remember, you as the consumer have the power to change the market.

Where to start? Heres some ideas:


1. Wait to read reviews before purchasing. Not from just one source, but multiple.

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2. When at the game store looking for something to buy, check to see if it's in the used game section first. No, not to buy the used copy, but to instead check and see if there is an abnormally large amount available.

If there is, the game most likely sucks, so don't buy it.

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3. Ask yourself why you are actually buying this game, is it because you are bored with your current collection and are looking for something to hold you over until the next big hit?

If so, don't buy it. It's a fact that we, the gamer/tech generation have very short attention spans. The only outcome from you purchasing in this situation is the pure disappointment you will feel as you've waisted both a considerable amount of time and money. Go workout instead. :smile:

 

[pc999]

Yep, I would assume so considering game prices jumped up $10 this generation. I just hope next generation we see a change in the video game pricing scheme across the board. Why should a game that is rated 5/10 be the same price as something that is rated 9/10? or why a game is the same price as something with twice or three times the features that offers more playability? You wouldn't pay a Ferrari price for a Honda Civic would you?

Well in both Wii and PC the price stayed the same (even a exclusive/high production value like Crysis). And in the PC the prices fall very fast, a game like DeadSpace for PC is today at less than 1/3 of the console price.

Althought there is a few Wii games and I think (not sure) a few PC, specially low profile ones, are released at a lower prince.

Anyway why it is always harder to make the price scheme you sugest on a art and/or entertainment product, that is the reason why CD, movies etc... are always released at +/- the same price.

 

[ArturNOW]

Simply don't buy it if it's not worth your money. I don't see any reason why game rated 5/10 should be sold for less monay that game with 9/10 score. Maybe for some reason there are people who prefert the first one? Maybe someone paid reviewer or reviewers feels pressure because the title is hot. Also games' prices fall down quicker if a game is more popular. F1 Challange on PS3 is still expensive and difficult to find, Folklore as well but KZ2, LBP etc can be found for little prices.

Unfortunatelly games in digital distribution don't seem to get lower prices because you cannot resell them... Of course some title will get little price cut after long period of time or for week sale but that's it.

 

[eezing]

Simply don't buy it if it's not worth your money. I don't see any reason why game rated 5/10 should be sold for less monay that game with 9/10 score. Maybe for some reason there are people who prefert the first one? Maybe someone paid reviewer or reviewers feels pressure because the title is hot. Also games' prices fall down quicker if a game is more popular. F1 Challange on PS3 is still expensive and difficult to find, Folklore as well but KZ2, LBP etc can be found for little prices.

Unfortunatelly games in digital distribution don't seem to get lower prices because you cannot resell them... Of course some title will get little price cut after long period of time or for week sale but that's it.

There's another factor to this whole thing that I didn't mention. Lower prices may actually be better for the dev/publisher. iPhone App Store is a perfect example: Some of the most fun, most popular and most profitable games available for the iPhone sell for .99 to $1.99. (not 4.99 to $9.99 like EA games) as lower prices attract higher volume.

 

[Brad Grenz]

I don't know. None of the previous main series RE games have ever had any multiplayer. RE5 already ups the ante with online coop for the whole campaign. What makes anyone think the Versus DLC "should have been included in the first place"? If anything the Versus pack doesn't really fit in with the main point of RE at all. Without the potential for DLC there's no reason to think they would have made a versus mode at all. I cerainly wouldn't think of Versus as integral to the "whole RE5 experience". I'm with Adam Sessler who had a Soap Box edition a little while back encouraging developers to stop wasting effort to include bullet point competitive multiplayer modes. 95% of the time your game's online component with be deserted within weeks of release. Too often people complain about lacking multiplayer features when the truth is they wouldn't actually play it if it existed.

I mean, seriously. People already complain about the RE5 controls. Imagine how loudly they'll bitch when they're playing against other humans!RE wasn't conceived with competitive multiplayer in mind. It doesn't seem suited to that style of play. So if Capcom wants to release a bonus mode as DLC for all the people out there who actually think that's a good idea, more power to them.

Not to say there aren't DLC ripoffs out there. But this is not exactly another case of Horse Armor.

 

[Dr. Meaty]

Unless they somehow add the ability to move and shoot, It's hard for me to imagine how this could be enjoyable, or even functional, really. Am I the only one who doesn't get it?

 

[hoho]

Not as bad as WoW though... Did you know, if you're a WoW player who started on release, bought both add-ons, and are still playing today... You've dumped 800 bones on that bad boy.

So ~800$ for ~1.5k days or ~50 cents per day. Not too bad I would say. You could have bought ~16 "real" games for the same money over 4.25 years or roughly 4 games per year. Is WoW really expensive? I don't think so.

 

[Graham]

*Mod hat*

Personal opinion of value is ultimately just that - a personal opinion. While you are free to share them, sweeping statements like 'Enough with raping cough cough... I mean pay for add-ons!' lack any real reason to exist other than riling up an emotional response.
In other words, they are prime candidates for deleted posts or locked threads.

If you feel a game / content is expensive, that's fine, you can debate the value of that game / content in a logical manner.

For example, as counter points:

• As already mentioned, in comparison to past resident evil games, RE5 gives you a lot of game for your money
• The addition of versus multiplayer probably cost a significant amount of development time and money
• The versus multiplayer mode probably has been developed since the release of the game.
• Taking inflation into account, are games really that expensive in a historical context?

Perhaps, for example, versus multiplayer was not considered a desirable addition for the target market? (given many probably consider it a single player / co-op focused game). How would would users react if resources were spent on versus mode at the detriment of the single player / co-op portions of the game?

These things usually aren't cases of 'lets screw the user for as much as we can' - as much as it might be nice to think so. I'd bet this has been planned from the start, and factored in to how the project was resourced.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Well, not just about RE5. what I feel is that the DLC in general are overpriced anyway. There are no distribution , publishing costs involved for the companies, this stuff should be really cheap !!
I would buy all of those DLCs, IF they felt like I am paying for an ADD-ON, not like as if paying for another chunk of the game , which the DLCs never are!
Like the MP skins, vehicles etc. Such stuff should be dirt cheap ! but it never is....

and the extra maps and modes that are added after release for MP should be FREE ! The guy who is going to download it has already paid for ur game, why are you asking for more money now?
I dunno, the games are very expensive in our country, and paying on TOP of that for content that is made for the game itself and has no other standalone value feels like cheating to me ............

 

[hoho]

and the extra maps and modes that are added after release for MP should be FREE ! The guy who is going to download it has already paid for ur game, why are you asking for more money now?

Maybe because those maps and game modes were made after the game release? It might sound weird but making extra content actually does take time and generally people expect to get paid for stuff they make.

 

[ShadowRunner]

If devs cant sell add-on content then the incentive to create that content would be reduced and so may never be created in the first place.

In the case of resident evil its quite possible that a vs mode would have never been made, the option to buy it for people who want it is a good thing. I have mixed feelings about paid for DLC in this regard. If it is additional content that would never have seen the light of day otherwise then im all for it. If features and content that would have been in the full game are being removed so they can be charged for seperately then im not too happy about it.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

But the length and content in the games today is already decreasing due to the high quality that is expected from the the little content that comes in. I am paying 60$ (or even more in my city) to buy a game, then I expect to buy that game, not pay more for it as time goes by. Any DLC, like extra maps and skins and modes, is the same game for me, and I have paid a hefty amount for it. Charging more for it doesn't make sense to me as a consumer. It is like XbLive itself. I pay for the console , then I pay for the game too, but they ask me to pay again if I want to actually play the game.
I have the same feelings for the extra maps, skins and modes that are incorporated later.Look at MGO, its a damn fine game by my standards and I want to play it too, but I paid around 70 to 75 $ (thats the price of Konami and Capcom games here) to buy it and now I can't even have a look at the new maps and character skins being brought-in. I am not part of the excitement and fun anymore.

They say they keep the game alive by supporting it for a long time, but for me, although I bought it too, the game has ended long ago, coz I can't play it even though I bought it.
Look at Burnout Paradise, that is where you feel that you actually bought a game completely, coz I am being serviced by the developer for a long time for the huge amount I spent on it.

 

[Rangers]

I think DLC is one of those problems where the endless complaining about it is far, far, worse than the actual "problem".

Two other unique problems like this have been e-mail spam (not so much anymore) and bad airline service.

I mean i guess I'm supposed to be up in arms and outraged about DLC but I just dont care very much. It hasnt effected my handful of favorite games at all.

I would love for their to be some Gears 2 SP DLC for about 20 bucks, though, but doesnt seem forthcoming (then again I guess that'd be just another form of episodic gaming, and the endless delays of the valve half life episodes probably prove thats not the way to go)

 

[Graham]

While I understand your point of view (RenegadeRocks), but I think it's not really something that works in the real world (unfortunately).

Games are *really* expensive to make, and at the end of the day the publisher / developer aren't really getting a huge return on their investment (given the overheads involved with selling a boxed retail product).
Because of that, you cut down to what you can afford. I don't see games getting smaller because of DLC, I see it because costs are going up.

DLC as a system allows a developer to carry on making content for a game, simply because there is a business model they can work to.
It also can be used as a tool to fund continued support of the product.
This is quite an important distinction, (ie, high profit paid content to fund free content / updates) Home is a perfect example of this.

The only exception to this has really been Burnout, but I'll get to that...


At the end of the day you don't have to buy the content. It is optional. And a lot of DLC does not break the player base. Eg, as far as I'm aware you can play Fable II's expansion as a co-op henchman without actually buying it.

Without this model, we wouldn't have the likes of bethesda experimenting with The Pitt, we wouldn't have The Lost and Damned, we wouldn't have horse armor either . And even with horse armor, it all comes down to how you percieve it's value. Some see it as being worthless, as it doesn't improve your stats. Some see it as a way to personalise and 'care' for their horse - which they may be quite attached to.


And as for burnout, one gets the feeling the all-free DLC model hasn't really worked for them that well, as the majority of their recent DLC has been paid-only. And in their case, I actually do take issue to some of their pricing, as the most recent 'super boost' cars they released were $10 each.

However it's hard to complain, as it's optional, and you get a stunning amount of content for the original entry fee anyway. If someone wants to stand out by having the most powerful car in the game, and is prepared to pay for the privilege, well, good for them. Not for me though.