Batman: Arkham Origins DLC Cancelled on Wii U

[StewShearerOld]

Batman: Arkham Origins DLC Cancelled on Wii U

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has cancelled Wii U DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins "based on demand."

With the Wii U under-performing to the point that Nintendo's higher-ups have felt the need <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131774-Nintendo-CEO-Taking-Huge-Pay-Reduction-Due-to-the-Wii-U>to cut their own salaries in recompense, it's pretty clear that the console could use some good news. Unfortunately, good news doesn't yet seem to be in the console's cards. We say this because Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has recently confirmed that it's cancelling the release of planned DLC for the Wii U edition of Batman: Arkham Origins.

"Based on demand for DLC content on the system, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has made the decision to remove its offering of the upcoming all-new story campaign for Wii U," said the company. In other words, Warner Bros. doesn't think that investing in Wii U DLC would be worth the return the console's limited audience would deliver. Nintendo, in turn, is offering refunds to gamers who purchased season passes for the game.

The problem that grows out of this cancellation, of course, is that it makes the Wii U edition of the game almost inarguably inferior to the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions which, as far as we know, will be receiving the downloadable content in question. In other words, if you're looking at the different releases of the game, the only real reason to pick the Wii U version is if it's the only console you own. Just based on the Wii U's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131419-Nintendo-Makes-Major-Reductions-in-Wii-U-3DS-Sales-Projections>slashed sales projects, we feel pretty comfortable saying that's not a problem many people are likely to have.

Source: VG247


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[Branovices]

I say this reflects very poorly on WB, who were apparently willing to just run off with the money I paid for the season pass without delivering on it.

Luckily for me Nintendo gave me a full refund and even let me keep the DLC that came with my initial purchase of the pass.

So what I get out of this is: Nintendo cares about its customers, WB does not.

 

[oldtaku]

It'd be pretty silly to pick up the Wii U version even with all the DLC unless it was the only console you had, so that's probably not a huge problem since the DLC is being refunded.

 

[oldtaku]

So what I get out of this is: Nintendo cares about its customers, WB does not.

WB is a big soulless corporate behemoth. They care about two things, moo and lah, and they don't see that on the Wii U. But WB being a big soulless corporate behemoth is hardly anything new. They never cared about you. Ditto for Activision, Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, etc. Learning that probably would have been worth the cost of the DLC.

 

[Branovices]

So what I get out of this is: Nintendo cares about its customers, WB does not.

WB is a big soulless corporate behemoth. They care about two things, moo and lah, and they don't see that on the Wii U. But WB being a big soulless corporate behemoth is hardly anything new. They never cared about you. Ditto for Activision, Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, etc. Learning that probably would have been worth the cost of the DLC.

Some companies have the wisdom to at least pretend to have integrity.

 

[EiMitch]

Yet another piece of evidence that season passes suck. Nintendo refund or no, anyone who bought this should be furious at WB. The bulk of the time, effort, and resources for porting this game to the Wii U is done. Doing the same for the DLC should be a cinch. But no, despite the money having already changed hands, WB decided after-the-fact that honoring their end of the deal wasn't worth it.

If only cell phone customers had that very same freedom of choice... But no, only major corporations are allowed to breach contracts. After all, they're the ones who wrote all the convoluted fine-print clauses in that legal jargon which hardly resembles english.

 

[oldtaku]

Some companies have the wisdom to at least pretend to have integrity.

Integrity looks really bad to their shareholders. I wish that were a joke.

Also, I don't want to be too flippant here, I do understand your frustration. They certainly could have handed out some goodies to sweeten the pain a bit - oop, but that would be just like stealing from their shareholders!

 

[Yopaz]

It'd be pretty silly to pick up the Wii U version even with all the DLC unless it was the only console you had, so that's probably not a huge problem since the DLC is being refunded.

OK, I'll bite, why would it be silly to pick up the Wii U version? I have a PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 along with my Wii U and I was considering it on the Wii U despite being more familiar with the controls on PC.

OT: I ended up not picking it up at all because all the news I heard about it made it sound bad... Season pass was the final straw actually. Now look at this WB proved the scepticism so many of us on this site shares toward season passes is justified. Well done, well done...

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Some companies have the wisdom to at least pretend to have integrity.

No kidding; it's about professionalism. These guys are a huge company; there is NO reason for them to do this. It's nothing more than them spitting in the face of customers like a bunch of scumbags. Nintendo did not HAVE to refund people, but they did. Why? Because they understand how a business SHOULD act. They understand that they should act like adults and treat consumers properly. And the fact that they had to basically make up for the deficit WB Interactive has paints a VERY sad picture for the latter in general. Wake me up when 3rd parties start acting like adults again.

 

[Mahorfeus]

It's almost like the Wii U is doing badly because companies keep pulling stupid crap like this...

 

[FPLOON]

Why, thank you WB... You have just given me yet another reason why I would buy the WiiU version of Arkham Origins... because, once I would beat the WiiU version, I can honestly say that I have played everything that game had to offer without your "have you played this recent DLC" signs alarming me of "new" untouched content...

So, I thank you again, WB... May you keep showing such excellent examples of Season Pass usage to those that were willing to pay for it in the first place... and a more serious thank you to Nintendo for setting the better example overall in this situation... Once I have my money in check, or once a Smash Bros. WiiU bundle becomes available beforehand, you will have yet another WiiU owner on your radar in no time...

 

[Something Amyss]

I say this reflects very poorly on WB, who were apparently willing to just run off with the money I paid for the season pass without delivering on it.

Holy crap, that true? That's freaking dirty.

Then again, this just further demonstrates why season passes are a potentially bad investment. Especially if it's Nintendo taking the slack up.

Integrity looks really bad to their shareholders. I wish that were a joke.

Nintendo's stock prices aren't significantly worse than those of similar companies without a pretense of integrity, so I doubt that's true.

 

[RandV80]

Wouldn't be surprised if WB made this decision based on the number of season passes sold rather than actual units sold. I'd say it reflects poorly on them rather than Nintendo.

It's really kind of over saturation to have a game on four different platforms though.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I say this reflects very poorly on WB, who were apparently willing to just run off with the money I paid for the season pass without delivering on it.

Luckily for me Nintendo gave me a full refund and even let me keep the DLC that came with my initial purchase of the pass.

So what I get out of this is: Nintendo cares about its customers, WB does not.

If Nintendo cared about its customers as much as its fans think they did, localization and region locking wouldn't be an issue. Among other anti- consumer things Nintendo does.


OP: WB should have announced refunds for season passes to this version of the game along with this news. This is pretty bad news, but on the business side Arkham Origins sold poorly on the Wii U despite it actually being pretty decent. I can see why they would cancel the DLC.

This is another point lost in Nintendo's ongoing relationship with the 3rd party.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I say this reflects very poorly on WB, who were apparently willing to just run off with the money I paid for the season pass without delivering on it.

Luckily for me Nintendo gave me a full refund and even let me keep the DLC that came with my initial purchase of the pass.

So what I get out of this is: Nintendo cares about its customers, WB does not.

How were the season passes bought on WiiU? If its online via WiiU then its for Nintendo to refund it and they will be refunded via WB. WB has no access to your accounts so moaning at WB is redundant. Though overall all big companies are souless, even Nintendo. I dont expect anything from companies other than the product, which is why i never by season passess, its just not a smart thing to do unless you know the game was really successful.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

And then they complain that no one buys 3rd party games on the WiiU.
Just a question, why would anyone buy a bad port with no additional stuff when he can get the same on another platform + extra content?

But hey, it's the fault of the WiiU and the fans. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the developer gives less but require the same money on the WiiU.

 

[Guffe]

I liked arkham city on my wiiu.
I will be getting origins on it as well.
It is the only console i own, does not really bother me that much

 

[gizmo2300]

If Nintendo cared about its customers as much as its fans think they did, localization and region locking wouldn't be an issue. Among other anti- consumer things Nintendo does.

I'd just like to point out that region-locking is a problem with the international trade unions, not Nintendo. Region 1-4 were put in place to protect local businesses, it's a stupid system in this day and age but none of the companies involved cares enough to lobby for a change. It's also part of why prices for these kinds of products are so high.