BioWare also thinks that moving an MMO from monthly subscription fees to a Free to Play model is a proper and successful way to make money.
BioWare Defends DLC Business Strategy
- Thread starter Marshall Honorof
- Start date
"sigh" I miss expansion packs. Remember those guys, those really awesome extra content DLCs that you could buy in store, and gave you hours of content and bonus items to play around with? They've disappeared over the years, and sure, we're paying a third of the price for DLC, but for the most part we're only getting one tenth of the content.
As much as I despise DLC I find it hard to ***** about extra content, especially when it's ultimately you who decides whether it's worth the money.
I can see how they're beneficial for developers, providing steady revenue stream with low development time and production costs, but to me single player DLC always seemed like flogging a dead horse; a desperate move to squeeze out more life and money from a definitive story. But hell, that's modern gaming for ya
But, again It comes to personal preference. I don't buy them, I probably never will, but if you think they're worth it, go nuts.
I can see how they're beneficial for developers, providing steady revenue stream with low development time and production costs, but to me single player DLC always seemed like flogging a dead horse; a desperate move to squeeze out more life and money from a definitive story. But hell, that's modern gaming for ya
But, again It comes to personal preference. I don't buy them, I probably never will, but if you think they're worth it, go nuts.
Bioware.....I want to like you. I really do.
Like a abused spouse I came back to you after DA2 to play ME3. But you pushed me of the stairs again, and now I start thinking you are secretly fucking EA and.....
huh, this metaphor got away from me somewhere.
OT: DLC: yay
Day 1 DLC: eh?
expensive Day 1 DLC: Boo
Just watch the Javik scenes on youtube and you miss nothing. If the DLC is the same quality as Lair of the Shadow Broker I'll gladly pay for it.....But I highly doubt that'll happen.
Like a abused spouse I came back to you after DA2 to play ME3. But you pushed me of the stairs again, and now I start thinking you are secretly fucking EA and.....
huh, this metaphor got away from me somewhere.
OT: DLC: yay
Day 1 DLC: eh?
expensive Day 1 DLC: Boo
Just watch the Javik scenes on youtube and you miss nothing. If the DLC is the same quality as Lair of the Shadow Broker I'll gladly pay for it.....But I highly doubt that'll happen.
Quoted for truth,SajuukKhar said:
I was going to make the exact same point. Fallout/Skyrim DLC are more like expansion packs, yet fall under the generic term of DLC now.
Its good value for money and im happy to pay for it.
Bioware/EA's day one DLC is not. They knew people were invested and they could squeeze that bit more out of us on day one, not nice, and it struck a horrible chord with the loyal consumer base.
Problem now though is the ME3 trilogy is over, and i along with other people are now not as invested in the next IP they create, this is where customer loyalty comes in, and if i see 'day one DLC' stuff out for the next IP ... well sorry guys... not interested.
I only buy DLC if it goes on sale on Steam, because I've never felt it's worth the full price.
And Bioware now seriously disgusts me.
When the hell did this happen!? I used to love this developer all these years ago, with Baldurs gate 1 & 2 and other excellent titles. I even liked the more modern stuff like Dragon Age as well, but around the time of Dragon Age 2 things just started taking a nosedive. These days it's like they've made it their mission to piss off as many gamers as they can, and I just can't understand their reasoning as to why this is a good idea.
And Bioware now seriously disgusts me.
When the hell did this happen!? I used to love this developer all these years ago, with Baldurs gate 1 & 2 and other excellent titles. I even liked the more modern stuff like Dragon Age as well, but around the time of Dragon Age 2 things just started taking a nosedive. These days it's like they've made it their mission to piss off as many gamers as they can, and I just can't understand their reasoning as to why this is a good idea.
More like EA is the abusive pimp, and Bioware is being reduced to a 2 dollar DLC whoreAvalanche91 said:
But at the end of the day you're sick of something that you can quite easily avoid, but instead of avoiding said thing, you're trying to change people, a fools errand if you ask me.Twilight_guy said:
Captcha: are you a human? - Straight to the point, I like it!
I do wonder how many of those hating so much on DLC have bought it and will continue to do so the next time something shiny comes out.
I'm cool with DLC. If I think it's worth my money I'll buy it. If I don't then I won't. Nobody is forcing me to buy anything.
The vast majority of DLC I don't buy. Some I do. It's just an extra option to have and if the developer decides to skim content of the main game to provide that option then all he's doing is decreasing the chances of me buying that main game. No harm to me.
I'm cool with DLC. If I think it's worth my money I'll buy it. If I don't then I won't. Nobody is forcing me to buy anything.
The vast majority of DLC I don't buy. Some I do. It's just an extra option to have and if the developer decides to skim content of the main game to provide that option then all he's doing is decreasing the chances of me buying that main game. No harm to me.
Yeah yeah yeah, DLC bad, boo boo and...you know what? I really couldn't care less. I'm really sick of being expected to get angry over every little less that spectacular thing that goes in the video game industry. Really I see everyone raging over this and that and I just think to myself "how come I'm reading about people whining about everything that is wrong with the video game industry when I could be PLAYING a video game" Also I bought the DLC for Halo 3 and Halo Reach and I don't feel like I wasted my money. Fucking sue me.
While I agree with the sentiment. The fact is, if people are willing to fork out a few more dollars for a new gun that is .05% more powerful than the best gun in the game, and has a shiny appearance, then they will keep selling it.tmande2nd said:
EA/Bioware see these sales and think "Hey, lot's of people must like this". The only way to stop them is to not buy it, then it ceases to be profitable to them.
Sadly what they fail to realise is that while there are a lot of people willing to buy them, they are also driving a way a lot of fans such as ourselves who feel like we are not respected as customers.
This is why Valve are still so loved by many despite their slow development times, and general lack of new I.P's, because while they obviously want to make money from their games, they see their customers as more than walking wallets.
EA happened, that's what. EA routinely notices that their business practices are driving what loyal fans they have away, so what do they do? Improve themselves maybe? Try to win back their fans with good games sold at a fair price that doesn't screw people over and drop the Day 1 DLC and On Disc DLC? Nope! tThey just buy up some very popular and successful developer, force them to conform to the business practices they already know don't work, and just sit back while the games that developer makes get them a ton of money, then that developer gets run into the ground thanks to those terrible business practices, and then EA just moves on to the next developer they want to ruin for a quick buck.lancar said:
EA are easily the most moneygrubbing, cheap, explotative...(continue negative words for a few paragraphs)... bastards in not only the GAMING industry, but any industry on Earth. Not only that, but they flaunt their ineptitude. No other company in any other industry on the face of the planet would be able to screw over their customers in every possible way they can think of like EA does and survive even a week.
The problem with the "just vote with your wallet" argument that everybody seems to love throwing around in threads like this is that there will always be millions of blind fanboy and casual lemmings that are willing to just snap up anything EA and it's acquired companies dish out, and for ever one of those lemmings that wises up and jump ship later, there will always be 10, 100, hell, maybe a 1000 more. The people smart enough voting with their wallets and being driven away are just a tiny blip on EA's radar, practically insignificant statistically. In other words, the wallet voters are ultimately meaningless, they might as well buy into whatever crap EA and companies like it do for all the difference it would ever make.Legion said:
What EA fails to realize most is that they could perfectly keep both the lemmings AND the wallet voters as well by not being so dickish to their customers, insuring a nice, stable fanbase that would keep the company afloat for however long EA exists.
I really miss the days when a game being released meant it was finished. I seem to be almost alone in this but personally, quite aside from the money side of things, I don't want games to be these never-ending "services" that you can keep indefinitely spending more money on to expand the content a little bit. It feels vulgar, unwholesome, cynical and bullshitty. I want games to be finished, complete pieces of work. It's especially bad when the bulk of the DLC is planned long before the game is finished. So they make a whole game, release 80% of it at full price, then release the other 20% over the next couple of years at a few quid a per cent. It's a sickly, sleazy, money-grubbing tactic and it's wrong WHETHER OR NOT gamers are happy to buy into it (and if you are then you're a fucking idiot, frankly).
I think you're right, but I'm pretty sure EA have no interest in a stable fanbase. What they want is as many people willing to spend money on their stuff as possible, in other words the lowest common denominator. And that demographic is constantly changing but not diminishing; as you say, when one person wises up and leaves it another reaches the age of disposable income and takes their place.immortalfrieza said:
To my mind, the question is not how to stop EA and other such companies from pulling this shit, because they will keep doing it as long as there's a plentiful supply of morons (read: forever), but rather where to look for a good alternative. Ie. companies who want to make good, inventive games that give a satisfying experience rather than games that can be milked for as long as possible with online features and microtransactions.
Despite the concerns with it, I still think Kickstarter is our best bet.
No argument there, I was only making the point that, as much as EA deserve the flak for how they treat their customers, those customers have their fair share of the blame too.immortalfrieza said:
The sad thing is, given the choice between $5 million profit and an almost entirely happy fanbase, or $10 million profit while pissing a lot of fans off, EA'd rather have the latter. Unlike other games companies who want happy customers and lot's of money, EA's policy is all about the money.
Wait, people actually pay money for the multiplayer equipment packs?
Wow, makes me feel foolish for playing the game to earn credits to buy them...
Wow, makes me feel foolish for playing the game to earn credits to buy them...