Fallout 3 Director: Microsoft Bungled ODST Marketing
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
This game has had a confusing message from the start. After Bungie broke up with MSFT they did a teaser campaign for the game building up to a showing at the MSFT press conference at 2008 E3. The game was never shown there, instead we had Fallout 3. Hmm.
His statement about the game's length vs. it's play time would have more weight if the game were an original IP, filled with new ideas, new enemies and new gameplay. I've played 10-hour shooters that were nevertheless exciting and fun and "felt" worth the price because they offerred something new. ODST does not. It's an expansion pack, pure and simple. And when I pay $60 for an expansion pack, I expect a little more "expansion" than what Bungie delivered with ODST.
Was the marketing bugled? Perhaps, although, as a consumer, I don't give a shit what the marketing execs do or don't do. I can understand why that perspective is of significance to Cheng, being that he himself lives or dies (or so he believes) on how well he's supported by his ad peeps. But as a consumer, I don't pay as much attention to what comes out of the advertisement shop as I do what comes out of the development shop. And ODST, from that perspective, is sub-par and not worth the price.
Was the marketing bugled? Perhaps, although, as a consumer, I don't give a shit what the marketing execs do or don't do. I can understand why that perspective is of significance to Cheng, being that he himself lives or dies (or so he believes) on how well he's supported by his ad peeps. But as a consumer, I don't pay as much attention to what comes out of the advertisement shop as I do what comes out of the development shop. And ODST, from that perspective, is sub-par and not worth the price.
I didn't think Cheng's point was so opaque.Russ Pitts said:
It's the expectation game. People were hearing "expansion pack" about this title, and so expected an expansion pack with all that entails; short, cheap, probably downloadable. So when the game went beyond expansion pack size and started to straddle the divide between additional content and full title, and the decision was made to expand it into a new title with the addition of the multiplayer map packs, folks saw the price and balked at paying full-title price when they were expecting an expansion pack.
I'm also going to complain about phrasing in reviews... too often reviews make statements that something is "not worth the price", when that is a very personal statement. For me ODST will almost certainly be worth the price I paid for the Special Edition; I'm a map-exploring type, a fan of audio dramas, an easter-egg hunter, deeply immersed in the Halo universe, and with a large cohort of fellow players very much interested in Firefight. So I'm going to see a lot of play time on ODST. That, and that I was looking at getting a new controller for my console anyway, means that I'm getting a lot of value out of the game.
I'm not a typical player, admittedly, but "not worth the price" is an extremely relative phrase and shouldn't be bandied about in absolute terms. (After all, some people are willing to spend money on Magic cards whereas I'd willingly pay to escape having to play...)
-- Steve
No one's forcing you to buy it... so you can save yourself the cost of this "rip off" and put that money towards your velvet Elvis collection or whatever you personally value more.bue519 said:
The value of a thing is the price that thing will bring, and some will pay handsomely for what others would pay to avoid.
-- Steve
Then again, the amazing live-action trailer made up for that. It made me want a Halo movie pretty badly, even if one does not like the game the Halo universe is fertile ground for a really good film.ChromeAlchemist said:
Anyway, I can see where this comes from. Even though they wanted to go beyond an expansion pack, content wise, they still kept the tie with Halo 3. That didn't help clear the expansion pack image ODST has.
See, while the price doesn't really bother me either way (I was never gonna get this until I finished the Halo 3 Campaign. I was never going to finish the Halo 3 campaign until they release a patch that removes all evidence of the Flood and concentrates on the good factions.), I think we've all missed a point which this represents;
Isn't it refreshing to see a games company make a statement that isn't bashing another company/console/game and/or bigging up your own? Maybe the waves of Bhuddist goodness are already taking over the entire industry...
Isn't it refreshing to see a games company make a statement that isn't bashing another company/console/game and/or bigging up your own? Maybe the waves of Bhuddist goodness are already taking over the entire industry...
Meh I wanted it at first but as time wore one and hype died I undid my order. I'll add it to my gamefly Q and move on.
I agree it was silly on Microsofts/Byundies part, but it's not there fault they changed the plan for the btter.
All I can say is I'm enjoying it so much, more then Halo 3 even (with it's more focus story and flesh our characters) and I think it's worth the pricepoint, I have yet to try out FF ( can't wait to roll out my Johnson) and the new Halo 3 maps, the Multiplayer disk will be handy since my original Halo one is a bit glitchy so this means I can play the maps when my friend comes round instead of having to restart the disc 3 times to get all the maps!
All I can say is I'm enjoying it so much, more then Halo 3 even (with it's more focus story and flesh our characters) and I think it's worth the pricepoint, I have yet to try out FF ( can't wait to roll out my Johnson) and the new Halo 3 maps, the Multiplayer disk will be handy since my original Halo one is a bit glitchy so this means I can play the maps when my friend comes round instead of having to restart the disc 3 times to get all the maps!
Just saying that it was going to be an expansion pack ruined them. Now we have whiny little dipshits saying "Why do I have to pay $60?".
The campaign is about 6 hours long, which is short, but it's longer than any expansion pack I've ever played. Looking at Fallout's expansion, Operation Anchorage (the first one I bought), it only took me an hour to play but cost me 800 mspoints. I'm not sure but isn't that around $10?
Mathmatically, if you think about it. If a 1 hour expansion cost me $10, then a 6 hour game should cost me $60. (lol weird mathmatics)
Even if it were an expansion, it would cost A LOT.
Just looking at the game thus far, I can see a graphical improvement from Halo 3, which in itself is good start to a new game.
I think as long as Bungie gave ODST it's own legs to stand on, then why not push it out to fight with the other titles that have come out recently?
The campaign is about 6 hours long, which is short, but it's longer than any expansion pack I've ever played. Looking at Fallout's expansion, Operation Anchorage (the first one I bought), it only took me an hour to play but cost me 800 mspoints. I'm not sure but isn't that around $10?
Mathmatically, if you think about it. If a 1 hour expansion cost me $10, then a 6 hour game should cost me $60. (lol weird mathmatics)
Even if it were an expansion, it would cost A LOT.
Just looking at the game thus far, I can see a graphical improvement from Halo 3, which in itself is good start to a new game.
I think as long as Bungie gave ODST it's own legs to stand on, then why not push it out to fight with the other titles that have come out recently?
I think he misses the minor point that it's £40-50 for a five hour shooter and some stuff you already own (lets face it, hardly any people buying this won't have Halo 3).
If I dropped £40 on a game to find that half of it was the multiplayer section I already paid for I'd be a little upset.
Microsoft/Bungie did get the marketing all wrong though, calling it Halo3:whatever instantly marks it as not a full game, it's part of Halo3 rather than it's own title. They shouldn't have promised it at a lower price initially and they shouldn't have said it was finished in May.
It makes them come across as incredibly cynical to have raised the price and sat on it for so long when it was 'finished'. It also makes them look especially bad if any embaressing bugs come to light in the next few days. No to mention they changed the name after announcing it, that, the price and the size are really things they should decide on before telling anyone else.
Obviouslly it's Halo so they could charge £100 and people would still buy it, but ODST's kind of been a how to not market something 101. From the outside it looks as though someone else than Bungie (can't imagine who) made the marketing/pricing decisions, then told Bungie what they'd decided when it was too late for Bungie to do anything about it.
If I dropped £40 on a game to find that half of it was the multiplayer section I already paid for I'd be a little upset.
Microsoft/Bungie did get the marketing all wrong though, calling it Halo3:whatever instantly marks it as not a full game, it's part of Halo3 rather than it's own title. They shouldn't have promised it at a lower price initially and they shouldn't have said it was finished in May.
It makes them come across as incredibly cynical to have raised the price and sat on it for so long when it was 'finished'. It also makes them look especially bad if any embaressing bugs come to light in the next few days. No to mention they changed the name after announcing it, that, the price and the size are really things they should decide on before telling anyone else.
Obviouslly it's Halo so they could charge £100 and people would still buy it, but ODST's kind of been a how to not market something 101. From the outside it looks as though someone else than Bungie (can't imagine who) made the marketing/pricing decisions, then told Bungie what they'd decided when it was too late for Bungie to do anything about it.
Except you don't, because you're buying a full game for the price of a full game. Getting the maps is a bonus for those people who don't already have them, and everyone gets at least three new maps. This was done more to make all of multiplayer accessible, to shut down the playlist segregation caused by needing to have the DLC for ranked playlists and most social playlists as well.bue519 said:
I do completely agree that the "expansion" stigma has stayed with ODST, which is a shame because having now played it though twice I can say with confidence that it's a great, well thought out campaign. I think the main reason people bash ODST for being an "expansion" is because there are people who will bash Halo regardless - this is just ammunition for people who derive joy from putting other people down for their preferences.
Well he is black...hansari said:
I shudder at the thought of how many sales they would have gotten without him.