Poll: Personal Issue with Batman: Arkham City

[Dave29]

It's a stupid reason not to buy it.

As a piracy-practicing video-gamer from South America that HAS BEEN PLAYING Arkham City for the past 5 days, I see Catwoman and the skins as nice little extras that I'll never get, but the gamers who do it right will be getting.

It's a nice little incentive for buying the game new, and having faith in it by pre-ordering.

And guess what? The game is fucking amazing, that's the only thing you should consider when buying a game.

Is it a robust experience that will last me for weeks? Yes.
If I lived in the US and payed 60$ for it, would I feel that I got my money's worth? Yes.

 

[radioactive lemur]

Your comments are fair and reasonable. However, I am not a man of strong moral conviction. Given how awesome the trailers look, I would literally pay full price for this game even if every single second of playable content was DLC that costs extra.

 

[somonels]

But you will still play it, right? In the end, that's what matters.

 

[Fuselage]

Don't give money to the company and they shouldn't give you the Catwoman DLC, the side content.
Simple as that, they need money to make another Batman so if you buy it pre-owned they won't get the money.

 

[Toriver]

I think the pre-order skin thing they're doing is perfectly acceptable (full disclosure: I did pre-order it). It's a small, non-essential item that doesn't affect gameplay, it doesn't cost extra money, and it offers a neat bonus gift to people who buy new. It's like the little giveaways they do at the theater or sports events to the first so-many at the gate. Sometimes those have a variety too, and you don't really hear people complaining that they didn't get ALL the bobblehead dolls or whatever for going to one game.

But the Catwoman thing does kinda rub me the wrong way. A good portion of the marketing has gone to advertising Catwoman as a playable character, and to announce so close to launch that only people who buy new can play as her without an extra fee seems like kind of a dick move. It's like a sports team saying, "OK, we've played to the end of regulation, if you reserved your ticket, you're fine to stay, but if you paid at the gate, you gotta go back and pay an extra $5 to see overtime or you gotta leave." Sure, you don't have to play as Catwoman to win, but for those of us who were looking forward to playing as her but can't afford to buy new it's kind of a kick to the balls.

 

[Shadowstar38]

I can stand not getting some skins that I wont use. I can accept codes for multiplyer Ill never play anyway. Ill even except that I cant play as Robin because Best Buy is polishing the staff of Warner Bros. But what really gets me mad is that I have to hook my console to the internet and type in a fucking code to play as Catwoman. She was the first gameplay they showed at E3! I expected it to come in the bloody box ready to go.

Nevertheless, I will give Rocksteady my money because they make quality games and I want them to stay in business, but this online code BS has to stop.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

Just wait for the discounted "Game of the Year" edition next year. It'll probably have EVERYTHING in it anyways.

 

[Arawn]

I'm buying the game regardless. I can care less about skins. If I can't play Catwoman, I'll live.

 

[mrdude2010]

Tell me, OP. Did you complain when Soul Calibur II (I believe it was II) had three different exclusive characters depending on which console you bought it for?

It's not quite the same thing. I didn't like it, but I didn't see it as such a big deal as release day DLC that's actually on the disc already or denying parts of the game because you buy used. With Soul Caliber II (I think) it wasn't that they were deliberately trying to force you to buy both versions, since it's pretty unrealistic to expect someone to have both consoles, and even more unrealistic to buy the game twice, so I wasn't really that upset. I think op's reaction is a little over the top, but I don't like it when game companies favor people who pre-order a game or who pay extra money for content that could potentially affect in game action. Obviously skins aren't a big deal, but things like weapons and starting cash bonuses are.

 

[Nieroshai]

Buy from Gamestop. You'll get Catwoman no matter what. And honestly, why does the potential lack of skins have your panties in a bunch? They're nonessential fluff DLC that affects nothing.

 

[The Dutchess]

I cannot wait to play as Catwoman and I never buy games used so I don't really care. Arkham City is going for like £25 to preorder for PC in most places. That's pretty damn cheap in my eyes and I really want to play this game. Also I don't really care about the skins. So you can fly around as Robin instead of Batman? Don't think I'm missing out much there.

 

[TiefBlau]

In other words: "I'm not getting Arkham City because I am unbelievably petty and any semblance of an incomplete experience drives me to fling shit at the wall and throw a tantrum because that really tells game publishers how to act."

 

[Syzygy23]

Hey they gotta make money somehow...

By which I mean "Isn't it enough selling the game itself?"

If only it were...

IT IS. The original Halo was sold as one complete product without resorting to these money grubbing tactics. hell, even the recent Halo games were sold without punishing those who buy games used. Publishers are just greedy assholes these days, and we the consumers must punish them by resisting the urge to spend money on a product that supports that bad behavior.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Yeah man, those skins. So important.

But seriously, it's a bit of a dick move, but not affecting the game enough to be an issue.

 

[Zorg Machine]

I really don't care. I am going to buy it new anyway and the costumes are basically TF2 hats so I don't give a damn.

 

[Captain Pirate]

So if 500 people buy the game new and 500,000 more people just borrow/buy the game from those first 500 people, all Rocksteady deserves from the game are those first 500 sales? (Obviously they'll sell more than that, but you see my point)

These are my thoughts exactly; I think it's totally fair to have things available as new-only stuff.
There is a simple way to counteract this, however: Buy it new...
I'm sure the game will be worth it's money, and it'll be directly giving Rocksteady the profits they deserve, so where is the problem? Totally understandable for them to say "Wait, let's do something to encourage people to buy new, I dunno about you guys but I want the money I earned from this."

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I'm not getting it for my own reasons, but yours are fair as well.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Wasn't aware that people played games for skins and unlockable characters. I enjoy games for gameplay maybe I'm old fashion like that, not getting excited about bonus stuff. Maybe I'm just jaded by all those similar promotions that have been going on for damn well near a decade that people never complained about. Maybe I just not an Angry Young Man fighting against the system. Maybe I just want to act contrarian on the internet.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Honestly I think you aren't looking the bigger picture, and focussing on the smaller stuff.

Me? I don't care about the extra costumes, playing Catwoman is an intriguing idea etc, but before I get wildly off-topic I get why this company with (now 3) games under it's belt is doing it this way.

Your complaint about the whole 'skins' thing is premature. It won't take long before the get bundled together so it shouldn't matter. It doesn't change how you play the game. The Catwoman thing while I can understand your point, still think you are throwing your toys around.

Catwoman is a 'Non-Essential' character. It is just a little bit of backstory. That is it. The whole used thing means you have to spend maybe $10 to get it, makes sense as you will still get it cheaper than the people who pre-ordered it.

So take a couple of deep breaths and research it please.

 

[Jandau]

Cosmetic preorder bonuses are nothing new and I see no need to react so strongly to it.

As for the Catwoman being new-game only, that's the industry standard by this point to discourage used games.