The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition is Incompatible With Console Save Files from the Original Game

[ffronw]

The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition is Incompatible With Console Save Files from the Original Game

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1343/1343318.jpgYour old Witcher 3 console save games won't work with the upcoming Game of the Year Edition.

If you've been waiting for The Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition rather than buying all the DLC, you should know that your old console saves won't work with the new edition. The news came to light when CD Projket Red's community Lead Marcin Momot posted it on the game's official forums [http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/119161-Release-date-announced-for-The-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt-GOTY-Edition?p=2817641&viewfull=1#post2817641], saying,

"The save files on consoles won't be compatible between different game versions (GOTY vs regular version) as they are treated by systems as separate products. This is something that's not up to us. Sorry."

Luckily, Momot went on in a later post to confirm that those of us playing The Witcher 3 on PC will be able to use our old saves. He also points out [http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/119161-Release-date-announced-for-The-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt-GOTY-Edition?p=2832321&viewfull=1#post2832321] that since the GOTY edition doesn't include any new content, anyone who owns the base game already should "consider buying the Season Pass, as it will be the more economical option. Content-wise, you will have the same stuff as the person who will have purchased the GOTY edition. Of course, if you really want to support us, we will not mind if you get another copy of The Witcher 3 in the form of the GOTY Edition. Thank you in advance for your generosity."

In short, if you have the game already, you're better off buying the Season Pass than the GOTY Edition. But if you want to have an on-disc version of The Witcher 3 that includes all the content and patches released to this point, or you just want to support the developer, the GOTY Edition is for you.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition is releasing [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/168143-Promised-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt-Complete-Edition-Gets-a-Release-Date-Includes-Every-Bit-of-DLC] on August 30 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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[FoolKiller]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

 

[Worgen]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

If it was any other dev I would assume laziness but this is CD Projekt, they tend to try and do well by their customers. If they say they can't then I am inclined to believe they tried all they reasonably could.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

If it was any other dev I would assume laziness but this is CD Projekt, they tend to try and do well by their customers. If they say they can't then I am inclined to believe they tried all they reasonably could.

Agreed, I feel they have earned the trust from me in that regard too.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

I'm pretty sure a new release, GOTY or not GOTY, has its own SLUS/SLES/SCUS code and, as such, doesn't leave CD Projekt the option to mimic the code of the original release. As save game data is stored using these unique identifiers, accessing the old release's save game data would most certainly run against the general security lock down of a PS4 system (and, I imagine, the XB1). That said, I'm not entirely sure how or why successors in a series are allowed to do this (I hope they still are) and a re-release of a title is not.

 

[sXeth]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

I'm pretty sure a new release, GOTY or not GOTY, has its own SLUS/SLES/SCUS code and, as such, doesn't leave CD Projekt the option to mimic the code of the original release. As save game data is stored using these unique identifiers, accessing the old release's save game data would most certainly run against the general security lock down of a PS4 system (and, I imagine, the XB1). That said, I'm not entirely sure how or why successors in a series are allowed to do this (I hope they still are) and a re-release of a title is not.

It seems like the GOTY edition could just be a bundle pack instead of a separate title though. Or in the disc versions case, contain the code for the DLC packs (although that would impede people buying the GOTY Disk to avoid having to download DLC files).

I"m not sure successors of a series can access save data, I thought they generally accessed trophy data (publically available, you can find third party sites with stats and stuff) to pick up most of their "Congratulations, you played our last game" data, or required you to upload your choices to the database (Telltale, as seen when they show you the stats for who picked what choice)

 

[Geisterkarle]

PC GAMING MASTER RACE PREVAILS!

It's crazy that I have to think of other, non-CDP developers that would happily ship their GOTY-edition without such a warning and jsut saying "oh, yeah, doesn't work... sorry" after people bought it!

 

[RaikuFA]

Really sucks cause my copy was stolen and I figured I'd wait till a GOTY edition came out.

 

[FoolKiller]

For the first time I call bullshit on this.

It's been a problem in several games on console (Saint's Row: The Third comes to mind) but it only mattered on on PS3. You see, the GOTYE on Xbox 360 had the same base game and a second disc to install the DLC just as if it would have been downloaded.

They could simply partition the game to run as the same and have the second partition as the DLC installer. Or have two discs.

I'm pretty sure a new release, GOTY or not GOTY, has its own SLUS/SLES/SCUS code and, as such, doesn't leave CD Projekt the option to mimic the code of the original release. As save game data is stored using these unique identifiers, accessing the old release's save game data would most certainly run against the general security lock down of a PS4 system (and, I imagine, the XB1). That said, I'm not entirely sure how or why successors in a series are allowed to do this (I hope they still are) and a re-release of a title is not.

It seems like the GOTY edition could just be a bundle pack instead of a separate title though. Or in the disc versions case, contain the code for the DLC packs (although that would impede people buying the GOTY Disk to avoid having to download DLC files).

I"m not sure successors of a series can access save data, I thought they generally accessed trophy data (publically available, you can find third party sites with stats and stuff) to pick up most of their "Congratulations, you played our last game" data, or required you to upload your choices to the database (Telltale, as seen when they show you the stats for who picked what choice)

To tack onto this.

GOTY editions on 360 often had two discs: the game disc and the DLC disc. I must disagree about the unique code for two reasons.

1. Because the option to do it with two discs (albeit more expensive) exists and could be done. The reason it is no longer done is that people didn't need to buy the DLC. I could buy the more expensive GOTYE and lend the second disc to my friends so they just install it and use it. The irony is that the DLC disc for Fallout 3, for example, lets you download the backwards compatible version of Fallout 3 on Xbox One. And those games had different SLUS/SLES/SCUS codes.

2. On Xbox One there have already been GOTYE that have the same disc, different unique codes, and just have a slip of paper with the code for the season's pass content.

So it is doable, but for some reason (probably the loophole I described in the first one) they won't do it.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

since the GOTY edition doesn't include any new content, anyone who owns the base game already should "consider buying the Season Pass, as it will be the more economical option. Content-wise, you will have the same stuff as the person who will have purchased the GOTY edition.

A game developer is telling us how we can save money on their product!? Gah! Just... just gah! What world are we living in!?

Runs down the street waving his pants in the air

OT; I almost wished I had waited for the GOTY edition. Not that I regret buying the base game and the season pass, I don't. A physical release with all the content would have made actually acquiring the game that much more easy.

 

[Strazdas]

Well thats really odd, apperently console makers now think they can also control what files you access on your consoles. way to be shitheads MS/Sony.

 

[bluegate]

Well thats really odd, apperently console makers now think they can also control what files you access on your consoles. way to be shitheads MS/Sony.

It's not an uncommon practise for applications to be sandboxed, look at smartphones for example, apps there are perfectly sandboxed in what kind of data they can access.

 

[Strazdas]

Well thats really odd, apperently console makers now think they can also control what files you access on your consoles. way to be shitheads MS/Sony.

It's not an uncommon practise for applications to be sandboxed, look at smartphones for example, apps there are perfectly sandboxed in what kind of data they can access.

and yet the user of the phone has a choice on whether or not to give permissions to apps on the phone (though sadly its an all or nothing situation, which sucks. I want the program to be able to write save files but NOT access internet, damnit). In this case its MS/Sony that retains the power to tell users what they can and cannot let programs access.

 

[bluegate]

Well thats really odd, apperently console makers now think they can also control what files you access on your consoles. way to be shitheads MS/Sony.

It's not an uncommon practise for applications to be sandboxed, look at smartphones for example, apps there are perfectly sandboxed in what kind of data they can access.

and yet the user of the phone has a choice on whether or not to give permissions to apps on the phone (though sadly its an all or nothing situation, which sucks. I want the program to be able to write save files but NOT access internet, damnit). In this case its MS/Sony that retains the power to tell users what they can and cannot let programs access.

The user can't restrict applications from writing to their own internal storage on phones and has no say in how that data is accessible across applications.

 

[Strazdas]

Well thats really odd, apperently console makers now think they can also control what files you access on your consoles. way to be shitheads MS/Sony.

It's not an uncommon practise for applications to be sandboxed, look at smartphones for example, apps there are perfectly sandboxed in what kind of data they can access.

and yet the user of the phone has a choice on whether or not to give permissions to apps on the phone (though sadly its an all or nothing situation, which sucks. I want the program to be able to write save files but NOT access internet, damnit). In this case its MS/Sony that retains the power to tell users what they can and cannot let programs access.

The user can't restrict applications from writing to their own internal storage on phones and has no say in how that data is accessible across applications.

Sure they can. Every program must declare its required access upon instalation and user has to manually agree during the instalation. Sadly we cant pick and choose what access we give, but there is a choice there.

 

[bluegate]

The user can't restrict applications from writing to their own internal storage on phones and has no say in how that data is accessible across applications.

Sure they can. Every program must declare its required access upon instalation and user has to manually agree during the instalation. Sadly we cant pick and choose what access we give, but there is a choice there.

That is for External storage, not internal storage.

For example, see here the list of permissions for android applications;
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission.html

The only permissions that one must ask for are regarding writing to external storage ( hardware SD Card or Emulated SD Card ), not for an applications private data store.

Then again, I could be wrong, in which case I would like to ask for a citation of sorts, because we'd just be going back and forth with yes! and no!