How'd You Like Your Game Ending to Be DLC?

[Pikarya]

http://imgshack.info/images/sq7kjz4el3mqkig4hwnt.jpg

“I’ve talked to some developers who are saying ‘If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free’. We don’t make any money when someone rents it, and we don’t make any money when someone buys it used - way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it.”

Source: How'd You Like Your Game Ending to Be DLC?

We all remember Bad Company, right?

[Exoduso]

That's just stupid.

[Elcura]

Indeed it's stupid, but I understand where they are coming from.

[Correction]

No better way to ensure people won't buy your game by locking essential playtime away behind a registration code and an hourlong download. I get value when I download MMO updates since the price doesn't change and my 15 dollar subscription guarantees the value for my dollar. Paying 60 bucks and then having to download something after, what, 10 hours of play just tells me they've stopped caring about their paying customer. The pirate doesn't give a shit.

[Zosi]

Very stupid, but it sounds more aimed at rentals and such than as being "DLC" in the sense that we usually talk about, since you'd get the full experience if you bought it retail whether online or at Walmart.

Edit: I phrased that badly. I really do think it's stupid, I just don't like them associating this with DLC, since DLC isn't *always* about fucking people over, only some of the time.

[bebeci]

Pro tip - Make your fucking game entertaining and long enough, so that renting is not an option.

[Maxxthepenguin]

Sure, gaming industry, but only if you drop the price of the games you do this for. I mean the current model seems to be getting good profits a lot of the time. If you cut the price in half and effectively destroy the used and rental gaming market, you should be able to expect more than double sales.

Of course, we just know that you wouldn't drop the price significantly. So go fuck yourself.

[gandorf]

Pro tip - Make your fucking game entertaining and long enough, so that renting is not an option.

I wish I rented GoW2 instead of buying it. Games like that if you don't get addicted to multiplayer then it has limited replay and is pretty much just a rental.

I don't like this dlc crap. Its okay if your buying something like a new map pack or something decent but shit like extra difficulty weapons or characters is just plain retarded.

[Kyo]

Yeah its like an article I posted a while back, companies are trying to fight the used and rental market, but like bebeci said if half the games were acutaly worth what you pay for then people wouldnt just rent them or buy them used. Theires a fine line between making money and making down right stupid decisions, I can understand why they would do this, but obviously it would hurt them mor ein the long run.

Max had a good point if you made the games cheaper it wouldnt be an issue, they wont so its going to hurt them more in the long run.

[TheDirtyHobo]

I wish I rented GoW2 instead of buying it. Games like that if you don't get addicted to multiplayer then it has limited replay and is pretty much just a rental.

A very strong online mode is almost necessary for any game whose campaign is less than 20 hours long, in order for me to buy it. As much as I fucking loved Bioshock, I didn't buy it because it has no online, no multiplayer, and only about 10 hour long story mode. I beat it on the third day of a rental, and I fiddled around with it for the two remaining days enough that I'm completely satisfied with not being able to play it any more.

Likewise, as excited as I am for Mirror's Edge, I have a feeling it will only be a rental just because of the same lack of an online component to extent the life of the game. It looks like an awesome game, and I really hope it can stand up to the expectations I have for it, but paying 65 bucks for a main storyline that's probably only 8 hours long is not worth the money. Time Trial leaderboards hardly count.

It's kind of sad seeing such quality games being made but shunned because of a lack of replayability, but it's like buying a kitten from a pet store that already has a malignant tumor. As cute and compelling as it may be, the experience doesn't have the longevity to be a wise purchase. Just play with it a while before you leave the store, but don't buy it.

[Elcura]

No better way to ensure people won't buy your game by locking essential playtime away behind a registration code and an hourlong download. I get value when I download MMO updates since the price doesn't change and my 15 dollar subscription guarantees the value for my dollar. Paying 60 bucks and then having to download something after, what, 10 hours of play just tells me they've stopped caring about their paying customer. The pirate doesn't give a shit.

No, the point was that people who buy the game first hand from a retailer get all that shit for free. The people who rent, buy second hand or pirate the game, would have to pay for shit like the ending. Maybe all consumers would have to download the ending, which is stupid but if it's free isn't really a problem (more of a hassle).

Essentially, the pirate would ideally give a shit because they wouldn't have access to the ending, or would need to pay up the ass for it. I hope it doesn't catch on, because it would be fucking stupid and basically eliminate the reasons for renting a game or buying second hand. Eventually I would bet that like DLC is doing already, even more obvious parts of the game would have to be paid for and downloaded.

[Arachna]

Stupid fucking idea. A fair amount of DLC is a ripoff and just plain unnecessary, making the ending to a game DLC is ridiculous as IMO anyway, the endings of a lot of games are a letdown.

[Elcura]

On the flip side to that, wouldn't it be an advantage if you could avoid shitty endings? lol

[Kurp]

It's not just that games are too short to keep me from buying them straight off. There are just so many shitty games out there asking the same $60 that GoY candidates are. Mercenaries 2 and the new SOCOM are a couple offhand that there is just no way I could justify spending $60 on. I'd have trouble selling myself again on a $6 rental or a Gamefly after I played them.

Some short games are worth the money, in my opinion. I don't regret buying Heavenly Sword and that story is short. The game is fun though and well done with great acting and one of my favorite bosses ever in Flying Fox.

If they move towards this DLC to finish the game crap, then my game buying would be cut down to even less than it is. I'd completely rely on reviews and word of mouth and release day buys would be very rare. I just don't want to be burned for $60 on a terrible game that I can't even Ebay to some other sucker.

[Kyo]

It's not just that games are too short to keep me from buying them straight off. There are just so many shitty games out there asking the same $60 that GoY candidates are. Mercenaries 2 and the new SOCOM are a couple offhand that there is just no way I could justify spending $60 on. I'd have trouble selling myself again on a $6 rental or a Gamefly after I played them.

Some short games are worth the money, in my opinion. I don't regret buying Heavenly Sword and that story is short. The game is fun though and well done with great acting and one of my favorite bosses ever in Flying Fox.

If they move towards this DLC to finish the game crap, then my game buying would be cut down to even less than it is. I'd completely rely on reviews and word of mouth and release day buys would be very rare. I just don't want to be burned for $60 on a terrible game that I can't even Ebay to some other sucker.

Small correction, new socom is 40 bucks w/o the headset.

[Raji]

I'd like to echo the sentiments expressed earlier in this thread, and say that maybe, just MAYBE, if these companies would make games that are actually WORTH full retail price, then maybe people will actually PAY full retail price for them

[BRP]

It doesn't matter if a game is worth the retail price. If someone is selling it for 30-50 dollars cheaper and it is the same game, then people are going to buy it for cheaper.

What developers need to do is stop with those preorder bonuses and just make them come with every game. Not so much those stupid dolls and not something solid(which can be sold) like the OSTs. I am thinking game content.

They are so intent on making DLC? Have games come with a 10-15 dollar DLC voucher.

The result is that people lose 10-15 dollars if they don't buy the game new. If a game new costs 50 dollars new and 20 dollars used, that person is only saving 15 dollars. Of course DLC should be worth it. If it is not, then this would have minimal effect.

How to capitalize this? Have your DLC be based solely on online interaction. New maps for FPS action and additional co-op quests for basically any mulitplier game that will support it. The beauty of it would be that people with DLC will want to do these things and they will need other people with the DLC. You put enough pressure on it and people who purchased used games will be much more likely to keep things simple: Just buy it new and get it instantly.

I am speaking really only in terms of consoles. DLC on PC is pretty dumb outside of expansions. It better be online content or else it is going to be pirated without hesitation. Even if it is online it will still pirated, but hacked rooms/servers are usually only a shadow of legit play.

[Beckwin]

The simple truth is stop selling discs for 60 goddam dollars and you'll cut down on renting and resale immediately.

What incentive is there for someone to keep a 12 hour game that they had fun with but don't really plan on playing again anytime soon when they can get 30 bucks/a different used game instead? Now imagine the incentive if the game is mediocre to shitty.

How much more likely would someone be to rent instead of buy a game that costs 20 bucks or 60 bucks, versus the 8 dollar rental fee? Dunno about you all, but for a game that I'd be even slightly excited about that has some decent hours in it, the 12 buck difference seems very worth it.

From the article it doesn't quite seem like the guy from Epic was totally serious about paying for endings, but it's still a really dumb idea- might as well go to the library and rip out every final chapter.

[BRP]

Games are expensive to make. They are becoming more and more expensive every year. Development teams include hundreds of people. To make a 30 dollar game seems unreasonable at this point even if they only make games that are 10 hours long, give or take 5.

And people will still go for the cheapest deal possible.


The argument that games need to be "worth it" has very little merit because plenty of games which are considered worth it (GOTY, BEST GAME EVER, etc etc) are still effected by renting and used game market.

[deshende]

Not to mention they'd be killing their market on people that still play consoles offline (yes I know probably tiny at this point but I'm sure there are people that don't want to connect to the internet every time they play a game).