Is gaming becoming a cash cow? Are we being ripped off?
Discussion
We have been seeing DLC's for a long time, within both PC and console gaming, however so many new games now appear to have in game credits which, although not compulsory, are made available as a DLC to 'help' you progress further in the game. GTA is a prime example and from what I'm reading on the next gen consoles FM5 is similar.
Map packs and car skins are one thing, but using real money to buy game money to get better 'stuff' does seem like a bit of a rip off.
Map packs and car skins are one thing, but using real money to buy game money to get better 'stuff' does seem like a bit of a rip off.
I don't mind *all* DLC as some is good - the GTAIV ones were worth the money imho as they added hours of gameplay and new vehicles, characters etc.
There is a lot of crap value out there, though. Forza5 sounds bad - £40 for a season pass? Eff off. I'll stick to the basic game.
Free 2 play is the worst, though.
There is a lot of crap value out there, though. Forza5 sounds bad - £40 for a season pass? Eff off. I'll stick to the basic game.
Free 2 play is the worst, though.
Altrezia said:
I don't mind *all* DLC as some is good - the GTAIV ones were worth the money imho as they added hours of gameplay and new vehicles, characters etc.
There is a lot of crap value out there, though. Forza5 sounds bad - £40 for a season pass? Eff off. I'll stick to the basic game.
Free 2 play is the worst, though.
War Thunder and Planetside 2 are both free to play, I have never felt the need to buy anything extra. They ensure that the most powerful weapons are free and mostly just customisations can be paid for in the store. There is a lot of crap value out there, though. Forza5 sounds bad - £40 for a season pass? Eff off. I'll stick to the basic game.
Free 2 play is the worst, though.
Both brilliant games too, should be applauded. Interestingly, both coming to PS4. Not sure if that says anything about Sony/MS business models.
Some DLC feels like good value, some of the Skyrim stuff gives you hours of gameplay. Day one DLC and the holding back of the Nurburgring for Forza 5 is just a money making scam, IMO.
Edited by RobGT81 on Tuesday 19th November 07:40
Forza 5 is looking like it will be 150+ odd quid for the full, all cars and tracks game. Its already 100 quid by the time you get a season pass, and its guaranteed that that wont cover all DLC packs.
And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
GT6 looks like it will be the same, perhaps with less ridiculous pricing, but at least the base game features are (on paper) better.
Skyrim did it right - 3 sets of DLC that added potentially months of content - even the £2.50 or so house and family building DLC takes a full day to build a house if you start out with all the materials... Collect it all manually and it takes weeks.
And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
GT6 looks like it will be the same, perhaps with less ridiculous pricing, but at least the base game features are (on paper) better.
Skyrim did it right - 3 sets of DLC that added potentially months of content - even the £2.50 or so house and family building DLC takes a full day to build a house if you start out with all the materials... Collect it all manually and it takes weeks.
RobGT81 said:
War Thunder and Planetside 2 are both free to play, I have never felt the need to buy anything extra. They ensure that the most powerful weapons are free and mostly just customisations can be paid for in the store.
Both brilliant games too, should be applauded. Interestingly, both coming to PS4. Not sure if that says anything about Sony/MS business models.
Some DLC feels like good value, some of the Skyrim stuff gives you hours of gameplay. Day one DLC and the holding back of the Nurburgring for Forza 5 is just a money making scam, IMO.
+1 on planetside 2Both brilliant games too, should be applauded. Interestingly, both coming to PS4. Not sure if that says anything about Sony/MS business models.
Some DLC feels like good value, some of the Skyrim stuff gives you hours of gameplay. Day one DLC and the holding back of the Nurburgring for Forza 5 is just a money making scam, IMO.
Edited by RobGT81 on Tuesday 19th November 07:40
Cracking game with so much going on. When your team gets into a good run it can be demoralising for the opposition!! pure carnage.
Maps are mega huge as well (BF should take note when their fanbase say big maps!!)
It's certainly the way things are going - I don't mind per-se as long as I get a 'full game' for my £40 - GTA V for example, there's a HUGE amount of game play, hours and hours plus all the online stuff - I certainly haven't paid more than the cover price for it (yet) I know I can exchange real-money for huge piles of online cash, but I won't -partly because I don't need to. To get more you 'just' have to play the game, which is the fun bit and partly because it's very easy to spend a lot of money to make a great game boring.
Personally I think it'll be self-regulating, as soon as one maker steps over the line and releases a 'cash cow' for full price they'll lose their shirt on it.
Personally I think it'll be self-regulating, as soon as one maker steps over the line and releases a 'cash cow' for full price they'll lose their shirt on it.
I don't really mind it to be fair. You don't HAVE to buy these things its just an option if you don't have a lot of time on games.
Personally I wouldn't buy the weapons packs for BF3/4 because the whole point of the game is to level up your character and guns to get these as rewards, if I had it all from day one I'd be pretty bored.
Personally I wouldn't buy the weapons packs for BF3/4 because the whole point of the game is to level up your character and guns to get these as rewards, if I had it all from day one I'd be pretty bored.
T1berious said:
Free to play is pretty good as long as you have a cast iron grip of your credit card.
Can fully understand why Clash of Clans is one of the highest grossing games on the App market.
I've sunk £40 in and have had to have a very strong word with myself.
PH Clan, of course?Can fully understand why Clash of Clans is one of the highest grossing games on the App market.
I've sunk £40 in and have had to have a very strong word with myself.
Currently avoiding buying gems because my son used them all to complete troop training early on. GRR.
Yes and No. Certain large publisher's are making hay while the sun shines. BUT their are numerous free or cheap very good PC games out at the moment that have a ethical micro transaction system. (war thunder, planetside 2, guild wars 2 etc)
So while some publishers bring out games that may only take 3-4hours to fully complete then bring out DLCs other more independent games companies strive to keep things gamer orientated.
I think the extremes are getting further apart and more obvious.
So while some publishers bring out games that may only take 3-4hours to fully complete then bring out DLCs other more independent games companies strive to keep things gamer orientated.
I think the extremes are getting further apart and more obvious.
Edited by Odie on Tuesday 19th November 11:45
Also, it depends how desperate you are to use the stuff that others bought from DLC. When BF3/Aftermath was released, I was keen to have a go at the crossbow, so I'd kill an enemy, pick and their kit and see if they had it. Got quite a lot of kills with the crossbow without having bought it.
If say gaming is more of a bargain now, games haven't really increased with inflation. Most games also come with a free online mode.
DLC meh, it's additional content which we get a choice about which bits to buy. Launch day DLC seems a bit cheeky but usually it's not shown in the initial trailers so it is additional.
I think the problem is a lot of gamers think the games companies owe them something for spending a relatively small amount with them.
DLC meh, it's additional content which we get a choice about which bits to buy. Launch day DLC seems a bit cheeky but usually it's not shown in the initial trailers so it is additional.
I think the problem is a lot of gamers think the games companies owe them something for spending a relatively small amount with them.
Shinobi said:
If say gaming is more of a bargain now, games haven't really increased with inflation. Most games also come with a free online mode.
DLC meh, it's additional content which we get a choice about which bits to buy. Launch day DLC seems a bit cheeky but usually it's not shown in the initial trailers so it is additional.
I think the problem is a lot of gamers think the games companies owe them something for spending a relatively small amount with them.
Its all about peoples perseption of value. DLC meh, it's additional content which we get a choice about which bits to buy. Launch day DLC seems a bit cheeky but usually it's not shown in the initial trailers so it is additional.
I think the problem is a lot of gamers think the games companies owe them something for spending a relatively small amount with them.
I think £49 for Forza is about the limit for anything i'd pay for a next gen game and feel angered that publishers can get away not putting in certain cars/tracks to then lure you in with additional DLC packs.
CBR JGWRR said:
Forza 5 is looking like it will be 150+ odd quid for the full, all cars and tracks game. Its already 100 quid by the time you get a season pass, and its guaranteed that that wont cover all DLC packs.
And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
This really annoys me, having less tracks but with hints that they will come back as DLC is a real slap in the face. And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
With Forza 4 I did buy a few things, the porsche pack was the only complete pack. Other than that it was just odd cars that I fancied.
The forza vista stuff seems like a gimmick to me and I doubt I have spent more than 20 minutes in it, so seeing it being used as one of the excuses for the lower car number is cheeky.
CBR JGWRR said:
Skyrim did it right - 3 sets of DLC that added potentially months of content - even the £2.50 or so house and family building DLC takes a full day to build a house if you start out with all the materials... Collect it all manually and it takes weeks.
Agreed, for them it didn't affect the base game any, so you could complete it as normal.Forza and GT6 are just looking like cash cow's.
BevR said:
CBR JGWRR said:
Forza 5 is looking like it will be 150+ odd quid for the full, all cars and tracks game. Its already 100 quid by the time you get a season pass, and its guaranteed that that wont cover all DLC packs.
And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
This really annoys me, having less tracks but with hints that they will come back as DLC is a real slap in the face. And it isn't that you get loads in the base game either, with less cars and tracks than FM3.
With Forza 4 I did buy a few things, the porsche pack was the only complete pack. Other than that it was just odd cars that I fancied.
The forza vista stuff seems like a gimmick to me and I doubt I have spent more than 20 minutes in it, so seeing it being used as one of the excuses for the lower car number is cheeky.
Shadow R1 said:
CBR JGWRR said:
Skyrim did it right - 3 sets of DLC that added potentially months of content - even the £2.50 or so house and family building DLC takes a full day to build a house if you start out with all the materials... Collect it all manually and it takes weeks.
Agreed, for them it didn't affect the base game any, so you could complete it as normal.Forza and GT6 are just looking like cash cow's.
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