What are the odds?

[trinityvixen]

On principle, I object to marketing games in two editions, one that costs more but promises "exclusive content." The cynical part of me thinks that this so-called "exclusive" stuff will, most likely, end up as anything but, as in "it's exclusive until we make it available for you to download on XBOX Live."

Then again, I hate it more when they force you to buy a game over again in special/collector's edition in order to get that same content. If you're going to charge extra regardless, make it available for download, only make it available later to those who don't want to pay the $10 (but might want to later). Instead, making it truly unavailable means that those who didn't know to buy it when it came out would either be screwed or have to buy the game over again.

...okay, I'm beginning to see why game makers do this.

I bring this up because I'm in a dilemma about buying Mass Effect 2. While an art book and a comic book aren't really all that to me, there is exclusive content to the specialest of the special editions. If it ends up not being all that exclusive, I'll be pissed, my moral objections aside. On the other hand, I loved the first game and it might be worth buying the special edition sight unseen...

So, to sum up:
1) I object to giving people more if they are able to pay more for a game. I just do, on principle.
2) But if I were going to pay extra for a game to get more out of it, I'd want to know that I was getting what I paid for.
3) ???
4) Argh, I don't know.

Comments

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

I object to those, too. I only buy them if they're super-discounted used at Gamestop. Don't give in!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It's too late. I caved. I had a gift card worth $10, so it balanced out to being the same price that I would pay otherwise. But still, rararrarrr!

[sols-light.livejournal.com]

Given the downloadable in game content is part of the game code, it's possible you can just enter a Code somewhere in the Menu screen and unlock it anyway, I forget which recent game I saw this described for.

As far as I'm concerned though, this is how it should be for all those annoying preorder with us and we'll give you a special bonus monopoly deals. I will never buy one of those, I will fervently continue to support my local gaming store - Dungeon Crawl, rather than the big chains because they have better taste, better products, better service and don't break release dates just because they can. They also pay people in my local community and put that money back into my system instead of sending it overseas where it benefits some other nation.

If a game genuinely does have extra quality items bundled with it such as an art book, soundtrack, or other special content, then I can see why it takes more money to produce those and they're welcome to do that for those people who want the extras. The big thing that gets me though is those extras should also be available somewhere else and not exclusive to the release of that product. The only way to get the art book shouldn't be to buy the special edition.

As for in game special content, this has even more potential to annoy. If the in game content is cosmetic and has no statistical application to modify game behaviour other than to demonstrate you can turn your armour fluoro purple, then fine, more power to the company for selling people $20 worth of fluoro purple. If the content has a genuine advantage however, like being able to accrue experience faster, I draw the line. Actual game advantage for being able to spend more money on a deliberately limited edition? Not cool.

Incidentally, the price disparity between the US and Australia also means that the average game on release day here is around US$89 and a special edition could easily be US$116. So paying that much for something means I'd want something I can keep.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The big thing that gets me though is those extras should also be available somewhere else and not exclusive to the release of that product. The only way to get the art book shouldn't be to buy the special edition.

That's what bothers me about the extra content, too. You're right that you probably can just unlock the extras in the disc. It irks me that I can't access stuff on the disc I bought unless I pay more. It's not like I'm not already paying a lot as it is. The other thing you mention, about the utility of the extra items is why I'm so pissed in every direction: either it's useless and I've been bilked and I'm made about that, or it makes something really much easier and then it's not fair that people who don't pay that don't get it. Grah.

[sols-light.livejournal.com]

It's why I like extras that are tangible things related to the product like Art Books, soundtracks or other representative things, like the Batarang that came with the Collector's Edition of Arkham Asylum.

I would object to things that make a game easier being out of reach, but I actually like my games fairly hard, I do enjoy Demon's Souls and Monster Hunter, after all =)