This makes my blood boil (ME3 Rant)

[frozentundra123456]

This has been coming for awhile. Just wait until your in game choices also feature a grayed out area that says "AVAILABLE ONLY WITH SUCH AND SUCH DLC - CLICK TO PURCHASE"
Day One DLC is a scam plain and simple. It's a money grab and planned from the beginning. Considering that it says avail in CE, it WAS ripped out.

Fug it. I won't be getting this until the GOTY edition if $5..then again..after the mess that was 2, maybe I'll just skip it. There are new games coming out all the time. We don't HAVE to cater to this, but we already know 90% of you will.

If I recall correctly, this has already happened in Dragon Age Origins. I recall a conversation with one of the characters, and one of the dialog responses led directly to a quest line that was only available if you purchased a DLC. And even more annoying, the dialog never went away. You always had this quest hanging in the air because you could not do it unless you purchased the required DLC. Unfortunately I dont remember any more details, but I recall being quite annoyed, because it really detracted from the immersion into the game to have this come up.

 

[busydude]

Thanks to EA for making me feel proud of myself for not purchasing the game. I will not buy it even if it goes below $20.

 

[JoshGuru7]

Dragon Age had a ton of DLC. Does anybody here feel that it was a poor value?

The two objections to zero day DLC are that it is raises the price of the finished product if you buy it, or lowers the amount of the content in the game if you don't buy it. So? Both of these are relative changes that say nothing about the absolute value of the game. The second one isn't even necessarily true for many titles where the expected value of the DLC is what funds the development of that content.

What actually matters is whether the game is worth the price it is being sold for. If a game had 200 hours of content then they could remove 20 for a DLC and it would still be a better deal than an equivalently good game with no DLC but only 30 hours of content.

If Mass Effect 3 turns out to be a poor value for the money then that will be a good reason to avoid it. However, getting upset about DLC shows a lack of critical thinking if you haven't played the game or read any reviews that suggest it lacks content or is overpriced. You are not being wronged as a consumer, it is just a different pricing strategy that has no bearing on the absolute value of the product.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

i would prob care is i actually played any mass efect games

You are not needed in this thread. Goodbye.

 

[irishScott]

Dragon Age had a ton of DLC. Does anybody here feel that it was a poor value?

The two objections to zero day DLC are that it is raises the price of the finished product if you buy it, or lowers the amount of the content in the game if you don't buy it. So? Both of these are relative changes that say nothing about the absolute value of the game. The second one isn't even necessarily true for many titles where the expected value of the DLC is what funds the development of that content.

What actually matters is whether the game is worth the price it is being sold for. If a game had 200 hours of content then they could remove 20 for a DLC and it would still be a better deal than an equivalently good game with no DLC but only 30 hours of content.

If Mass Effect 3 turns out to be a poor value for the money then that will be a good reason to avoid it. However, getting upset about DLC shows a lack of critical thinking if you haven't played the game or read any reviews that suggest it lacks content or is overpriced. You are not being wronged as a consumer, it is just a different pricing strategy that has no bearing on the absolute value of the product.

This. Also, I recall Starcraft 2 costing $60 for 25-30 hours of gameplay, with no one complaining. If Mass Effect 3 had 35 and the 5 from the DLC costs extra, that would at least make sense.

All depends on individual standards.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

What actually matters is whether the game is worth the price it is being sold for. If a game had 200 hours of content then they could remove 20 for a DLC and it would still be a better deal than an equivalently good game with no DLC but only 30 hours of content.

If Mass Effect 3 turns out to be a poor value for the money then that will be a good reason to avoid it. However, getting upset about DLC shows a lack of critical thinking if you haven't played the game or read any reviews that suggest it lacks content or is overpriced. You are not being wronged as a consumer, it is just a different pricing strategy that has no bearing on the absolute value of the product.

His argument was purely about the content itself and not a matter of the time lost. This content they are releasing on day one is clearly essential to the full story of the game and not something developed as an afterthought. If they chose to cut some side quests and add them in there wouldn't be an issue. Cutting essential content and forcing additional payment to complete the story is downright immoral.

 

[irishScott]

His argument was purely about the content itself and not a matter of the time lost. This content they are releasing on day one is clearly essential to the full story of the game and not something developed as an afterthought. If they chose to cut some side quests and add them in there wouldn't be an issue. Cutting essential content and forcing additional payment to complete the story is downright immoral.

We don't know that for sure yet. For all we know the

Spoiler

playable prothean thing

is a sub-plot that isn't really vital to the plot. Maybe it's Shepard in a dream sequence

Spoiler

having a playable prothean "vision"

. For all we know it is, plot-wise, an extra.

Now if it turns out to be a critical plot point, then I'll join all of you shouting fire up EA's ass.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

We don't know that for sure yet. For all we know the

Spoiler

playable prothean thing

is a sub-plot that isn't really vital to the plot. Maybe it's Shepard in a dream sequence

Spoiler

having a playable prothean "vision"

. For all we know it is, plot-wise, an extra.

Now if it turns out to be a critical plot point, then I'll join all of you shouting fire up EA's ass.

Fair enough. I'll agree with that.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I doubt it is as essential as you suggest. Bioware is aware that many people are going to be judging this title without the DLC and it would be a very strange move on Bioware's part to provide these consumers and reviewers with an unsatisfying story.

What I was really addressing though was not the article but the knee jerk opinions in this thread that rush to confirm their own biases against EA and DLC. The OP feels that this may give him moral grounds to pirate the game, and many of the replies (impulse, maniac) have little to do with the plot and everything to do with the concept of DLC.

Mass Effect 3 is an eagerly anticipated game but it still has to compete for entertainment dollars with every other entertainment option out there. The way for them to make the most money is not to charge the highest they could for any one consumer, but to pick a price point that many consumers will feel is an attractive option and that includes DLC.

 

[Doppel]

If you think I'm going to watch a 24 minute rant on youtube about a video game you are sorely, sorely mistaken.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

This crap keeps happening because people keep buying these products regardless of how developers/publishers treat them, we only have ourselves to blame, stop buying and encouraging crap FFS.

Yes, that might mean foregoing a game you otherwise might enjoy.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Day-one DLC is terrible unless it's free for a limited time to encourage early adopters.

 

[busydude]

If you think I'm going to watch a 24 minute rant on youtube about a video game you are sorely, sorely mistaken.

His videos are awesome.

 

[ramj70]

The DLC will not be a critical plot point, just an extra squad member like Zaed or Kasumi in ME2. If you have the collectors edition the DLC is included.

 

[DeadFred]

Did you actually listen to the recording? I'm paraphrasing here, because I can't remember exactly and don't want to listen again but basically he said something like you know, when the customer is in the middle of a firefight and it costs money to reload, we've got them at that point.

The worst part was, he talked about how he personally spends thousands on microtransactions per year...well, I'm not a big corporate CEO. My gaming budget is in the hundreds per year, not thousands, and it ain't all going to first person shooter microtransactions for reloads.

I didnt listen to the whole thing, I just took your word for it. That is insane, I would never pay a subscription let alone microtransactions to play a game. If gaming ever comes to that, Im done with it.

 

[Maximilian]

The DLC will not be a critical plot point, just an extra squad member like Zaed or Kasumi in ME2. If you have the collectors edition the DLC is included.

Spoiler

So a member from a long extinct race from 50,000 year ago whos relics scattered across the galaxy have given the other races early warning to the reaper threat will not be a critical plot point? He will have nothing to say about the reapers or his race and what they learned/know about the reapers or where hes been for 50,000 years, he will just show up say "sup" and follow you around?

Nah, its a prothean, its important, they should include him

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

I didnt listen to the whole thing, I just took your word for it. That is insane, I would never pay a subscription let alone microtransactions to play a game. If gaming ever comes to that, Im done with it.

Well, I would definitely pay a subscription for an actual MMOFPS( and I would and have subscribed to MMO RPGs). No, I would not pay a subscription to something stupid like CoD Elite.

This is why I'm afraid for Planetside 2. That is a an actual MMOFPS that cannot exist outside of a subscription model yet they are doing it free to play? If the game is good I would have been happy to pay my $14.99 a month but since it's FTP is it going to be pay to win? They say no, but without motivations for people to buy stuff how can the game stay afloat? I guess we'll see. For my part though I'd like to see a Battlefield MMOFPS that takes influence from both Planetside and WW2 Online, I'd definitely pay for that too.

 

[SunnyD]

Or better yet, maybe I'll pirate it.

Feeling a little entitled, are we?

You're just as bad as EA then.

 

[yllus]

I think EA's done a rather good job at shepherding its franchises in the last few years. I have no problem with paying for ME3 on day one, though I'll probably skip most of the DLC in the way manner I skipped most of ME2's DLC.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Feeling a little entitled, are we?

You're just as bad as EA then.

That's just silly.

 

[ramj70]

Spoiler

So a member from a long extinct race from 50,000 year ago whos relics scattered across the galaxy have given the other races early warning to the reaper threat will not be a critical plot point? He will have nothing to say about the reapers or his race and what they learned/know about the reapers or where hes been for 50,000 years, he will just show up say "sup" and follow you around?

Nah, its a prothean, its important, they should include him

I guess we will find out.

 

[BladeVenom]

If you think I'm going to watch a 24 minute rant on youtube about a video game you are sorely, sorely mistaken.

That's almost as bad as crappy DLC.

 

[ramj70]

This is from bioware, so take it as you want.

As most of you know, yesterday there was a leak that revealed the upcoming DLC “ME3:From Ashes” on the
Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This leak took place before we were prepared to make an announcement about the details of that pack (slated for this Friday).

There has been a lot of discussion about the DLC offering but we wanted to clarify a few things...

- “From Ashes” includes the **** squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate
appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.

- The Collectors Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The ***** is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase). Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game - right out of the box.

- The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.

- The Collectors Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the ***** into their game.

We’ll be releasing some images and video about this pack in the coming days.

 

[Corporate Thug]

wow, games cost like $70+ with DLC these days...that's why I buy so few titles upon release.

 

[irishScott]

This is from bioware, so take it as you want.

As most of you know, yesterday there was a leak that revealed the upcoming DLC “ME3:From Ashes” on the
Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This leak took place before we were prepared to make an announcement about the details of that pack (slated for this Friday).

There has been a lot of discussion about the DLC offering but we wanted to clarify a few things...

- “From Ashes” includes the **** squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate
appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.

- The Collectors Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The ***** is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase). Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game - right out of the box.

- The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.

- The Collectors Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the ***** into their game.

We’ll be releasing some images and video about this pack in the coming days.

Huh, looks like my hopeless optimism panned out. Of course we'll have to play the game to see, but I'm confident.