A Mass Effect to my Wallet
I used to be a savior of the galaxy like you once… until I took a laser blast to my favorite store on the Citadel.
Sixty bucks for one game is a lot of money to me. I just want to get that out of the way. I spend somewhere around a thousand bucks on games a year (last year I spent more), which might be a lot depending on your perspective, but to me it’s barely enough. There’s still some games from 2011 that I haven’t played that were on my “must buy” list. Hell, there are games from 2010 that I still want to pick up! But the new shinies are all too tempting to ignore, so I move on and dread the day when I’ll be asked if I remember a certain game that I just so happened to pass up. Then I’ll get that reaction like when I tell someone I haven’t seen one of their favorite movies.
What?
Don’t look at me like that.
OKAY, FINE, I’LL WATCH FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL ALREADY!
One game that I’m currently debating on passing up is Mass Effect 3. That’s crazy, right?! I ADORE the Mass Effect universe. I honestly would have rather seen SWTOR be a Mass Effect MMO, but… something about paying sixty dollars for a game that I’ll most likely shelve after one play-through just isn’t sitting well with me.
It also isn’t helping that I sort of loathe the marketing push that the game is getting from EA. Maybe it’s the hipster in me (there’s one in all of us) but once I start seeing in-game items or benefits tacked on to 3rd party consumer products, it weakens my support for the game. I’m totally down with games being a mainstream thing, but I hate the shady marketing that publishers engage in. But oh well, I don’t have to buy that stuff thus making my own experience default, which is probably what the developers intended in the first place.
But what DOES sort of piss me off is having content kept from me unless I pay extra. For a much better explanation as to what’s happening, I refer you to the video below:
I may still end up picking up the game, but I have a hard time with this. What are your thoughts?
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall would have been much better with Seth Rogan as the fat nerd instead of that fat nerd from Why I Married Your Mother.
I loathe EA. I really do. I hate that they sucked up BioWare into their evil empire. But I still purchased the ME3 CE. The only CE for a stand alone game that I have ever purchased. I love the ME universe that much.
Since I don’t really read or watch a lot of game media, I was unaware of most this. Yes, it’s crappy but does not surprise me even in the slightest, coming from EA.
I don’t blame people for avoiding it, whether for the marketing or for the strong-arming with Origins.
The fact that EA has gone this over the top with ME3 is why I’m not buying it…
Someone else is getting it for me as a gift.
But I refuse to pay for something that is this obviously monetized
*Hipster-Glasses*
But seriously, day 1 DLC is horseshit.
I think you guys are reacting a bit harshly to a companion/squad mate. All they provide is side story, and Bioware adds in new companions/squad mates all the time as DLC. So, would it have been perfectly fine for them to hold it behind the curtain for an extra month and THEN charge for it?
Were none of you planning on spending money on DLC for the game in the first place? I for one was planning on full on Collector’s Edition from the moment I finished Mass Effect 2. This is not something that prevents you from being able to play the game, or adds anything to the multiplayer aspect. It’s lore…nothing more.
I still have yet to pay for any DLC for Mass Effect. The biggest issue I have is that they went from an absolutely fine system of including the extra content to anyone who paid for a new copy of the game and registered it (a la the Cerberus network), to making you pay for it in one way or another by an additional fee or buying a more expensive version of the game.
To be honest, to me, saving the DLC for a month would have been fine. At least that way they wouldn’t look like they’re just trying to dig deeper into your pockets like greedy sob’s and are instead offering you extra content that doesn’t seem ripped from what should have just been in the full game.
The idea that any content developed before launch should be within the game is a little naive. If EA planned to do this from the beginning then it’s likely they put more resources and more budget behind it than they would have otherwise. This is content that was made to be sold as DLC from the beginning, so what is the problem?
That said, I think this is a poor decision made by EA. If the DLC involved any content other than a Protean, I wouldn’t have a problem. But having the Protean content as DLC is a slap in the face to the fan base. Anyone who is a fan of the series will fell compelled to spend the extra money on top of an already hefty initial investment. It’s almost as bad as having the ending made into DLC.
Anyway, it’s no surprise that i won’t be picking this up given that I’m not a fan of Bioware’s RPG style. But I’m still taking note of how EA is doing business these days.
I hold no issue with a plan to sell DLC. I expect it. But the fact is they went from a model in the previous game of giving the paying customer this sort of content as a “thank you” to making you pay for it. It’s a “FIRST HIT’S FOR FREE!” drug dealer-esque method and especially because of your second point. The content sounds VERY compelling to have.
So wait….very compelling content is unfair to make to purchase? Should only mediocre content be made into DLC? So future DLC content for Mass Effect (or any game for that matter) should NOT be badass? This does not make any sense. They have a piece of content that people want to buy. They put it up for sale, and people buy it or they don’t (For any reason they choose). End of story.
When other games (WoW’s sparkly mounts as one example) charge $30 for a piece of glitter or journal entry or whatever…it’s kosher. When the content has a voice and/or compelling reason to spend the money though, that’s evil. Yea, totally makes sense.
One is fluff, one is content that could change my entire outlook on a game.
I shouldn’t have to pay $10 extra for something that could, and imo should, just be in the box on Day 1.
Okay, so…what you’re trying to say is: You’re mad because meaningful content shouldn’t be DLC? Ever? What about future squad mates that can change your view on the story entirely? The reality is, this was DLC they finished early for the players. Now, as a reward the players have decided to have a hissy fit that it’s not free. Hey, if they make it free I’ll be happy, but I don’t condemn them for making awesome DLC for us whether it’s before, during or after launch.
Then I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree on the ‘ethics’ of Day 1 DLC xD
No one ever said or suggested that DLC shouldn’t be good. No one ever said that WoW glitter is kosher, though that’s all opinion, just as is anyone’s stance on the ME3 DLC.
Like you said, people will buy it or they won’t. This time, I won’t, and I’ll take it the next step and not even pay full price for the game because I don’t agree with how they are handling it. That’s my choice, just as it’s yours to buy into it.
In my opinion, something that you have to pay for SHOULD be good content, but this content (from my current perspective) seems too good to pass up, making the 10 dollars extra almost a necessity for a fan of the series. So ME3 is now a $70 game. As I said in my post, I already have a hard enough time with $60 for a new game, especially given that prices drop so fast.
No thanks.
Well, of course content should be compelling, and kick ass. Let’s not throw up straw men here.
What I’m saying is that this particular content feels a bit too compelling to release as a paid add-on at launch. It’s so compelling that the game itself will feel incomplete without it. People will be plunking down their $60 for a game that is missing something integral to the full experience. That, to me at least, feels unfair.
I don’t buy the story that this was finished “early”. Sure, early delivery on game titles happens all the time… (That was sarcasm BTW). I believe this was the plan all along.
The fact is that this has pissed off a lot of fans. Does pissing off your fan base sound like a good idea? Especially when you’re already making a fortune off of them.
14 comments
Forgetting Sarah Marshall would have been much better with Seth Rogan as the fat nerd instead of that fat nerd from Why I Married Your Mother.
I loathe EA. I really do. I hate that they sucked up BioWare into their evil empire. But I still purchased the ME3 CE. The only CE for a stand alone game that I have ever purchased. I love the ME universe that much.
Since I don’t really read or watch a lot of game media, I was unaware of most this. Yes, it’s crappy but does not surprise me even in the slightest, coming from EA.
I don’t blame people for avoiding it, whether for the marketing or for the strong-arming with Origins.
The fact that EA has gone this over the top with ME3 is why I’m not buying it…
Someone else is getting it for me as a gift.
But I refuse to pay for something that is this obviously monetized
*Hipster-Glasses*
But seriously, day 1 DLC is horseshit.
I think you guys are reacting a bit harshly to a companion/squad mate. All they provide is side story, and Bioware adds in new companions/squad mates all the time as DLC. So, would it have been perfectly fine for them to hold it behind the curtain for an extra month and THEN charge for it?
Were none of you planning on spending money on DLC for the game in the first place? I for one was planning on full on Collector’s Edition from the moment I finished Mass Effect 2. This is not something that prevents you from being able to play the game, or adds anything to the multiplayer aspect. It’s lore…nothing more.
I still have yet to pay for any DLC for Mass Effect. The biggest issue I have is that they went from an absolutely fine system of including the extra content to anyone who paid for a new copy of the game and registered it (a la the Cerberus network), to making you pay for it in one way or another by an additional fee or buying a more expensive version of the game.
To be honest, to me, saving the DLC for a month would have been fine. At least that way they wouldn’t look like they’re just trying to dig deeper into your pockets like greedy sob’s and are instead offering you extra content that doesn’t seem ripped from what should have just been in the full game.
The idea that any content developed before launch should be within the game is a little naive. If EA planned to do this from the beginning then it’s likely they put more resources and more budget behind it than they would have otherwise. This is content that was made to be sold as DLC from the beginning, so what is the problem?
That said, I think this is a poor decision made by EA. If the DLC involved any content other than a Protean, I wouldn’t have a problem. But having the Protean content as DLC is a slap in the face to the fan base. Anyone who is a fan of the series will fell compelled to spend the extra money on top of an already hefty initial investment. It’s almost as bad as having the ending made into DLC.
Anyway, it’s no surprise that i won’t be picking this up given that I’m not a fan of Bioware’s RPG style. But I’m still taking note of how EA is doing business these days.
I hold no issue with a plan to sell DLC. I expect it. But the fact is they went from a model in the previous game of giving the paying customer this sort of content as a “thank you” to making you pay for it. It’s a “FIRST HIT’S FOR FREE!” drug dealer-esque method and especially because of your second point. The content sounds VERY compelling to have.
So wait….very compelling content is unfair to make to purchase? Should only mediocre content be made into DLC? So future DLC content for Mass Effect (or any game for that matter) should NOT be badass? This does not make any sense. They have a piece of content that people want to buy. They put it up for sale, and people buy it or they don’t (For any reason they choose). End of story.
When other games (WoW’s sparkly mounts as one example) charge $30 for a piece of glitter or journal entry or whatever…it’s kosher. When the content has a voice and/or compelling reason to spend the money though, that’s evil. Yea, totally makes sense.
One is fluff, one is content that could change my entire outlook on a game.
I shouldn’t have to pay $10 extra for something that could, and imo should, just be in the box on Day 1.
Okay, so…what you’re trying to say is: You’re mad because meaningful content shouldn’t be DLC? Ever? What about future squad mates that can change your view on the story entirely? The reality is, this was DLC they finished early for the players. Now, as a reward the players have decided to have a hissy fit that it’s not free. Hey, if they make it free I’ll be happy, but I don’t condemn them for making awesome DLC for us whether it’s before, during or after launch.
Then I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree on the ‘ethics’ of Day 1 DLC xD
No one ever said or suggested that DLC shouldn’t be good. No one ever said that WoW glitter is kosher, though that’s all opinion, just as is anyone’s stance on the ME3 DLC.
Like you said, people will buy it or they won’t. This time, I won’t, and I’ll take it the next step and not even pay full price for the game because I don’t agree with how they are handling it. That’s my choice, just as it’s yours to buy into it.
In my opinion, something that you have to pay for SHOULD be good content, but this content (from my current perspective) seems too good to pass up, making the 10 dollars extra almost a necessity for a fan of the series. So ME3 is now a $70 game. As I said in my post, I already have a hard enough time with $60 for a new game, especially given that prices drop so fast.
No thanks.
Well, of course content should be compelling, and kick ass. Let’s not throw up straw men here.
What I’m saying is that this particular content feels a bit too compelling to release as a paid add-on at launch. It’s so compelling that the game itself will feel incomplete without it. People will be plunking down their $60 for a game that is missing something integral to the full experience. That, to me at least, feels unfair.
I don’t buy the story that this was finished “early”. Sure, early delivery on game titles happens all the time… (That was sarcasm BTW). I believe this was the plan all along.
The fact is that this has pissed off a lot of fans. Does pissing off your fan base sound like a good idea? Especially when you’re already making a fortune off of them.
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