And the reason they’re not making the Warden’s Keep DLC free like the Shale DLC is because…?
I understand the rationale behind putting those “surplus” employees to work on the first batch of DLC. I don’t even expect all DLC to be free. I just think it looks bad if someone takes their brand-new $50 to $70 game (depending on which version you bought) home on release day and the first thing they see is “Hi! Would you like to buy the Warden’s Keep DLC for XX Space Bucks?”
You can follow the links from here.
[ul][li]Amazon - Lion’s Paw Boots (bonus to armor, dodge, and missile evasion) and $10 off future game purchase
[/li][li]EBX / Gamestop - Feral Wolf Charm (+armor & health regen) and Memory Ring (bonus to XP)
[/li][li]EA Store - Memory Ring and Band of Fire (+ to Stamina, fire resist, spirit resist)
[/li][li]D2D - Memory Ring and Dalish Ring (+ to health & regen, damage resistance to darkspawn)
[/li][li]Gamecrazy - Guildmaster’s Belt (+ to money, dodge, Cunning)
[/li][li]Play - Feral Wolf Charm and Memory Ring
[/li][li]Gogamer - no bonuses mentioned, but regular PC version is currently $10 off[/ul]
[/li]Yeah, not a fan of all this bonus in-game content being divvied up like that.
With a single player game, wouldn’t you just be able to console cheat to add the items though (like with those special feats in nwn2)?
That is insane … Are we talking about stuff you’ll never see if you don’t have a code, or something? Or is this just, like, you’ll get it right off the bat instead of having to find it?
As someone mentioned upthread, if some or all of that stuff is intended to be separate (possibly paid) DLC, then it probably won’t be so easily added. The trouble is we won’t know until the game is out (unless someone leaks), at which point it’ll be too late to change which version you bought.
Launch DLC doesn’t bother me, either, but you are right–there is little cause to make excuses for it. It’s just a way for them to sell something extra to make more money, period. It’s not really any different from offering a higher priced collector’s edition that comes with more stuff.
Great rundown. Thanks!
Keep in mind that the ten bucks off doesn’t apply to the CE. Blaggards.
Any idea how DLC is being handled for the PC release? GFWL?
Yeah, that annoys me too, since I have pre-ordered the CE off Amazon. :-(
Doesn’t EA have its own PC DD system? I was presuming they’d use that. I don’t recall any EA games using GfWL.
Joe_M
1769
DLC on release day is probably smart. I will likely buy it immediately because it’s there, but if they were to wait a month and I end up not liking and/or not finishing the base game? Why would I buy more stuff for it? Pushing for the impulse buy is a good business decision.
Because the “surplus employees” still have salaries? Look at it this way: this is what those people did, instead of being fired, so now they are still around to potentially work on post-launch DLC, too.
Yes, stuff costs money - I understand that. But to push paid DLC on release day to the people who just ponied up money to buy a brand-new game looks tacky and greedy, IMHO. Has anyone ever done that before?
+1
I don’t replay games and don’t buy DLC’s for the games I finished or stopped playing. So the only chance to sell me a DLC is to make it available within a week or two.
You’ve never bought an EA game before? (example: Madden 10 had a massive, confusing list of microtransaction thingies you could buy, day one)
stusser
1774
EA is greedy and evil. You’re just learning this now? Or you’re surprised that they aren’t treating bioware any differently than any of their other acquisitions?
I’m not really that pissed off about the DLC, anyway. I’m pissed that they delayed the PC version for simultaneous release with the consoles. That was some bullshit.
No, Dragon Age is not a GFW title. We are delivering it through our own downloader. I don’t know if we have announced the purchase process yet.
Correct. Nothing has been removed from the game to be sold as DLC. We have a dedicated team working on DLC content. None of the content is on the disk because some of it isn’t finished yet, but it will be on launch day.
That is not quite true. We needed more time on the PC version. It was going to be delayed. At that point, why not delay it to the same date as the console releases so that we sim-ship and can pool our marketing resources.
Evidently I’ve managed to avoid the best of the worst of EA’s behavior, since the few EA games I have played in recent years have had little or no paid DLC (e.g., Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space). Certainly nothing like the money pump that DA:O is apparently primed to become.
Yay. :-(
stusser
1778
Not calling you a liar, but I look forward to getting the real story just before xmas eve 2011 when EA forces everybody to relocate to montreal or be fired, terminates half of those remaining just after they move, merges all employees into “EA Montreal”, and retains the bioware name as branding only for their new line of iphone action adventures based on the escapades of the jonas brothers and britney spears’ little sister in such wacky situations as a haunted house, goin’ to the emmies, and a saturday night date at the carnival with the hottest boy in school.
I am bookmarking this thread and will quote myself when that inevitable day arrives.
Imryll
1779
I can’t remember whether it was a pre-order bonus or a Collector’s Edition item, but I remember getting a bonus merchant with Icewind Dale items in BG II. And unless something is designed to be enjoyed later in the game, I actually like bonus content being part of the gameworld from the beginning.
Personally, I only see it as an issue if the game itself looks a bit meagre, in which case I wouldn’t want to buy the game much less DLC. The system may invite abuse, but I think it’s a form of abuse the marketplace can take care of. If anything, issuing DLC on release day invites additional scrutiny and risks folks noticing that there isn’t much game sooner than they would have otherwise.
You should join forces with HRose and write a blog to predict this stuff.
