How can January be over already? Doesn’t it seem like it just started? Is this an indication of how quickly the whole year will be passing by, or is it just this month? I’ve got a few landmark dates in my calendar this year, and I’m fairly certain those will feel all but unreachable as they get closer. Regardless, there isn’t a lot of news to finish the month so I’m going jump right in. Fair warning though. To make up for the lack of news I’m going to ramble off another editorial about online passes inspired by several of the news pieces this week.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is coming March 20th and it’s got many fans itching. You can scratch your survival horror, zombie killing, and four player team online itches all in one game. The level of excitement for this game means DLC is a very strong possibility. Actually, what level of possibility is higher than “very strong?” How about, “practically guaranteed?” Previews are already in the hands of many reviewers, and it’s been noted that the trophy list references the “Echo Six Expansion Pack” with 20 additional trophies. Some of the trophies, like Rocket Socket – Kill 5 enemies with a rocket launcher, may be teasing new weapons for the expansion. Others, like Bigger They Are – Complete Longest Yard, indicate some kind of expansion to story, mission type, maps, or game modes. Here’s the complete list:
- Secret Trophy – Continue playing to unlock this secret trophy
- Rocket Socket – Kill 5 enemies with a Rocket Launcher
- Happy Trails – Complete By the Trail of Our Dead
- Hot Pants – Complete I Now Know Why You Cry
- Oh Yeah!!! – Complete Nothing is as it Seems
- Boom Worse than Bite – 13 Bomb Dogs Detonated
- Ticket to the Gun Show – As Tweed, use C4 to open door in Foundry
- Ladies Night – Beat an Echo Six Expansion Pack mission with the 3 female characters in your party
- Who needs Guns? – Complete an Echo Six Expansion Pack mission without killing anything with a gun
- Bigger They Are – Complete Longest Yard
- Leave no Dead Man Behind – Kill every zombie in the Park before leaving
- Birth of an Abomination – Complete Root of All Evil
- Derailed – Complete The Places We’re Meant to Die
- Tyranical – 5 Tyrants Slain
- Burning Inside – Kill Another Player with Crucible in a Foundry Versus Match
- Delivery Specialist – Deliver all 5 Virus Samples for your team in Dispatch’s Biohazard Mode
- Turret’s Syndrome – Shut Down or Destroy 5 Turrets
- Boys Club – Beat an Echo Six Expansion Pack mission with the 3 male characters in your party
- Supernaut – 3 Super Tyrants Slain
- Divided We Fall – Complete an Echo Six Expansion Pack mission with no human player incapacitated from death or infection
So, whatever happened to Harmonix after they went independent? Sure, they’re still releasing expanded content for the Rock Band and Dance Central franchises, but are they working on any new games? The answer is yes, but it may not be what you expect. CEO Florian Hunziker mentioned recently that they have some music games in the pipeline that “won’t resemble” its other franchises. Pair that up with a resume for Brian Chan listing him as Lead Designer for “unannounced [Harmonix] title” for PSN, XBLA, and Facebook, and you’ve got the makings of a solid rumor. Rumors aren’t news, but Harmonix has a good track record and you should definitely be taking notice if they make an announcement soon.
Voice casting isn’t something that normally weighs heavily in my decision to play a game. But when you’ve got the kind of all star talent that Mass Effect 3 has, it’s definitely something to notice. Bioware has recently revealed more of the cast for the game, coming March 6th. Many roles feature returning actors, such as Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale (Shepard), Seth Green (Joker), Tricia Helfer (EDI), Ali Hillis (Liara T’Soni), Keith David (Captain Anderson), Lance Henriksson (Admiral Hackett), Yvonne Strahovski (Miranda Lawson), Carrie-Ann Moss (Aria T’Loak), and Martin Sheen (The Illusive Man). But new ones, like Freddie Prinze, Jr. as James Vega may become just as iconic.
The gaming industry is at a critical point in its evolution. While consumers are complaining about the rising cost of buying games at retail, publishers and developers are struggling to remain profitable as development costs increase. Building new graphic engines, crafting more open ended gameplay, and refining increasingly technical controls means the cost of creating games is rising. While consumers are balking at paying $60 for a 12 hour gaming experience, the simple cost and commitment to making a game means the retail price should probably be much higher. What’s the answer to this dilemma? Should game quality and development cycles be lowered to increase profitability? Should prices be raised? Should developers follow the CoD plan, releasing virtually the same game over and over again with little to no improvements at the same price to the buyer? Should we ban used game sales that, according to devs and publishers, take money right out of their hands? Or does the entire industry need to change its basic structure, much like the music and movie industries have had to do with the rise of new technology.
I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but Curt Schilling of 38 Studios has recently had to address “online” passes, one of the recent changes in the business model. We’ve all seen the online pass by now. A new copy of a game comes with a pass allowing you online access and maybe some other bonuses. If you buy it used, you can access the same pass through your consoles’ online services, usually for $10. The online access pass is now in use by almost all of the major publishers, to some level or success or another. To many consumers this is preferable to launch day DLC that doesn’t actually download content, but simply unlocks items already on the game disc. In general, this seems like an effective tool. If you play online heavily you’re probably buying the game early (therefore new) to take advantage of the population. Those with little to no interest in online play can still buy later at used prices and be none the worse for wear. There have been a few notable missteps with this type of pass, however. The first one most of you will think of is Batman: Arkham City, in which Rocksteady used the pass to block access to the Catwoman content, a significant part of the campaign story and probably the biggest advertising point for the title leading up to launch. Which brings me back to Curt Schilling, as 38 Studios’ upcoming Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (which does not have an online component), will be using the $10 pass in a similar way. The “online” pass will unlock some Mass Effect inspired weapons and armor that can also be unlocked by playing the Mass Effect 3 demo, as well as an additional line of faction missions titled “House of Valor.” In response to fan outcry, Schilling addressed their concerns on the game’s forum.
It’s clear the intent right? To promote early adopters and MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ME, REWARD fans and gamers who commit to us with their time and money when it benefits the company.
Every single person on the planet could wait and not buy Reckoning, the game would hit the bargain bin at some point and you could get it cheaper. 38 Studios would likely go away.
That’s just how business works. We MUST make a profit to become what we want to become. THE ONLY way we do that is to make games you CANNOT WAIT TO BUY! If we do that, and you do that, we want to reward you with some cool free stuff as a thank you.
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The industry is in a very odd place. The data coming in on used game sales is not saying the things many thought it should, or would. But companies are still trying to figure out how to receive dollars spent on games they make, when they are bought. Is that wrong? if so please tell me how.Again, you can argue with methods, or process, and you absolutely can bitch and gripe about ANY DAY 1 DLC you are charged for, because I think I agree with many on that, but we are trying to create something here, product and company wise, and it takes dollars to do that.
The argument could be made, and should be made, that this is a brand new IP, which may not traditionally sell a lot of copies. It could very well be in the company’s best interest to have word of mouth build and get used copies of the game into the hands of traditionally thriftier buyers. Yes, it would result in some intial loss for 38 Studios and EA. But it also builds hype for the next release in the franchise, which could see much higher increase in sales. That’s long term thinking, and in an industry (and an economy) that needs increased cash flow, that may not be acceptable.
I don’t pretend to have all of the answers but I have to disagree with EA and 38 Studios’ plans for this game. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad plan in theory or concept. But I really feel it makes little sense in the context of a new IP. If they aren’t willing to invest in the franchise, why should I? Frankly, they could have had an almost identical plan, branded slightly different, and I believe the mass market would have swallowed it much easier. You see, Naughty Dog released Uncharted 3 in November with promises of DLC. You could have preordered all of the DLC at a discounted rate soon after release. Or, you could wait until each piece was released, buying only what you want, but ultimately paying a premium for not buying the bundle. While I believe Naughty Dog also used an online pass in conjunction with this, couldn’t they have been combined? Would 38 Studios and EA be better positioned if they announced a set amount of upcoming DLC, say two episodes priced at $7 each, that are accessed for free with a code included in the retail box? Is this the same as day one DLC that angers consumers? Possibly. But it could be actual expanded content as well. Stuff that would have been included in the game but caused a delay could be held off as expansion content, thereby getting the game to retail sooner and also providing you with a potential of $14 income from used buyers. Is that a perfect plan? Of course not. But promising retail buyers additional content, rather than taking content away from used buyers, is the kind of propagandized marketing that could make all the difference in how it’s accepted.
It seems I’m not the only one with this thought in mind either. As Prototype 2: RADNET Edition from Radical Entertainment and Activision will be coming with its own variation on April 24th. Retail copies of the game will have a one-time use code that unlocks 55 pieces of future content. While this will include in-game events and challenges, bonus mutations, etc., not all of the extra content will be game-related. Other items will include dynamic themes for your PS3 and behind the scenes footage. This edition will be a limited run, and it’s not clear yet whether the additional content will be available for a fee to other buyers.
For another variation, look no further than the upcoming reboot of the SSX franchise, another EA published title, which will also be utilizing an online pass when it launches on February 28th. Oddly, this pass won’t be required for online play. Players without the pass will be able to compete in the game’s Explore and Global Events online, where you’ll earn credits for use in buying upgraded equipment for your boarder or bonus modes. The catch is, if you want to spend those credits you’ll need to activate your pass, either through the retail code or a $10 purchase on PSN/XBLA. I’m not sure if this is a better or worse use of the online pass, just different. In a sense, this seems more similar to the free-to-play MMO strategy, letting you use the service free, but making it better or more competitive by spending money.
As a side note, if publishers hate used game sales so much why do they offer pre-order incentives to GameStop, the largest marketer of used games? Preorder bonuses are a good way to get people to buy new copies of course. But giving me a couple extra weapons in Mass Effect 3 by getting my copy from GameStop means EA is getting me into a store where I might decide to buy a used copy of Reckoning. I would expect EA to offer better incentives to competing retailers like Best Buy or Wal-Mart, stores that don’t traditionally offer used copies.
In the meantime, I have no intention of redeeming my online pass for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Is there market for selling that code to someone who bought the game used?