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DLCs = sub fee in disguise?
jpnole
Member UncommonPosts: 1,698
in Guild Wars 2
First let me say I am a fan of GW and I will be buying GW2 and all DLCs and expansions. I also have no problems subbing 2 games at a time as I've done it many times. That being said, I'm not so sure GW2 can be considered true B2P. Take Dragon Age for example. After I bought the first 4 DLCs I realized I was dropping the same $ as I was subbing AoC or Lotro at the time. I eventually quit playing although it wasn't entirely because of the stealthy DLC fees... more out of boredom and lack of multiplayer. Anyways, you get my point. Do you think GW2 DLCs will equal a sub in disguise?
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Like another poster above me stated, it's not at all a sub fee in disguise. That said, it is in fact how they will support themselves, and it does in fact take the place of a sub fee. But if you don't want to buy the DLC you don't have to, and it won't interfere with the game you already bought whatsoever.
So to put it simply, you don't have to buy the DLC unless you want to, just like GW1. Not to mention the xpacs for GW1 were full blown games. They weren't even xpac's, there was only 1 true expansion, and they included loads of content.
True but DLCs are designed so that you are missing out by not getting them. You can bet that GW2s DLC will not be "optional" if you want to experience all the game has to offer and get the most from it. Besides, the mmo market has evolved to the point where a company won't be able to turn a profit on box sales alone. The DLCs will be prominent and have a very big incentive to purchase. Still, I will be buying them all!
Good point - I guess it would be like still subbing, but not being locked into the monthly payment - pay on your terms when you are ready to progress through the DLCs.
I don't actually, an interview with a GW2 designer about dungeons and the probability of some of them being made available as DLCs caused a major upheaval at GuildWars2Guru.com. The designer quickly corrected his statements en said that they will only make things available for purchase through the cash shop if the community accepts it ("accepting" does not mean "wanting" or "agreeing with").
No it won't, at least not in my opinion. What one of the lead people in Guild Wars 2 has stated is this (mixed in with some of my opinions):
In todays pay to play games, if content isn't up to par or nothing comes out for many months, you pay monthly for more of nothing. That's the key, more of nothing, sounds like fun right. You pay to keep playing for possible future expansions that are just gonna cost you more money on top of the monthly fee you've been paying while no real content updates to the game has come out for quite some time.
In Guild Wars 2, we want each induvidual player to judge if the content update is worth the price tag they have to pay.
As in, a content update comes out, you wait a bit, and buy it if other people say it's good. If it's not good then you pass up on it but you are still able to play all the rest of the game at no monthly charge. In essence, you aren't getting pumped for money for nothing new, the developers has to earn your money.
That's also part of the key element, the developers has to earn your money.
If they do badly and see that many people haven't purchased a content update, then they understand that they have done something wrong and need to fix that with the next content update, or make tweaks to the existing one aswell as being more clever about it in the future content updates.
In a pay to play game, not so much, as once when the subscription is up, it's goodbye dewd, renew subscription or buzz off.
Personally, I think this model is a lot better, when there isn't a cash shop that takes raw advantage of the playerbase, as far as I know, Guild Wars 1 has never been like that, neither will Guild Wars 2.
Edit:
As some others here have said, there's no guarantee that Guild Wars 2 will have DLC, so where I've written content update in my post, I also refer to that as any possible expansions, incase Guild Wars 2 actually doesn't offer any DLC at all.
I was talking about any and all content updates in general. All the while, between, you do not have to pay a monthly fee.
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You are making too many assumptions. First of all, DLC wasn't confirmed at all, it was mentioned as a possibility. Also, even if it was equal to subscription, it's better, because you can buy them whenever you want, you can play the rest of the game without paying it (unlike subscription).
Funny that you complain about DLC in buy2play game, but you don't have a problem with paid expansions for subscription games. At least EVE Online has free expansions, other games (eg. WoW) require you to pay for subscription AND for expansions AND they have a item mall (apart from TRH, no gameplay affecting items afaik). So all that money for subscription doesn't really go for content, it's just +++ money for developers.
GW1 had a DLC, it's called Bonus Mission Pack. It just adds some backstory to the game, it doesn't give you any special items, forcing you to buy it to stay competitive (it does offer some unique skins, but the dungeon loot has better skins). It could work the same way in GW2 - if you can't wait for next expansion and you want some bonus optional content, pay the $.
Also GW1 still has free content updates (GW Beyond), which according to many shouldn't happen in no-subscription 6 year old game.
Well tbh with you we dont even know if there will be DLC's or not. They said that it was a posiibility if the players wanted it, but they never said there will be dlc's... its just a thought
Also even if there is dlc's.. il be buying every single one of them..along with any costumes.. or anything else they come out with.. then again when i played aion i bought that magazine simply for 15 black dyes and cool looking wings. For some of us it wont bother, and i trust anet to not make the dlc needed. If you look at gw1 they had the bonus mission pack for it which is $10 i think. Did you need it? absolutely not, it just showed more back story to the game and in no way effected the actual game at all. <-- something to think about when talking about this
Are you sure about that because here is something arenanet said for some time ago!
Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It’s not true – you know it, and they know it. Gamers may buy the argument that your MMO requires a subscription fee, if you can tell them what they are getting for their money. This is the legacy of games like Guild Wars, Maple Story, and Silkroad Online, all of which introduced new business models into the MMO genre and were quite successful. The subscription model is still perfectly viable, but the pain threshold is very low now. It’s no secret that gamers don’t want to pay a subscription fee. If you can convince them that your game offers enough value to justify it, more power to you! But be prepared to defend your decision, often and loudly, and back it up over the lifetime of your game.
Well, game must support itself somehow. What I like about gw's 'DLC' is that all of them are huuuge like a whole new game. Much better that having montly miniature updates and ocassionaly bigger updates while paying the monthly fee. This way, I can choose what deserves to be bought, and It always turns out that all of the content is worth it.
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DLC is the only kind of fee i would be more then ok with in online games.
1st because you dont' have to get it if you don't want to.
2nd because it's more content, not just fixes or months and months without nothing new in the game.
As long as the main body of DLC = playable content i will be happy and buy it. In fact i will encourage it as often as possible (while maintaining quality).
Much better that then a focus on purchasable in game rewards (which I personally hate, can't see the joy in, and don't buy).
Why on earth would you have an issue with buying playable content, as in DA? I dont get that... You expect them to continue supplying new content indefinitely for free?
There is nothing 'stealth' in offering extra playable DLC for your exisitng game.
The bonus mission packs in GW1 were pretty much DLC but I didn't buy them. As long as it doesn't continue the core story I personally tend to ignore DLC. If GW1 is anything to go by, I may still be able to do that.
This is not a game.
I think that is about the only type of DLC they will offer. Multiplayer dungeons and such offered as DLC would be a huge mistake and I doubt ArenaNet would go that route.
They was going to offer dungeons as DLC.
DLC is not a sub fee in disguise. You buy the downloadable content once and that is it. You are not charged a fee for next month or any month after that. Also downloadable content is optional.
they have never said that
The nice thing about this pricing model is that you pay once you get content; no more P2P for 8 months to get a disapointing content update. They say "this is what we worked on. If you want it give us $20." and you get something each and every time you pay them; it's like goods up front.
How much did it cost to have 30mb/s internet back in 2000. Now how much is it now? Technology is getting cheaper, and GW2 doesn't utilize new technology. I mean, it's a fresh breath, but it isn't new technology. Servers and networking are simply not new technology anymore, and so, they aren't not as expensive as they used to be.
And to be straight, DLC is a very good fair way of earning money. P2P games still have expansions, and item shops, so really, they are plain ripping you off.
Blizzard could run for two years without any new content, and they'd still be making money. ArenaNet is pressured to make a good expansion every year or so, else they go broke.
If I started WoW now, I would get all the new features (minus expansions) for the same price of $15 a month. That means someone else paid for my content. In a reverse situation, you have been paying $15 a month for 4 years, and all the content updates and patches were paid by you. So all these newcomers are basically getting content that you paid for. Fair?
Well in GW2, you pay $60 for the box. A newcomer will also pay $60. And if you pay $20 for DLC, well that's yours... so the newcomer doesn't get it. He must also pay $20 for that DLC. Much more fair right?
Also, as much as I like ArenaNet, I don't think they have the ability to push out DLC every month for $15. So in the end, GW2 will be cheaper and more fair.
As of now, GW's online store doesn't have a single DLC that introduces new content. It sells campaigns, an expansion, and purely aesthetic modifications such as costumes and appearance changes. Purchasing things from the GW online store will not in any way give a player an advantage over another player that hasn't purchased anything from the store. I'm sure they will continue this on to GW2, they have already stated so.
"Many have eyes, but few have seen." - Goddess Lyssa
I believe your logic is off.
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This thread is asinine, however I can see the spirit of your argument with Dragon Age because the DLC came out fairly frequent and was unfairly priced. This, however, just doesn't apply to the Guild Wars franchise. Again, I see the spirit of your argument, however if you're a fan of Guild Wars and have played the games you should realise that this sort of argument is rather stupid. The Guild Wars games were full MORPGs and after the G:WEN expansion came out there has been nothing that anyone has had to purchase. Why would you even think, given the history of the franchise, that they would offer DLC that is a subscription in disguise?
(1)TL:DR must be your way of saying that thinking hurts. Then again, this may explain why it looks like you responded to the post without using your brain.
(2) It's not about community, is it? You just have nothing better to do.
My logic is that the campaigns aren't DLCs, and that in games like D&DO where you can buy dungeons would be a DLC that introduces new content. So with that logic, yes, GW doesn't have a single DLC that introduces new content.
"Many have eyes, but few have seen." - Goddess Lyssa
And whats the bonus mission pack?
Weapon skins... aesthetic...
"Many have eyes, but few have seen." - Goddess Lyssa