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Destiny: The Taken King CE Controversy Draws Dev Response
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Bungie developers are backpedaling due to recent outcry from the Destiny community over exclusive perks being offered to players purchasing the collector's edition of The Taken King expansion.
The issue stems in part from the sale of the $80 CE that allows for several in game emotes and perks that are missing from lower end editions of the expansion. The CE comes bundled with the base game and all other released content to date along with the special perks.
The necessity of purchasing the top end edition of the expansion in order to receive the perks is what most concerns long time players.
Bungie is taking a conciliatory tone by offering "Year One" players new, and ostensibly, better Loyalty Perks. What those are has not been revealed, but the team promises to do so on the next Weekly Update:
Dague told Forbes: “Year-one players won’t get the same perks as people who buy a collector’s edition. They’ll get something better. Tune into the Weekly Update for more."
Source: Gamespot
Comments
Smile
Pray tell. What lies?
Constant attempts to milk players ... hmm two DLC packs so far this is serious milking unlike e.g. WoW - 8 months of sub with no new content on top of the previous 14 months. Sorry Bungie are just not in the same league when it comes to milking.
However you spin it if you buy a loaf of bread that does not entitle you to all future loaves for free.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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What he said...
ESO tried acting like they were going to be the next DAoC type game with RvRvR, 3 unquie races for each faction. Then bam out of right field, they let loose the atrocious CE that enabled a race only obtained by buying said CE, the mount (which took quite a long time for a new player to earn), and the worse of all.. to roll any race on any faction.. That crap still leaves a bad taste in my mouth
I have a hard time believing the random hater on the internet.
Both Activision companies follow the same minimal output for maximum income policy though.
I've been playing since day 1 (well Beta actually) and I give exactly zero shits about spending $40 for some exclusive dance moves.
If I did, the $40 would be worth it to me.
But it is not, so I just purchased the standard digital edition.
I don't understand how capitalism and consumerism are that difficult for people to understand...
Something is only worth what you are willing to pay for it.
WoW - paying 14 months x 15 dollars in sub fee with no new content.
ESO - paying 12 months of 15 dollars in sub fee with no new content, only to have it switch free 2 play with cash shop.
And People complain about Bungie with Destiny? Which so far only has released 2 DLC in last 9 months you could buy both for less than 2 month MMO sub fee.
/facepalm!
Same with Guild Wars 2. You bought the Box two years ago and have been playing for FREE for 2 years now without having to drop a single dime and People start bitching and moaning they have to pay money for the upcoming expansion pack!
/facepalm!
These games are Online games with huge upkeep costs in hardware (data centers, servers, networking / bandwith fees) and personal costs!
Money has to come from somewhere to keep these games going!
_________________________________________________________
If you want to talk about Ripp offs and Money grabbing? Cryptic / PW Entertainment, TRION, Alods, etc with their so called Free 2 Play schemes and Casino royale Lock boxes !
Then we are talking about scams and money grabbing practices.
/shrug
The DLC price would not be so bad if the game was worth it to start with. My only regret is I wasted money on purchasing the game originally. Just shows you that good studios can't live off of past successes. Bungie certainly has not.
To be an online game you need content and that is severely lacking. So if you ask me, Bungie is good at milking their player base with little to offer for it.
Game seriously lacks open world content that no way reflects or meshes with the storyline.
Yeah, strikes can be run etc, but they get old, as the challenge aspect only occurs due to bugs, not boss mechanics.
I.e. Don't need to lure boss to certain location/switch on an emp that stuns boss for players to do dmg.
All you do is either kite or shoot the boss.
Kinda gets old quick.
I've paid $90 for over 500 hours worth of game play over 9 months.
That's a much better value than most games.
I look forward to the next year, and many more years of Destiny after that.
Like any new MMO-type game, they have their stumbles and their issues in the first year or so, but I've been around this genre for long enough to know that a studio's freshman game in this genre is always a little rough in the first year.
The world, characters, lore, and most importantly game play are still unmatched as far as I am concerned.
Yeah, there are things I don't like, things I'd like to see changed, but what game doesn't have flaws?
Destiny is the first game in years to hold my interest for more than a month or so. That right there is a massive achievement, and justifies the expense ten fold.
Its not actually new, although, it is new to consoles, but i think the biggest flaw Destiny suffered from, was lack of content, a severe lack of content, that they are charging so much for DLC to make up for that lack, is probably not a coincidence, is that really something that should be encouraged for future MMO development ?
I don't understand, so people are upset that there are emotes you can't have unless you pay 40 bucks?
Who cares? They're emotes!
How is this a controversy?
What did you think the people who invented and made Halo would create?
Temper your expectations in the forge that is reality.
Soooooo, first of all, you can't trust people with lots of money.
Secondly, you can't trust people who tell the truth (since Bungie said multiple times it's not an MMO).
I know I hate those filthy truth tellers.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
Interesting interview from Eurogamer a couple days ago. This interview kind of puts me off, Bungie guy sounds like a jerk.
edit: Wow 39.99 pounds is almost $80.00 canadian for an arguably small Xpac.
ORIGINAL STORY 22/6/15 7.25pm: Bungie has defended the full-fat £40 price tag of Destiny's upcoming major expansion The Taken King, as well as the fact that fans will have to repurchase the base game and its existing two add-ons to access exclusive content in The Taken King's Collector's Edition.
The Taken King expansion will launch in three different packages when it arrives this 15th September. It will be available as a £39.99 digital download for players who own the game and existing DLC already or as a disc-based £54.99 Legendary Edition which also contains the base Destiny game and existing DLC so new players can get all of the game's content in one package.
It's not cheap, but then Destiny has an incredibly engaged playerbase who still log on for more than three hours every single day, on average. Which is a lot of hours of play from the content released so far.
But then there's also The Taken King: Collector's Edition, which costs £79.99. This contains a number of physical collectibles and several pieces of exclusive in-game content, including three class-specific emotes and exotic weapons with XP boosts.
It's odd to see something like emotes - which only hardcore fans will really care about - being held back for a version of the game that also requires the purchase (or re-purchase) of the base game and its two add-ons.
Fans reacted in anger that content aimed at their wallets would be exclusive to a version of The Taken King that required they spend money on content they had already paid around £75 for - £40 for the base game and £35 for its DLC expansion pass.
Fans also criticised the fact that The Taken King costs as much as the full Destiny game did upon launch, and the fact that the Legendary Edition catch-up option for new players costs £54.99, meaning that newcomers get all existing content for just £15 when you factor in The Taken King's solo £40 price-tag.
In a wide-ranging discussion on the pricing of Destiny content last week at E3, The Taken King's creative director Luke Smith largely defended Bungie's decisions on the financial outlay required from fans - but also said that the developer would continue to listen to fan feedback.
Eurogamer: So it may seem like a small thing but you're adding exclusive content to the game - three new dance emotes - that players can't get unless they rebuy the main game and the two existing DLCs. Is that right?
Luke Smith: There is no way right now for you to get the new dance emotes without doing that. Those are Collector's Edition exclusive. We've set some stuff aside for that edition specifically to really make it appeal to fans who have engaged with the game already and also to people that will enter the game this autumn.
Eurogamer: Can you see that some fans are confused that you're asking them to buy stuff they already own?
Luke Smith: Yeah, I can totally empathise with those people. But the Collector's Edition is a pretty cool package for people who want to pursue that stuff. Otherwise, surely what you're saying is that you would want to buy them separately, right?
Eurogamer: Well, yeah. I would rather do that - pay a few pounds or dollars or whatever - than spend money on things I already own.
Luke Smith: [Laughs] Well, we have nothing more to talk about regarding your opportunity to spend extra money in Destiny, other than The Taken King and the three versions we've announced.
Eurogamer: Is Bungie considering selling customisation items such as this separately? Or is that against the studio's philosophy for the game?
Luke Smith: Rather than comment on the Bungie philosophy, here's what I'll tell you. If someone made a golf clap emote, I would spend money on that. Like when someone falls in the Vault of Glass. At the moment I bow when I'm trying to mess with them. So... I empathise with some of the things you're saying.
Eurogamer: I feel like you should put some of these things that you are empathising with into practice.
Luke Smith: We have nothing to announce today. We're reading the forums and the reactions to this week's announcements. We will continue to discuss player feedback with respect to the the game and Collector's Edition content.
Eurogamer: Taken King costs £39.99, which is almost same as base game. Does its content justify that?
Luke Smith: I'm going to use American dollars, because British pounds are just foreign to me...
Eurogamer: Literally foreign.
Luke Smith: Indeed, an ocean away. So, purchasers get a big, rich campaign. Fully voiced cinematics and the story of what happens when an angry alien god wages war on a solar system, all with a satisfying conclusion. You also have a new subclass to pursue and unlock. We also have a bunch of new strikes - we're not yet talking about how many - and a new raid. We're showing two new PVP modes and four PVP maps this week, and it's a fairly safe bet we're not done yet showing things off. So I'm fairly excited about the value proposition. We're calling this a major expansion because it is. We're giving people a whole new place to go, that new destination...
Eurogamer: I get that it is big but it is also the same price as the base game. That had four areas rather than one and more missions than the Taken King. Why is it the same price?
Luke Smith: All I can do is answer that with the same thing I just gave you... We're really comfortable with the value we're giving to players this autumn. I believe that once we begin to share more, players will be even more excited. And for existing players it also comes with the Founder's pack with a new Sparrow, shader and emblem.
Oryx, father of Crota. He isn't too pleased with you.
Eurogamer: Just not the emotes.
Luke Smith: It doesn't because they come with the Collector's Edition.
Eurogamer: Final question on prices -
Luke Smith: Is it also the final question on the emotes?
Eurogamer: I'm not going to mention them again. I can't get them.
Luke Smith: But you can if you buy the Collector's Edition.
Eurogamer: I'm not going to buy the game and the two DLCs all over again.
Luke Smith: Okay, but first I want to poke at you on this a little bit.
Eurogamer: Poke at me?
Luke Smith: You're feeling anxious because you want this exclusive content but you don't know yet how much you want it. The notion of spending this money is making you anxious, I can see it -
Eurogamer: I do want them. I would buy them -
Luke Smith: If I fired up a video right now and showed you the emotes you would throw money at the screen.
Eurogamer: What I'm saying is that fan frustration is not because they don't understand the proposition. It comes regardless of how cool the exclusive content is. The frustration - and mine as a fan - is that the method of acquiring it requires me to re-buy content I bought a year ago.
Luke Smith: [Long pause] It's about value. The player's assessment of the value of the content.
Eurogamer: Final question on prices - The Taken King and everything released so far comes at a significant price reduction for people who want to jump in to Destiny this September. All games do Game of the Year editions now - I understand that, that's not really an issue. But when you look at the reduction involved - it's barely any more than just buying The Taken King solo.
Luke Smith: This autumn we want to have a moment of convergence where players like you and me who are engaged with Destiny can match up with people who are just joining in, who didn't pick the game up last year for one reason or another.
It's also important to remember the temporal valuation of content. If you played during The Dark Below, you were playing when there were Swordbearers everywhere. That's now gone and you can't recapture that now. Some things are being left behind as we move forward. It's the same with House of Wolves, right now, with the Fallen showing up all over the solar system. Those things are going to be less relevant as we move forward and the Taken are everywhere.
We don't have a way to go back in time and experience those things again. So the players who were there can say 'I was here when...' and 'I did it when it was new'.
I wish I had a way of better telling players that I was there back then. That I had a better way of embracing the legacy of my time with the game. This is something that we on the development team talk about all the time. It's really important that we figure out ways to embrace the legacy that players created in the first year... I'm not going to talk about how we're going to do that but it is right in the forefront of our brains. It's missing right now in Destiny.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-22-destiny-the-taken-king-director-defends-40-expansion-price-tag
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
To be fair, that's the price of new games in the UK. It's also very close to the new price of games in Canada with the upcoming round of titles. I'm not sure what constitutes "a small Xpac". I'm not sure how long it will be, etc. nor have I read how long it'll be. The first game was like 15-20 hours when I played through. So I suppose that anywhere in that area would make it "worth" it?
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
Wonder why people get shafted on the price of games in the UK? Are the taxes are included in the price?
The difference is brutal. Even more so if it's the gaming companies just charging more in the UK.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
I THINK, prices are always higher in the UK. Not sure why that is. I guess it's what you get for having a currency with a value higher than the USD
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Aussies have it bad too.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
You must not have read the Eurogamer article very well. A good article requires hard questions and the Bungie rep filled the article with inane responses. Journalists that only ask easy ones just get laughed at.
Nothing wrong with charging for DLC, just that people expect decent content at that price which they most certainly are NOT getting.
UK & EU prices always have VAT automatically added in unlike North America's sales tax being added after. VAT in the UK is 20%, but never fear I read that the US government was looking into a VAT system for the US
. UK income tax rates are much lower than the US though and add in basically free health care for all, it evens out in the end.
This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.
Probably good that Bungie gets some egg on their face. Makes them realize that they no longer walk on water and their supporters expect something more than a slapped together expansion.
For those that like the game, let's hope this is a wake up call tor Bungie and they learn from their mistakes.
Destiny is the best 7.5/10.0 out there.
The first two DLC have been well worth the $30 I paid for the expansion pass.
Taken King is adding (and changing/updating) more than $40 worth of content.
Yeah, Destiny is not a full on MMO - it never pretended to be. Compared to a full on MMO, it is very light on content.
Compared to a full feature RPG, it is light on story content.
Compared to a full feature FPS - it is miles ahead on content and features.
So if you go into it knowing what you are buying, an FPS with shared-world elements, some MMO aspects, and an RPG back end, it really is the first of its kind - and offers a ton of interesting stuff to do.
There is a LOT to Destiny that the game doesn't really explain or highlight too well on the surface - which is not the best design decision, but the depth and complexity is all there - and when you do look for it, and find it, Bungie has achieved the amazing feat of creating another sci-fi/fantasy universe in which players want to spend time in.
Being a MMO veteran, I've given Bungie the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things - this is their "freshman" entry into the MMO (ish) space, and a game unlike any other. There are going to be mistakes made, growing pains, and questionable decisions.
But over the past 9 months, they have constantly and steadily improved and added to the game.
Sure, there have been some missteps (Auto rifle "balance" anyone?) but they have shown a willingness and eagerness to adapt, to change.
Taken King is going to be a big, big leap forward for the game.
It is poised to be their best storytelling yet, the largest expansion to the game yet (by far), and all signs also point to a herculean effort to overhaul, fix, tweak, and adapt many of the core game play systems and features that are certainly in need of some TLC.
On the subject of the CE goodies, I'm glad they are offering them stand-alone - I'll probably buy them. I also bought the original CE, I'm a sucker for exclusive goodies - even if they are worthless in a few weeks and/or purely cosmetic.