BioWare Defends Mass Effect 3 Launch-Day DLC

[Something Amyss]

This is different.

Honey, it's always different.

This is Day 1 DLC.

Keep in mind, the reason this discussion started was someone saying that no story content was good, and backing that up. That means that, for the intents and purposes of my prior comment, it doesn't matter if it's Day 1 DLC or not. But sure, let's go down that rabbit hole.

On the day your game launches you know what do you want? People playing and enjoying the game with no content held whatsoever (big or small). After a few days, you can swoop in for the kill and grab more money with DLC - this is a social contract that we accepted (maybe we shouldn't have but this ship have sailed).

"Held" is such an iffy term. I mean, first, let's be clear. This is bonus content for the people who paid extra for a special edition. The reason you can buy it is so you don't lose out if you didn't buy the special edition.

And now, I'm going to do something I don't exactly like, and I can't believe it's come to this.

I'm not sure why people feel entitled (and I hate the word, and do not use it lightly) to all additional content just because they're purchasers. The idea of special editions goes back at least fifty years, and often there are bonus editions released alongside the original. It's a fairly standard practice these days with big artists to have bonus editions. I help edit a weekly music newsletter and pore over dozens of CD releases most weeks, and with a few exceptions (holiday dead zones, for example), it's INCREDIBLY rare to not see some sort of dual edition on the lists.

Why don't people complain about this day one premium content? That bonus tracks were "withheld" by Warner, EMI, or Universal? Usually, we get more extra content percentage-wise, too. A single bonus track is usually about one-tenth the length of the overall record, and many of these bonus editions have an extra CD or DVD with more than just a single piece of content on them. Why don't people feel entitled to the bonus content on DVDs? Or BD exclusive content? Hell, now we have iTunes exclusive content.

So why is the gaming sector of the entertainment industry so different? People often compare the use of online passes to the needs of other entertainment, but that works both ways. In this instance, this is strictly premium content for premium purchases at a premium price, and other media does this as well, but they don't get crap. If music and film don't need to justify additional day one content at a premium, why should a game company?

As far as a social contract goes, there is no such contract. And let's be clear: The video game industry is a collective of businesses. The only real contract we have with them is "you make a product, and if we are pleased, we will buy it." And we don't even uphold that end of the contract. Consumers have developed this notion of a positive relationship with businesses that are actively screwing them, based on the mentality that if we just bend over and take it up the tailpipe, they'll be nice to us next time. That's a social contract that says "use me." And that bothers me a lot. But that's not specific to this point.

When you are too anxious to grab our money, some may take offense. It is like going for sex on the first date - some don't mind, but some prefer to be f***ed on their own terms.

There's that double standard again. But it's not even really desperation, it's perceived desperation. Accusatory desperation. It's kind of like calling someone a slut because they're not completely reserved on their first date. How would you feel if this really was limited edition content? If the only way to get the content was to be one of the pre-orderers of the Collector's Edition? And since it's already sold out, tough luck if you want the bonus content.

Seriously, how is that better? It's certainly less of a cash grab, so logically, it should be an improvement.

 

[Something Amyss]

Are people really so ignorant as to believe that this wasn't scripted EXACTLY this way?

Of COURSE it was. What's your point?

I mean haha, like DLC isn't planned? Or that perhaps the pricing scheme isn't decided MONTHS before the release? Come on. Connect the damn dots. This isn't some indie dev, working out of his house. This is a corporation. A company that employs a ton of people. How can people defend this cash grab as if there's anyway to justify it?

Considering this was bonus content designed for a collector's edition and known quite a while ago, I have to repeat: Of COURSE they planned it.

Still doesn't mean it was part of the main project or could be viably made so in their time frame for release of the game. Especially since it was clearly never intended to.

I swear the next DLC step is for companies to start charging us for patches and bug fixes. Though at this point I can't blame them. Half the damn community of dedicated gamers would just support them shouting the rest of the community are entitled.

Oooh, slippery slope fallacy.

Since when is it wrong for the CONSUMER to expect more for less?

And a strawman fallacy right after. I'm getting all tingly.

You want more for less, exercise your right as a consumer to not buy this game. If people actually said no once in a while to the game industry, they might actually change their tune. But time and again, people have ranted about stuff with Bioware/EA, but are still buying Mass Effect 3. Some have decided not to, but the overwhelming message thus far has been "we're outraged, but we have so little self control, we need to buy Mass Effect 3!"

Still, this is a rather silly place to throw that out. This is premium content for a premium price. This is a standard practice. Not just in gaming, either.

Every time I see someone mention the word "entitlement" I want to deck them.

Unfortunately, as someone who hates the overuse of the word "entitlement" along with "innovation" and "immersion," I still have to call the notion that gamers are entitled to all the content on launch entitlement.

 

[Erttheking]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

You'd think that, but I'm sure the guy will be able to argue you his way around all of that, using convoluted logic and evidence only he's seen and is unavailable to show us.

 

[Android2137]

They all added something to the story.

So expanding the story through DLC=bad.

If you have to pay for it, yes.

Optional characters already exist in the story as-is. I'm pretty sure you can't get all the dialogue options on one playthrough, but adding more options is wrong because...

I don't mind so much if they're free. I don't like the idea of having to pay for extra characters and the missions that would be attached.

 

[Erttheking]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

You'd think that, but I'm sure the guy will be able to argue you his way around all of that, using convoluted logic and evidence only he's seen and is unavailable to show us.

Ah well. if that is the case we can still throw these accusations at him and laugh as he swears like a sailor and tries poorly to swerve around them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of some ME2 playthroughs.

 

[Zhukov]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

 

[Erttheking]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

 

[Actino]

Zeel, you are not entitled to anything. If you don't think ME3 will be worth the money, don't buy it. Don't boycott it based on unjustified, speculative reasons.

Bioware most likely worked harder than most developers to get this DLC to people for the launch date, and they should be allowed to charge whatever the fuck they want for the extra effort they put in.

You don't have to buy the DLC, it is completely optional. Nor is it essential.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, that's his blog alright

Fucking hilarious, no?

 

[Zhukov]

Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh, it's his all right. Note how far back the entry dates go.

I didn't read the whole thing for fear of contagion, but what I did see appeared to be a steady descent into madness and rage.

 

[Erttheking]

Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh, it's his all right. Note how far back the entry dates go.

I didn't read the whole thing for fear of contagion, but what I did see appeared to be a steady descent into madness and rage.

A descent implies that he was sane at some point.

 

[Erttheking]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, that's his blog alright

Fucking hilarious, no?

My god, Chris-chan has a rival.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, that's his blog alright

Fucking hilarious, no?

My god, Christ-chan has a rival.

We need to get marketing on this.

We've got some money to make here.

 

[Erttheking]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, that's his blog alright

Fucking hilarious, no?

My god, Christ-chan has a rival.

We need to get marketing on this.

We've got some money to make here.

"Looks at post" damn it I meant Chris-chan not Christ-chan. Great, now I'm going to Hell for sacrilege.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Zeel won't be back until the game comes out, but when he does I have a gut feeling he's going to be more brutal than ever. There's good news though, he's worked himself into a corner, if he buys the game and criticizes it, he compromised his ideals and gave money to EA, but if he doesn't buy it, he can't properly criticize it. He could pirate the game I suppose, but if he does he'll be perma banned from this site if he admits it. Yeah, this guy isn't exactly Patton.

He could just play a friend's copy. Or claim to have done so.

You just know he's the kind of person who would play a 40 hour game, despite hating every second of it, just so he could complain about it on the internet.

Now, I'm going to go check his fantastic blog to see what enlightening thoughts he's had in the wake of his suspension.

Wait, wouldn't that make him friends with a fanboy? Wait a minute that blog is actually his?! I thought someone put it up to make fun of him! Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, that's his blog alright

Fucking hilarious, no?

My god, Christ-chan has a rival.

We need to get marketing on this.

We've got some money to make here.

"Looks at post" damn it I meant Chris-chan not Christ-chan. Great, now I'm going to Hell for sacrilege.

No, I know you meant Chris-chan.

Granted, Zeel isn't Sonichu, but he's got his own special brand of crazy that we can market.

 

[Actino]

Zeel, how many fucking times do people have to tell you? The prothean is in the standard game anyway. That's why the prothean was in the leaked script back in november. That's why the DLC is not integral to the story. That's why, when bioware release optional content which you don't have to buy, getting mad over it makes you look like a whiny, spoilt ****.

 

[Outcast107]

What page is Zeel blog posted? I want to read it for myself as well.

OT: Still thinks this isn't worth fighting over.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

What page is Zeel blog posted? I want to read it for myself as well.

OT: Still thinks this isn't worth fighting over.

You can find it here. [http://xkingxzeel.blogspot.com/]

You're welcome