CD Projekt Does Witcher 2 DLC Right, Makes It All Free

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Aww, I rather liked paying for horse armour.

 

[Dectilon]

Shouldn't such an article be as neutral as possible? Because the headlines already isn't.

No news posts on the escapist are neutral. It's not like they're trying to hide it though, and it's no big deal. And it's an entertainment site anyway. Real journalism can be safely left with real journalists.

 

[teebeeohh]

The worth of DLC never changes, as its worth is entirely dependent on someone owning the game in the first place.

thats just wrong. example: map packs for games hardly anyone plays online anymore.
Wouldn't it be better business to reduce the price of DLC, especially since the price of games is falling, so when someone picks up a game for 20? they not be willing the pay 20? for all the DLC that accumulated over time but if you just bundle up everything and charge 5? for it you may increase sales. remember who someone said that people are still buying horse armor for Oblivion? wouldn't you sell way more if you reduced the price to just a few cent, a lot of people i know would buy that stuff just for laughs and giggles. And as you pointed out it doesn't take up storage space so you really don't have much to loose.

short version: drop in demand should mean a drop in price, it's just better business.

 

[scyther250]

No, expansion packs have never been that small. Expansion packs add at least thirty hours of content, ala Awakening for DA:O. Which is why I was so pissed when developers started going the route of "DLC." It's just 1/10th the content at 1/2 the price of expansion packs. Even the best of it.

You mean that, traditionally, expansion packs haven't been that small. There's no legal rule as to the amount of content that delineates between DLC and expansion pack.

 

[Levethian]

So much respect for this developer. I hope they stick to their sentiments hidden within The Witcher 2 trailer.

Spoiler

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j78/Levethian/2r3jmkp.jpg?t=1305414524

 

[ImprovizoR]

Watch this video and get hyped

Just compare it to Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age 2. Neither one can hold a candle to this gem. In pre-beta it looks more awesome than Dragon Age. And I love DA:Origins and I like Dragon Age 2. The atmosphere in The Witcher 2 is insane. It makes the bland world of Dragon Age 2 look even more bland.

 

[Xanthious]

I don't know what to think. I'm kind of shocked to see a company giving stuff away like this. You just know publishers like Activision and EA would be tripping over themselves trying to milk every last nickel and dime they could out of the DLC CD Projekt is giving away for free. I feel I should buy this game on principal alone. Needless to say all my friends with gaming PCs will be getting this for their birthdays if they don't have it already throughout the coming year.

Developers like CD Projekt and Stardock (or is Stardock a publisher?) are companies that "get it" and are companies I will gladly go out of my way to support in any way shape or form I can. Companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Activision on the other hand can all go bugger each other with pointy objects before they see any of my money.

 

[Bob the frantic]

Shouldn't such an article be as neutral as possible? Because the headlines already isn't.

It's like the article WANTS this to become a flamewar about DLC. >>
Where did objectivity go?

Sadly this appears to be a very common trend with Headlines on the Escapist lately. Fanning the flames and joining unnecessary riots. If I want to hear opinions, I go to the Forums, now I have them thrown into my face in headlines.

Ah well.

CD Project is great. CD Project also knows how to pull marketing; "free DLC" and their release of region locks are nothing but Marketing stunts, as much as people might want to believe they do all of this out of the goodness of their hearts.

I like DLC. I also like paying for it to support Developers.

On the first point, remember that the Escapist is releasing news here, which is generally written in order to gain people's attention, and a title with 'Witcher 2 Does DLC right' is pretty catching and will make more people read it. (That's how I found it). But sadly, I agree that they may be too provoking on some topics.

On to point 2, You're probably right about that, and I don't mind giving extra support to good developers, but CD Projekt may just care about their customers - they haven't screwed them over yet

 

[Not-here-anymore]

The GameStop Facebook page recently held a public Q&A with the developers of Witcher 2 where fans asked how they'd be handling DLC. The reply was: "Let me announce that all our DLCs will be FREE. All of them. If anything will be for purchase, those will be expansion packs."

What, pray tell, is the difference between DLC and an expansion pack? Surely in a single player RPG they're one and the same thing?

Or is it just a difference in size or something?

 

[EonEire]

Your move Bioware.........

Take another look. EA is their publisher. They couldn't give away free DLC if they wanted to. It's freakin' EA.

Ah yeah I know Ea have their paws all over Bioware but now may be the time to flex what little control they have and say, "Catch more flies with honey"

 

[Adzma]

I feel I should buy a copy of The Witcher 2, just to support such a fantastic attitude for a developer to have towards their fans. I don't know if it could even run on my laptop but I feel the deserve my money none the less.

I certainly did after they announced they wouldn't force customers to set their region to their home location and I've never even played Witcher 1. Take that stupid Australian censorship and stupid Australian price mark-ups!

 

[Anah'ya]

That's fucking bullshit and you know it.

Oh, why, of course. I would certainly agree that it is bullshit to use a long tried and tested method of asking money for small (or big) additions to a product. Why, we have not seen such practice in the business world before, it is an entirely new thing! I was not asked whether or not I want a sports wheel and sports seats for my car, those were included without additional charge, and so was the media port and the snazzy colour. I would certainly be upset should that have been the case.

So how on earth did developers survive without that constant stream of income before, eh? $50 or $60 a pop is more than enough to pay for development costs and then some as long as you make a half-decent game and people are aware of it.

I don't know. How could they have? I mean, in all honesty (and lets be realistic here), it could not possibly have been any less costly to create Neverwinter Nights or Deus Ex, in comparison to Mass Effect 2 or Deus Ex Human Revolution. I mean, its not as though the production cost has gone up. They still employ the same amount of people for the projects, and certainly there was no increase in resources needed. Voice Actors will gladly sit through hours of recording sessions for a nice breakfast and lunch at the studio.

Feel like your game could use more content? Great, that works out nicely for everybody...make an expansion.

DLCs are expansions. Kettle. Pot. An expansion, when downloaded, is downloadable content. I do not quite fathom where the difference is. What kept studios from applying the model we see today, is the fact that access to the internet was restricted back in the days, and expansion packs in the form of CDs were the only viable option to expand on their products. Not only with new content, but also by patching.

Now these boundaries are gone, and that does not herald the decent of the riders of the gaming apocalypse. Large "expansions" will proceed to happen, along with bite sized updates. And each should cost money, as time was spent making them, and time is (sadly, as those who have to work to live realise) is money.

The core proponents of DLC? Publishers like EA and Activision. These aren't starving artists we're talking about. In that they're neither starving, nor artists. They just feed on the lifeblood of other developers until all that's left are husks of their former selves. That's what you're actually supporting with your insane and self-mutilating love of DLC.

I do not recall myself talking about starving artists. Starving artists usually are on the street, starving. And painting pavements. Or drawing portraits of folks for change. If you are referring to me raising the name "EA" against the knight in shining armour CDP, then you might have misunderstood me. I was referring to EA having a small beginning, and not starting out with a pitchfork and devil horns and a suitcase of money under one arm.

What I am supporting with my "insane and self-mutilating love of DLC" is people working in the game industry.

I like games.

 

[Delusibeta]

The GameStop Facebook page recently held a public Q&A with the developers of Witcher 2 where fans asked how they'd be handling DLC. The reply was: "Let me announce that all our DLCs will be FREE. All of them. If anything will be for purchase, those will be expansion packs."

What, pray tell, is the difference between DLC and an expansion pack? Surely in a single player RPG they're one and the same thing?

Or is it just a difference in size or something?

Size, basically. Judging how they're handling the release, they're very much in the old school (world map and a large manual with every purchase), so I would expect "expansion packs" to mean "enough content that we can sell it on its own on a retail disc". See also the Shivering Isles expansion for Oblivion, and compare it with the Knights of the Nine compilation of DLC.

Of course, since I don't know what CDProjekt considers "an expansion pack", I'm just speculating. But then again, these are the guys who gave away the Enhanced Edition of the first game as a patch. They have a very good track record for free DLC.

 

[IamGamer41]

Wow this is so misleading and you guys are eating it up.

There may be free DLC, but you'd likely have more DLC if a price tag was on it. Valve gives out free DLC because for a multiplayer game like Team Fortress, it's a good business decisions, allowing the community to stay large, thus enabling a long shelf life for what would otherwise have stopped selling long ago. Notice how they said they were doing expansion packs, which means that content that would have otherwise been DLC will now be bundled together. You will still end up paying for what you originally were going to, now you just get it all at once.

DLC can be anything from a few new quests/items or new outfits for the players.A expansion pack is like 15 to 20+ hours of new content.See how you should charge for one and not the other?

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

Somewhere, Activision is having a tit fit. Not that it matters, simple people will keep buying maps at 3 bucks apiece. Something that used to be made by people on the net.