I’m sure a lot of you have noticed that more games are adopting the Season Pass model for DLC distribution. In case you haven’t, a quick rundown of the scheme is that you pay a fixed sum (say $40), and this gets you full access to all the predetermined DLC releases for the time period (season) they have given, which will be available on release for a higher price. The first game to implement this was Red Faction: Guerrilla with it’s 3-pack, scheduled DLC in 2009, though it wasn’t called a Season Pass then. The player bought a three pack of DLC that would be released after the game, even though there were little to no details about the later two DLC’s. This is what really has me worried about the Season Pass DLC model. You are buying these things on faith.
Pretty accurate description of my feelings on Season Pass DLC
Most of the information that I can find that relates to the Borderlands 2 Season Pass DLC is that it “is big DLC stuff,” as in pertaining to a narrative that expands the story. Notice the date on the article is after the Borderlands 2 release. It’s good to hear that they are trying to give as much product as they can for the price you pay, but there is little to no information about the latter DLCs. You are really having to trust Gearbox on this one, and while it may be pretty safe to bet on them coming out with some worthwhile DLC, Gearbox isn’t the only company implementing this style.
pre·mi·um – a sum above the nominal or par value of a thing.
The first game that really put this scheme on my radar was Battlefield 3, published by Electronic Arts and developed by DICE. Ironically, my only brush with DLC has been with DICE’s Mirror’s Edge, and I would say that those maps were worth it. I don’t know how much I trust a “tactical” shooter with providing DLC that is anything more than map packs. Battlefield 3′s website is advertising “20 new maps, 20 new weapons, 10+ new vehicles, 4+ game modes, 30+ assignments, 20+ dog tags, and more,” where more is basically just adding on statistic tracking and some “exclusive in-game weapons.” At first I thought that assignments were something similar to the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Spec Ops missions, but I have come to find out that they are simply achievements that you unlock that then unlock your DLC guns. I don’t give a damn about the series and that made me mad ass hell. That’s like paying for a hamburger at McDonalds and then having to work a shift to get the hamburger. The fact that people support this is baffling to me. This season pass costs you $49.99, and still very little has been released about the final DLC piece “End Game.” Hell a release date isn’t even set. Why should I trust them?
There are very few developers that I would trust to just give money with no idea as to what they are going to make and just hope that they will create something worth the money I gave them. CD Projekt RED, maybe Valve, some of the Kickstarter games I’ve backed have been worth while, though Kickstarter is a completely different topic. Just looking at Battlefield 3′s DLC, I wouldn’t pay for it. You are paying a whole extra $50, almost the cost of the original game, and for a fraction of a game. It’s a large fraction, I’ll give them that it’s a pretty big fraction, but the game’s contents is pretty meager to begin with, and the DLC for a game probably shouldn’t constitutes a majority of the game.
One of the few companies I would actually buy DLC from on faith, if they charged for it
This Season Pass DLC is very similar to Kickstarter. You get a pitch from a company about something that they are developing, and you have to make the decision on whether you trust them or not. The main difference is that you aren’t deciding whether this gets made or not, it will get made, and you will be able to buy it. There’s another part of it, however. You don’t have to worry about whether that person will deliver or not after they get your money. Season Pass DLC is very similar to a Kickstarter project with similar trade offs. The differences are that the prices are fixed, and there is less risk involved, though it costs more for Season Pass DLC. In a perfect world this is an excellent system, but it isn’t a perfect world. EA sells $50 DLC that comes down to extra maps, vehicles, and guns, Activision charges for stat tracking, and Microsoft chargers for internet connectivity for the Xbox. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you trust these companies, but I don’t.
Couldn’t agree more. The use of season passes and most DLC in general is a detestable practice, but it’s down to us as the consumers to stop this trend by not lapping up the crap that publishers have been shovelling at us.
I trust the Boderlands 2 DLC, didn’t buy it though because I’m sure that by the time the last one gets released, the price of all 4 DLCs will be less than 30$ with Steam sales.
Don’t forget Worms Revolution’s Season Pass, as mentioned in my review.
It’s like it all popped up suddenly at once.
I was surprised to read that this was first done in Red Faction: Guerrilla. It just seemed to appear suddenly last year and spiral out of control through 2012.
This time last year we’d barely explored the concept of Season Passes, now it’s everywhere. Season Passes are actually what have kept me from buying BF3 and more recently, Worms. I don’t want to buy these games and find out in a few months I’m now unable to play with half of the player base because I didn’t fork over enough money.
RF:G had it? Huh, I wonder if it was console-only or available on PC. Come to think of it I never did beat the last mission of that game…
While games have always been a business, in the last ten or so years, the gaming companies that exist have changed from groups that make games so they can sell them and make money, to companies that makes games to make money, and it has changed how people make games, and sell them. By hacking a game apart and selling everything separately, they can justify an increased price tag on the complete honest experience of their game. This format is extremely safe, too, because if a game bombs, you just don’t release any DLC, and since you didn’t invest in a “whole” game to begin with, you’re not out that money. Since gaming has gone mainstream, less careful buyers have ruined everything for everyone. Honestly, nothing we do matters, because the market that developers are building around does not care how bad a deal something is, and they are beginning to figure that out. They just don’t need us anymore when “Tattoos” Brandon will buy the next Call of Duty, rain or shine, because Call of Duty is “Cool”. DLC exists because of people who lack any self control and these bad games exist because of the mainstream audiences lack of awareness, and it will be the death of the games as we know them, or should I say, knew them.
QFT, exactly, it is the saddest truth all OG know and bitter. The era we once live, where games are free of corporate control, is dead. Even the indies nowadays have to make games follow closely to the “mainstream” games format, since they want funding from big companies. I’m so glad I made the decision to slowly detach myself from gaming…so that one day if it may dies…I won’t miss it so.
It’s more money up front, less money split with distributors. That is the modern business creedo. Sell everyone on your product, and as much of your product as possible before they can realize that it is shit.
Yeah that’s the main distinction between Season Pass DLC and a Crowd Funded Project. You aren’t really supporting the creation of the DLC, you’re just buying it before it’s finished, and hoping for the best.
Why didn’t they just call it a pre-order then?
I guess Season Pass sounds more exclusive, or like an intelligent investment. I don’t know, though, I haven’t studying marketing. I’m sure there’s a whole slew of psychological reasons as to why Season Pass is a better name than Pre-order. It links with Amusement and Water parks, as well as sounding more like a good deal. It does serve a purpose, you get the content for cheaper, just like how a season pass is a net benefit if you visit an amusement park often, but you know what you are getting at a theme park. Also, I suppose Pre-orders also implies that there has been detailed information released on the game as well, so it doesn’t quite qualify because there’s BF3 DLC that hasn’t been disclosed yet. Same with Borderlands 2.
That’s all pure speculation, however.
you dont have to purchase it on faith… the season pass is available long after all the content has dropped and still at a reduced price.