Curmudgeon Gamer
22 September 2008
The correct answer is "Burnout Paradise" (and more DLC ramblin')
What game has the best DLC plan? For me, not Mega Man 9. Rather, the answer is Burnout Paradise.
The demo was pretty neat, although it had an inordinately long intro which I presume was intended to deter people from using the demo as a proxy for buying the full game. Despite middlin' sales in January 2008, the developers (Criterion) have regularly released updates for the game to add new features, cars, and most recently motorcycles.
Those updates have all been free. And they eventually enticed me to buy the full game. If they tell me they will support the next Burnout title the same way, and it is as fun as the current one, then I'm already primed to buy it too.
In fact, and I know this will shock folks who know me, I intend to sell my physical copy of Burnout Paradise and buy the full download version available this Thursday on the PlayStation Store. I'm comfortable enough with their system (five downloads to separate systems, if necessary, and unlimited full data backups onto my own media as desired) to take the plunge and enjoy the convenience of having the game ready to launch at any time.
In fact, I'm considering the same deal with both Warhawk and Gran Turismo 3: Prologue, both of which are available on the PS Store as full game downloads.
Truly, I play the downloaded PS3 games far more than I play the disc-based games. Super Stardust HD, The Last Guy, PixelJunk Monsters, even the PS1 games I've purchased from Sony's store -- these all get more play than my unloved PS3 disc games. They start faster, they're always 5 seconds from starting, and they are quieter (although this last point is being picky, since the Blu-Ray drive isn't that noisy).
I find myself wishing I could rip my PS3 games to the hard drive and play them there. That's how much I like the instant-access that I used to enjoy with PC games (back in the pre-CD-in-the-drive days).
Sony keeps coming up with pleasant surprises, and the Burnout Paradise package is one of them. If they'd listen to me, here's my recommendation for a November Surprise: Work out a deal with EA to put Dead Space and/or Mirror's Edge on the PS Store the week of Thanksgiving. Also offer Sony's own LittleBigPlanet available as a download through the store. Make each game $10 cheaper online until the end of the year, provided you buy the downloadable version through the online store.
I think that would work out very well for everyone involved. (Whether it would make up for the painful price gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3, I don't know, but it would be a huge self-marketing ploy that could bring some people over.)
The demo was pretty neat, although it had an inordinately long intro which I presume was intended to deter people from using the demo as a proxy for buying the full game. Despite middlin' sales in January 2008, the developers (Criterion) have regularly released updates for the game to add new features, cars, and most recently motorcycles.
Those updates have all been free. And they eventually enticed me to buy the full game. If they tell me they will support the next Burnout title the same way, and it is as fun as the current one, then I'm already primed to buy it too.
In fact, and I know this will shock folks who know me, I intend to sell my physical copy of Burnout Paradise and buy the full download version available this Thursday on the PlayStation Store. I'm comfortable enough with their system (five downloads to separate systems, if necessary, and unlimited full data backups onto my own media as desired) to take the plunge and enjoy the convenience of having the game ready to launch at any time.
In fact, I'm considering the same deal with both Warhawk and Gran Turismo 3: Prologue, both of which are available on the PS Store as full game downloads.
Truly, I play the downloaded PS3 games far more than I play the disc-based games. Super Stardust HD, The Last Guy, PixelJunk Monsters, even the PS1 games I've purchased from Sony's store -- these all get more play than my unloved PS3 disc games. They start faster, they're always 5 seconds from starting, and they are quieter (although this last point is being picky, since the Blu-Ray drive isn't that noisy).
I find myself wishing I could rip my PS3 games to the hard drive and play them there. That's how much I like the instant-access that I used to enjoy with PC games (back in the pre-CD-in-the-drive days).
Sony keeps coming up with pleasant surprises, and the Burnout Paradise package is one of them. If they'd listen to me, here's my recommendation for a November Surprise: Work out a deal with EA to put Dead Space and/or Mirror's Edge on the PS Store the week of Thanksgiving. Also offer Sony's own LittleBigPlanet available as a download through the store. Make each game $10 cheaper online until the end of the year, provided you buy the downloadable version through the online store.
I think that would work out very well for everyone involved. (Whether it would make up for the painful price gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3, I don't know, but it would be a huge self-marketing ploy that could bring some people over.)
--jvm at 20:40
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[ 3 ]
Mega Man 9: DLC done right?
Many games have been ruined by greedy DLC schemes. Space Invaders Get Even must be purchased in installments, with the main game being called a "starter pack" with only a single level, and each additional level pack the same price as the original. Katamari Damacy lost all its charm when players were asked to pay real money to unlock levels already on the disk.
Square-Enix's My Life As A King is the most expensive WiiWare game to date at 1,500 Wii Points (that's $15 in real money), but once purchased the game then sells an array of extras that will set back a player wanting a complete game $22 additional dollars. That's $37 for a download game. No matter what kind of smokescreen Squeenix floats about the base price being for the "complete" game, you only get one of the four player races without buying extras, you miss out on several buildings, and around half the game's dungeons will be unavailable.
Mega Man 9, released today for Wii, itself is 1,000 Wii points (and a svelte 66 memory blocks), which is middle-of-the-road as far as WiiWare downloadable game costs have gone. It has a download store that's currently empty, but going into the Operations Guide provides a list of all the content to be made available, including release dates and prices.
Five pieces of DLC appear to be in the offing, with the most expensive being an interesting-sounding game mode called "Endless Attack," an internet-ranked eternal stage with score determined by progress made. That's 300 "Wii points," basically three bucks. The other stuff available are "Hero" and "Superhero" modes, both only one dollar, which are modified enemy placements that make the game more challenging, play as Proto Man (a.k.a. "Blues") for two dollars, who has different abilities and a shield, and a time-attack-only "Special Stage", a completely new level and boss, for one dollar.
It's my opinion that Capcom is doing things right, as far as they can be right with DLC, and here's why:
Square-Enix's My Life As A King is the most expensive WiiWare game to date at 1,500 Wii Points (that's $15 in real money), but once purchased the game then sells an array of extras that will set back a player wanting a complete game $22 additional dollars. That's $37 for a download game. No matter what kind of smokescreen Squeenix floats about the base price being for the "complete" game, you only get one of the four player races without buying extras, you miss out on several buildings, and around half the game's dungeons will be unavailable.
Mega Man 9, released today for Wii, itself is 1,000 Wii points (and a svelte 66 memory blocks), which is middle-of-the-road as far as WiiWare downloadable game costs have gone. It has a download store that's currently empty, but going into the Operations Guide provides a list of all the content to be made available, including release dates and prices.
Five pieces of DLC appear to be in the offing, with the most expensive being an interesting-sounding game mode called "Endless Attack," an internet-ranked eternal stage with score determined by progress made. That's 300 "Wii points," basically three bucks. The other stuff available are "Hero" and "Superhero" modes, both only one dollar, which are modified enemy placements that make the game more challenging, play as Proto Man (a.k.a. "Blues") for two dollars, who has different abilities and a shield, and a time-attack-only "Special Stage", a completely new level and boss, for one dollar.
It's my opinion that Capcom is doing things right, as far as they can be right with DLC, and here's why:
- The basic game doesn't change at all. All of the content is in the form of extra modes. Even the game's challenges are turned off during all DLC modes. Thus one doesn't get the feeling that, to play the "real" game, one has to shell out additional moolah. Are you listening, Square-Enix?
- Yet, they all affect the game. The money for Chime's bikini in My Life As A King is basically a dollar for the right to apply a new texture to your assistant's lithe body. Playable Proto-Man, on the other hand, is promised to have a shield and other different abilities, making the game substantially different.
- They are reasonably-priced. All together they'll be $8, less than the original price. If you add it all together the game is $18. (This may upset me less than it would if I hadn't suspected the game would be $15 this afternoon, instead of $10.)
Labels: capcom, dlc, evil, megaman, megaman 9, my life as a king, nintendo, square enix, wii
--JohnH at 15:37
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[ 2 ]
27 May 2008
Invisiclues were awesome
Why don't today's games have in-game hint systems? Hard to believe it's beyond the capabilities of the programmers.
And, not to give away the evil ideas, but why not sell an in-game guide as DLC over Xbox Live Marketplace or the PlayStation Store? For a modest (and I mean modest) price, it might be worth it not to have to get up from my comfy chair, truck two feet to the computer, and fire up GameFAQs.
And, not to give away the evil ideas, but why not sell an in-game guide as DLC over Xbox Live Marketplace or the PlayStation Store? For a modest (and I mean modest) price, it might be worth it not to have to get up from my comfy chair, truck two feet to the computer, and fire up GameFAQs.
--jvm at 21:10
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[ 8 ]
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