KoA: Reckoning - Online Pass - Curt Responds

Dhruin

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This has been a divisive issue and I expect this post will continue the trend. Hot Hardware noticed a response from 38 Studios head Curt Schilling and then continued on with an editorial on the subject. First, some snips from Curt's comments:
DAY 1 DLC, to be extremely and VIVIDLY clear, is FREE, 100% totally FREE, to anyone that buys a new copy of Reckoning, ANYONE.

If you don't buy new games you buy them used, and in that case you will have to pay for the Day 1 free DLC content the new copy buyers got for free.

It's clear the intent right? To promote early adopters and MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ME, REWARD fans and gamers who commit to us with their time and money when it benefits the company.

Every single person on the planet could wait and not buy Reckoning, the game would hit the bargain bin at some point and you could get it cheaper. 38 Studios would likely go away.

That's just how business works. We MUST make a profit to become what we want to become. THE ONLY way we do that is to make games you CANNOT WAIT TO BUY! If we do that, and you do that, we want to reward you with some cool free stuff as a thank you.

You can TOTALLY disagree with this and I am sure many do, so we'll agree to disagree. This is not 38 trying to take more of your money, or EA in this case, this is us REWARDING people for HELPING US! If you disagree due to methodology, ok, but that is our intent. [...]
The industry is in a very odd place. The data coming in on used game sales is not saying the things many thought it should, or would. But companies are still trying to figure out how to receive dollars spent on games they make, when they are bought. Is that wrong? if so please tell me how.

Again, you can argue with methods, or process, and you absolutely can bitch and gripe about ANY DAY 1 DLC you are charged for, because I think I agree with many on that, but we are trying to create something here, product and company wise, and it takes dollars to do that.
An excerpt from Hot Hardware's comments, which includes a screenshot of GameStop's website featuring Call of Duty: MW3 for $59.99...or $54.99 used:
If your idea of "used game sales" means checking Ebay for old copies of hard-to-find titles, it's easy to get upset when companies make this sort of move. It's something altogether different to realize that the "Used" game market is controlled by a company that creates scenarios like the above (a screenshot from Gamestop's own website, taken today).

The current price Gamestop pays for a copy of MW3 is $23. The remaining $31.99? Pure profit -- and that's what's so upsetting. In the eyes of game creators, Gamestop isn't a noble company keeping prices low for users -- it's a leech that controls the market to fatten its own wallet and pays gamers a pittance.
More information.
 
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Why is he so defensive?
Probably because he is projecting, and hating himself for not providing support for long dead companies :)
And maybe because he knows deep down this company is not worthy of success.
 
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The problem I have with online passes is that there are three gamers in my family. If I buy the PC game through Steam then it will be tied to a single account, so I would buy a game that the rest of the family wanted to play on Xbox 360. That's where the online pass causes trouble. Once one of us has used the code on our profile, then the others can't use it on their profile unless we buy another online pass for each profile on the same console. The other alternative is to play it under the profile that used the code, but then any achievements/trophies (which don't matter to me but do to my sons) will show up under the original profile. We just went through this with the Catwoman content on Batman Arkham City.
 
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He comes of as very defensive, and his words seem very hollow ("this is a reward, blah, blah, blah...).

As a new company with very little goodwill (so who are these "fans" they want to reward?), and this coming on top of the quite recent revelation that a lot of EA Online Passes come with a limited time frame, this has gone from a pre-order to a no-buy. I''ll spend the money I had tied up in KoA on Realms of Ancient War.

Skyrim and The Witcher 2 prove that if you make a quality game then people will buy - at full price.
 
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I have read dozens of interviews about KoA. People at 38 Studios seems honest and very enthusiastic about their game. They look like they put their hearts on the project and (quite normally) they also want to earn money in order to stand in the industry. There's nothing wrong in that.

According to the demo I have played, KoA: Reckoning will be a fine RPG. I'm going to buy the game at full price at day one. To be honest, I would still buy the game if it was mediocre, if only to support the company. Because we need competition in the industry and competition what drives companies to outdone themselves. Diversity is always better. IMHO, all RPGamers must support firms like this (38 Studios, Larian, CD Projekt Red, Piranha Bytes, Reality Pump, etc) by buying their games at full price in order to see more AAA RPGs. If we don't do this we will be at 3B's mercy (Bethesda, Bioware, Blizzard) in the future.
 
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The problem I have with online passes is that there are three gamers in my family. If I buy the PC game through Steam then it will be tied to a single account, so I would buy a game that the rest of the family wanted to play on Xbox 360. That's where the online pass causes trouble. Once one of us has used the code on our profile, then the others can't use it on their profile unless we buy another online pass for each profile on the same console. The other alternative is to play it under the profile that used the code, but then any achievements/trophies (which don't matter to me but do to my sons) will show up under the original profile. We just went through this with the Catwoman content on Batman Arkham City.

You're absolutely right, and then there is this:
http://www.shacknews.com/article/71376/ea-online-pass-codes-expiring-users-report
 
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I have read dozens of interviews about KoA. People at 38 Studios seems honest and very enthusiastic about their game. They look like they put their hearts on the project and (quite normally) they also want to earn money in order to stand in the industry. There's nothing wrong in that.

According to the demo I have played, KoA: Reckoning will be a fine RPG. I'm going to buy the game at full price at day one. To be honest, I would still buy the game if it was mediocre, if only to support the company. Because we need competition in the industry and competition what drives companies to outdone themselves. Diversity is always better. IMHO, all RPGamers must support firms like this (38 Studios, Larian, CD Projekt Red, Piranha Bytes, Reality Pump, etc) by buying their games at full price in order to see more AAA RPGs. If we don't do this we will be at 3B's mercy (Bethesda, Bioware, Blizzard) in the future.

I don't see how you can put 38 Studios alongside Larian, CD Project Red, Piranha Bytes or Reality Pump. This is 38 Studios first game, but they still try to draw on goodwill they haven't earned. The others you mention, and I would include Bethesda as one of the good guys, are top notch developers who have never done anything I would consider exploitive. And they have never done anything that only hurts the paying customers.

For me 38 Studios jumps right into the Bioware category.
 
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The 32 US dollars that Gamestop is making in the above example is not pure profit. Some if it goes to pay expenses like handling, like wages to the people working in the store, rent for the store and of course taxes and sales taxes as well. I agree however that to charge 55 US dollars for a used game they're asking 60 US dollars for is a bit steep.

And I thought that EA, not 38 Studios got the money? - and then EA paid 38 Studios, possibly against advanced royalties?
 
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To be honest, I would still buy the game if it was mediocre, if only to support the company. Because we need competition in the industry and competition what drives companies to outdone themselves. Diversity is always better.

I'm sorry, but that's just plain dumb.

I understand that your intentions are good, but buying mediocre games does nothing positive to the industry. By purchasing a mediocre game, you're indicating that it's ok for the game to be that way and that they should keep making them.
 
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If he's sounding defensive, it's because he's responding to a thread on their forums that exploded to 48 pages, and is now over 150 pages (ie, 1500+ responses). Personally, I don't think he sounds defensive, but whatever...

This whole thing is a non-issue if you're a PC gamer. We've had to input a code with our disc for years now. One purchase, one user. That's how it is.

So now console players need to put in a code to access a mere 7 quests on top of the hundreds of quests they get with the game, and all of a sudden the world is ending.

I still maintain that free day 1 DLC is an innovative way to _reward_ purchasers of new games, rather than _punish_ players of used games. It makes it so that a tangible benefit is obtained when buying a new product, just like it's clear that a new car is of higher quality than a used one. And yet, those who pay less money for the used product will still get the base game and all the enjoyment that comes with it.

I still see it as win-win.
 
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I don't see how you can put 38 Studios alongside Larian, CD Project Red, Piranha Bytes or Reality Pump. This is 38 Studios first game, but they still try to draw on goodwill they haven't earned. The others you mention, and I would include Bethesda as one of the good guys, are top notch developers who have never done anything I would consider exploitive. And they have never done anything that only hurts the paying customers.

For me 38 Studios jumps right into the Bioware category.

I'm talking according to interviews, previews from RPGcentric sites and the demo I have played. Because I don't evaluate a game's value according to the DRM it used. If this would be the case, I must hate Skyrim or Risen 2. Because I don't like Steam protection a bit.

I'm generally do not buy Bethesda's or Bioware's games at full price. Because I know that they will sell well because of their names. But I always buy new RPG firm's or relatively small firms games in order to support them.

What I want to say is Skyrim needs a strong competitor and this can be KoA: Reckoning. If Bethesda had strong competitors in open world RPGs area in the past, Skyrim would be a much better game because of the competition. I'm not saying Skyrim is a bad game, don't get me wrong, but it could be much better. Being monopoly in the area was never good for the customers and never will be.
 
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Hmm, maybe he cares? Some of you go to great lengths to find faults.
 
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I only get 200-300 hours of gameplay if I buy it used. I'll miss out on that other hour or so of content. This is an outrage.

I for one am never buying another game from a developer or publisher who is trying to make a profit.:roll:
 
Didn't you realize? Trying to profit from your work is evil, and sounding defensive makes you wrong. It's all so clear now.
 
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I for one am never buying another game from a developer or publisher who is trying to make a profit.

Seriously. I mean, come on, there is a thread above about another company talking about how he makes money and where do you get the bigger bang for your buck but I don't see anyone hating on him. Same with all the indie devs who are always on talking about making money. Business 101 says you must make a profit or you will be out of business. I believe if these other guys had thought of it first, they would be doing it too.
Now, watch for all the imitators. Honestly, I could care less about Gamestop as I will keep buying PC games and entering activation codes like I have been doing for years.
 
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Seriously. I mean, come on, there is a thread above about another company talking about how he makes money and where do you get the bigger bang for your buck but I don't see anyone hating on him. Same with all the indie devs who are always on talking about making money. Business 101 says you must make a profit or you will be out of business. I believe if these other guys had thought of it first, they would be doing it too.
Now, watch for all the imitators. Honestly, I could care less about Gamestop as I will keep buying PC games and entering activation codes like I have been doing for years.

I think you missed my sarcasm.
 
No, your point was well taken.

Whats more important is how well Prince Fielder does now he is in Detroit and how Cabrera does at third-oops wrong forum

Sorry but I can't wait for spring
 
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No, your point was well taken.

Whats more important is how well Prince Fielder does now he is in Detroit and how Cabrera does at third-oops wrong forum

Sorry but I can't wait for spring

I'm with ya there. With the lineup we can put out there and verlander, fister , scherzer and our bullpen. it should be an exciting year.

We've got the lions , tigers and red wings. Just need to whip the pistons in to shape.

Sorry for the interruption. This concludes your Detroit sports portion of this thread.

I'm sure we could somehow tie this to curt schilling to make it more relevant.:)
 
I've already said everything I wanted about this issue and how idiots defend company's. I also buy my games off ebay and amazon for half price. Your also an idiot if you buy a used game fof $55 when its sells $60 for new. Keep up the idiocy people.:puke:
 
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