The REAL price of a Modern Game (Scary Read)

$110 - Battlefield 4 (Game + Season Pass)

$110 - Forza 5 (Game + Season Pass)

$90 - Far Cry 4 (Game + Season Pass)

$90 - Assasins Creed Unity (Game + Season Pass)

$85 - Driveclub (Game + Season Pass)

And it goes on

THIS is why games did not increase in price - we're paying way more for them already!

If you do not purchase the season pass, you ARE NOT getting the FULL experience. Its that simple. Just 5 or so years ago this was unheard of. You bought a game and that was it. You had the full experience. Now, unless you fork over $90, your missing out!

Because the content that comes with a season pass is mandatory and the retail game would be unplayable without it.

Technically, not getting MP DLCs kinda put you in an awkward spot.

I'm DLC free and check out the GOTY editions later instead.

You don't have to play online.

And if you want, you can spend the money to get yourself out of that awkward spot.

That's not to say that a lot of MP DLC isn't overpriced, but at the same time you're usually not missing out on much.

As for the OP, you're right. 5 years ago you'd buy a game (at least on consoles anyways), and that was it. No new maps, characters, modes, missions, whatever. The game you bought was the game it was gonna stay. DLC gives you the option, if you want, to get extra content for a game you already enjoy. I'm not gonna argue that DLC is handled well (overpriced, extra content should have been in the game originally) by developers all the time, but to complain about developers giving you optional content is kind of silly.

Its why I ride with Nintendo. Even if they do DLC, its always done in a way that is fair to the consumer.

Or you can wait for the late edition that comes with all the DLC for $60 or cheaper, or get the game at release and just not buy the DLC.

Where I live, they cost that much WITHOUT any DLC.

Yep.

It's one of the big reasons I don't game on consoles anymore. It's far too expensive nowadays.

5 years ago optional content = sequel.

Development cycles now prioritize DLC.

5 years ago it was work on a game for 2 years, release everything you have. Work on the sequel for 2 years, release everything you have. Now its work on a game 1 year, release it, charge DLC for all the work you do the next year, then rinse, wash, repeat.

Theres no way around, we're paying more then ever before for the SAME amount of content. We're just getting some of it a little earlier for a premium price.

Its a win for the developers and a loss for the gamer

I love this generation. Want the full Far Cry 4 experience without handing over $100? Wait 12 months for the GOTY edition.

This trend has been going on since before last gen, it's hardly new.

Admittedly though expansions then were more substantive. These days, not so much, so much so I pretty much disregard most of them except for games I really like.

this wasn't scary at all

welcome to the Future !

Its not flying cars.... Its being Ripped off at every turn !

Meh. I mean don't get me wrong, that sucks. However, the "standard" price of games that we're all so used to hasn't always been in place. The most extreme instance I remember from back in the day was Phantasy Star IV selling for $100 at at launch. No special editions or any shit like that, that's just how most retailers were pricing the game. I remember plenty of other games going for $70 or $80.

Never bought a season pass for any game, always got a (more or less) satisfying conclusion at the end. Most DLC add things like extra missions which act like dessert to your main course, that doesn't mean they cheaped out on your food to sell you sweets. So, no. The full price for a game is= Game + Nothing.
Nobody forces you to get the DLC and it's absolutely optional without taking away from the experience (in most cases, even those you used as your example above).

If a game feels incomplete (parts you cannot access immediately, advertising ingame, too little content, unfinished story, the DLC is pretty much required to keep playing, etc...) I feel bad about the DLC.

I'd really like you to calculate the full game price of TES:online. You'll be amazed.

Don't try to make up excuses for it. They are just trying to make you spend more, guys. They didn't go from expansion to DLC because they love you ok? It's easier for them to make, it's easier for you to buy, you spend more without noticing it and without looking as closely at the actual bang/buck ratio.

I bought bad DLC for very high prices before. Because sometimes, you just want the full game and don't want to worry about deals and offers and commercials when you want to play the game. And it bit me in the ass on several occasions. I know it's bad to do that. I consider most games with DLC to be less complete, and most DLC to have a very bad buck/bang. But they're selling like crazy. It's a bad direction for 90% of the time, and there's no stopping it. So here's what needs to happen: reviewers need to take into account whether the game feels complete. That's the only thing we can do. When is the complete edition coming out? Keep asking them. Every game, every day. That's nice, but when is the complete edition coming out? When can we see the full game? If it's a service when do we know what we're buying?

I think DLC should be included in the game.

It's mostly idiots who pay full price on day one for these games. Smart people wait or find online deals and get these same games cheaper than $60 to $100. If you're a real gamer you will have other games to play while waiting for deals.

But why should you have to wait to get a "deal" on a game for it to be a reasonable buy, and what does any of this have to do with being a "real gamer" anyway?

But my 2 cents: I've never really bought season passes because I don't understand why I should buy something before I even know what I'm buying. I'm sure most DLC is already created or in the works before the game for it even releases. They just hold back "extra" content, so they can charge us extra for it later. I'd say the only way for this business model to change is to stop buying into these shitty deals. That will never happen though, and it's only going to get worse.

A real gamer will have back ups, or a backlog of games to play. As opposed to a casual gamer who only plays GTA or CoD and is dependent upon new releases, aka someone who only plays three or four games a year.

And if you don't want to wait, or if you can't find a deal, go ahead and pay the higher price for the extra convenience of "gotta have it now" because you're the devs dreams come true.

or you could just not support the companies that pull this crap

But the thing is buying season passes isn't "gotta have it now" because you aren't even getting anything yet when you buy a season pass along with a game unless the game has been out for a while.

I have a backlog 10 miles long, but I still buy new games as they release... especially if they have MP that I care about. Since most shooters these days have unlocks, you are at a major disadvantage getting in the game late. As far as getting some games I am not really stoked about but I want to play... yeah, I have a list for black Friday and the likes. However, this real gamer, true gamer, hardcore gamer stuff is a joke... lol I suppose I am not a real gamer. I'll make sure to let my wife know.... I hope she isn't disappointed...my not being a true gamer... I hope they have a pill for that.

The publishers aren't ripping consumers off. People are obviously buying this stuff and showing the developers that this trend is a way to make more money. Don't blame the pubs, blame gamers.

The real price is what I pay for my copy when I pick it up in the store.

It's the same argument that anti-graphics purists use. The devs are using time and effort to make this dlc and financially-driven content decisions, so the main game suffers. Imagine a world where devs use their full effort and dev time on the base game with ZERO DLC related content creation.

And as to why I mentioned graphical purists: They say that gameplay in games would be so much better if devs stopped using so many resources on graphical fidelity. This is false, of course.

What exactly am I missing with FC4 minus the season pass?

Based Bob.

Not much

http://blog.ubi.com/far-cry-4-season-pass-details/

I LOVE the game, but I wont get the pass. I never do.

I'm all for DLC and expansions as long as the original product is robust.

Seasons passes include content that's not made/ or ready, so you still get a full experience with the stand alone. The DLC is "extra content"

You would have an argument if those season passes weren't like expansion packs released over a period of a year or so after the game is released.

You mention Battlefield first but forget that even Battlefield 2 had 2 DLCs and an Expansion that ended up doubling the cost of the game. Battlefield 1942 had two expansions and Battlefield 2142 had one.

DLCs have just replaced expansions because there is no point in holding off content for months just to launch it all at once. People have the internet now. Expansion packs used to exist because you couldn't just download content. It was easier for the developer to pack in more new content together and then sell boxed copies in the form of an expansion instead of releasing smaller and less expensive DLC over a period of time. The idea is no different, the execution is.

DLCs have the advantage of being able to take feedback from the last one to make tweaks to the new ones. The Battlefield DLCs have always been themed packs that do their best to address complaints of the base game or simply take in ideas that the community had post-launch. Big expansions would happen less frequently and be more expensive and would be like mini game launches. With DLC they can more easily and quickly release polished content.

@getyeryayasout said:

Who ever typed the caption needs to turn it into a bird. *They're

Maybe that's what the creator wanted. To be a bird. He is one now. Probably.

@getyeryayasout said:

That may well be the creator of that picture.

Hmm.. Might make a mistake myself if it means getting birdhandled by Bob.

@GoldenElementXL: I like how your post was just ignored becuase it doesn't fit the narrative people are trying to craft about game prices.

I have never payed for additional content like season passes, so I pay $60. Actually, I did buy lost and the damned for gta 4, but in my opinion. it was like a different game itself.

that's why i don't buy season passes, and try to not support those companies.

I'm not big on season passes. The only season pass I bought so far was the one for Bioshock Infinite and only because the episodes took place in Rapture.

well you can definately skip DLC for SP games but skipping it in MP is kinda putting you in disadvantage ( BF 3 for instance alot of its active servers are for premium members which is utter b***t

Yep :) In Denmark, console games cost the equivalent of $100 or so.

As long as the dev team is working on the content after the full game is released I have no issues. For example, we don't even know exactly what the Sunset Overdrive DLC entails. Why? Because they hadn't even started it before the game shipped. They made a plan for it, they know one will be a gun pack and the other two will be campaign based, but the exact details are still being worked out.

As long as they are not cutting finished content that shouldve been on the disc, I have no issue paying more for more content of a game I enjoy. It also helps that Sunset has a reasonably priced season pass, at 19.99