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In praise of free updates
Szechuanosaurus
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
With the current generation of consoles, a defining feature has been hard drives, internet access and thus downloadable content.
This has been a mixed blessing. On one hand it's opened up easy access to classic and retro videogames, on the other hand it also allows publishers to be lazy and greedy, releasing bug-ridden and/or incomplete console games in the knowledge that they can just patch them up post-release or bankrupt their customers by drip-feeding them content through endless micro-transactions.
However, an interesting fringe benefit is the occasional free update. These aren't simply patches, but updates which add additional content to the game without charging the customer any extra. Examples such as Crackdown, which had a free update that added an additional set of vehicles to your garage, or Burnout Paradise which has recently had a free update released adding Motorcycles, which not only means a new set of vehicles but also a new licence class and events to compete in with those vehicles.
Now, these are obviously great for the consumer; you bought a game a few months ago, it's starting to get a bit stale and then hey, here comes some refreshing content to extend the life of the game at no extra expense to you.
But it also seems like a rather clever business model for the developer/publisher as well. At first maybe not - why give something away for free which some people who already own your game will pay for? Seems stupid. But, what about all those people who haven't played your game yet? I mentioned Crackdown and Burnout Paradise because these were two games I bought after the free updates were released. Yes, part of the decision to buy them was because they are well-received games in their own right, but the opportunity to get added value for money makes the purchase a no-brainer. Here's a good game, which is even better than it was on original release. It's like I've bought a Game of the Year edition with added content right out of the box or something.
It also momentarily puts the game back on the front page (I bought Burnout Paradise last month after reading a thread mentioning the added content) so it produces more publicity months after your initial marketing campaign has dried up.
And what's better? Selling the new content for 500 MSPoints to a percentage of existing customers still interested in playing the game and willing to shell out more for it or drumming up renewed interest in the game with a free update and selling off additional old hard-copy stock at full price to new customers?
So free updates. They seem like a win-win situation to me. Existing customers get a 'thank-you for playing' a few months after purchase without feeling like the publisher is trying to bleed them dry by charging for minor updates, new customers feel like they're getting something a bit extra even although they are still paying full price for an older game and the publisher gets to cash in by extending the shelf-life of full-price publications.
So what of free updates? Altruistic goodies or cynical marketing ploys? Worthy additions or pointless wardrobe distractions?
This has been a mixed blessing. On one hand it's opened up easy access to classic and retro videogames, on the other hand it also allows publishers to be lazy and greedy, releasing bug-ridden and/or incomplete console games in the knowledge that they can just patch them up post-release or bankrupt their customers by drip-feeding them content through endless micro-transactions.
However, an interesting fringe benefit is the occasional free update. These aren't simply patches, but updates which add additional content to the game without charging the customer any extra. Examples such as Crackdown, which had a free update that added an additional set of vehicles to your garage, or Burnout Paradise which has recently had a free update released adding Motorcycles, which not only means a new set of vehicles but also a new licence class and events to compete in with those vehicles.
Now, these are obviously great for the consumer; you bought a game a few months ago, it's starting to get a bit stale and then hey, here comes some refreshing content to extend the life of the game at no extra expense to you.
But it also seems like a rather clever business model for the developer/publisher as well. At first maybe not - why give something away for free which some people who already own your game will pay for? Seems stupid. But, what about all those people who haven't played your game yet? I mentioned Crackdown and Burnout Paradise because these were two games I bought after the free updates were released. Yes, part of the decision to buy them was because they are well-received games in their own right, but the opportunity to get added value for money makes the purchase a no-brainer. Here's a good game, which is even better than it was on original release. It's like I've bought a Game of the Year edition with added content right out of the box or something.
It also momentarily puts the game back on the front page (I bought Burnout Paradise last month after reading a thread mentioning the added content) so it produces more publicity months after your initial marketing campaign has dried up.
And what's better? Selling the new content for 500 MSPoints to a percentage of existing customers still interested in playing the game and willing to shell out more for it or drumming up renewed interest in the game with a free update and selling off additional old hard-copy stock at full price to new customers?
So free updates. They seem like a win-win situation to me. Existing customers get a 'thank-you for playing' a few months after purchase without feeling like the publisher is trying to bleed them dry by charging for minor updates, new customers feel like they're getting something a bit extra even although they are still paying full price for an older game and the publisher gets to cash in by extending the shelf-life of full-price publications.
So what of free updates? Altruistic goodies or cynical marketing ploys? Worthy additions or pointless wardrobe distractions?
Szechuanosaurus on
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I mean, damn, Team Fortress 2 is like the gift that keeps on giving. Continuous updates with brand new maps, weapons, and gametypes (at least if you're PC gaming)? Sign me the hell up. Let's not forget before with stuff like HL2 DM, which was released free for HL2 owners and then subsequently updated free too.
The most extreme example in recent times is the Witcher Enhanced Edition, bar none. They took in gamer input, simmered it for a year, and then released a bigger, better, and more complete package. And then allowed everyone who had the original version to download a massive 2+ gig worth of content, absolutely free. Even those extras in the retail EE package like the soundtrack and artbook are available for download. It's mind boggling and I had a hard time believing it. But there you go.
I mean how can anyone not like this shit? I'm tempted to buy another goddamn copy of the Witcher EE just to show those guys how much they rock. Meanwhile, I never gave Bethesda a fucking dime past the initial purchase of Oblivion over that stupid horse armor bullshit. Yeah, I hear they got better after that, but fuck that noise -- it soured me from the start.
Yeah, a lot of people feel that charging for lots of minor additions to a game is modestly extortionate. Free updates would seem to mean that the existing customers don't feel short-changed (or ripped-off) while new customers justify the expense to the publisher by picking up more copies from retail.
This was a big thing for me. I can really appreciate the lengths they went to with Witcher EE, I freaking well went out and bought it again. Doesn't matter that I could download the additional stuff, having physical copies of the game manual, guide, printed double sided map and even soundtrack and making of DVD's was pretty awesome. They even threw in a short story by the author of the Witcher. It's how a special edition should be done, and it really speaks to their philosophy that the best way to beat the pirates isn't to put on increasingly restrictive DRM, but to compete with them and offer a better product that they cannot hope to match.
Time was that every game came with a proper, big, printed manual, that seems to be a lost art these days.
I also agree that Valve's philosophy to updates is brilliant. They've said that the way to win the multiplayer popularity contest is to continually update, and Team Fortress 2 has come out to dominate all comers precisely because of that philosophy. I mean it was an amazing game when it got released, but I don't think it would be nearly as popular or as huge today if it weren't for those updates. Other devs actually called them idiots for releasing this content for free because they thought it wasn't going to go anywhere and that you'd just be catering to a shrinking hardcore community. Guess they just don't appreciate the philosophy behind it. With each class update, Valve jumps sales by another 20% on what is still one of the best selling multiplayer FPS's to date. That in itself says a lot.
"Hey guys, I've got a brilliant idea for the addon!"
-Heard at a Bethesda studios planning meeting, shortly before the announcement of Horse Armour.
/thread
I'll see your Burnout Paradise, and raise you the PC version of Team Fortress 2.
From what I've seen paid DLC, if it's not a single player game, splits the online community a lot, and so I tend to not like it too much.
Burnout's free updates look awesome, and I'm really tempted to buy the game just because the team behind it seems so generous to its customers.
Didn't EA do that whole buy content on-line that is actually on the dvd with some 360 games or something?
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Speaking of games having some free and some paid DLC, Crackdown also did this. The vehicle set (and I think extra character skins?) were free but then they also released a paid-for update with new weapons and game modes. A 50/50 approach doesn't seem unreasonable and it covers both bases - making more money of existing gamers and still enticing more new customers. However, perhaps a mistake they made there was that a lot of the new gamemodes were multiplayer game modes, which goes contrary to the ethos of nurturing the online aspects of your game. Anybody wanting to play some of the new gamemodes will either need friends who also bought the update or pressure their friends into buying it, which is a somewhat unethical approach to marketing imo.
Yeah, at least for Madden and Tiger Woods, there was literally shit in the release that you could only get by paying even more for it. Not even an add-on, just shit to unlock that's already in the game. For Tiger Woods, you could unlock it by basically beating everything in the game, which would take forever. Or you could pay $5.
*Personally, I think that Microsoft should be helping publishers in any way possible to shift retail units of their game and improve relations with customers. Microsoft will take a licence fee off any 360 games published anyway and any good will generated by independent publishers with their customers will rub-off on Microsoft.
Edit: which is why PC gaming can be excellent with the free updates and all that.
I suspect that this is probably a result of them realising how much more successful a game becomes when it attracts a modding community. Half Life was selling retail for something ridiculous like ten years, mainly off the back of the community made mods and free content. Now that's a double win for valve, because they never even had to pay to make that content in the first place and still profited by association, but the mod scene of the 90s has clearly demonstrated that the value of work done once can be vastly extended with relatively minor continued work, provided for 'free'.
Although I think paid DLC is bullshit, I have to admit I bought some of the stuff for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King on Wii.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/09/23/interview-pete-hines-on-fallout-3-mods
Of course, there is also the theory that mods provide unwanted competition for DLC, but Hines denies that one.
During that whole interview he left the door open for there being an SDK for Fallout 3, but the whole impression I got from it was that it's not really something they feel they need to do. He's not saying they'll never come out, but he can't seem to commit to saying they will either. Understandable I suppose, even if I don't like it.
I still haven't downloaded any pay updates from live because I just can't stomach the point system. In the end it also fragments the user base because not everyone is going to buy the new maps, etc. So you have some servers running the new maps, some not. I think Battlefield 2 and 2142 are a great example of this. When I picked up the special edition of 2142 (which actually came with an add on!) there was approximately 1 server running the new maps.
Stuff too big to get hold of sometimes? That can be irritating with things like the mega-patch for Witcher, but in the end that was worth it.
I was under the impression that it does 'come' with them, you just have to download them, but they are still free (a code is supplied with the game to download them)?
I guess it isn't ideal - it takes up HDD space, presumably you can't resell it along with the extra maps - but they're still 'there'.
Negative. No code, no nothing. After digging around on the internet I found out that the new copies don't have the little circle in the corner that says free maps included. The GOTY edition comes with absolutely nothing extra. It's pretty lame.
Without question. I liked the Burnout: Paradise demo, almost bought the game, but it came out during a busy buying time for me and it slipped off my rader. The motorcycle pack put it back on my radar in a big way. They came back at me and are trying to get my money ... and I think it's going to work.
On the other hand, had it been a paid expansion, I don't think I'd have given it a second glance.
Interesting, both Amazon and GAME in the UK still show product shots with the 4 New Maps circle.
http://www.game.co.uk/EnlargedImage.aspx?mid=334308&js=1
I'm nipping up to the shops this afternoon, I might see what the on-shelf copies look like.
The only thing they really need to improve on is Valve time.
That's really my only concern that I can think of right now and it's not even that big of one.
I think free content updates are the way to go and a great way to combat piracy and the used game market. I think CD Projekt, Valve, and Criterion all have the right idea.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
You can add Stardock to that list too.
Also: GOG is amazing. Technically they aren't giving you free updates of the game content itself so I'm not sure whether you could really class it as DLC or anything. However they still give you a lot of stuff around it. All the reference manuals and things, often soundtracks and wallpapers and other miscellaneous stuff, all for free. And that's on top of releasing the games DRM free and on the cheap with permanent download whenever you want.
I hope GOG takes off in a huge way.
also, i generally like the new maps. badwater basin is fun, though i usually see the offense win
SE++ Map Steam
It's also pretty awesome that they include player made maps in the official updates as well (with their permission of course). Gives them some pretty huge publicity, after that there'd probably be few companies outside of Valve that would refuse to take them on as level designers.
Yes! Stardock, of course, how did I forget them?
I agree about GOG, it's something I've wanted for the last several years, and they couldn't be handling it any better.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
I need to jump on my PC some time and give them some of my monies.
Well they could be handling the beta better. My beta pass expired and it won't allow you to log onto the sight once your cookie's gone. :x
Still, that'll be a moot point when the site goes live for real, and at least I got the games I wanted before then.
Also, Epic was pretty supportive of free content and updates for UT. I was never sure how much of their content packs was community generated of made in house, but the fact that they packaged them all up for easy downloading made it really easy to keep up with the community and play some fun maps.
They released a pack for UT3, but since that game's pretty much floundered and all their future work's going to be 360 based I'm not sure how much longer they'll manage tp keep the updates free. Even with Gears on the 360 they wanted to release map pack for free but MS basically said no dice.
So he argues one side of it, but doesn't even look at the other? Why wasn't there a number thrown out about how many people are still playing Oblivion on the PC, with mods? Is that number so insignificant? Or, hell, what about Morrowind? The mod community for it is still pretty active and that's in spite of Oblivion's release.
CCP have been rather excellent about that with EVE as well. Granted, they kind of have to be due to the nature of the universe - they can't really stick on new 'zones' outside the EVE universe and have it be consistent with how it all works, but still, it's impressive that the game keeps pace, updating the content and still feels 'current' without charging their customers extra for any expansions.