The Witcher 3

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

5 months left? I think I can see the light.

[trobinson97]

Re: The Witcher 3

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YoEtyCdmgO0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

This feels like its right around the corner. Get that holiday rush started and come out the other side and it'll be about a month before this baby is released.

And then I'll lose my job, my girl, and my house.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

There will be 16 DLC packs.

And they're all free.

Open Letter from Marcin Iwiński, co-founder and Joint CEO of CD PROJEKT RED.
“We love games. We love collecting them, playing them, and everything connected to that experience. Every time we reach out for a new release, we expect to be taken care of. We expect support if we encounter any problems, we love updates constantly improving the experience, and we feel really special when we receive free content that gives us more than we initially paid for. It doesn’t have to be huge, it can be an awesome skin for a character, or an extra sword, or armor.

Unfortunately this treatment is quite rare these days. As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached. Haven’t we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?

As CD PROJEKT RED, we strongly believe this is not the way it should work and, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we have decided to do it differently. Cutting to the chase, everyone who buys Wild Hunt will receive 16 specially prepared DLCs absolutely for free, regardless of platform. You don’t have to pre-order, you don’t have to buy any special edition to get them -- if you own a copy of Wild Hunt, they’re yours. This is our way of saying thank you for buying our game.”


Regards,
Marcin

This needs to be the norm, not the exception.

[Quint75]

Re: The Witcher 3

My most anticipated game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bruce1975]

Re: The Witcher 3

That a huge slap to the face of all other publishers. Bravo to these guys.

W2 was a good game, but I kinda miss the hunt for better loot that other RPGs have. Interested to see what mechanics have stayed/added.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ODogg]

Re: The Witcher 3

I see folks saying "Witcher 3 is giving us 16 DLC's, all companies should do this..it should be the norm, not the exception"

Why?

Why should companies give us free stuff? It's nice that they do but why is this an expectation?

Since when did we go from being appreciative of a gift to demanding it be the norm?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

Because this exclusive DLC, pre-order bonus, and "buy a bag of Doritos, get a piece of armor" **** is out of hand.

I don't expect anything after I buy a game, but DLC is typically too high for too little.

[ODogg]

Re: The Witcher 3

Because this exclusive DLC, pre-order bonus, and "buy a bag of Doritos, get a piece of armor" **** is out of hand.

I don't expect anything after I buy a game, but DLC is typically too high for too little.

If people don't buy it they will cease to offer it though..

[Gerg04]

Re: The Witcher 3

I see folks saying "Witcher 3 is giving us 16 DLC's, all companies should do this..it should be the norm, not the exception"

Why?

Why should companies give us free stuff? It's nice that they do but why is this an expectation?

Since when did we go from being appreciative of a gift to demanding it be the norm?

I think because up until 5-6 years ago, we never had to pay for map packs, new content etc. And WE'VE been forced into this new "norm".

I'm ok with DLC, what pisses me off is 6 different DLC's followed by the next iteration of the game dropping 2 weeks after the last DLC. Not cool.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

If people don't buy it they will cease to offer it though..

I'm not sure what the market is for DLC purchasers, but for those of us who choose to opt out then it kind of feels like we miss out. WTF should I buy skins? Those used to be things that were unlocked in games. I know a ton of Destiny players that are pissed because of the PS4 exclusive raids. AC: Unity has DLC codes on ****ing shaving cream cans.

Regardless, there will always be a market for anything. ****, how many people are spending money so they can get past the waiting limitations on "free to play" games?

[kwebbvols4423]

Re: The Witcher 3

I rarely buy DLCs. I hate that there are so many games that have them now.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: The Witcher 3

I see folks saying "Witcher 3 is giving us 16 DLC's, all companies should do this..it should be the norm, not the exception"

Why?

Why should companies give us free stuff? It's nice that they do but why is this an expectation?

Since when did we go from being appreciative of a gift to demanding it be the norm?

I think the general sentiment is that CD PROJEKT RED's attitude towards gamers (beyond the tone and promises of this recent letter, they have a history of being advocates of consumer support as well) should be the norm, rather than any expectations about free future content. It's not so much of a "demand" as it is an ideal IMO.

[daniel77733]

Re: The Witcher 3

DLC for me can go either way depending on what the actual content is and what the game is. For example, I loved Sleeping Dogs and purchased a lot of DLC for it. Including the game via digital download, I spent around $85 total which is nuts unless you're fully enjoying the game and all the extra stuff.

I know that season passes can go either way depending on the user but for me, it depends on the game and content. Take Unity for example, the season pass includes two single player campaigns - Dead Kings and an actual 2.5D downloadable game entitled China Chronicles. Plus, the season pass gives you all the different pre-order stuff in time.

I remember last year thinking of how to get all the pre-order bonus content for Black Flag but then decided to just buy the season pass as Ubisoft always adds in that content as DLC for the user to download or purchase if you don't have the season pass.

In general, gaming has changed from what it used to be. There's a reason why I believe that once all consoles go all digital downloads, the gaming industry will crash again because prices will be too high for content that you're stuck with and can't sell or trade away after you're finished with it.

I don't mind DLC and season passes as no one is forced to buy any of them but it is overdone. And DLC for my avatar??? Seriously, who buys that crap? I can understand in-game content that you'll actually play but a shirt for my avatar character??? Seriously, WTF???

In the end though, what CD is doing is great. Works for me. Witcher III will be a pre-order come early February and if 100 hours wasn't big enough, 16 free DLC packs will only increase that number. Majority (if not all) of companies are in business to make money and generate profits. If DLC sells and accomplishes that, then they will all keep doing it. CD is a small company that appears to work on one game at a time and thus, don't have as big of a need to make extra money due to all the projects. They stick to what works and makes money for them and that's it.

Here's a comparison - look at PlayStation Plus. 8 million PS4 owners have PlayStation Plus. At $50 each, that's $400m dollars if my math is correct. That's insane. If DLC makes just 5% of that total, you'll never see it end because there's too much money being made and the majority of DLC is already on the disc anyway which I strongly disagree with but unless me and millions of other gamers stop buying games, nothing will change that.

In the end, it's all about money and if consumers are paying for DLC and season passes, then companies will keep doing it. I'm not a fan of it but don't hate it either. I simply look at it as a choice and make my decision on the game and the content. For games like Unity and Far Cry 4, buying the season pass is a guarantee. For a game like Mordor, had no interest in buying the season pass. For a game like The Evil Within, im tempted to buy the season pass for $20 but will wait until the DLC gets released to see if it's worth the $20.

In a way, DLC, season passes, etc. is just like Xbox One vs PlayStation 4 vs Wii U. It's all about personal preference and what the user feels is worth buying and playing.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Witcher 3

My thing is if you take care of your consumers then they'll take care of you. I think this "marketing move" will help increase sales so its probably a wash anyway as far as cost/revenue to them goes.