Tecmo is as guilty as EA

[njiska]

So i was tired tonight and looking to relax. Naturally i reached my copy of DOAX2, but when i booted ti up idscovered something that really pissed me off. Something i hadn't noticed before.

When night rolls around there's an option called the Crystal Boutique, in it you can buy swimsuits and accessories. Stuff that is already in the game. Just like EA selling unlocks.

What's worse they want 100MSP for the buttbattle and tug of war tickets that are easily purchased after only a few minutes of gameplay.

[Neil Koch]

Welcome to the next gen world - sadly, I think this kind of stuff is gonna become the norm. Why actually play the game when you can buy everything for no effort? Or worse yet (as I think will be the case with a lot of EA's sports games) let's ship out a half-ass game and make people plunk down another $20 to get all the "extras".

[Kroogah]

That's disgusting. It's almost like Tecmo wants to make a profit off its customers. What bullshit.

[Garry Silljo]

That's disgusting. It's almost like Tecmo wants to make a profit off its customers. What bullshit.

I sense your sarcasm but have to say I do in fact find this disgusting. People have already payed for the game. They made their profit there. Continuing to demand extra money for content that has actually already been payed for is just outright disgusting. I'm doing my part though to fight this trend, I am not buying.

[Hep038]

I see this is no driffrent than nintendo repacking zelda or excitebike 20 times charging 20$ each time they come out with a new system.

[Push Upstairs]

I have to agree with Hep038.

In fact, I find it to be worse.

[scooterb23]

Ummm, if I didn't read this wrong...all of the stuff you can buy is unlockable through the game itself. So nobody is forcing anyone to actually pay more to get this stuff. It's just an option if you don't feel like playing through the game to have all the options.

I think this has been said approx. 45,000 so far regarding this exact same subject.

If you don't like it, don't buy it.

See y'all next week when the next game to have unlockable content for sale gets released, and this exact same subject comes up again.

[boatofcar]

Exactly. If you don't like it, don't buy it. I don't understand why people have such a hard time with that concept.

[XYXZYZ]

I agree that there's no need to complain, but I don't like it just for the fact that if this stuff catches on, I don't think I want to see where it will lead to. At this point you don't have to buy anything, but once the market has been around awhile, and they start catching trends and whatnot I'm sure we'll start seeing more and more pressure to buy stuff.

[Half Japanese]

I think the problem really started when you decided to put in DOAX2.

[njiska]

Exactly. If you don't like it, don't buy it. I don't understand why people have such a hard time with that concept.

Because not buying it only affects them directly. Bitching about it publicly and swaying public opinion spreads negative word of mouth which causes more people not buy it which then gets the point across to the publisher all the faster.

Why you people are so hell bent against having a discussion, jesus christ.

[lordnikon]

There is a need to complain.

We are living in an age where COUNTER STRIKE is going to have ingame advertistements!!! If this isn't rape people, I don't know what is.

I am used to PC games regularly having free content and creative tools released to users. Now the companies wish to strictly control this to "maximize profit margins". Why would a company include a map maker in a first person shooter, when they could create maps and charge people individually for them?

I think it is silly when people put on their business suits and start backing the companies decisions saying, "Well you all should shut up because this is how business works. These companies have a right to blah blah blah..." This would make perfect sense if we were all daytraders on the stock exchange. Lets face it, we're not. (Well maybe someone in here is) The point is we are the end users. We are the consumers. It is our money.

Lets rundown a list of some new features for the next-generation of video games!! I am so excited for the future!!!!

-Broken Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
-Charging for unlockable content
-Witholding content to be sold via online marketplace
-Charging for ROM versions of games, cheaper to buy the real deal
-Withholding usercreated content tools to sell items online instead
-Locking purchased content to Hardware serial ID's
-Using game consoles as a vehicle to sell TV and Music industry related goods
-Advertisements at online game lobbies
-In-game advertisements while playing

This is HORRIBLE. We should all be complaining. The NextGeneration of video games is looking more and more depressing for me with each passing month.

Do you guys know what the perfect analogy is for this situation? Ketchup.

Ketchup is free. When you go out to eat at any restaurant / fast food joint, you get ketchup for free. They don't charge you "micro-payments" for the ketchup usage.

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are all charging for Ketchup now. To say "well these companies have to make money some how" as you pull out your wallets is absurd.

[scooterb23]

in game ads = rape?

Have a good flamewar children...

[s1lence]

I think it all depends on what is being offered for content. In game ads are one thing but actual content in a game is a different story.

Example the horse for oblivion or the map pack for GRAW, rip off. Map pack for COD2/COD3 not a rip off.

If the content is already in the game I shouldnt have to pay for it, and the case with DOAX2 is that the content is optional. You don't have to buy any of the content to enjoy the game, in most cases.

[c0ldb33r]

I find it annoying. I don't mind paying for extra content if its the situation where a developer has already released a game, then later decides to release new content to it (i.e. a new level, multiplayer, whatever).

What annoys me is when they just take content that should have been in the game and charge extra for it. It's just not right.

If they want to make a few extra bucks, just release a limited edition version with a nice metal case, bonus making of DVD, or soundtrack, or something. People will pay for it! Plus they'll feel all warm and fuzzy about doing it, instead of simply getting pissed because they have to pay extra just to get the whole game.

[Oobgarm]

If a company wants to charge people real-world money to unlock things they could easily unlock with a bit of effort, more power to them. A fool and his money are soon parted.

I shall quote my statement from Anthony1's last diatribe about this very subject(references made to the OP left intact), with new thoughts in black:


Late to party.

Regardless of how you view the current position of the gaming industry and/or culture, there is always someone who is on the exact opposite side of the issue. Such as Anthony1's death knell cries, and my own view of 'the more, the better'.

Bitching and moaning about things that are optional downloads is stupid. Once a company sends out a $50-$60 disc containing nothing but basic, unusable-in-its-current-state code and requires the end user to download any and all core essentials to translate that code into a working game, then I'll cry foul.

1. You bitch about Need for Speed: Carbon. If you carefully read each download's description, you'll see that all but one of those downloads is attainable by actually PLAYING THE GAME. They're up for download so lazy asses(or unskilled players) can get the best vehicle straight off and destroy all comers. It's not the way I'd play it, personally, but to each their own. That one unattainable-via-gameplay download gives the standard edition of the game all of the in-game options and goodies that come with the Collector's Edition. Not a bad upgrade if you want the CE but are unable to find it. If they would have put that up for NFS: Most Wanted, I would have bought it.

2. You bitch about Lumines Live. While I can understand a bit of dissent on this one, as the release was botched, you are getting a fully playable version of the game when you download it. Your perception of that download's value versus the amount of content delivered might cause you to chastize the game's dev team and publisher on an internet message board, but many others would be happy just playing Lumines on their TVs at home. And no other download is required to play the game, unless you're looking for more content or extra modes that you'll actually use, like multiplayer...which is a bit subjective since I personally view Lumines as more of a single-player experience.

3. You complain about themes and other trivial stuff like userpics and UNO deck themes. NO ONE IS TWISTING YOUR ARM, OR ANYONE ELSE'S ARM TO BUY THESE THINGS. If people want to spend their money on neat things like theme decks or want to customize their 360's dashboard with images from their favorite game, then why deny them that? And why can't the providing company profit off of it? Isn't that how business works?

I welcome a future where small things and extra content is offered alongside a retail title(or a downloaded one). I'd even spring for a game where you get the complete single-player game itself, but pay to download each extra mode, like multiplayer and whatnot...provided that the sum of all the parts does not have a total cost higher than that of a regular game's MSRP. No point in paying for what you aren't going to use, if that business model is ever adopted(unlikely).

It all basically comes down to perception of value. I'm not here to extol anything, just pointing out that your argument is very close-minded. If people want to spend their money a certain way, there's no sense in taking that ability away from them. Even if the 'lowest common denominator' is determining the path gaming takes, enjoy what you can about it, and stop wasting your time complaining about things you cannot and will not change. Getting a group of hardcore and semi-core gamers to band together against microtransactions is not like some small coup overthrowing a government. You're up against the main thing that drives every economy, business, and most people's lives: money. You can take away all of us, and gaming would still be successful(albeit not quite as profitable) thanks to the overwhelming mass of casual and other gaming-minded folk that outnumbers us a thousand-fold. You'd do well to enjoy what's 'now', or play the retro stuff that you like. I'm not saying it's impossible to initiate a 'paradigm shift', but speaking with your wallets isn't going to turn the tide...though this applies to games that cater to a mass market, unlike DOAX2, which, in all honesty, does not.

And I realize that I am contributing to the downfall and eventual implosion of the DP forums with my long-winded post. My apologies.

[Synergy]

Well...in Tecmo's defense, they DID make the best sports game in the known universe.

Tecmo Super Bowl>>>>>Madden


I am used to PC games regularly having free content and creative tools released to users. Now the companies wish to strictly control this to "maximize profit margins". Why would a company include a map maker in a first person shooter, when they could create maps and charge people individually for them?

This is HORRIBLE. We should all be complaining. The NextGeneration of video games is looking more and more depressing for me with each passing month.

Agreed. Games today have bigger budgets, and bigger budgets means less of a chance to go out on a limb, so to speak. And also to release maps and creative tools to users.

Games back in the late 80s, early 90s, and even up to the mid 90s just had a more "original" feel to me. I'm not going to go on strike or go into a huge uproar about in-game ads, but I feel it does cheapen the game to a certain extent.


Do you guys know what the perfect analogy is for this situation? Ketchup.

The works for me since I can't stand ketchup at all. :p

[veronica_marsfan]

Welcome to the next gen world - sadly, I think this kind of stuff is gonna become the norm. Why actually play the game when you can buy everything for no effort?



For me Unlocking goodies =/= Fun. I find no pleasure in playing for hours & hour just to gain a new character or unlock a new song/game.

That's not fun.

That's more like work (putting in long, long hours).
@_@

[kedawa]

This isn't a problem yet, but it will be in the future.
There are already games that force the player to trudge through some tedious mode over and over again to unlock things that should be available from the get-go.
Now we're being sold the option of skipping that process.
It's only an incentive for developers to make unlocking in-game content more and more frustrating and time-consuming so that they can sell us a workaround.
The potential for abuse is there, and I don't trust today's game industry to act responsibly.

[mailman187666]

the thing with the Crystal Boutique is that it allows you to purchase any of the characters' swimsuit collection to use for your character. If you were to collect Tina's swimsuits for Kasumi, it would take forever to do it through the game. In other words, it would be tedius and not fun. Now if somebody decideds they want to see the content but not have to get sick of the game in order to make use of that content, the made it available for purchase. It is purely optional. In the case of DOAX2, you are not paying for content that is required to fully enjoy the game, you are paying for additional content that people may personally think is worth the money if that is thier thing. The "micro transaction" thing will eventually balance itself out to what it really should be over time and all the items that "rip you off" will fade over time due to lack of sales on those downloads.

[kedawa]

Wouldn't it be better if Tecmo had properly balanced the game so that it wasn't so damn difficult to get the suits for certain girls? Why couldn't they have just made all suits buyable for all girls after the player has played through once with everyone, or made it so after you've partnered a girl with everyone, you could buy all of their suits for her? The microtransaction solution is at best lazy, and at worst greedy.

[Oobgarm]

Wouldn't it be better if Tecmo had properly balanced the game so that it wasn't so damn difficult to get the suits for certain girls? Why couldn't they have just made all suits buyable for all girls after the player has played through once with everyone, or made it so after you've partnered a girl with everyone, you could buy all of their suits for her?

Because that's just how Tecmo is. All of their games either involve extreme difficulty or tedious multi-playthroughs.

Why else would they make you restart on 8-1 when you die fighting Jaquio in the original Ninja Gaiden?