Expansion costs in perspective

[CrustyGoth]

Agreed. Lifetime Expansion is WAY to overpriced now, im not even considering.
On the other hand, the horizon update alone with forced basegame-double-purchase is a joke itself...

Well done, FD.

Considering they have a 10 year plan and will apparently be selling an expansion every year... how much do you think they should sell the lifetime expansion for?

Basically if you trust FD to issue even just 5 years of expansions with enough content in them to keep you playing you'd be an idiot not to buy it. If you don't trust them then you don't buy it. See how easy that is?

And here's the secret... it works for the expansion as well. If you think you'll get enough enjoyment out of it then buy it. If you don't then... yes you guessed it... don't!

Can we all see how easy that is? Apparently not...

 

[P4riah]

Considering they have a 10 year plan and will apparently be selling an expansion every year... how much do you think they should sell the lifetime expansion for?

Basically if you trust FD to issue even just 5 years of expansions with enough content in them to keep you playing you'd be an idiot not to buy it. If you don't trust them then you don't buy it. See how easy that is?

And here's the secret... it works for the expansion as well. If you think you'll get enough enjoyment out of it then buy it. If you don't then... yes you guessed it... don't!

Can we all see how easy that is? Apparently not...

Indeed. Everyone defines their own value for the product. Sure, some people are whining, but I see others (like myself) who are simply informing FDEV that we think it's overpriced, and we will not be buying. Hopefully that's a useful data point for them. Maybe if enough people feel that way, they may rethink it. Maybe not.

All the people who are personally offended that we aren't slobbering on FDEV's like they are is amusing, though. Taking it as a personal insult. Just because I don't like the thing doesn't mean you shouldn't. I think some of them are not as confident in their purchase as they want to think. Their attempts to 'explain' to us doubters why it's really ok and a bargain sound more like they're trying to convince themselves.

 

[BlueFalcon]

Regardless of how they're pitching Horizons, it seems the business model is going to be something best thought of as an annual subscription model where a $60 expansion comes out approximately yearly and is pretty much required if you want to keep playing the latest and greatest content. But not absolutely essential since it seems you can continue to play in open without the expansions so better in some regards since it's sort of optional.

In some ways, I'd prefer they simply say there's an annual subscription fee and get it out in the open, it might seem more honest to their customers too but they have said so many times there won't be a subscription so I expect they'd be fully crucified if they did a 180 publicly and openly.

They might not want to call it a subscription because you don't have to buy the expansion to keep playing the game. You just don't get the new content.

 

[CrustyGoth]

Indeed. Everyone defines their own value for the product. Sure, some people are whining, but I see others (like myself) who are simply informing FDEV that we think it's overpriced, and we will not be buying. Hopefully that's a useful data point for them. Maybe if enough people feel that way, they may rethink it. Maybe not.

All the people who are personally offended that we aren't slobbering on FDEV's like they are is amusing, though. Taking it as a personal insult. Just because I don't like the thing doesn't mean you shouldn't. I think some of them are not as confident in their purchase as they want to think. Their attempts to 'explain' to us doubters why it's really ok and a bargain sound more like they're trying to convince themselves.

I'm not slobbering on anyone's - I'm not telling you it's great and you should buy it - I'm not telling you it's a bargain - I'm telling you it's pretty damn easy to work out if you should buy it or not and I'm telling you to work out that answer for yourself because the answer is different for different people.

You seem to think posts on the forums will make them change their financial model because after all they worked out the prices by throwing darts while wearing a blindfold.

 

[Zeeman]

There is another game that is charging hundreds of dollars for ships you can't even fly yet. This seems like a good deal!

Z...

 

[Aussiedroid]

Value is a personal thing.

For me I have a very simple measure when it comes to computer games. If I can get 1 hour of play for every dollar I spend on a game, then in my books I have got a good deal.

I buy a cheapy $5 game and get 5 hours fun entertainment out of it then I am satisified. If I get 10 hours then I have got great value out of the game. If I get 1 hour out of it then I have been ripped off.

For ED, all up now I am probably around the 500 dollar mark, and have well over 500 hours play time already, so for me even if it was a 100 bucks for the expansion pass I think it would still be good value as I would get my money's worth out of it.

Like I said, its personal though, and each to their own.

You could have the expansion selling at 5 bucks and probably still find someone complaining!

 

[P4riah]

I'm not slobbering on anyone's - I'm not telling you it's great and you should buy it - I'm not telling you it's a bargain - I'm telling you it's pretty damn easy to work out if you should buy it or not and I'm telling you to work out that answer for yourself because the answer is different for different people.

You seem to think posts on the forums will make them change their financial model because after all they worked out the prices by throwing darts while wearing a blindfold.

Sorry, I was referring to others, not you, who seemed to take it very personally that anyone would think it's not a good deal. You and I are basically saying the same thing: buy/don't buy based on its value to you.

And game companies ABSOLUTELY take into account forum and social media response to announcements like this. And often, if they find they've miscalculated the response from a significant part of the playerbase, they rethink it (we don't yet know if that's the case here, I could be in the minority).

Take destiny for example. They did the exact same thing: Giant long-awaited expansion, only available bundled with the base game for waaay more than most existing players would pay. People complained, they created a cheaper option that was only the expansion. That COULD happen here.

 

[Oziki]

I accept that we live in a capitalist world, entertainment cost money.

That being said, I am pretty sure I waste more than up to $60 a year being entertained by all types of things. Not all things are equally entertaining to all people.
Elite is a bargain in my book. I find it to be the type of entertainment I find most entertaining.

 

[CrustyGoth]

Sorry, I was referring to others, not you, who seemed to take it very personally that anyone would think it's not a good deal. You and I are basically saying the same thing: buy/don't buy based on its value to you.

And game companies ABSOLUTELY take into account forum and social media response to announcements like this. And often, if they find they've miscalculated the response from a significant part of the playerbase, they rethink it (we don't yet know if that's the case here, I could be in the minority).

Take destiny for example. They did the exact same thing: Giant long-awaited expansion, only available bundled with the base game for waaay more than most existing players would pay. People complained, they created a cheaper option that was only the expansion. That COULD happen here.

Fair enough on the slobbering.

Personally I agree with Aussiedroid above but it is a personal decision.

As to them changing the price I don't believe that even if almost everyone was raging against the price they would make any change to their plans until it was released. If it didn't sell then they would have to look at the price but the noise on the forums would have nothing to do with that, just the hard data on sales figures.

The know they will lose some people and I expect they will gain even more as new people can buy the game and the expansion together. They have a set financial model and know what money they need to get in and they have made their decisions accordingly. They have been in this industry a while and no offence to you but I trust their predictions over yours. Obviously if nobody buys the expansion and they don't make enough money meaning the game shuts down feel free to say I told you so!

 

[P4riah]

Ok, I think I'm gonna eat some crow here. I think I completely misunderstood what they're selling here.
I was equating 'seasons' to 'expansions'. They kind of hid the wording at the bottom that Horizons covers MULTIPLE expansions through 2016.
I misread it. I thought this was only covering the first part of planetary landings that they talked about. I didn't see that that was only the FIRST part.
I was wrong. The amount of content for this is more than I understood. The price makes a LOT more sense to me now.

In my defense, I think the way they've presented this leaves it a bit open to misconceptions.... xD

 

[Para Handy]

Ok, I think I'm gonna eat some crow here. I think I completely misunderstood what they're selling here.
I was equating 'seasons' to 'expansions'. They kind of hid the wording at the bottom that Horizons covers MULTIPLE expansions through 2016.
I misread it. I thought this was only covering the first part of planetary landings that they talked about. I didn't see that that was only the FIRST part.
I was wrong. The amount of content for this is more than I understood. The price makes a LOT more sense to me now.

In my defense, I think the way they've presented this leaves it a bit open to misconceptions.... xD

Yes I agree that it has not been communicated terribly well by F D.

Your defence makes sense of your position regarding pricing but in no way justifies your disgusting -slobbering comment.

 

[Simon853]

If ED was titled Elite 4, sold for £40, and then a year later they announced Elite 5, to in include planetary landings, for £40, and then a year after that Elite 6, with another load of improvements, people wouldn't complain. EA Sports and COD fans are used to that model.


Seriously, why is anyone complaining? My TV monthly subscription is more than the cost of an ED update and is more often than not woefully lacking in interesting content. I can spend the same money on a bad night out, an over-priced meal, a rainy day at Alton Towers or tank full of petrol to use up stuck in traffic.