eyesofastorm wrote...
Lord_Saulot wrote...
eyesofastorm wrote...
Lord_Valderin wrote...
$5.00 isn't much for an hr's worth of playing time. ( sure I would like to see longer content ie 5-10 hr's worth or more but who wouldn't. ) You would be paying the same amount if you rented a movie from a video store that would take up anywhere from 65 mins - 3hr's ( including the previews ) for 5 buck's + tax & that doesnt include the snacks you might buy. So what's the big deal ?
Because:
The problem, I think, is that in the past, we have been able to expect true expansions with full, coherent stories. If we are willing to pay $5 for one hour chunks, then we are giving the game industry the green light to never again make REAL expansion packs. I have no doubt that 1 hour chunks at $5 per pop is easier and cheaper and way more profitable for devs. Consumers determine the market value of this content. Demand more and you'll get more if the devs can swing it. Demand less and you'll get less whether the devs can swing more or not. Don't be sheep people.
Do you have any numbers on the subject? I'm actually somewhat interested in this subject. As it appears to me, doing short DLC like this means that they have to re-contract voice actors (Mr. Bartel mentioned they have the companion voiceovers in this module) and incur other expenses repeatedly for small amounts of work. On the other hand, with a larger content release, such as a traditional expansion, economies of scale would probably allow them to get more for their money from the various other people they have to work with. On the other hand, I'm sure they wouldn't be using this model if it were not profitable to them. But how/why it is cheaper is non-obvious from an economic point of view.
Overall, I would however like to see full expansion packs. My ideal situation would be seeing a real expansion planned for the future, and a couple of shorter DLC modules to fill out the main game and maintain interest in the game while waiting for the epxansions.
No, I have no hard figures. If that is a failing of my argument in the minds of some, then so be it, but I'll try to answer anyway. One benefit of the DLC model Bioware is currently following (I would think) is a more consistent revenue stream. Instead of spending months working on an expansion and earning nothing in than time and wondering if there will still be an interest and a market for the expansion when it is finally finished, they get a new cash infusion every few weeks or months and "theoretically" maintain some level of interest in the game. Also, I have to argue against your point that it is more profitable to do a large expansion. A large expansion might encompass 20 or 30 hours of gameplay... at least that's what we've come to expect from RPG's in the past. If there is any kind of scale between the hours of gameplay produced and the hours and money spent on development, then profit, and probably revenue will be much lower because... if 1 hour equals $5 of revenue, then you would expect 20 hours to equale $100 dollars of revenue. Obviously, the market will not support a $100 expansion pack. But in smaller chunks, many gamers do not consider what the cost REALLY is.
Thanks for the reply. I don't think that not having hard numbers is necessarily a failing, since I was interested in your theoretical explanation, but ulitimately you and I can only speculate, while Bioware/EA will have those numbers, and will put them to use. I think you make good points about the constant stream of revenue, but I doubt that there is a constant scale between hours of gameplay produced and hours and money spent on development. Unless, they are able to reuse material from the original game, I would imagine that there are base costs and marginal costs, and that the fixed costs would dominate when the number of hours of gameplay produced are small, while subsequent hours of gameplay produced would come at lower average cost to them. On the other hand, I think you are right that its easier for them to charge more for the smaller purchases, but I'm not certain that DLC reflects a cost/benefit optimum for them. But then, its still a fairly new model, and they are probably experimenting with it to a certain degree. That is where the numbers would benefit it us; I'm a fairly math-headed person, and I just understand things better with numbers.
I suspect that DLC prices are being finetuned with successive releases. That is nice, but I still would like to see regular expansions. All in all, what I want to see before I decide to purchase further DLC is more information about what Bioware's plans regarding DLC are, so that I can make a better decision.
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