17 réponses à ce sujet

[Sovereign6]

I get it, "don’t buy it" but when a game is released and more than half of it is locked behind a paywall is a tad bit outrageous. These games came out at least 4 years ago, so why is the Omega or Citadel DLC still priced at $15 each? Why is there an outdated system such as the "BioWare Points" still in existence? I don’t understand why BioWare/EA would pull a stunt like this towards their fans. ME series was one of THE best games made by BioWare (KOTOR1 included) and for whatever reason chose to lock more than half of it behind a paywall. My question is, is there a plan to remove the old system of BioWare points and price the DLC using actual money ($$) and putting the DLC's on sale? Or am I just out of my mind on such wishful thinking....

 

[Jeremiah12LGeek]

As far as I know, the BioWare points system was discontinued years ago. To what extent it is still used I couldn't say, but I had the impression it was phased out by making the points themselves unavailable for purchase.

 

As far as I am aware, all of the DLC is available via traditional transactions for all systems. I think you'll have to cite a specific example of how you are attempting to purchase them and being unable to do so without BioWare points for anyone to figure out what is preventing you.

 

As far as the price, it is a bit of an irony that digital prices are consistently higher for longer, considering the medium is by orders of magnitude less expensive, in terms of distribution costs, when compared to traditional disc and cartridge games. I would compare it to phone companies who charged more for people transitioning to touch tone from pulse, when touch tone was by orders of magnitude less expensive for the phone companies to use. In this instance, a very small number of companies control digital distribution, and thus the prices will be artificially inflated due to the lack of competition. In the world of discs and cartridges, that level of control is much more difficult (especially because as a "physical medium" it is more regulated, especially when it comes to vertical integration.)

 

Long story short: Digital prices won't be coming down any time soon, and are likely to increase in the near future. Along with that, older DLC will maintain its price for longer than one would normally expect. The practice helps make up for shortfalls in other areas - such as the inability to charge more for games themselves (games went up in price last year for the first time in over 5 years.)

[Shinobu]

There is currently a 30% off sale on origin. You still have to buy bioware points to get Omega but you can get it for $10.50 instead of $15.

[Sovereign6]

Appreciate what you trying to do (Shinobu) but deals/promo codes do not apply for BioWare points.

[Shinobu]

You automatically get the DLC at 30% off but have to jump through the hoop of buying points. (Once you add the DLC to your cart it says you need to buy points but the 30% off code still works.) I got Leviathan for $7.44 (tax included) instead of $10 earlier today. Put it in your cart and see for yourself.

 

Is Omega worth getting? I'm thinking I might as well buy it since it's discounted and I got my money's worth out of ME3. After 3200+ hours of MP I've paid ~2 cents per hour of entertainment.

 

Is there any way to buy ME2 DLC through Origin when I only have a physical copy and not a digital one? I can't find Stolen Memory listed.

[7twozero]

http://forum.bioware...ale-or-no-sale/

[Shinobu]

I wound up buying Omega as well. $10.50 didn't seem too bad.

GameStop had a sale on DLC last Christmas, so it will probably go on sale again in future, or maybe become free content a la Pinnacle Station after Andomeda has been out for a while.

[MattFini]

This is party of why I want a remastered trilogy. 

 

I'd like to have versions of these games with all of the DLC on the disc. 

[AlanC9]

Is there any way to buy ME2 DLC through Origin when I only have a physical copy and not a digital one? I can't find Stolen Memory listed.

I believe the procedure is to register your disc copy with Origin by keying in the code. I did that with ME1 just to save myself the hassle of trying to find BdtS when I reinstall.

[AlanC9]

ME series was one of THE best games made by BioWare (KOTOR1 included) and for whatever reason chose to lock more than half of it behind a paywall. My question is, is there a plan to remove the old system of BioWare points and price the DLC using actual money ($$) and putting the DLC's on sale? Or am I just out of my mind on such wishful thinking....

Wait a second. It isn't more than half the game that's locked behind a paywall; all of the game is locked behind a paywall. Or rather, several different paywalls.

I'm also not sure how you arrived at the "more than half" figure.

[Shinobu]

I believe the procedure is to register your disc copy with Origin by keying in the code. I did that with ME1 just to save myself the hassle of trying to find BdtS when I reinstall.

 

That did it, thanks!

[GeneralMagnum]

Back to topic, including Mass Effect and Dragon Age series its an unacceptable amount for the DLCs and Bioware points will robably never go on sale ( and EA blocked off all attemps to buy them cheaper internationally).  I tried to write them several emails but never got an answer. Does anybody have a clue about which executive to get into contact with to look into this abysmal failure of pricing. I don't know if Bioware has still people who have a say in this or if the marketing department for Origin is now responsible.

[planehazza]

I've bought all three games and DLCs at full price (except for PS, as that came free with ME when I put my key into Origin) and I don't begrudge it one bit. 

[Garlador]

I've bought all three games and DLCs at full price (except for PS, as that came free with ME when I put my key into Origin) and I don't begrudge it one bit. 

I bought all Collector's editions and DLC at full price, INCLUDING Pinnacle Station...

 

... I do begrudge them. The DLC is exorbitantly expensive AND it has the added problem of being some of the most substantial story and lore content in the whole series. I cannot even fathom playing this series without Lair of the Shadow Broker, Arrival, From Ashes, or Leviathan installed, because all of them provide necessary context and information about key characters, the main villains, and even the ending of the game itself. 

 

I got the whole trilogy for a friend for roughly $12 as a gift because she's tight on money... and I feel bad when I told her there's nearly $100 worth of DLC for games that are quite old at this point that I consider necessary to fully enjoy and comprehend the story of the game. It's like reading a good book with the best chapters torn out and held at a premium that's 8x the price of the initial book.

 

Forget even a remaster; a simple, solitary, affordable re-release with all DLC included would be a big win for EA and Bioware. The fact they haven't done that - something well within their means and ability - is baffling and disappointing.

[rossler]

Supply and demand. The reason it is still $15 is because there's still quite a demand for this content. So the price will stay where it is. Once the demand drops, then the price will drop too. 

[Xanphal]

$71 isn't so bad, from the point of view of living in New Zealand where, if i wanted all the story DLC from ME2 and ME3 I would have to pay the grand total of $120. THAT is ridiculous. I love the ME series, but I don't love it to the tune of $120 more. Essentially, I will look at that $120 and compare a hand-full of DLC to how many new games I could buy instead, and I'm going to go for the new games every time because no DLC is worth that much, no matter how great they are; especially for a game this old. (For contrast Fallout 4 + season pass cost me 80$ all up when it came out. Looks like I have change to spare.)

 

I understand it's a marketing decision more than anything else; I'm not their target market. I'm the kind of person who will wait for all those sales before spending my money; Origin wants those impatient people who see the price barrier and the wall of 'bioware points' and just shrugs and gets it anyway because they're desperate for more content. But still, it confuses the hell out of me; I always assumed it was better to sell cheaply to many then expensively to few. Accessibility does wonders for impulse purchases (as proved by Steam sales and the share volume of games people buy and NEVER PLAY just because they're cheap).

[simonrana]

Much as I agree with the OP's sentiments (minus the "over half the game" comments that are plain wrong) I can't see things changing in the forseeable future as there's too many things going against it:

- lack of competition and digital controls mean prices can be kept high
- DLC makes up for the fact that main game prices don't go up in the industry
- there's many gamers who want to keep getting more content after the main game is released and are happy to pay a lot for it.

P. S unless you're a big Aria or Omega fan there's little reason to bother with the Omega dlc. Garlador is right about the others though (I would add Citadel to the list too personally).

[Gonder]

Yes, I agree that it is outrageous and needs to be reduced in price. I was a big enough fan to pay over 100 AUD recently for all of the DLC (not to mention I've done it before, long story), and it is an insane amount for a bunch of DLC, despite how good they are. These games are getting old, and I think it's time for those prices to go down a lot.