Season Passes Are Killing Us All

Gamers may remember 2012 for many things when the year is all said and done—the Mass Effect 3 controversy, the glut of quality independent titles, and the launch of the Wii U all spring to mind. From a business perspective, though, 2012 may end up best known as the year the Season Pass became the standard DLC model for most game companies. From Max Payne 3 to Borderlands 2, Assassin's Creed 3 to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, it seems like every major release these days is adapting to this latest industry trend.

[Captain Qwark 9]

i like season passes. i seem to be one of the few gamers that understand it is very much a business at the same time.

takes time to make a game, time equals money, sales arent guaranteed anyway so you may not even make that back. even when you make it back, a decent amount of them profits need to go toward the next project anyway. overall its a risky business and if you have fans willing to pay for more and can deliver more then its well worth it for both sides.

stand alone dlc was killing us, season passes are much better provided the content warrants the price, bl2 is a damn good example of how to do it and as a result, i happily paid for the pass.

[CrimsonessCross]

The FIRST pass I have purchased for ANY game was for Borderlands 2, and seeing how they have done DLC for the original Borderlands in the past I was happy to purchase one, even at a discount ($22.50) so I am saving money and getting the DLC at release. Seeing how I bought my game for 36$ on GMG I did pretty much pay full retail for the game and the DLC in whole.

The thing that's lazy is over-charging for the Season Pass and not really detailing on what kind of content and quality is provided with it...and how much content there will be. Also, if they are stripping a piece of the game for later purchase along the lines then for THAT game I will not purchase a Season Pass (Assassins Creed 2 exmaple? although it DID NOT have a season pass, it stripped out parts of the story)

As I said, seeing how the DLC (good with a few, bad with one) for the first game didn't strip the first game whatsoever and was of good to great quality I will pay up front and hope for amazing content in Borderlands 2 :)...they aren't map packs either...So I can't and won't complain. They are also building upon themselves and showing what/where DLC really should place itself.

Just because it HAS a season pass doesn't mean you HAVE to buy it :/ but it is there for the people who want to support and want new content for their game. Choose wisely...

[Rupee]

This ^

[Captain Qwark 9]

you went into a bit more detail than i did but i agree on all points lol

[MostJadedGamer]

Totally agree season passes are crap. I miss the old days when console games didnt have DLC or even patches, and games had to be 100% completely finished when they were released.

[Adexus]

I love the idea of DLC and patches, get extra content after the game is released and if something is broken then it can be fixed after, the problem is developers are abusing DLC like cutting content from the main game and charging extra for it afterwards or releasing broken ass games that require 7 patches before it even works properly. The idea of them both are great but they are rarely used correctly.

[cleft5]

Old games where never 100% completely, there was always bugs and glitches. Only back then none of that stuff could be fixed on the consoles or you had to go to an extreme to get something fixed. Now you can just get a game fixed post game or day 1 via a patch. Yes, patching has promoted laziness on the part of some developers, but the benefits far outweigh the consequences.

[InTheZoneAC]

bf2 is such a great game that season pass is definitely needed and warranted to keep the MP fresh and alive.

Borderlands 2 is another great game, I play more single player than MP because I like doing missions on my on pace, but it seems like the DLC is coming out way too fast.

$30 for the expansions may seem like a great deal, I just don't see myself playing this game once I beat all of it.

At least with MP I'll be playing it for 1-2 years getting all my $ out of it.

Single player, not so much.

[MostJadedGamer]

If your preorder a game, and buy it day one for a full $60 you should automatically get the seasons pass. That should be your reward for preordering, and buying the game day 1.

Preorders would shoot through the roof, and we would have far less used game sales in game makers actually did this.

Publishers complain about used game sales, but they don't give enough incentive to preorder, and buy games on day 1.

[SandwichHammock]

Wholeheartedly agree with you. I've been suggesting a similar model. Its one that I think meets at a middle ground between customer and business.

With each new purchase, include a code (yes! kind of like an online pass. gasp ;)) that entitles the person that uses the code to ALL DLC for that title. This would be a big hit against the used market (which publishers cheese and wine about all the time)as almost anyone would pick a new copy over used. Plus it would allow the title to keep a high value for longer. Keeping that 59.99 sticker price as opposed to the current trend of games dropping $20 after the first two to three months.

Cheers.

[CrimsonessCross]

It definitely wouldn't hurt in doing so and I'm sure many people would enjoy buying new at that point. Hell I pretty much paid full retail for all the Borderlands 2 content being the game and season pass (until they do release non-season content). Companies that show they will release content and support their game (even for free) shows that they care.

It makes me wonder that if that were to indeed happen if they'd just start saying something like "excluded from season pass" to get you to buy it anyways....you have no idea what kind of things they could try to work around. Season Pass could/would probably become something like small bits of content for your game at that point (skins, guns, weapons, cosmetic stuff...things like that).

Right now I'll stick to buying it if it is justified with their track record and not buying it if I don't feel the value for my money is worth it over picking and choosing the pieces that I am interested in.

Just an alternate way of thinking and a different point of view if it were to happen.

EDIT: @ SandwichHammock - Agreed. It would justify the cost of spending that much as well and know you are getting all the core content that comes with the game.

[optimus]

"...killing us" implies that it's mandatory for everyone that buys the game. I for one am able to start and finish a game without buying anything extra for it.

[ziggurcat]

i don't see a problem with paying $20 - $30 in advance for $30 - $40 worth of DLC content.

[ChunkyLover53]

Actually Season Passes save you money, plus its not like you HAVE to buy them. I own plenty of games that I've gotten enjoyment from without spending an extra dime for DLC.

[DERKADER]

Season Passes killed my father!

[cleft5]

You have my condolences sir or madam.

[CRASHBASHUK]

Hmm let me correct this
"Online passes are killing us"
so you buy a game 2nd hand lets says its £20 and the online pass code has been used and you got to buy the online pass to use the online features etc then it’s an extra £8-10
And we all know who’s the worst for this "cough EA"
Ok I like to buy my games first hand often that is because they have a pre-order bonus or it's a CE/LE