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[see5harp]

Honestly the skins and dumb dance moves is a red herring. The issue with the expansion was always the price and amount of content in relation to the game they released at launch.

 

[pantsmith]

While it does ultimately come down to not paying for what you don't find it equating to the value of it, that doesn't mean people shouldn't speak up about it. Why being silent is actively encouraged here is odd, I just can't fathom. Especially after it was people speaking out that has helped shape the game to be what it is now, and that had at least encouraged Activision to allow some greater variety in TTK purchasing options.


Considering those vanity piece categories were included in those expansion packs, and I do believe in greater numbers on top of the multitude of content offered (I haven't counted the number of shaders and class items since RDG hates me..), I say that there is indeed a relationship there.

Not disagreeing with you - its important to have this discussion - but its helpful to have context when comparing downloadable apples to downloadable oranges.

 

[wildfire]

That apology was flawless. I haven't laughed so hard I cried in a long time.

 

[gatti-man]

Bunch of grown people crying over digital content. Man this whole thread is pathetic.

I play the game, I plan on buying TTK, what I do however not plan to do is pay for this garbage digital cosmetic content that does not effect the game whatsoever. You have the option to buy it, no one is telling you that you have to buy anything.

Quit bitching, move on and worry about something more productive, like real life and shit.

Yeah it's $20 it's too much but really if you want it buy it. I'm still getting the physical CE and gifting the game I don't need to someone. It pricey stuff for a game I like. Not a big deal.

 

[Steel]

I never said that CS:GO is how vanity items should be priced, just that games in general charge high costs for vanity items because they're vanity items. Gears of War 3 launched with like $50 of weapon skins if I remember correctly. Skins in Call of Duty cost a couple bucks a piece. Prices are universally high for vanity stuff.

It was $3 dollars per pack in gears, though. We're talking about a pack of colors and emotes for $20.

 

[NullPointer]

Even their apologies are overpriced DLC..

OUCH.

I said god damn.

 

[Jarsonot]

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to get destiny. I've been pretty busy lately so have been putting it off, and this sort of thing makes me really hesitate.

I understand going in that if I want to really play and keep up with destiny it's going to mean buying expansions (at least) yearly, so I've taken a look at the expansions to see if I'll at least be getting what I consider good value for my money. From what I've read, meh, they don't seem to be all that much of an addition to the game.

And now I see that if I choose to buy destiny there will be items, emotes, whatevers, that will be priced beyond my reach. I can be a bit of a completionist in games I really enjoy, so it'll stick in my craw a bit to see people get cool things that I won't have because I don't have as much disposable income. To me, it feels like it's approaching the tactics of a mobile game, with premium or exclusive items being locked behind a paywall.

If I was already invested in the ecosystem I might shrug and deal with it, but as an outsider looking in, I don't know if I want to get invested in their continuous pay model...

So I hope they're ok losing my cheap-ass business in order to get the whales who buy al the add-ons. They probably are.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Vanity items that I'll spend possibly hundreds of hours using/looking at versus spending a night in rather than eating out? Yes I can rationalize that.

At the end of the day when it comes down to the nitty gritty they don't need to rationalize anything.

Everyone can argue back and forth but it's pretty simple. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

Bungie doesn't need to rationalize it, because people are going to buy it up. That doesn't mean it can't be discussed. Fact is, $20 in Bungie can get you an entire expansion or three cosmetic items. If you don't see a problem with that, well, I do, but okay.

I'm not buying it. That doesn't mean there isn't anything to talk about or to critique.

EDIT:

Even their apologies are overpriced DLC..

Perfect.

 

[Florida_Man_5000]

I think this makes sense. If your the kind of "whale" who buys collectors editions but gets offended by Bungie trying to charge you twice for content you already own, then this is for you. I just hope the new dance emote is the Johnny Manziel with glimmer flying out your butt.

 

[Two Words]

Bungie keeps telling us to be vocal. They want feedback. That feedback matters and improves the game. Yet some fans of the game are here telling people to just be quiet and don't buy it.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

The same thing happened to Evolve. Poor Evolve, you never had a chance.

It deserved it too. Never got to buy Evolve (enjoyed the beta/s and the concept, but didn't get my rig up in time for release : /. Hopefully a GOTY so I can finally play the Wraith if they didn't make it useless by now ), but there was no good reason for how pricey those skins were, especially after the high cost of the additional characters (monsters costing more due to size tax on top of it).

 

[Mass Effect]

Anything else? New job? Moving? Baby on the way?

...

uh... did I offend you or something? This is a forum. I post my thoughts on the topic. You don't like it? You think it's irrelevant information to you? Cool. Move on.

But if you must know, I'm starting my third year of college in a month, so that will be fun. Anything else you want to know?

Or do you rather I jump on the righteous outrage machine or the endless defence force by Destiny addicts?

 

[pantsmith]

Honestly the skins and dumb dance moves is a red herring. The issue with the expansion was always the price and amount of content in relation to the game they released at launch.

$40 dollars is fairly standard for an actual expansion. Thats what Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls went for, which is probably the closest point of comparison.

Bungie keeps telling us to be vocal. They want feedback. That feedback matters and improves the game. Yet some fans of the game are here telling people to just be quiet and don't buy it.

Not buying it is literally the best way to send that message.

 

[border]

This sounds like a huge exaggeration driven by a persecution complex.

I guess you're not above making assumptions, then?

A few cosmetic items in Destiny have generated more response than the entirety of many games' complete DLC. Between this thread, the Redbull thread and the Eurogamer thread we're at what? ~85 pages of responses.

 

[Principate]

The difference being that there aren't 30 page threads full of vitriol and righteous outrage for the other games that have vanity items. For some reason Destiny ends up being the game that gets crucified.

Nah the key difference, is those games don't charge stupidly high price for all of it's dlc whether gameplay affecting or not. You may pay $20 optionally but the base game is also $20.

Here if you bought from launch the base game with all the dlc would be 140+ and counting as well as all this bullshit dlc. The entire game is an experiment to fleece money from buyers but it sadly doesn't even have the decency to be f2p, nah you gotta pay the high price for the privilege of being fleeced.

 

[Lothars]

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to get destiny. I've been pretty busy lately so have been putting it off, and this sort of thing makes me really hesitate.

I understand going in that if I want to really play and keep up with destiny it's going to mean buying expansions (at least) yearly, so I've taken a look at the expansions to see if I'll at least be getting what I consider good value for my money. From what I've read, meh, they don't seem to be all that much of an addition to the game.

And now I see that if I choose to buy destiny there will be items, emotes, whatevers, that will be priced beyond my reach. I can be a bit of a completionist in games I really enjoy, so it'll stick in my craw a bit to see people get cool things that I won't have because I don't have as much disposable income. To me, it feels like it's approaching the tactics of a mobile game, with premium or exclusive items being locked behind a paywall.
.

All you have to buy to get into the game will be the $60 boxed/digital version that includes all the previous dlc.

 

[Kyne]

Anything else? New job? Moving? Baby on the way?

Lmao.

Bungie doesn't need to rationalize it, because people are going to buy it up. That doesn't mean it can't be discussed. Fact is, $20 in Bungie can get you an entire expansion or three cosmetic items. If you don't see a problem with that, well, I do, but okay.

I'm not buying it. That doesn't mean there isn't anything to talk about or to critique.

EDIT:



Perfect.

It's actually 6+??? Vanity items. Assuming the ??? Is 3 more that's about $2 an item. $2 a shader/emote/class item isn't that bad of a deal in my opinion. I would probably pay up to $5 for a shader.

 

[IXIKelsonIXI]

That's just honest confusion about why people would spend money on this.

That's fair enough, but I think the answer to the question of "why?" is fairly obvious. Maybe not on a philosophical level, I guess, but I'd wonder what the point of being concerned about that is.

 

[commish]

Honestly the skins and dumb dance moves is a red herring. The issue with the expansion was always the price and amount of content in relation to the game they released at launch.

I'm with you there. The CE items, and Bungie's response, was terrible and obnoxious, but the real issue has been, and will continue to be, the completely substandard content for high prices.

 

[Two Words]

I guess you're not above making assumptions, then?

A few cosmetic items in Destiny have generated more response than the entirety of many games' complete DLC. Between this thread, the Redbull thread and the Eurogamer thread we're at what? ~85 pages of responses.

I'm not saying that is what it is. I'm saying that's just what it sounds like. This is the perception I have from this, but I'm not claiming it is the reality of the situation.

Personally, I see the volume of feedback is indicative of how many people either gave Destiny a chance and were sorely disappointed or were looking forward to it in general until people found out what it really was.

 

[cakely]

With regards to the year-two shaders, emotes and class-items:

I'm still not really interested in them. The only effect they'll have is an XP boost which really isn't something my three characters need at this point. They've already stated that they're going to start putting stats and perks on class items, so I'll be using the class items that make me more effective in combat, instead. The year-two items are clearly aimed at new players that will be leveling three brand-new characters from level 1. That's not me.

So, I probably wouldn't buy this pack for $5, much less $20. I'll get the $40 expansion when it's released, and call it a day.

 

[KodaRuss]

I am pretty torn about this whole thing. I feel like I have had my fill of Destiny but I have been playing since the Alpha. They are way off in their $20 cost for the shaders etc.

I am willing to listen to more but even the content that they have so far announced for the taken king doesnt seem that much better than the house of wolves (which I really dont like that much anyway).

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Not disagreeing with you - its important to have this discussion - but its helpful to have context when comparing downloadable apples to downloadable oranges.

What am I missing? Other than the emotes, there's nothing offered here that wasn't offered in the expansions in greater numbers. And I don't think emotes are worth the 'tax' that equates to a third of the original game's price, the only other Destiny product that offered emotes.

This isn't downloadable apples to downloadable oranges. It's downloadable apple to downloadable bushels of apples + tree at the same price.

And yes, I'm counting things like the Raid class items and shaders as vanity. It's exactly what they are, just with more effort in order to obtain them than clicking a prompt on PSN and strolling to the tower's special orders vendor.

Idk, I just can't separate this DLC from the expansions at both price and amount of content. I don't have a problem with people who can and don't have an issue though. If people find value there, ok.

 

[Kinsella]

I guess you're not above making assumptions, then?

A few cosmetic items in Destiny have generated more response than the entirety of many games' complete DLC. Between this thread, the Redbull thread and the Eurogamer thread we're at what? ~85 pages of responses.

That tends to happen when companies act like complete shitbags.

 

[SpinningBirdKick]

You really couldn't make this shit up.

Bungie: "We're sorry. That will be $20 please"

I can't wait to see what content pricing mischief they will come up with for Destiny 2 after the user base lets them get away with murder for Destiny 1.

 

[jschreier]

I'd honestly love Kotaku or someone to do some Behind the Scenes interviewing to find out wtf happened to the story, background lore, promised gameplay features/size of the game. I feel like there may have been a lot of shit that went down with the Dev team before this game got released.

I would love to!

 

[Anton Sugar]

It's actually 6+??? Vanity items. Assuming the ??? Is 3 more that's about $2 an item. $2 a shader/emote/class item isn't that bad of a deal in my opinion. I would probably pay up to $5 for a shader.

There are three shaders and then class-specific items. I guess if you have three of each class, you get the max value from this.

Still, like I said, shaders are introduced with every Expansion. Not sure of the count.

I don't have an issue with charging for cosmetic items (although I'll always appreciate devs, like CDPR or even DICE, who don't charge for them), I have an issue with overcharging for them. I'm fine spending money on paint for my E ships, because I know that's a revenue stream for them and, as a small dev, they need it.

There's no real-world way for me to justify Bungie's cashcow requiring $20 for a handful of cosmetic items.

I'm with you there. The CE items, and Bungie's response, was terrible and obnoxious, but the real issue has been, and will continue to be, the completely substandard content for high prices.

This, too.

EDIT: And this!

What am I missing? Other than the emotes, there's nothing offered here that wasn't offered in the expansions in greater numbers. And I don't think emotes are worth the 'tax' that equates to a third of the original game's price, the only other Destiny product that offered emotes.

This isn't downloadable apples to downloadable oranges. It's downloadable apple to downloadable bushels of apples + tree at the same price.

And yes, I'm counting things like the Raid class items and shaders as vanity. It's exactly what they are, just with more effort in order to obtain them than clicking a prompt on PSN and strolling to the tower's special orders vendor.

 

[border]

Nah the key difference, is those games don't charge stupidly high price for all of it's dlc whether gameplay affecting or not. You may pay $20 optionally but the base game is also $20.

Except we were already given examples where vanity items were priced disproportionately with base content. I would add that cosmetics doubled the price of Killer Instinct. Warcraft pets cost the same as a one month subscription -- mounts cost more than 50% of the price of a single expansion pack.

 

[brokenwatch]

I'm glad they sort of fixed one problem by at least making the extra CE content a separate purchase. But no way am I spending $20 on some stupid emotes and shaders. Even with hundreds of hours played I'm still on the fence for buying the Taken King. I'll wait to see what content is announced I suppose. I felt really burned after The Dark Below came out, but enjoyed House of Wolves so I suppose it could go either way, but definitely leaning towards not purchasing it after this fiasco and the Red Bull BS.

For $40 I would expect almost as much content as was in the original game at launch.

 

[Karl2177]

That tends to happen when companies act like complete shitbags.

The shit bag of a company that donated over $1m to Nepal earthquake aid. Grrr

 

[tuxfool]

I'm with you there. The CE items, and Bungie's response, was terrible and obnoxious, but the real issue has been, and will continue to be, the completely substandard content for high prices.

Isn't this the baseline issue that underscores all the problems related to Destiny? It is the aggravating factor that triggers and compounds all the complaints with destiny. If content wasn't a problem there would be less inclination to make a fuss about 20$ emotes.

 

[nobodyshero]

I wish there was a way for us to get an accurate reading on this news from the Destiny population at large. Users on GAF are a different breed. Maybe the general reception to this news outside of here is super positive.

I'd just be curious.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Except we were already given examples where vanity items were priced disproportionately with base content. I would add that cosmetics doubled the price of Killer Instinct. Warcraft pets cost the same as a one month subscription -- mounts cost more than 50% of the price of a single expansion pack.

I agree with you that others do indeed do it...but back on point, just because there's a precedent elsewhere, does that make it anymore acceptable?

 

[Anton Sugar]

The shit bag of a company that donated over $1m to Nepal earthquake aid. Grrr

And? Does this vindicate their shitty business practices?

 

[Kinsella]

The shit bag of a company that donated over $1m to Nepal earthquake aid. Grrr

And Donald Sterling donated money to the NAACP. What's your point?

 

[Strangelove77]

.....that you won't do this again, Bungie.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I'm glad they sort of fixed one problem by at least making the extra CE content a separate purchase. But no way am I spending $20 on some stupid emotes and shaders. Even with hundreds of hours played I'm still on the fence for buying the Taken King. I'll wait to see what content is announced I suppose. I felt really burned after The Dark Below came out, but enjoyed House of Wolves so I suppose it could go either way, but definitely leaning towards not purchasing it after this fiasco and the Red Bull BS.

For $40 I would expect almost as much content as was in the original game at launch.

At least with AAA gaming you usually only have to wait a few months for massive sales and discounts

Its crazy how far we go in reaction to things (myself included lol)

I suppose the majority of the criticism is neccesary to "keep em honest" though right?

 

[The Lamonster]

I would love to!

Be the hero GAF deserves.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Which is fine, but there's no point in comparing the price of vanity stuff to the price of an expansion pack. Like, there's no relationship there.

There absolutely IS a relationship.

 

[Hedgey]

I feel the same way about hats in TF or crates in CS.

I get that you hate the idea, its totally reasonable, I just don't spend my time posting in threads about it calling people suckers.

seems weird.

Thank you, sir.
Let us silly people be silly.
I split it with a friend so I think it's actually a decent price. (I already bought the Taken King on PSN) Did the same with the original Guardian edition as well so I honestly don't feel ripped off. Both my friend and I still love playing the game and I think it's fine to put money into it.

On topic, $20 is too much for the digital things, even if I split it up it's still $10. I wouldn't pay that much for those things. Besides, who needs class items for XP? Just BUY ALL THE REDBULL.

 

[Karl2177]

And Donald Sterling donated money to the NAACP. What's your point?

Calling a company a shitbag is hardly going to get them to change their business practices.

 

[border]

That tends to happen when companies act like complete shitbags.

Personally, I see the volume of feedback is indicative of how many people either gave Destiny a chance and were sorely disappointed or were looking forward to it in general until people found out what it really was.

And I'm saying that the response is pretty massively disproportionate to what similar games receive though. Everybody pops out of the woodworks when there's bad Destiny news to gloat over or some schadenfreude to relish. "I am so glad I never played that piece of garbage!" Do I really need to point out the graveyard that was the "New Destiny player help" thread?

 

[see5harp]

Except we were already given examples where vanity items were priced disproportionately with base content. I would add that cosmetics doubled the price of Killer Instinct. Warcraft pets cost the same as a one month subscription -- mounts cost more than 50% of the price of a single expansion pack.

Yea no sense in looking at value of vanity items. It might be fair to state, however, that the vanity items may actually get a lot more use in certain games. I remember getting my first mount in WoW and thinking "wow this is awesome" while roaming a new zone full of quests for hours. I remember getting a new spacecraft in Destiny and thinking "wow my ship is different during the loading screen."

 

[Bladelaw]

I would love to!

Use your press sneak fuck powers! Also has that interview you talked about gone up on the site yet? I'm interested in reading it given the events of the last week.

 

[WrenchNinja]

ITT: People who have never paid 25$ for a new horse in WoW.

People who aren't idiots?

 

[NullPointer]

Which is fine, but there's no point in comparing the price of vanity stuff to the price of an expansion pack. Like, there's no relationship there.

There is literally every relationship between those two.

Both are optional add-ons to Destiny and both have had their prices set by Bungie/Activision. In terms of price for content and personal value - there's no reason not to compare them.

 

[Kinsella]

Calling a company a shitbag is hardly going to get them to change their business practices.

And yet Bungie asks gamers to loudly express what they want and what they don't like.

 

[Kyne]

I wish there was a way for us to get an accurate reading on this news from the Destiny population at large. Users on GAF are a different breed. Maybe the general reception to this news outside of here is super positive.

I'd just be curious.

Step into the OT. It's basically divided just like everywhere else except there are no convoluted arguments about everyone's decision.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

I wish there was a way for us to get an accurate reading on this news from the Destiny population at large. Users on GAF are a different breed. Maybe the general reception to this news outside of here is super positive.

I'd just be curious.

Anecdote alert, but my coworker wasn't too thrilled about it. And he's definitely more of the average, yet knowledgable type. Doesn't really participate on forums and just plays with close friends and their friends online (XBO), but he does look at things on IGN to keep somewhat up to date. Tries to convince me to do the whole dance again on my XBO so he can have a reliable Raid partner.

Doesn't mean he was ranting about it, but he know that to him it's a terrible value after paying the same for each of the expansions (that he found very enjoyable).

Most of the average gamers in my experience don't care about fps (even though they do notice the difference) or how stealth and arena games are shadows of their former selves. But they also aren't the mindless spawn that only exists to eat up DLC and micro transactions and play that popular game that GAF member 'x' despises and thinks is only for dudebros.

 

[Falchion]

I’m glad they changed their stance and are now allowing the early adopters to buy all the CE stuff, but holy crap why is that worth $20. I’ve been playing since day 1 and have all the pre-HoW exotics and 3 level 34 characters, but there’s no way I would even pay $5 for a few shaders and a new dance.

I guess something is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay but that just seems crazy steep.