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Baldur's Gate 3 'Isn't Going to be on Game Pass', Insists Larian Boss; "We made a big game, so I think there's a fair price to be paid for that."

Tomeru

Member
Arrested Development Tobias GIF
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
I thought developers wanted to be on gamepass and it somehow increased sales and was a win-win.



Gamepass is good for:

1. MP games where they can build up a big player base
2. GAAS where the more people who are playing it means more potential $$$$ from MTX
3. Indie games where a small studio can benefit from $$$$ by MS and get word of mouth for the game
4. Meaty games where people will start it and when the game falls off GP then players may be inclined to buy it outright at a discount since they likely have not finished the game.
5. Games that have or will have DLC. They put the game on GP but not the DLC. Players play the game and then buy the DLC
6. Games which may be a bit older and is having a sequel coming out soon. Builds up a player base who may want to purchase the sequel after playing the original title.
 

Del_X

Member
1. Microsoft will not offer them something fair (at least not what is fair now), so this is a silly argument.
2. Having premier games in Gamepass serves to devalue a game as a purchasable item, so this isn't even about Baldur's Gate 3, it's about how Gamepass trains people to think games don't cost anything. This same problem is why mobile games (and journalism, TBH) are almost entirely trash.

I didn’t make an argument - it’s literally an explanation of how things work. If it were on game pass then it would be priced appropriately for the sales tradeoff.
 

Del_X

Member
How is he gaslighting?

I'm sure he'd know what kind of money Microsoft would offer for them to throw their game on the service but he's simply not interested for the reasons he stated.

If he doesn't want the game on the service because of what it represents then so be it. Most big games want nothing to do with the service for their initial run, this is nothing new.

I didn’t say he was - I’m saying this idea that people act like “oh boo hoo the devs don’t get paid” is false and I’m not really interested in pretending another “game pass bad” thread is anything but that framing.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
But I though 2nd in launch month sucked?

Against CoD? The game that's topping both XBL *and* PSN charts?

I mean, I know what you're trying to do but even you must realize the folly in that comparison :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
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Three

Gold Member
Against CoD? The game that's topping both XBL *and* PSN charts?

I mean, I know what you're trying to do but even you must realize the folly in that comparison :messenger_grinning_sweat:
You think Fifa or NBA2K are low sellers on their launch month vs COD on an off month?
 

Dis

Member
That's what Microsoft pays them for (if it were on game pass). It's almost like people are intentionally gaslighting people about the business model somehow meaning shit is free or cheap.

For Free* on Gamepass.

“We made a big game! Fair price needs to be paid”

You’re right. But its just a
Thought experiment
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Listen, do you think FIFA sells less on launch month than COD does on month 2? Don't jump to praising CoD. Just answer that question.

I think the circana chart has your answer, if they were as high sellers as CoD on their launch months even, they wouldn't have fallen behind CoD in its launch month.

And, no, this is not praising CoD. This is breaking down your initial attempt at quoting me because Baldurs Gate 3 is behind CoD in the top paid list as some kind of "gotcha".
 

Three

Gold Member
I think the circana chart has your answer, if they were as high sellers as CoD on their launch months even, they wouldn't have fallen behind CoD in its launch month.
WTF are you talking about? How did they fall behind COD on launch month?

F8ua0IKa0AAOUUw

And, no, this is not praising CoD. This is breaking down your initial attempt at quoting me because Baldurs Gate 3 is behind CoD in the top paid list as some kind of "gotcha".
You're praising cod with irrelevant facts about off years. Don't even understand what you're doing. Especially with this nonsense that FIFA or NBA2k fell behind COD on launch month. Where's that nonsense coming from?
 
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GP people are so annoying.

Entire new game announced? "Does this gonna come to GP? If so I will give a shot"
New game launched? "Does this gonna come to GP? I will only play this if it comes to GP"
Company says their game won't be coming to GP? " I will wait until eventually comes GP"
You know what's even more annoying? People who hate consumer-friendly options.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
WTF are you talking about? How did they fall behind COD on launch month?

You're praising cod with irrelevant facts about off years. Don't even understand what you're doing. Especially with this nonsense that FIFA or NBA2k fell behind COD on launchonth. Where's that nonsense coming from?

Mate, I don't know where this conversation is going either. BG3 is trading places with CoD as the top paid app on Xbox right now.

GBZWdVJWoAAIyi-



Your 'oh i thought 2nd place wasn't good enough' gotcha attempt made little sense, especially as this is a late port anyway. Not a day and date release with the other versions.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
All you are doing is reinforcing that Game Pass hurt sales by showing the place on sales lists by not being on it.

Further reinforcing what the dev was saying.

Plenty of devs happily put their games on the service too, hopefully not under duress, it's all gravy.

Besides, at least we can safely close the book on the "xbox players don't buy, they wait for game pass" narrative in this case.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Plenty of devs happily put their games on the service too, hopefully not under duress, it's all gravy.

Besides, at least we can safely close the book on the "xbox players don't buy, they wait for game pass" narrative in this case.
You always want your cake and to eat it too. It does not work that way.

Great games sell, news at 11. Top bangers are never day 1 on it. From Elden Ring to BG3. There's a reason for that.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
You always want your cake and to eat it too. It does not work that way.

Great games sell, news at 11. Top bangers are never day 1 on it. From Elden Ring to BG3. There's a reason for that.

They don't necessarily have to cancel each other out, using our favorite example, Starfield, despite launching on 2 platforms on game pass day one, it is still the 10th top selling game of the year. It also didn't launch on the highest selling console platform in the US.

Likely will end up at the same by the time the year finishes cause I don't see Avatar hitting the top 10 ytd.
 
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ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
Awkward The Last Of Us GIF by PlayStation

He basically says Gamepass isn't a place for big games. Late response to Stadia-Rpg drama?
This guy fights on every front, with a shiny armor, and I love it.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
They don't necessarily have to cancel each other out, using our favorite example, Starfield, despite launching on 2 platforms on game pass day one, it is still the 10th top selling game of the year. It also didn't launch on the highest selling console platform in the US.

Likely will end up at the same by the time the year finishes cause I don't see Avatar hitting the top 10 ytd.
Oh what could have been for poor Starfield.

Besides, at least we can safely close the book on the "xbox players don't buy, they wait for game pass" narrative in this case.
And yes, people are more than likely to "wait for GP" on mid games than they are bangers the entire world is talking about.
 
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KungFucius

King Snowflake
They'd need to pay for the lost Xbox sales, lost PS5 sales and lost PC sales for the GOTY. There's a calculation to be had there, and it isn't cheap.
It's a lot cheaper now than it was when it launched and will continue to go down. I see no reason why a big game like this couldn't go on a service years down the road when sales are minimal
 
Larian for real is the new role model of the industry.
Not only are they ethical and passionate about what they do.
They stay independent and make logical business decisions instead of making a quick but potentially detrimental buck.
 

Skifi28

Member
It's strange. People on with access to gamepass love it. Those without it, hate it.

Wonder why that is
I wouldn't say people hate gamepass itself, mostly the evangelists that think it's the best thing to happen to the industry. These rental services have their uses, but they have also heavily contributed to devaluing games and none does it better than gamepass. You can see it happening right before your eyes with the "no gamepass no buy" comments we see all the time. People have been trained not to buy games, that's quite bad if gaming is your hobby and you want a healthy future for the industry.
 
I wouldn't say people hate gamepass itself, mostly the evangelists that think it's the best thing to happen to the industry. These rental services have their uses, but they have also heavily contributed to devaluing games and none does it better than gamepass. You can see it happening right before your eyes with the "no gamepass no buy" comments we see all the time. People have been trained not to buy games, that's quite bad if gaming is your hobby and you want a healthy future for the industry.
People are being trained not to buy shit games at full price sight-unseen. I don't touch games day 1 unless I get a positive consensus from reviewers whose taste I trust, been burned too many times.

Now if it's on GamePass, and looks even remotely interesting I'll give it a whirl for an hour or two to make up my own mind. For every game on there I love I've found one that I thought would be right up my alley, but just didn't connect. Hey, no harm no foul.
 
It's weird to see those who think your standard game should be something like $100 a pop, or even worse, a game's value should be determined by what journalists think of each game.

No Thank You Reaction GIF
 
I wouldn't say people hate gamepass itself, mostly the evangelists that think it's the best thing to happen to the industry. These rental services have their uses, but they have also heavily contributed to devaluing games and none does it better than gamepass. You can see it happening right before your eyes with the "no gamepass no buy" comments we see all the time. People have been trained not to buy games, that's quite bad if gaming is your hobby and you want a healthy future for the industry.

Games being devalued was happening long before GamePass and will continue happening whether GamePass exists in the future or not. Anything that’s not AAA is seen as low budget garbage and if a game doesn’t score 9+ from the critics then it’s not a good game worth buying according to the internet. People also rent and wait on sales before buying games. It’s not a problem for consumers to look out for consumers, and it’s certainly not a problem for publishers to go to GamePass.

If you want proof of this just look at any GamePass monthly games thread. If there’s not a day one AAA blockbuster then most people shitpost and call it a day. The industry would be a better place if gamers respected every type of game.
 
As a GamePass subscriber I don’t expect third party bangers to be on the service day one. It’s for first party bangers, smaller scale titles, indies, and AAA’s that are risky and not sure things for the publisher, so they take a check from MS to level out some of that risk. And then of course you have your titles that come months after release when the sales machine has slowed down. Which is when Baldurs Gate 3 will hit both GamePass and PS+, eventually.
 

Pelta88

Member
Games being devalued was happening long before GamePass and will continue happening whether GamePass exists in the future or not. Anything that’s not AAA is seen as low budget garbage and if a game doesn’t score 9+ from the critics then it’s not a good game worth buying according to the internet. People also rent and wait on sales before buying games. It’s not a problem for consumers to look out for consumers, and it’s certainly not a problem for publishers to go to GamePass.

If you want proof of this just look at any GamePass monthly games thread. If there’s not a day one AAA blockbuster then most people shitpost and call it a day. The industry would be a better place if gamers respected every type of game.

58f4fab9-9e41-4296-b408-3b95ecb8abe0_text.gif
 
But we're in a Baldur's game 3 thread and we still see these comments, people have been trained not to buy games period. If there's been one game this year deserving full price, it's this.
Bro I bought it day 1. I bought a lot of games day 1 this year, all under the procedures I talked about. If I don't get positive reviews from ACG, Matty, Cog, et al I don't buy without an extreme amount of scrutiny.

I never said don't buy games day 1, I said don't buy games day 1 sight-unseen. Marketing lies and FOMO are just that, bullshit designed to separate you from your wallet. For the love of God everybody stop pre-ordering things, even if especially if you trust the developers.

As far as people wanting BG3 on GamePass, well no shit they want it on GP. It would be wild if it were on GP. I have no doubt that MS made an offer, and Larian made the decision to decline. Good on them that it worked out, but that's business. I'll bet you the guys behind Callisto Protocol wish they took the bag.
 

DavidGzz

Gold Member
Someone remember to bump this thread in the summer when it's on there. Just kidding but it wouldn't surprise me. I bought it on Steam. It's great but I get bored pretty quickly. There are just too many faster paced games to play at the moment. I'll come back to it.
 
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Saber

Member
You know what's even more annoying? People who hate consumer-friendly options.

In what part of my post saying how annoying GP begging spam is says exactly that I was against consumer friendly option? Tales from your ass?
In the meantime, seems like they made a point that they valorize start-to-finish projects with big effort and no microtransactions, which sounds more than fair to tag a price for it. Go there call them out for their "anti-consumer tatic", they will love to hear your silly imput.
 
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