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[Physiognomonics]

This game is way too expensive anyways on PS5 and it'll flop. People who are into Returnal are just going to wait for the much better PC port with cheaper CD Keys.

 

[Three]

It sets a greedy precedent, turning complete $70 games into artificially tiered products

Publishers push this because apathy lets it spread. Silence normalizes longer tiers and more fragmentation next time.

Buy standard, starve the trend.

This "trend" is a decade old now. You would have about as much success "starving the trend" complaining as you did other things MS introduced like mtx, paid online, etc.
Welcome to 2015

Complained my heart out about them to no avail. People even cheered it on. The trick is to just not be influenced by the FOMO and get it 2 days later. Complaining doesn't seem to work. Going dark 2 days to avoid spoilers isn't even difficult vs the 5 days for those other games. Especially online games like Forza or Sea of thieves where you're disadvantaged against other players. Scummy stuff all round.

 

[HRK69]

Early access compared to physical copies, I'm not talking about early access between different digital editions. In fact, I'm not even talking about the early access, I'm clearly talking about digital games should releases several days or even weeks than physical copies.

Yeah, you lost me on that one.

But its the same greed right? Just a different excuse. What's the real difference?

More buggy/rushed games?

Once the money's in the bank from pre-orders, the pressure to actually polish the game drops way off, why bust your ass fixing bugs or balancing stuff when the sales are already locked in? Obviously this isn't always the case

But this is exactly how we end up with rushed, buggy messes on launch day. Early access perks just make it worse by pulling in even more blind buys

Prime examples:

Cyberpunk 2077
Battlefield 2042
Anthem
No Man's Sky

 

[mckmas8808]

Come on, that's ridiculous

Good luck avoiding thumbnails of the final boss, random group chat messages like "holy shit that ending," or the algorithm shoving review clips in your face.

Spoilers are unavoidable unless you literally delete social media for the weekend. Not everyone can (or wants to) live like a hermit for two days just to enjoy a game unruined

Publishers know this and bank on it.

Bro......I'm not sure when you were born, but I was born in 1983. Getting off social media for 48 hours is easy! I feel bad for you youngins man. Yall use social media like it's crack cocaine.

Because it's just another annoying trend to add onto the pile of greedy BS that makes this hobby less enjoyable lately

This hobby of yours, is a business for them. Why do so many gamers want these devs to lose out on potential money and then whine and complain when their favs close shop?

You aren't accessing shit early, the company is pushing back release late to everyone who doesn't pay extra $10-30 (whatever that is).

It is a FOMO move and people like you get hooked. Folks who are paying $70 at release can normally afford $90 or whatever this is, nobody is "jealous" but the whole thing is dumb.

Personally I find the whole approach annoying and it immediately pushes any game that does it to a "wait till it's 50% off" list.

I assume these games are games that you aren't that hyped to play then.....

 

[Zacfoldor]

Why? You either want it early or you don't. Either way it's not a bad thing.

It's bad because it is an arbitrary pay gate that appeals to a function of the lower brain or rather the subconscious in order to generate upsells.

It plays on themes of artificial scarcity, FOMO, and resource competition to upsell the game sku, rather than the strengths of the game itself.

A more wholesome and healthy preorder bonus might offer additional content rather than access to the same content "early."

The reason it is bad it is takes advantage of a base part of the brain to increase sales not from the developers of the game but rather from the marketing department. This type of "content" is designed to appeal to your lower brain and over-ride your better decision making, making it immoral imho. Surely we can sell our games without making traps? Ideally in-game content is what is sold to us and not marketing tricks.

 

[SJRB]

Fuck whoever came up with the idea of charging an extra 10 or 20 to play a few days earlier.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Ill be buying on disk babyyyyy! Fuck the digital tax.

 

[DeepEnigma]

This game is way too expensive anyways on PS5 and it'll flop. People who are into Returnal are just going to wait for the much better PC port with cheaper CD Keys.

 

[Dynasty8]

Even people defending this shit have to admit that this is setting very bad trends for the industry and letting greedy publishers come up with new ways to fuck consumers over.

This has now become the unfortunate norm. Every major game publisher is going to continue doing this.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

This game is way too expensive anyways on PS5 and it'll flop. People who are into Returnal are just going to wait for the much better PC port with cheaper CD Keys.

Idk if your being sarcastic, but I think this game will sell better than Returnal and more people will definitely buy it on PS5 over PC.

Even people defending this shit have to admit that this is setting very bad trends for the industry and letting greedy publishers come up with new ways to fuck consumers over.

This has now become the unfortunate norm. Every major game publisher is going to continue doing this.

There is nothing "new" about having an early access period behind a paywall. This has always been a strategy that some companies have used. Even recently, Xbox uses this strategy for some of their first party games before having them release in game pass.

Its a single player game so its not like people are getting an advantage playing early .... its really a take it or leave it thing. I'm interested in the game but not enough to buy it before a sale but am not going to knock people who are very excited and willing to buy it early.

To each his own .....

 

[HRK69]

Bro......I'm not sure when you were born, but I was born in 1983. Getting off social media for 48 hours is easy! I feel bad for you youngins man. Yall use social media like it's crack cocaine.

Nah, straw man. I never called anyone addicted

You really think every Saros fan knows the april 28 Deluxe date weeks ahead? Just so they can preemptively blackout social media and avoid the spoiler flood you helped create by paying Sony to delay the game for the rest? Genius.

 

[HRK69]

This hobby of yours, is a business for them. Why do so many gamers want these devs to lose out on potential money and then whine and complain when their favs close shop?

 

[mckmas8808]

It's bad because it is an arbitrary pay gate that appeals to a function of the lower brain or rather the subconscious in order to generate upsells.

It plays on themes of artificial scarcity, FOMO, and resource competition to upsell the game sku, rather than the strengths of the game itself.

A more wholesome and healthy preorder bonus might offer additional content rather than access to the same content "early."

The reason it is bad it is takes advantage of a base part of the brain to increase sales not from the developers of the game but rather from the marketing department. This type of "content" is designed to appeal to your lower brain and over-ride your better decision making, making it immoral imho. Surely we can sell our games without making traps? Ideally in-game content is what is sold to us and not marketing tricks.

So shouldn't we blame the FOMO people that can't control themselves? And I just can't see how 48 hours early is "immoral".

Nah, straw man. I never called anyone addicted

You really think every Saros fan knows the april 28 Deluxe date weeks ahead? Just so they can preemptively blackout social media and avoid the spoiler flood you helped create by paying Sony to delay the game for the rest? Genius.

If you're a Saros or Housemarque fan you should know the release date of their new game. If you don't, then that's on you.

Some of us actually like the companies that make games we love. I can't say the same for every one here.

 

[Cr1ptkeeper]

Imagine if they did this with other products, not only games.
The new iPhone / Pixel / Samsung releases in 2 months but you can buy it next month allready, it's just 100$ more...

 

[touchfuzzy]

I always say "that's dumb, who would buy this?" but if Nintendo made me pay extra for 48 hours early access to the next 3D Zelda for example, I'd bite. So I kinda get it. I'm just not sure who gets so excited about this type of game though (nothing against it, but is anyone that excited?).

 

[HRK69]

If you're a Saros or Housemarque fan you should know the release date of their new game. If you don't, then that's on you.

Look, we will never see eye to eye on this and that's fine. But no matter how you spin it, no matter what scenarios you cook up ('log off social media', 'it's my money', 'reward the risk') it all boils down to the same thing: pure greed.

The game is finished. They could let everyone play on the same day. Instead, they artificially delay the standard edition a few days just to charge extra for 'early access'

Thats manufactured scarcity to squeeze more cash out of fans.

 

[Ozriel]

Because it's just another annoying trend to add onto the pile of greedy BS that makes this hobby less enjoyable lately

In what way does it make it less enjoyable because some people get to play the game a few days earlier than you?

calling it 'greedy BS' when Returnal didn't sell very well.

 

[Chukhopops]

This game is way too expensive anyways on PS5 and it'll flop. People who are into Returnal are just going to wait for the much better PC port with cheaper CD Keys.

I was shocked to see that they are asking 80 fucking euros for the standard edition, that's audacious when there is so much coming out Q1 26.

Guess we will never know but I'm curious how many people will actually drop 90 euros for the EA version.

 

[Ziglax]

Wow 48h, nice !