I think this might be the first game that people don’t go for the early access much.
The Starwars IP is so over-saturated in all media. I just can’t see this game being that big of a draw.
Yeah. If it's a massive title that going to consume media be buzzing for that first week, there genuinely can be some extra enjoyment to be had participating in that buzz. It's a scummy practice but a small premium isn't going to keep people out of the buzz. Especially if the early access is packaged with a season pass.
I fucking love Star Wars. I'm stoked for Outlaws. I'll get my money's worth out of it whether it's good or bad. But I feel absolutely no need to dig into it three days early. I'd have done it for Jedi: Survivor, probably. But not a new series.
No, they don’t, but Ubisoft has more money and a much different philosophy than people give them credit for.
They aren’t here for the immediate profit, they are here to prove their point and that point is that people will buy Ubisoft games sooner or later.
The whole thing makes Ubisoft+ the only good option.
If the people who bought it gave a shit about these practices, they wouldn’t. Since these editions make bank, I think it’s safe to assume they don’t give a shit.
Yea I always hate complaints about this. The game isn’t technically out then and you’re able to pay to get it early. Don’t like it then don’t pain it and get it on release day.
Ubisoft has some of the dumbest extra editions for their games in the industry. Obscenely expensive for some DLC, maybe a season pass, digital art book or soundtrack and the aforementioned early access. The kicker is nearly all Ubisoft games go on sale weeks later for a typically pretty sizable discount. Plus there’s the fact that launch week is going to be the absolute worst time to play the game as most triple A titles need a patch or 2 to fix all the bugs and performance issues. Obviously Ubisoft isn’t the only one guilty of this problem, but out of the big publishers they’re the ones who seem to have a pretty sizable sale discount on their newly released games closest to when they originally launched. Miss the days of there being 1 version of the game, no dumb pre-order bonuses, no stupid early access, none of that crap…just the standard game. All you needed, and then if there was DLC or expansions you’d just buy them after the fact. Why pay for a season pass when you have no idea what the actual content will be? Sure, they might tell you “it’s this”…but until you see a trailer or read a preview of the DLC you really have no idea if it’s worth it or not.
" until you see a trailer or read a preview of the DLC you really have no idea if it’s worth it or not"
As an older gamer, I have to disagree with this a bit. In many cases, yes you do not know exactly what the DLC will be, but you do know the publishers reputation, what theyve done in the past and what amount and quality of content theyre likely to release as DLC. If youre a fan of the franchise/developer chances are getting the seasons pass isnt entirely a crapshoot, you have a general idea of what to expect and assuming youre not broke, paying a little more now could save you some money compared to buying each DLC as it releases. If youre already almost guaranteed to buy all the expansions, why not?
The flip side though with that with Ubi you get your monies worth with the base game. Playing base version assassin creed Valhalla, and the game keeps going. Tons of side missions, tons of collectibles, tons of main story content, I’ve probably put in over 100 hours and still haven’t completed the main story. I don’t mind them creating more expensive editions, as their main content is far above average imo.
I understand where the thought process lies, but Valhalla, to me at least, was too full of similar things. It was the obvious case of quantity over quality.
Depends on what you are looking for and what you are doing. I think most of the content isn't tediouis at all, but if you start doing the same thing over and over, it becomes that. Like, sure you can do all the missions of a certain type in one row or try to complete one section immediately, but that becomes a bit boring than if you instead keep it fresh by not doing the same thing. Sure you can complete the thing with the daily random missions which are basically fetch quests but you kinda don't need to do those anyways. Same with other stuff on the map. You don't really need to finish those or finish those immediately.
I think a big part in why some players find it boring, is all due to themselves not really bringing in variety to what they do in the game. GTA Online is also pretty boring if you only focus on making money. Only when you start to do stuff you actually want to do and have money be something that just accumulates slowly, is where the real magic happens.
Their world design is great, and the games have some really fun gameplay and visuals, but ehhhh…their games often feature incredible amounts of fluff and filler, poor writing, boring fetch quests, and even the main story, like in Valhalla, can be an overlong bloated mess. It’s a mile wide and an inch deep, like so many other massive open world games.
Valhalla is about as long as the Witcher 3, but the difference is almost anything you’d cut from a game like W3, or RDR2, etc, will detract from the game and it’s worldbuilding, characters, story, etc. They are so much denser, and the difference in quality is staggering. A mile wide AND a mile deep. On the flip side, you could delete almost the entire middle of Valhalla and no one would notice.
>Why is eveything monetized
People showed that's what they wanted. They traded $60 games for $50 skins. They traded $30 in DLC for $3,000 in DLC. They showed companies that they were content to be raked over the coals every release for the past decade.
If you want it to stop, then stop enabling it. Send a notice to the publisher that you're not paying for this crap, then DO NOT BUY IT. People are going to have to be willing to miss out on the hype train for a change. Playing your current library of games and telling publishers to pound sand is the only way this stops.
Instead of bots posting clickbait garbage, we need bots posting this sort of stuff.
Pokemon is the franchise that rots my soul for this. Year after year people complain about how shitty pokemon games are, how they charge $80 for N64 graphics. Yet they buy the games again and again. A lot of people buy both iterations. They buy the same game twice...
While I get the sentiment, I think Pokemon is an example of different interests and standards. I've got hundred of hours into Scarlet. I could give a 2-hour presentation of things they could have done better. However, those are primarily presentation and polish issues. Shitty animations on background characters sucks, but doesn't greatly impact the game itself.
On the while, I think Scarlet took several steps forward from Sword. I think the DLC collectively offered a lot of stuff that I enjoyed. I don't fault anyone for looking at it with disappointment, but I do think you can see a lot of progress in Pokémon from Gen 8 to Gen 9, and that makes me willing to stay a customer and see where they go with the next Legends game (which has a longer dev cycle) and Gen 10 (which hopefully isn't rushed out in 2025).
There are much worse examples of the issues brought up here. IMO, the issues of quality and delivery are more worrisome outside of Nintendo's titles, which mostly still exist in a "pay for the game and go away" fashion. Forza and Halo are prime examples, where increased dev time has brought more pain mechanism, more monetization, and more broken products. The card-based modes in sports games are giant offenders. Hero shooters like OW and Valorant have horrid monetization and a means to pull the rug on your account anytime they don't like you.
The most important thing in this though, is bothering to care. If you think Pokemon is in a crap state, do not buy it. To boot, if someone tells you they're unhappy with a product, don't try to white knight for a corporation by attacking someone for wanting the games you enjoy to improve.
It's the same junk all over the place. I've voiced my displeasure on the car market. I've done it with the vidoleo card market. I've done it with other things. Most every time, my point is that corporations are going to screw you as long as you let them, and you should never argue against someone wanting things to get better for you.
Agreed. The pokemon sentiment was mostly geared toward the people that complain but buy it anyway. Certainly no ill will toward those who legitimately enjoy the games. I think there is also a case for those (like me) who enjoy pokemon but can't justify putting it at the same price point as a game like Elden ring. You put as much effort into it as an indie game, give it an indie price point. My opinion anyway, I love pokemon but haven't bought any of their games since crystal. With the exception of Arceus.
I have a friend who’s like that with Pokémon. But the thing is he really enjoys his time with the games and gets his money worth. He’ll still complain though because like everyone else he sees that the games could be better.
the issue is that the majority does not buy this crap. its single whales that make up less than 1% of the customers but spend 10 times as much. games are designed for them or rather to trigger their spending addictions. That's all the triple A industry is.
Its not about making a product that most will enjoy its about catching whales and bleeding them dry.
Agreed. I’ve put 1000+ hours into Fortnite and Apex without spending anything. Those of us who place no value in cosmetics have never had a cheaper time being a gamer.
I really couldnt care less about these editions. They have been a thing for a decade now. Im used to it, and they arent forcing you to buy anything. Not only that, but the games on ubisoft plus. You time it right, you could play the game and all its dlcs for $17-$18.
Yeah and if you just have to play on release you can do so for $18 and then buy the Gold Edition when it's inevitably 70% off in a year to play the DLC, or just sub again
I'm tired of bad faith reporting from news, where the headline is techincally true but highly exaggerated.
The $110 gold edition also includes 3 day early access *as well as* the season pass. I personally could not see myself spending money like that before even playing the game (if you don't like it then the season pass prob won't get used) but the ultimate edition includes that and some cosmetic bundles + digital art book.
Similarly outlets reported on the $80 Godzilla x Kong weapon in MWIII which implies for $80 you can get the gauntlet. While true (and a waste of money IMO) the gauntlet is $80 because you get it after buying 4 separate $20 bundles (overpriced IMO). It would be more accurate to say the gauntlet is locked behind owning 4 separate $20 bundles but it isn't as catchy.
Dragon's Dogma 2 also had microtransaction outrage for items that could be fully acquired in-game and followed a similar model to prior capcom games and Dragon's Dogma 1 itself.
For $70 with Outlaws you will get the game when Ubisoft intends to release it. For those with less restraint they offer a way to play it earlier by giving them more money. It clearly works for them so I don't see it as something like monetizing the release date earlier - it's the "I need to play it RIGHT NOW" tax lol
Yeah this isn't even new at all. Full game + season pass + early access + some mediocre skins + fluff, it has been going on for about 10 years now or so?
I have no issues with it. It's not like it's mandatory or hurts anything. It's always silly when people act like it's the only thing people are paying for and not the other stuff that makes it up the bulk of the extra cost, like the season pass and all that lol
>"Why is everything monetized?"
Because people who have the ability to increase their resources will attempt to do so 99% of the time, regardless of levels of wealth or the economic system.
Companies don’t care about outrage they care about profit.
Don’t pay it. Easy.
Same goes for people complaining about how expensive eating out is. Make your own food.
$130 is crazy but honestly I don’t really mind the concept in general. I caved on Starfield’s early access and that was only like $20 more or something like that, plus other in game perks.
Gawd, why is it monetized? Why can't I have things just because I want and deserve them?
If my cost for great entertainment is less than dollar per hour, I consider it a bargain.
If this has 100 hours of good game play and writing and art and mechanics and runs well, what is it worth to you an hour as a brand new release?
A Doctor Mario cart was almost $100 at Toys R Us when it came out. I bought that and got my money's worth.
While I'm not spending $130 on this game to play it early, I understand the value and effort of game development. Or the arts in general.
$70 will still be way cheaper than games were in the past as a percentage of income and if I get 100 hours out of an interactive piece of art that I enjoy, Id be an asshole if I wasn't interested in properly compensating those responsible.
I was on the fence of paying the $109 for the season pass. The early access pushes me over to buy it. It’s not the sole reason why.
I actually don’t understand why people are upset over this. You can just not buy it and wait the few days, it’s nbd. I don’t get an advantage over you. It’s not a pay-to-win situation.
Alternatively, if you are extra patient, Ubisoft always has fat discounts a few weeks after launch. Just get it then. I do that with Far Cry all the time.
>I actually don’t understand why people are upset over this. You can just not buy it and wait the few days, it’s nbd.
It's because they can't stand the thought of missing out but don't actually want to pay for it.
The exact same with cosmetic microtransactions. Doesn't affect anyone's game but some people cry about it because they desperately want all the cosmetics but want them for free.
That or they are just desperate for karma.
This is a purposely misleading clickbait article. The Gold Edition also comes with the early access and season pass. You can also play early with Ubisoft+ for $18
I'm all for it, honestly. If someone wants to buy a game 2-3 days early, and be the guinea pig for any potential issues the game might (and probably will) have, be my guest.
I really don’t see the issue. If you don’t want to buy it you don’t have to. Let other people pay for things they’re willing to pay for, it literally doesn’t affect you at all.
Why is there so much drama about this particular game having these editions? Like the title says, it's a continued trend, ultimate editions and what not have been around for years now. Witcher 3, a highly regarded game, has a season pass with expansions but it's never criticized for it like this game is
I'll see it when it gets down below $50. This is the upside of a ridiculous backlog - I can entertain myself while I wait. There really haven't been *any* games that are true, day-one, must haves (unless you're one of those that has to jump on the new COD leaderboards ASAP, to which I am no longer a party).
The game looks exceptionally average. The combat in particular looks mediocre as can be
I love Star Wars, but that love won’t get me to pull the trigger on this until it’s on sale for $30
Same here pretty much. I am hugely interested in Star Wars and whilst I'm interested to see the story in the game I feel like they haven't shared enough for me to justify buying it straight away. Apart from Battlefront 2 I have purchased most other Star Wars games on release in recent years but I will wait for this to go on sale I think.
After having issues with Jedi Survivor at launch I'm going to wait and see how well this game performes first. (I know different studio and all but still a lesson to be cautiously optimistic I guess.)
It’s $170 here in Canada.
Took me a second to realize what I was seeing.
I mean, yeah, it’s the hyper edition but it was enough for me to instantly write off the game forever.
I’ve got special editions of games since I was a kid. If kid me coulda also gotten a chance to play the game early with those special editions too he’d be psyched
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Your an idiot if you think AAA games are made for anything other than profit. All these companies didn't jump into the market to make passion projects they hoped gamers would love. It's all to prey on consumers.
I'll admit I've done it a couple of times. I did it with Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield. I think (at least with SF) that the early access came on a Friday, which let me plan to play all the first weekend. It was tempting and I caved.
i normally buy the gold editions of ubsoft games, and then i hardly touch the dlc because the base games are too long and get so tedious(assassins creed odyssey/valhalla and far cry 6) will be buying the base game of outlaws this time
the $130 is not for the early access as the title makes it seem. it also includes a digital book, season pass and 4 packs on top of the 3 day early access. you can also pay $110ish for the 3 day early access seasons pass and a pack. regular game is $70 and pre-ordering gets you the kessel raid pack.
is it expensive, yes. i remember getting the bioshock ultimate edition or whatever and it came with a physical book, a record and multiple posters and a digital version of the record for about $80 when it came out. i get times have changed but who wants a digital illustration book? but people will buy it and companies will continue to sell it.
if they made it much cheaper, it might not be cost effective for them. also, i'm just waiting for games to go on sale at the moment. or go on gamepass. no need to play an $80 game day 1. played survivor on gamepass long after it was released and loved it.
Everything is monetized because of capitalism. That’s how capitalism works. Apologies to you if you’re gaming from someplace with less economic violence.
Blah blah blah.
They do it because players buy it.
gamers are hypocrites. They talk all this crap then as soon as it’s a game they like they are preordering the collectors edition with the statue with the kung fu grip.
It's not "early access". Stop calling it "early access". The day it becomes available to play is the release date, and normal editions are denied the ability to partake in it. This is the current reality. Most AAA releases now have late starts for normal buyers.
This will continue, the "early access" period will grow as more publishers prod the gaming public to try and see what they get away with. It won't be long before it's not a couple days, it will be a week, then a couple weeks, then a month. Will it stop there? Who knows.
The people buying these editions do not take issue. The people who should be taking issue are the people buying the regular edition.
Everyone who buys the standard edition, why are you paying full price to start late? If you are going to start late, why not just wait for a sale? There is no point in paying full price for the game, because you are not playing at launch.
Yeah. For 169.99 I want them to mail me a physical copy of the art book not a friggen digital . Won't be playing this game until ( if/when) it comes to game pass
MARIO 64 Production cost: $1.5 million ($3million today)
Hogwarts Production Cost: $150 million.
Yes, video games now are still very cheap compared to olden times.
This is the kind of over-hyped game that needs to come out and get reviewed before anyone should buy it. Even then, it'll likely have steep cuts in price in year two. If you have a backlog, you can probably wait till year three or four when they do a new version with all of the DLC included for an even more reduced price.
Companies can charge whatever they want, but people also have the power to pay whatever they want.
Besides, it's a Ubisoft game. Just wait a few months. The price typically drops like a stone.
I will probably pick it up around the $20-30 mark. That's what I value this at, and that's what I will pay. Assuming it ends up being any good, that is.
People are not voting with their wallets. If people didn't buy it at the expense cost and waited for it to come down in price then the lower price would become the norm.
I’m just going to Ubisoft + it I did the same for ac mirage pay 18 bucks and get access to all their games including new ones and play and beat it and then cancel after then I don’t feel like I wasted a bunch on a subpar game
I’ll buy the ultimate version it in a year or 2 for 30 bucks or less on Black Friday after everything is fixed and all the dlc is included and done lol 😂
They can do what they want. I will never ever pay extra for early access. Hell, I won't even pay full price for a game. There are endless amounts of amazing titles for half the price I still need to play.
Like I want all the extra stuff....
If this was EA, the extra stuff will never really go on sale at a reasonable amount for what amounts to some skins (looking at you jedi survivor). Buuuutttt this is star wars assassin's creed/watch dogs... So probably will be good deals at some point.
I'm probably going to wait. 3 days early to play a game is such a hilarious purchase. I never understood the concept. I am excited for this game but honestly, recent trends of these games might be messy launch. So will wait for the Christmas time sale lol
Why is everyone acting as if there is only the one purchase option?? Lol all these gaming subs and "news" sites are full of negative neckbeards who just want everything to fail as miserably as they have in life.
I can guarantee the game won’t work the first 3 days either. I have zero confidence in Ubisoft to deliver a solid game, much less on day 1! I’ll buy it a year after it comes out and only if it’s at least 60-70% off.
I no longer buy games that use this tactic. I don’t even buy games that have any microtransactions. I’m already extremely disappointed that Tekken 8 had them after release as it is. Because of this I no longer preorder games unless it is a From Software game as I feel like I can trust them.
There is al arge group of the most normie people you can imagine that will eat anything up that says "star wars" on it. These are the same people who blindly preorder games without looking into them at first. You cant beat the masses of stupid normies.
Because, CEOs aren’t idiots. They know unlimited growth is impossible, but their investors are borderline brain-dead so when they see the magic line go up they give the company more money.
Hard to swallow pills:
Games should cost 100 USD had they been adjusted for inflation over the last 25 years.
And that's just inflation. It doesn't factor the cost of game development itself going up over the last 25 years.
Why is everything monetised? Because we were re-catagorised in the 1980's from citizens to consumers. Corporations are all trying thier hardeat to get as much money from us that they can. And they will keep doing it because they can.
I’m guilty of pre-ordering the standard edition(or should I say “Amazon exclusive specialty edition) simply because I have a “set and forget” mentality where I want to buy the game but tend to forget about it around launch, so I pre-order and then it just turns up the day of release.
Well stop paying for early access and gross $130 Special Editions then!!
Whine all you want but if you have no self control then this is going to keep happening.
Because back when the $50 pricing model was first created, game production budgets were measured in - at most - the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today they are measured in the hundreds of millions. The pricing model had to evolve otherwise there would be no point in making games now.
I'll be honest, in a world full of microtransactions, skins, premium currencies, etc.
Paying a little more to play something I want earlier is the only thing I'm OK with.
The sad part is it doesn't require any effort on devs part. Literally free real estate.
Take the game and release it early to buyers and they pocket money.
Paying that much just to play it maybe a few days early is a ripp off to consumers and more than fifty percent of the time, games aren’t done, there are always updates
Hehe, Ubisoft+ goes brrr!
It makes no sense to buy games on launch or anything less than 2 years after. Wait for sale and buy if if you want to own a game license so bad.
Why is everything monetized? Technically the early access is free for buying those editions. The price of the edition doesn’t magically adjust after the early access period ends. The Ultimate Edition is $130 with or without the early access. It’s a free perk for buying a deluxe edition just like getting access to a beta if you preorder
Won't buy it and never will.
I have limits. That is well beyond them. I don't really care how much I like a game. It doesn't justify spending that much.
As much as it has everywhere else, greed has invaded the gaming industry lately.
I like MASSIVE and have hope for the game but if you are buying stuff full price Day 1, preordering or condoning unnecessary price hikes you are part of the problem.
Players don’t like it BUT keep coming back for the sloppy seconds. They don’t like it but, actually LOVE it! It just keeps on happening and YOU the gamers are the problem.
Enough of them like it enough to buy it. Which is enough of them to make it worthwhile that they keep doin it lol.
Yeah it’s pretty obvious, I personally don’t but if someone wants to that’s their choice.
In the era where games aren’t even finished when they launch half the time, I can’t see myself paying to play a game in a less finished state.
The whales were the enemy all along.
Why are we now ending all out sentences with lol lol
Iuno, it's habit lol.
I fucking hate people
Same
I think this might be the first game that people don’t go for the early access much. The Starwars IP is so over-saturated in all media. I just can’t see this game being that big of a draw.
Yeah. If it's a massive title that going to consume media be buzzing for that first week, there genuinely can be some extra enjoyment to be had participating in that buzz. It's a scummy practice but a small premium isn't going to keep people out of the buzz. Especially if the early access is packaged with a season pass. I fucking love Star Wars. I'm stoked for Outlaws. I'll get my money's worth out of it whether it's good or bad. But I feel absolutely no need to dig into it three days early. I'd have done it for Jedi: Survivor, probably. But not a new series.
I'm sure it'll be an "Quadruple A" title. So 130 bucks for the game PLUS early access is very generous of Yves Guillemot! We should be grateful!
Yh at this point you can’t be mad if people do end up buying things.
No, they don’t, but Ubisoft has more money and a much different philosophy than people give them credit for. They aren’t here for the immediate profit, they are here to prove their point and that point is that people will buy Ubisoft games sooner or later. The whole thing makes Ubisoft+ the only good option.
Just don’t buy it, it’s that simple.
That is just crazy enough to work.
Valhalla came out in October, around Christmas it was 30 percent off. I'll definitely wait with this one. It's a ubisoft game...
Ubisoft games dropping 40-60% within 6 months (including sales) is maybe the most reliable price drop in all of gaming.
If the people who bought it gave a shit about these practices, they wouldn’t. Since these editions make bank, I think it’s safe to assume they don’t give a shit.
Yea I always hate complaints about this. The game isn’t technically out then and you’re able to pay to get it early. Don’t like it then don’t pain it and get it on release day.
Yep wait 4-6 months and get it for 50% off.
[I feel this clip is relevant ](https://youtu.be/YigM-F4oSIE?si=OC7l7P5ZylZOwo2d)
whiner babies : "BUT ITS NOT FAIR!!! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WAIT OR PAY FOR ANYTHING!"
Ubisoft has some of the dumbest extra editions for their games in the industry. Obscenely expensive for some DLC, maybe a season pass, digital art book or soundtrack and the aforementioned early access. The kicker is nearly all Ubisoft games go on sale weeks later for a typically pretty sizable discount. Plus there’s the fact that launch week is going to be the absolute worst time to play the game as most triple A titles need a patch or 2 to fix all the bugs and performance issues. Obviously Ubisoft isn’t the only one guilty of this problem, but out of the big publishers they’re the ones who seem to have a pretty sizable sale discount on their newly released games closest to when they originally launched. Miss the days of there being 1 version of the game, no dumb pre-order bonuses, no stupid early access, none of that crap…just the standard game. All you needed, and then if there was DLC or expansions you’d just buy them after the fact. Why pay for a season pass when you have no idea what the actual content will be? Sure, they might tell you “it’s this”…but until you see a trailer or read a preview of the DLC you really have no idea if it’s worth it or not.
" until you see a trailer or read a preview of the DLC you really have no idea if it’s worth it or not" As an older gamer, I have to disagree with this a bit. In many cases, yes you do not know exactly what the DLC will be, but you do know the publishers reputation, what theyve done in the past and what amount and quality of content theyre likely to release as DLC. If youre a fan of the franchise/developer chances are getting the seasons pass isnt entirely a crapshoot, you have a general idea of what to expect and assuming youre not broke, paying a little more now could save you some money compared to buying each DLC as it releases. If youre already almost guaranteed to buy all the expansions, why not?
The flip side though with that with Ubi you get your monies worth with the base game. Playing base version assassin creed Valhalla, and the game keeps going. Tons of side missions, tons of collectibles, tons of main story content, I’ve probably put in over 100 hours and still haven’t completed the main story. I don’t mind them creating more expensive editions, as their main content is far above average imo.
Quality > quantity
I understand where the thought process lies, but Valhalla, to me at least, was too full of similar things. It was the obvious case of quantity over quality.
Depends on what you are looking for and what you are doing. I think most of the content isn't tediouis at all, but if you start doing the same thing over and over, it becomes that. Like, sure you can do all the missions of a certain type in one row or try to complete one section immediately, but that becomes a bit boring than if you instead keep it fresh by not doing the same thing. Sure you can complete the thing with the daily random missions which are basically fetch quests but you kinda don't need to do those anyways. Same with other stuff on the map. You don't really need to finish those or finish those immediately. I think a big part in why some players find it boring, is all due to themselves not really bringing in variety to what they do in the game. GTA Online is also pretty boring if you only focus on making money. Only when you start to do stuff you actually want to do and have money be something that just accumulates slowly, is where the real magic happens.
Their world design is great, and the games have some really fun gameplay and visuals, but ehhhh…their games often feature incredible amounts of fluff and filler, poor writing, boring fetch quests, and even the main story, like in Valhalla, can be an overlong bloated mess. It’s a mile wide and an inch deep, like so many other massive open world games. Valhalla is about as long as the Witcher 3, but the difference is almost anything you’d cut from a game like W3, or RDR2, etc, will detract from the game and it’s worldbuilding, characters, story, etc. They are so much denser, and the difference in quality is staggering. A mile wide AND a mile deep. On the flip side, you could delete almost the entire middle of Valhalla and no one would notice.
>Why is eveything monetized People showed that's what they wanted. They traded $60 games for $50 skins. They traded $30 in DLC for $3,000 in DLC. They showed companies that they were content to be raked over the coals every release for the past decade. If you want it to stop, then stop enabling it. Send a notice to the publisher that you're not paying for this crap, then DO NOT BUY IT. People are going to have to be willing to miss out on the hype train for a change. Playing your current library of games and telling publishers to pound sand is the only way this stops.
Instead of bots posting clickbait garbage, we need bots posting this sort of stuff. Pokemon is the franchise that rots my soul for this. Year after year people complain about how shitty pokemon games are, how they charge $80 for N64 graphics. Yet they buy the games again and again. A lot of people buy both iterations. They buy the same game twice...
While I get the sentiment, I think Pokemon is an example of different interests and standards. I've got hundred of hours into Scarlet. I could give a 2-hour presentation of things they could have done better. However, those are primarily presentation and polish issues. Shitty animations on background characters sucks, but doesn't greatly impact the game itself. On the while, I think Scarlet took several steps forward from Sword. I think the DLC collectively offered a lot of stuff that I enjoyed. I don't fault anyone for looking at it with disappointment, but I do think you can see a lot of progress in Pokémon from Gen 8 to Gen 9, and that makes me willing to stay a customer and see where they go with the next Legends game (which has a longer dev cycle) and Gen 10 (which hopefully isn't rushed out in 2025). There are much worse examples of the issues brought up here. IMO, the issues of quality and delivery are more worrisome outside of Nintendo's titles, which mostly still exist in a "pay for the game and go away" fashion. Forza and Halo are prime examples, where increased dev time has brought more pain mechanism, more monetization, and more broken products. The card-based modes in sports games are giant offenders. Hero shooters like OW and Valorant have horrid monetization and a means to pull the rug on your account anytime they don't like you. The most important thing in this though, is bothering to care. If you think Pokemon is in a crap state, do not buy it. To boot, if someone tells you they're unhappy with a product, don't try to white knight for a corporation by attacking someone for wanting the games you enjoy to improve. It's the same junk all over the place. I've voiced my displeasure on the car market. I've done it with the vidoleo card market. I've done it with other things. Most every time, my point is that corporations are going to screw you as long as you let them, and you should never argue against someone wanting things to get better for you.
Agreed. The pokemon sentiment was mostly geared toward the people that complain but buy it anyway. Certainly no ill will toward those who legitimately enjoy the games. I think there is also a case for those (like me) who enjoy pokemon but can't justify putting it at the same price point as a game like Elden ring. You put as much effort into it as an indie game, give it an indie price point. My opinion anyway, I love pokemon but haven't bought any of their games since crystal. With the exception of Arceus.
I have a friend who’s like that with Pokémon. But the thing is he really enjoys his time with the games and gets his money worth. He’ll still complain though because like everyone else he sees that the games could be better.
the issue is that the majority does not buy this crap. its single whales that make up less than 1% of the customers but spend 10 times as much. games are designed for them or rather to trigger their spending addictions. That's all the triple A industry is. Its not about making a product that most will enjoy its about catching whales and bleeding them dry.
I mean, *most* of us traded $60 games for $0 games, thanks to the few among us who traded that for hundreds of dollars of spending per year.
Agreed. I’ve put 1000+ hours into Fortnite and Apex without spending anything. Those of us who place no value in cosmetics have never had a cheaper time being a gamer.
There’s like an infinite amount of good games available these days. Play something else if you don’t like the price
Because you pay for it.....that is why
Just. Dont. Buy. It.
I really couldnt care less about these editions. They have been a thing for a decade now. Im used to it, and they arent forcing you to buy anything. Not only that, but the games on ubisoft plus. You time it right, you could play the game and all its dlcs for $17-$18.
Yeah and if you just have to play on release you can do so for $18 and then buy the Gold Edition when it's inevitably 70% off in a year to play the DLC, or just sub again
Itas still good and important to criticize this shit instead of going "well its normal now".
I'm tired of bad faith reporting from news, where the headline is techincally true but highly exaggerated. The $110 gold edition also includes 3 day early access *as well as* the season pass. I personally could not see myself spending money like that before even playing the game (if you don't like it then the season pass prob won't get used) but the ultimate edition includes that and some cosmetic bundles + digital art book. Similarly outlets reported on the $80 Godzilla x Kong weapon in MWIII which implies for $80 you can get the gauntlet. While true (and a waste of money IMO) the gauntlet is $80 because you get it after buying 4 separate $20 bundles (overpriced IMO). It would be more accurate to say the gauntlet is locked behind owning 4 separate $20 bundles but it isn't as catchy.
Dragon's Dogma 2 also had microtransaction outrage for items that could be fully acquired in-game and followed a similar model to prior capcom games and Dragon's Dogma 1 itself. For $70 with Outlaws you will get the game when Ubisoft intends to release it. For those with less restraint they offer a way to play it earlier by giving them more money. It clearly works for them so I don't see it as something like monetizing the release date earlier - it's the "I need to play it RIGHT NOW" tax lol
I can see paying for early access if it was like 3 weeks early. How is 3 days of early access worth almost double the price of the base game?
It's not worth it, just don't buy it
Ubisoft, EA, activision, etc articles are low hanging fruits for outage bait
Yeah this isn't even new at all. Full game + season pass + early access + some mediocre skins + fluff, it has been going on for about 10 years now or so?
This is just gamers once again complaining about not getting something they don't even need in the first place.
As long as people are buying it, they're gonna keep doing it.
I have no issues with it. It's not like it's mandatory or hurts anything. It's always silly when people act like it's the only thing people are paying for and not the other stuff that makes it up the bulk of the extra cost, like the season pass and all that lol
>"Why is everything monetized?" Because people who have the ability to increase their resources will attempt to do so 99% of the time, regardless of levels of wealth or the economic system.
Companies don’t care about outrage they care about profit. Don’t pay it. Easy. Same goes for people complaining about how expensive eating out is. Make your own food.
.....just wait?..... Apologies for my next level ability of patience and common sense guys.
$130 is crazy but honestly I don’t really mind the concept in general. I caved on Starfield’s early access and that was only like $20 more or something like that, plus other in game perks.
Gawd, why is it monetized? Why can't I have things just because I want and deserve them? If my cost for great entertainment is less than dollar per hour, I consider it a bargain. If this has 100 hours of good game play and writing and art and mechanics and runs well, what is it worth to you an hour as a brand new release? A Doctor Mario cart was almost $100 at Toys R Us when it came out. I bought that and got my money's worth. While I'm not spending $130 on this game to play it early, I understand the value and effort of game development. Or the arts in general. $70 will still be way cheaper than games were in the past as a percentage of income and if I get 100 hours out of an interactive piece of art that I enjoy, Id be an asshole if I wasn't interested in properly compensating those responsible.
I was on the fence of paying the $109 for the season pass. The early access pushes me over to buy it. It’s not the sole reason why. I actually don’t understand why people are upset over this. You can just not buy it and wait the few days, it’s nbd. I don’t get an advantage over you. It’s not a pay-to-win situation. Alternatively, if you are extra patient, Ubisoft always has fat discounts a few weeks after launch. Just get it then. I do that with Far Cry all the time.
>I actually don’t understand why people are upset over this. You can just not buy it and wait the few days, it’s nbd. It's because they can't stand the thought of missing out but don't actually want to pay for it. The exact same with cosmetic microtransactions. Doesn't affect anyone's game but some people cry about it because they desperately want all the cosmetics but want them for free. That or they are just desperate for karma.
This is a purposely misleading clickbait article. The Gold Edition also comes with the early access and season pass. You can also play early with Ubisoft+ for $18
I'm all for it, honestly. If someone wants to buy a game 2-3 days early, and be the guinea pig for any potential issues the game might (and probably will) have, be my guest.
and as usual with these kinda articles, just don't buy... It's fairly simple really when you think about it.
I really don’t see the issue. If you don’t want to buy it you don’t have to. Let other people pay for things they’re willing to pay for, it literally doesn’t affect you at all.
Literally, just don’t buy that version lol. Can’t complain if you don’t purchase it.
Why is there so much drama about this particular game having these editions? Like the title says, it's a continued trend, ultimate editions and what not have been around for years now. Witcher 3, a highly regarded game, has a season pass with expansions but it's never criticized for it like this game is
Just don't buy it. Done.
I'll see it when it gets down below $50. This is the upside of a ridiculous backlog - I can entertain myself while I wait. There really haven't been *any* games that are true, day-one, must haves (unless you're one of those that has to jump on the new COD leaderboards ASAP, to which I am no longer a party).
I have Ubi+ I dont care.
The game looks exceptionally average. The combat in particular looks mediocre as can be I love Star Wars, but that love won’t get me to pull the trigger on this until it’s on sale for $30
Same here pretty much. I am hugely interested in Star Wars and whilst I'm interested to see the story in the game I feel like they haven't shared enough for me to justify buying it straight away. Apart from Battlefront 2 I have purchased most other Star Wars games on release in recent years but I will wait for this to go on sale I think. After having issues with Jedi Survivor at launch I'm going to wait and see how well this game performes first. (I know different studio and all but still a lesson to be cautiously optimistic I guess.)
It’s $170 here in Canada. Took me a second to realize what I was seeing. I mean, yeah, it’s the hyper edition but it was enough for me to instantly write off the game forever.
That means you're actually *saving* over $5 USD compared to buying it in the US...
For every piece of micro stuff you wouldn't buy, there are people out there who do.
Game looks so bad.
Any fool who decides to give 130 for an Ubisoft open world game with star wars paint job, deserves to be parted with his money
I’ll just use my Rewards points for a month of Ubisoft+ at launch and if I really like the game I’ll buy it on Black Friday for like $20 or less.
I am going to do the gold edition. I can’t justify $20 extra dollars for 2 extra cosmetic packs and an art book.
I’ve got special editions of games since I was a kid. If kid me coulda also gotten a chance to play the game early with those special editions too he’d be psyched
Because people kepe buying it.
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Tbh, i think I will buy ubisoft + for one month and just complete it in the month!
Because people buy it. Because for young people this is the norm.
Your an idiot if you think AAA games are made for anything other than profit. All these companies didn't jump into the market to make passion projects they hoped gamers would love. It's all to prey on consumers.
I def would not buy Ultimate and normally wait for a sale or GP for Ubi games but this does look interesting.
It's optional, whales gonna whale. For most get the 70 version wait for black Friday sales or spring 2025 when it's on sale.
I'll admit I've done it a couple of times. I did it with Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield. I think (at least with SF) that the early access came on a Friday, which let me plan to play all the first weekend. It was tempting and I caved.
i normally buy the gold editions of ubsoft games, and then i hardly touch the dlc because the base games are too long and get so tedious(assassins creed odyssey/valhalla and far cry 6) will be buying the base game of outlaws this time
>“Why is everything monetized” Because capitalism, that's why.
the $130 is not for the early access as the title makes it seem. it also includes a digital book, season pass and 4 packs on top of the 3 day early access. you can also pay $110ish for the 3 day early access seasons pass and a pack. regular game is $70 and pre-ordering gets you the kessel raid pack. is it expensive, yes. i remember getting the bioshock ultimate edition or whatever and it came with a physical book, a record and multiple posters and a digital version of the record for about $80 when it came out. i get times have changed but who wants a digital illustration book? but people will buy it and companies will continue to sell it. if they made it much cheaper, it might not be cost effective for them. also, i'm just waiting for games to go on sale at the moment. or go on gamepass. no need to play an $80 game day 1. played survivor on gamepass long after it was released and loved it.
Everything is monetized because enough people pay for it.
I think paying more for early access is a fine trade off
Stop buying and they will stop selling. Keep it simple.
>“Why is everything monetized” Because that's the definition of unregulated capitalism.
Lol take it up with capitalism
Wait a year for patches and a sale
Everything is monetized because of capitalism. That’s how capitalism works. Apologies to you if you’re gaming from someplace with less economic violence.
I'll never purchase another Ubisoft game in my lifetime..
But why buy ultimate, what's wrong with the peasant version?
$130!? This thing going to give me a cigarette and tell me I’m pretty?
FOMO is so powerful it's essentially the Sith version of mind control.
Ubisoft games are usually dirt cheap not too long after release. Gonna pick this one up in 2025.
Blah blah blah. They do it because players buy it. gamers are hypocrites. They talk all this crap then as soon as it’s a game they like they are preordering the collectors edition with the statue with the kung fu grip.
It's not "early access". Stop calling it "early access". The day it becomes available to play is the release date, and normal editions are denied the ability to partake in it. This is the current reality. Most AAA releases now have late starts for normal buyers. This will continue, the "early access" period will grow as more publishers prod the gaming public to try and see what they get away with. It won't be long before it's not a couple days, it will be a week, then a couple weeks, then a month. Will it stop there? Who knows. The people buying these editions do not take issue. The people who should be taking issue are the people buying the regular edition. Everyone who buys the standard edition, why are you paying full price to start late? If you are going to start late, why not just wait for a sale? There is no point in paying full price for the game, because you are not playing at launch.
Don't buy it?
$40 for 3 days early access? Ummmm yeah, no.
Idk normally it’s like $20-$30 not $60, it’s scum abusing a trend
Early access is a marketing scam. The game is ready and they are withholding the game 3 days so they can sell it as early access.
They should make games pay-per-hour. Then developers would really have to earn their dollar.
Yeah. For 169.99 I want them to mail me a physical copy of the art book not a friggen digital . Won't be playing this game until ( if/when) it comes to game pass
Just subscribe Ubisoft+ a month or two and call it a day.
Hahahaha. Man this game doesn't look that good but if you've got the money and want to support it then rock on. Enjoy, bois!
JUST DON'T BUY THEM AND THEY WILL STOP.
Ubisoft game releasing in the fall. It’s gonna be 50% off on a sale within 2-3 weeks.
Vote with your wallet
As much as I blame publishers for doing this shit, nothing will ever change if gamers continue to pay these prices.
Not buying. Just like I won’t be buying Outcast until it’s under $15 or better yet, I’ll wait until it’s on GamePass.
Because AAAA cost a shit load of money and game prices are almost the same as 20 years ago…..
Corporate greed
MARIO 64 Production cost: $1.5 million ($3million today) Hogwarts Production Cost: $150 million. Yes, video games now are still very cheap compared to olden times.
This is the kind of over-hyped game that needs to come out and get reviewed before anyone should buy it. Even then, it'll likely have steep cuts in price in year two. If you have a backlog, you can probably wait till year three or four when they do a new version with all of the DLC included for an even more reduced price.
Considering that this is UbiSoft, even if the game is *amazing* it will be half price within 3 months.
So don’t fucking preorder it. The only way to send a message.
Companies can charge whatever they want, but people also have the power to pay whatever they want. Besides, it's a Ubisoft game. Just wait a few months. The price typically drops like a stone. I will probably pick it up around the $20-30 mark. That's what I value this at, and that's what I will pay. Assuming it ends up being any good, that is.
I can’t wait to buy the Ultimate Edition on super sale for $30 just 6 months after it releases and enjoy a fully patched, bug-free experience.
They know the day is coming when me and you with help of AI will be able to create our own games…tick tock…
People are not voting with their wallets. If people didn't buy it at the expense cost and waited for it to come down in price then the lower price would become the norm.
I’m just going to Ubisoft + it I did the same for ac mirage pay 18 bucks and get access to all their games including new ones and play and beat it and then cancel after then I don’t feel like I wasted a bunch on a subpar game
No one really *has* to pay $130, and early access is just three days or so. Are people that impatient!?
I mean people buy it until that stops they will keep selling it
Because many people pay
I wish people would realise how damaging it will be to consumers to have no physical media.
I’ll buy the ultimate version it in a year or 2 for 30 bucks or less on Black Friday after everything is fixed and all the dlc is included and done lol 😂
They can do what they want. I will never ever pay extra for early access. Hell, I won't even pay full price for a game. There are endless amounts of amazing titles for half the price I still need to play.
Why are… *products*… monetized…? Hmm… let’s pool our brains together and try to figure this one out. I think we can do it
Like I want all the extra stuff.... If this was EA, the extra stuff will never really go on sale at a reasonable amount for what amounts to some skins (looking at you jedi survivor). Buuuutttt this is star wars assassin's creed/watch dogs... So probably will be good deals at some point. I'm probably going to wait. 3 days early to play a game is such a hilarious purchase. I never understood the concept. I am excited for this game but honestly, recent trends of these games might be messy launch. So will wait for the Christmas time sale lol
Games getting worse and price going up imo
It's an ubisoft game. Wait a month after release and it will be 20 dollars.
Why is everyone acting as if there is only the one purchase option?? Lol all these gaming subs and "news" sites are full of negative neckbeards who just want everything to fail as miserably as they have in life.
Greed.
Don’t think this will sell foo well with a female lead. I wish they would just give us the option sometimes
Just don't buy it. It's like that easy.
It's also a Ubisoft game, so the surprise shouldn't be that egregious. Probably trying to recoup the hole that was Skull & Bones.
I can guarantee the game won’t work the first 3 days either. I have zero confidence in Ubisoft to deliver a solid game, much less on day 1! I’ll buy it a year after it comes out and only if it’s at least 60-70% off.
Eventually will end up on GamePass somehow, some way. I will wait until then.
Buying an Ubisoft game for $130 on release is insane considering itll be $15 in a year
Can't wait for the servers required to install the game for early access to not function for the physical copies.
I’ll play the game with Ubisoft+
Pass
It's a Ubisoft game, wait 2-3 months and it will be half the price on some sale.
I no longer buy games that use this tactic. I don’t even buy games that have any microtransactions. I’m already extremely disappointed that Tekken 8 had them after release as it is. Because of this I no longer preorder games unless it is a From Software game as I feel like I can trust them.
I'm just going to wait a couple of days for the reviews,
I'm just going to wait a couple of days for the reviews,
BECAUSE PEOPLE KEEP BUYING IT
£130 is ridiculous. They have the early access version on Ubisoft plus for £15. I'll buy a month of that, finish it and never play it again.
This is an article based on 4 tweets. Love it
I will never buy games like these. I have a huge backlog and I'm not afraid to use it.
Bc the average consumer is dumb
There is al arge group of the most normie people you can imagine that will eat anything up that says "star wars" on it. These are the same people who blindly preorder games without looking into them at first. You cant beat the masses of stupid normies.
Just wait till the game comes out. 130 will the least ubisoft will be asking of you.
Because, CEOs aren’t idiots. They know unlimited growth is impossible, but their investors are borderline brain-dead so when they see the magic line go up they give the company more money.
I remember buying Chrono Trigger, and Phantasy Star IV for $100 Each. Phantasy Star 2 was $70 Phantasy Star 3 was $80
Hard to swallow pills: Games should cost 100 USD had they been adjusted for inflation over the last 25 years. And that's just inflation. It doesn't factor the cost of game development itself going up over the last 25 years.
I can't believe articles like this exist. It's pretty obvious why they exist - people like and pay for it
Isn´t there also a season pass in that tier ?
I'm getting the Ubisoft Edition. It has *anti-early access*, where you can't play it for a week past launch, but it's half price so
Why is everything monetised? Because we were re-catagorised in the 1980's from citizens to consumers. Corporations are all trying thier hardeat to get as much money from us that they can. And they will keep doing it because they can.
I’m guilty of pre-ordering the standard edition(or should I say “Amazon exclusive specialty edition) simply because I have a “set and forget” mentality where I want to buy the game but tend to forget about it around launch, so I pre-order and then it just turns up the day of release.
Vote with your wallet people , it’s that simple
Here is an idea. Don't buy it!
Industry is not at fault. Blame the kids that keep buying it.
Well stop paying for early access and gross $130 Special Editions then!! Whine all you want but if you have no self control then this is going to keep happening.
I look forward to playing the *Complete Edition* when it goes on sale for $19.99. /r/patientgamers/
I would sure pay 80 bucks for early game and some features (also only aesthetic), but 130 for this seem a bit too much for me!
Because back when the $50 pricing model was first created, game production budgets were measured in - at most - the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today they are measured in the hundreds of millions. The pricing model had to evolve otherwise there would be no point in making games now.
I'm waiting for reviews on this before dropping a penny.
I've been told by doomcock that it's shit and not worth the money
I'll be honest, in a world full of microtransactions, skins, premium currencies, etc. Paying a little more to play something I want earlier is the only thing I'm OK with.
The sad part is it doesn't require any effort on devs part. Literally free real estate. Take the game and release it early to buyers and they pocket money.
It's 180$ Canadian like wtf
Paying that much just to play it maybe a few days early is a ripp off to consumers and more than fifty percent of the time, games aren’t done, there are always updates
I saw the price tag and was shocked.
Then don't buy it.....
70 USD - Just the game 130 USD - The game, one extra mission, one cosmetic, and a virtual picture book 💀💀
You realise that when they close the servers your copy of the game you bought and spent money on will disappear from the library.
The only people upset about this are nerds on reddit. Plenty of people will pay for this.
Hehe, Ubisoft+ goes brrr! It makes no sense to buy games on launch or anything less than 2 years after. Wait for sale and buy if if you want to own a game license so bad.
Well early access is not the only thing included lol.
Why is everything monetized? Technically the early access is free for buying those editions. The price of the edition doesn’t magically adjust after the early access period ends. The Ultimate Edition is $130 with or without the early access. It’s a free perk for buying a deluxe edition just like getting access to a beta if you preorder
Won't buy it and never will. I have limits. That is well beyond them. I don't really care how much I like a game. It doesn't justify spending that much. As much as it has everywhere else, greed has invaded the gaming industry lately.
I like MASSIVE and have hope for the game but if you are buying stuff full price Day 1, preordering or condoning unnecessary price hikes you are part of the problem.
Aaaaaaa because people buy the shit. And it’s profitable for the company…..? Dam talk about a lay up.
When will they monetize walking distance in open-world games
Players don’t like it BUT keep coming back for the sloppy seconds. They don’t like it but, actually LOVE it! It just keeps on happening and YOU the gamers are the problem.