It about time developers started giving us the whole bloody game in a box!

Buy now and get the rest of the game free!

Hrm.

So they are giving you what deserves to be in the game in the first place for free? Amazing ethics. They do realize that since the DLC comes with the game pirates will just put that up along with the full game on torrents right?

I'm interested, the game looks good (the mute main character is kind of annoying though, especially after ME).

Does the free DLC offer also apply to the 360 version?

And it will take the pirates maybe 2 secondss to figure out how to distribute the DLC along with the game. I'm happy Bioware is trying to get a lot of content into its game, but it's all just so pointless.

Free DLC? Kickass. Consider me sold; I was already looking forward to playing Dragon Age (it is made by Bioware, after all), but now I know I'm going to try and buy it if at all possible.

is it built in?because if so,It is not Downloadable content,is it?when you download the same item it is,but wouldn't the built in version technically be just extra content?

I am probably wrong,when you point it out,try not to be a troll about it,okay?

It's funny how they said they cut Shale and the content associated with it last year, and now are offering it as a DLC for purchase.

Booze Zombie:
It about time developers started giving us the whole bloody game in a box!

I Agree i don't want half a game and then be able to buy the rest I pay £50 or so for a game i want the whole game! Although on the complete oposite it's quite a good way of convincing people to get a legit game, actualy it's convinced me to get the game at all.

Free DLC? Free Mass Effect 2 armour? Sold!

It's about time they started giving us the whole game? That's like saying not to make any sequels at all because it should have been in the game in the first place!

Here's how it works Zero. When you buy the game, you have a voucher to get the DLC for free. I can't tell if the data actually comes on the disc or if you still have to download it. That's sort of immaterial to the transaction going on here. The upshot is that you can only sell the part that isn't DLC. Now if someone buys the game used they still have to pay BioWare for part of it if they want the same experience they would've got buying it new. That's what this is all about, by the way: taking a cut of used sales.

Hey BioWare: here's a pro tip, since you don't seem to understand customers: If people are waiting to buy your games used it's because they don't see your games as being worth the full retail price.

Taking a cut of the sale of used games is going to lower it's trade in value, which effectively raises the cost for any of the customers who feel they didn't get their money's worth from you. Congratulations on losing them permanently. Meanwhile, sure people are going to be less inclined to buy the game used, but that basically means they'll be less inclined to buy the game at all. Furthermore, the customers who buy used are going to feel ripped off when they realize that people who bought new got more content than them. Good luck getting any of their goodwill for your next game.

Fat_Hippo:
And it will take the pirates maybe 2 secondss to figure out how to distribute the DLC along with the game. I'm happy Bioware is trying to get a lot of content into its game, but it's all just so pointless.

Yeah...until they can really put the heat on pirates, its all just of no use...

Hang on what? What are the objections to this. Perhaps I'm being thick, but they are including the whole game at release, aren't they? It's only if you want to re-sell the game that it's a problem, or if you pirate the game?

Unless I'm reading it wrong, all content comes packaged FOR FREE if you buy the game. You can buy the DLC stuff for $15 if you buy a re-sale, but if you're buying re-sale it's unlikely to make a difference to you, because its unlikely you're that into the game.

So effectively, it's only a problem if you're trying to get it on the cheap, either illegally, or by buying it off someone else. I don't know what copy-protection there is packaged with the game, so maybe I'm wrong, but this also seems to imply you CAN resell it. Compare this to a game requiring Steam Activation that has already been activated.

This seems like the best method of piracy protection I've seen. It rewards legitimate customers, who are given content, and so, apart from an activation thingy, notice no difference, causing problems only for pirates. I can't see what the problem is. It's a step towards stopping treating all customers like pirates, and that can't be anything BUT a good thing.

So basically the collectors edition gets nothing extra as far as in game content is concerned now that the standard editions get the exact same content included with the CE version.

I don't mind though since that means more people get what will hopefully great content; But it still seems silly that they somehow now put it at a value of 15$ as the CE extras are worth that much easily but DLC which is intangible is somehow worth the cost they've given it. If the DLC costs that much for the majority of the content put out then I think that's an absurd way to milk customers. I honestly hope the game doesn't become a single player MMO were you have content you can choose to buy each month if you want continue the story or add some flair to your characters.

Interesting how, several weeks ago, Shale and the Blood Dragon Armor were bonus content for the Collector's Edition...

Yay! I think this kind of reward is leaps and bounds greater then the "pre-order it" rewards.

"Pre-order it" rewards seem like a simple tactic for people to blindly buy a game off of hype and not allow them to wait for reviews. Said tactic could only be thought-up by the dastardly villains is what i say.

it is starting to look like a lot of companies are going to pack in dlc so that you buy the game new. i like that because its usually the bigger games that are doing it and happen to be the ones i buy day 1.

Who would pirate a Bioware game?

Hell, I was already getting this, and the free content is just a nice addition.

But if I get Dragon Age on PC, will I be able to use the Mass Effect armor for the 360 version of Mass Effect 2?

I think this is more directed at the used games market, not piracy.

Booze Zombie:
It about time developers started giving us the whole bloody game in a box!

I couldn't agree more, this seems like far more incentive to actually run out and buy the game than massive protection systems that really just make games more trouble for the person that actually went out to purchase it properly than the torrent/ p2p swarms. Personally I've always found p2p to be far more useful for distribution of open source and creative commons materials. Unfortunately the entire network is just grotesquely abused and therefore is not seen to have any legitimate purposes at all to most people.

pneuma08:
I also don't really understand the opposition to DLC, and especially free DLC. I just don't follow the logic of, "everything they develop before the release date of a game is meant to be in the game, therefore I deserve it as part of buying the game". That's....not true. I mean, there's a subtle line between lobotomizing a game and extra bonus stuff, but essentially the argument is that you would be happier if you got less and the developer worked less. This makes no sense, and even less so when it's *free*.

Once again I agree, L4D2 comes to mind. There has been an enormous movement by owners of the original left 4 dead stating that they have been conned out of their money and time by the producers of the game. When they didn't receive a massive amount of additional free content after the game's release. Regardless we all know that 90% of the ones complaining will be among the first to purchase the game, but the very fact that they complain in the first place is kind of mystifying to me. If you want new and additional content you should be willing to pay for it. Let's look at it fairly; someone invested time, money, and effort into creating that content. The very fact you are looking at it in the first place is a good indication that you think the original game was worth your purchase and you have enjoyed it. I mean hell people pay monthly for WoW even though new content is basically non-existent outside of the expansion packs that cost ... even more money.

"why can't we all just get along"

And this is going to stop piracy how? Dont they relize we-errr... I mean, THEY- can pirate DLC too?

pneuma08:

shMerker:
If people are waiting to buy your games used it's because they don't see your games as being worth the full retail price.

I don't agree with this. Many times I buy used not because I'm unwilling to pay the full retail price, but because it's the *same game* for *cheaper*. Furthermore you lost me when you said that lower trade-in means higher price, which lowers peoples' inclination to buy used.

Sorry, I sort of made a mess of this when I said it the first time. First, what I'm saying is you pay, what, $60 for the game? When you trade it in you recoup some of that. Your net loss is $60 minus whatever your trade-in value ends up being. I'm assuming that used game sellers are going to give a trade-in value about $15 lower because of the missing DLC voucher, thus increasing your net loss by $15.

Also, I'm not so much speaking to the people who go to buy a game and discover that there is a used copy for cheaper, but those who search out deals and even wait around for used copies to surface to avoid paying full price for these games. The reason stores like GameStop exist and rake in so much money is that there are a lot of gamers who feel that their games aren't ultimately worth the money that publishers charge for them.

I mean, some of your arguments don't make sense. If someone wasn't going to buy the game and truly isn't interested, but is intrigued by marketing and indeed goes ahead and buys the game, only to be disappointed and ends up selling the game to the secondary market, that's one sale for EA and one more used title in the secondary market. That might be one more strike against EA, but add it to the heap. The only person who potentially loses out is Bioware, who isn't able to say much about the above situation anyway. That and the used consumer, but hey they are paying less in the first place. In combination with the free DLC, it's more incentive to buy new, which, if anything will drive the price point of used sales downwards.

Exactly, lower used price means lower trade-in value which means higher net loss for anyone who buys the game and then resells it. You're right that the used game customers probably don't lose much. The resale price is probably going to reflect the missing DLC, so that works out even. There is the potential for feeling ripped off, though, if it isn't made clear to them that the used version and the new version are materially different from each other.

I also don't really understand the opposition to DLC, and especially free DLC. I just don't follow the logic of, "everything they develop before the release date of a game is meant to be in the game, therefore I deserve it as part of buying the game". That's....not true. I mean, there's a subtle line between lobotomizing a game and extra bonus stuff, but essentially the argument is that you would be happier if you got less and the developer worked less. This makes no sense, and even less so when it's *free*.

Well for starters it isn't free. Given that, as well as the fact the content is ready, it seems like it would be best for the customer if they just packaged it on the disc rather than force them to go through whatever redemption process is required to get it.

And you're correct that this will probably net EA some profits in the short run that they wouldn't have otherwise. My argument is that it will be at the expense of customer goodwill which will cause fewer sales for future games. The goal should not be to monetize disappointed customers, but to avoid disappointing them in the first place.

This is nothing. The Gothic games came with hundreds of hours of DLC content when you bought the games. Armor, swords, missions. All sorts of stuff.

I like Bioware, there nice.

The following are much better for selling your game and not having it pirated:

Free LAN play - If I have 3 computers and want to install it on all three and payed for it then I should be able to.

Reasonable Price - many games are not worth 50$ and more reasonable prices like 40$-30$ have proven to ensure success (orange box, sins etc etc)

No CD required to play..