As aforementioned by Nazi-in-Chief Nick Chester in his previous post about Wiiware and how Game|Life's Chris Kohler has it and we do not (grumble), it seems that Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King has a feature we hadn't previously heard much about: microtransactions. There's something decidedly unkingly about paying for a game's extra features, but nonetheless, that's the story here. Royalty ain't all it's cracked up to be, folks.
In games like Mass Effect, DLC is very much optional: you can still enjoy the full game even if you never notice the extra content exists. With My Life as a King, it's a little more extreme. It seems that of the four playable races (Clavats, Yukes, Lilties, and Selkies,) you can only play one with the regular purchase of the game. The other three can only be obtained by spending Wii points to purchase buildings for them. Additonal costumes will also be available for purchase later in the game.
Plain and simple, I have a problem with this. The kind of DLC you get for a game like Rock Band can be well worth the price, especially if you are a fan of the songs and can invite your friends over for new jams. Although I can't make a final judgment until I play the title, I can say I am already turned off by knowing that 3 out of 4 in-game races won't be available to me until I put out dinero. I hate to ask it, but I'm going to anyway: How can you possibly need any more money, Square?
Does this bother any of you, or are microtransations becoming...ugh...the norm?
[Via Siliconera, Thanks Jonathan]
Contest:
2:34 PM on 03.25.2008
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This is really disappointing to see Square.
But people will probably sink their money in anyway. :/
You're paying once to download the wii-ware title and THEN they're charging you MORE money if you want the other 3/4 of the game?
The hell?
Am I missing something here? Is this game completely free to download and then you can pay for extra stuff? Like all those Korean online games?
If you have to pay for it to begin with though, this is utterly stupid and an instant strike against the game and wii-ware titles in general.
I mean, there's already a lot of bullshit going on with XBox Live and PSN downloads but at least you get full games to start with. Nintendo really doesn't have the first clue about online services, do they?
They keep postponing any sort of online for their systems meaning when they finally DO decide to do something online and they make beginners mistakes (which are inevitable), they seem THAT much more retarded in comparison to the dozens of other services that have been running relatively smoothly for years.
*sigh*
Way to go, Square.
that picture pisses me off so much.
I don't exactally know why but it does.
But you cant stop the inevitable...
This = absolutely wrong bullshit. Unforgivable.
I love 'real' DLC, like song packs in Rockband, the 'not-horsearmor' extra quests in Oblivion, and (while I haven't played it yet) the extra content in Mass Effect.
This retail-plus approach to what ought to be normal game features, stuff already on the disc, and tiny cosmetic changes is dreadful.
I don't even buy Rock Band or GH3 content. Shit should be included for my wallet rape that devs already put me through.
You'd think that games would still cost $50 because they make up the money on DLC sales, but no... we were told from day one to suck it up and pay $60 and we did. Now we're sucking it up and paying for shit like this every day. It's our own fault.
Dear Square,
Your games are generally good but not that good. Thanks, but no thanks.
I will NOT be purchasing this game unless it's changed.
youtube'd.
I remember first hearing about people paying for DLC on their consoles when it first came out and I cringed at what kind of trend it could start. Stuff like this, just seems wrong. But, thankfully, I won't play a game like this. Maybe people that love this kind of game will buy it without much a problem, but something about the whole concept seems kind of, I dunno... lame. It comes off as "money grubbing." Not a very kind way to treat your fans.
Considering the supposed $15 dollar price tag, if it ends up costing me (without the costumes, since i doubt I would be interested in that) around the same as a DS game ($30-$40), and it gives me the same or a better experience, then I don't see it as "OMG DLC RAPE".
@B-Radicate
I don't think all the Rock Band DLC that has been released would've fitted on the disc. Really, I think it's above 2 gigs now.
I don't understand what the problem is...No one is holding a gun to your head and demanding you to pay for the content, it's optional. PC gaming has been this way for some time on a large number of titles. I don't like the trend, but I can't say I'm surprised it's working its way onto consoles.
Instead of blaming the company, why don't we blame ourselves?
That said, how exactly is this DLC different from the Mass Effect one? From what I've read the original $15 gets you the full game start to finish, and the DLC are expansion packs that give you new missions tailored to new races moving into your city. Sounds like pretty much the same thing... except on Wii. Oh, I answered my own question!
Anyway, I'm still curious about this game in general... we'll see.
Or maybe it's the idea of having to buy multiple things that frustrates people. I know that I, personally, would rather pay $30 straight up instead of paying $15 dollars and then an extra dollar for each additional thing. It's just stupid and frustrating.
:p fuck you square, and the Wii you rode in on.
I can understand having to pay for new maps, levels, missions, etc. but paying for things like cheats and weapons is absurd, especially when the game ships like that. Thank god GTHD never got released or else it probably would have set a precedent of charging your customers for every item in the game.
All I ask people is that no one buy games that pull this kind of crap or at the very least do not buy the DLC.
If they make it more complicated and force you to spend more money, then that's another story. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because Square-Enix knows they can rape their fans money-wise and a lot of them will take it.
If this really continues, we may have country divisions, with Nintendo being Japan's thing and Microsoft being the U.S.'s thing. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
I won't.
Who thought this was a grand idea?!
Two bucks per song as an expansion to a game you likely plopped down nearly 200 bucks for is about as good a deal as getting soaked by Square, IMO.
Not sure how it's Nintendo's fault...Square has such an inexplicable fanboy following that any of the big three would go along with just about anything they wanted, amirite?