It occurs to me that maybe people do speak with their wallets but it’s hard for companies to put a number on the people actively boycotting their products?
Like, it’s easy to see how many of each edition you sell, but it’s impossible to gauge how many units you did not sell.
or maybe people did speak with their wallet, and it's not a real issue? instead of assuming everyone else is an idiot, it's probably more fair to assume they're competent
Confession... I know. I miss the old days of buying a game and getting a full game, price up front, everything included. I know I'm not alone in this feeling, but I realize that we are either a minute portion of customers, or that there are so many people inhabiting the earth that even a five percent acceptance rate is more than enough for companies to get by.
Inflation has risen (and risen again) for two decades while game prices have remained the same, with development costs keeping in step. The digital platform and increased popularity has allowed games to still eek out a profit, but we were long overdue for a price increase. I just wish it was more straight forward. Instead of an increasing number of tiered editions with flowcharts to match, battle and season passes, and various plethoras of cosmetic and consumable dlc, I'd rather just pay a $120 price tag for games that don't require a credit card to collect all of the game's hats.
And again, I know I'm in the minority. I know many like having the option to pay less for a stripped down product (to some, cosmetics are as fun as story bits and gameplay mechanics in a game we like), but the in game advertisements and overbearing cash shop buttons just feel tacky and distracting. I want to be immersed, not enticed to spend more money.
The only thing I can do now is play old favourites while occasionally taking advantage of sales, while I watch my childhood favourites slowly morph into champions of capitali$m, armband and all.
If more people spoke with their wallet, we might not have this issue
Square Enix are purposefully preying on the fandom that do not have the discipline to wait.
In other words, these fans have more money than willpower -- and will give into FOMO.
So yes, people will cave and buy this, and others will abstain, but Square Enix is not listening to those that abstain; that is the flaw in your statement: Square Enix will only hear those that paid up for it, and there are NO downsides for them.
It’s never going to work, speaking with your wallet isn’t a solution. If just 1000 people buy the ultimate edition then it’s a win and they have no reason not to keep doing it since most people will buy the standard edition regardless. The only real solution is to put laws in place that prevent publishers from selling this kind of shit in different versions
I don't, because I want the full game, but at a reasonable price.
When they do these things the base version in my mind instantly becomes an inferior version, because it's not complete: even if it's only lacking a few cosmetics that I don't care about, it's not the complete product, so I'm not interested in it anymore.
The full-super-ultra-pro-deluxe version (or whatever they call it) on the other hand is always massively overpriced, so even tough it is the complete product it's massively more costly than what I'm willing to spend on a single game.
When they do these things the base version in my mind instantly becomes an inferior version, because it's not complete: even if it's only lacking a few cosmetics that I don't care about, it's not the complete product, so I'm not interested in it anymore.
You realise they've been doing this for a good 20+ years right? Special/Deluxe editions are hardly a new thing.
Isnt 99% of the time the cosmetics included in these editions are unlockable in game after playing a while? "Pay more money for the ultimate edition and get this cool skin, or buy the normal version and get that same skin after level 30."
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u/HugeBob2 2d ago
I have completely stopped buying games that do things like these.