Hard to swallow
Why you should not be mad about battle passes and DLC
Tekken 8 came out a few months ago to from all accounts, very good reviews even though I admitted I had to eat my own words! And let us see here, a few months now aside from issues that people have exploited when playing with friends (unless they are assholes). We have all had a good time.
The first Tekken direct happens, we get information that Eddy is gonna be back, and most of us went “Oh...well yay I guess?” and others were excited, I instantly began making references to Bob’s Burgers and complaining about how Caporia is kind of of a dumb style. You know, normal things I do, everyone looked over videos and we all were coming to understand that yes this guy was still going to be a pain in the ass...also BRAZIL! (Ticks off another joke from said show earlier). We’ve had what I would classify as minor updates, but people were already complaining about them. Suddenly a shop appeared, where we could put our money onto donation plates like a church and get things for it. People got mad. Myself I looked at the items and went “Nah, nothing cool.”
The next direct, they did the unthinkable, they added a battle pass, not just a free tier but a paid one. OH, THE HUMANITY THEY HAVE ADDED THINGS WE CAN OPTIONALLY BUY IN THE GAME WE ALREADY BOUGHT WITH DOWNLOAD CONTENT. HOW DARE THEY TRY TO MAKE MORE MONEY OFF OF US…..
Oh, wait...they are a company, and companies like money, we also have over the years indicated we are willing to pay money for things that others won't so our egos can grow and we can look at people who bought things and go “See the thing I paid for?”
So, let’s take a step back here for a moment, I hate to be that guy, but we kind of let this happen, and we allowed the companies to do this. That’s right, it’s not the company’s fault, it is ours. I can already hear some of you saying the following:
“But Brandon, this is ripping us off, and we already spent 70 dollars on a game, why are they making us pay more when we bought the base game?”
To you I say this: We gave them the okay to YEARS ago, remember when games were just sixty dollars? Well, dear reader, you were probably mad the character you played when you were a kid or the style you thought you’d like but got your ass kicked with was not in the game. So when you complained the company told you, “No worries, we’re gonna add them in downloadable content.” To which you probably said something to the effect of, shut up and take my money. But hey, let’s play this out. Maybe Tekken 8 is a real rip off and you’re getting screwed, why don’t we look at the last time and take a look shall we?
A list of DLC from a Tekken Wiki
This is the link to a Tekken wiki that has the history of just what you got in DLC, we are I admit looking right now at the complete game by this point. Tekken 8 is still finding its legs in the world of gouging as you claim. But still, most base packages come with quite a bit of stuff, this is just the DLC, let’s not forget you could also dress Lucky Chole in Bullet Club, Chaos, and other New Japan Pro Wrestling shirts for free! Or all the customization we got at the start of the game also. Or the fact a game came out with a good (in principle) story mode, arcade mode, training, and a very robust online mode. Oh right, and you could customize the look of everyone...I mean EVERYONE!
Also for those who are curious, this is roughly the pricing from the PSN store, the original prices are crossed out if they are on sale:
Tekken 7 page on PSN (not a promotion really)
Now look, I know DLC is not everyone’s favorite thing, however, remember a lot of the stuff that happens here is post-development. That means they need to have funds to continue the making of DLC. That 70 bucks or more you are complaining about, kind of went to advertising (did they need Brian Cox to narrate a history of the Mishima story? I mean that wasn’t cheap.) production costs for the ultimate edition, or collectors edition materials, as well as probably laying the groundwork for the online system and maintaining servers. Oh, and probably paying people is the thing you claim to be most important but if the game is delayed you will very obviously ignore Crunch to do so and then claim it’s a terrible thing people were sleeping under the desk after your game arrived at the time they tried to promise you.
Game production is not cheap, and if a game is doing well, they wanna make more stuff you want.
So yeah, DLC is a thing, and battle passes also, here is the weird and wild thing about it however, you don’t need to buy it…
That’s the thing, does it impact gameplay? Probably not say what you will but Harda usually is pretty adamant on cosmetics and things of that ilk not impacting the gameplay in the series, so the only thing is you are worried about the stupid fear of missing out thing. I mean look, I get it, I see some stuff and go “I want it!” We all do, but that doesn’t mean you need to get it. I don’t begrudge you if you do. I don’t plan on getting the season pass for this game (if I get any characters in this season, that’s a future post I am planning depending on what comes out). The battle pass, I looked at the free and premium stuff and thought “Well, nothing interesting here.” But the free one is something to I guess motivate me to play online more and hone my craft at least. That’s all, and that’s alright. I look in the shop and I don’t see anything that makes me go “I want it.” Also, that is fine, I’m rather content with the stuff in the base game at the moment.
So, when you complain about how you are being exploited to buy things, there is not a mandatory thing here, you will not be locked out of the game if you don’t buy a character, that used to be an issue with DLC remember, did not get the latest map you’re stuck with the newbies while the aces are rolling high in that great map you can’t justify to yourself. Therefore it is not game-breaking. It is at the end of the day marketing, and years ago we as a group showed we were willing to throw more money at something in exchange for additional content, we did not, not buy it and companies saw that. You can look at a face like Harda, or your person of choice in gaming or anything really and they are just getting a check from their bosses. But we as consumers associate them with the game and create a bond. They are creators and they wanna create, but they are not the owners most of the time. It’s a company behind them that owns it, they just play in the playground they built.
We let this happen, so when you next time look at that battle pass and wonder why there are two tiers, and you are mad at someone who let this happen here is something you can do for free:
Go look in a mirror and look at the person who let this situation happen.
-The Chaos Director
That Bob’s burger episode is fire. Being a Roman Catholic that collection plate metaphor made me involuntarily shudder… Perfect imagery. I’m one of those people who was angry about battle pass just because $110 for the ultimate edition didn’t seem justified. I think if I knew what I was getting I would have just went standard and paid for a few battle passes.
But I agree the items aren’t anything to really pine over it just seems excessive and greedy. Especially with the whole modding issue that has become the main focus seemingly instead of getting this game fixed asap before EvoJapan. Because if we have a pro player lose because of a bug it’s not going to look good. But it is a good game I just think they should have given ppl breathing room.
I think people want to support them but rather support a company that looks like it cares about the people who are playing their game (even if they don’t some, tact goes a long way). Also you just don’t mess with modders especially after it’s been allowed for so long and is an established community.
I’m more pro console than pc but the modding community is something sacred. They put themselves into the game. They shape games into what them and other fans want. They put some unique twists and perspectives on the game. As a console player it’s amazing to watch the creativity thrive. It’s kinda like they’re cutting this extra arm off after they let it grow…. Either nip it in the bud right away or regulate it maybe but don’t take it away. That will piss people off. I don’t use even use mods and it pissed me off. Also the fact they’re going after people who have used mods in the past. That seems low… that makes them seem greedy and out of touch with their base. How about instead of putting people down they lift the people who elevated their game in a special way??? There are some fun mods out there and I always enjoy watching streams with unique and fun mods. Also where is the thank you? I get it’s not our fault or problem the economy is the way it is that people are living from paycheck to paycheck but hey.
A little gift or something would be nice. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy. Because it was expensive and some people had to buy new systems and make sacrifices in order to be able to play tekken. Some people want it but can’t afford all of that now… as a company they aren’t required to of course. But anybody can feel under appreciated and right now this is how a big part of their fan base is feeling because of all of these issues I mentioned. I don’t it’s one specific thing I think all of these issues have been adding up and now it’s coming to a head.
I know it doesn’t seem like it but the Tekken community is a small niche one. People played the heck out of 7 for a long time and if we aren’t getting tekken 9 for awhile I get the price tag they just need to slow down a bit. They need to be gentle like a mosquito not drain us too much and too quickly like a baby vampire cause that’s a quick way to kill the community. And all of these issues are making the community hemorrhage right now. They need a better PR person and some better PR strategies. I get it they wanna get paid but I think they’re going about it the wrong way.
Great article very fun to read and informative.