Bioware's brilliant marketing strategies!

[Sisay]

Person A buys a shiny new 8 hour console game for $65. After completing it he puts it up on Craigslist and person B buys it for $30. Person A has now effectually paid $35 for the experience. Did the publisher lose a sale because of the used games market, or gain one?

 

[roll-a-die]

Lost one because it didn't get a cut of the profit from the second sale.

Oh and lavoisier EA happened.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

What sisay meant was that there was a good chance gamer A or B wouldn't have bought the game at full price.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Bleh, both models are insanely better looking than the zombie'esque models Bioware cooked up.

And yes, we should be annoyed and worried about the marketing strategy, especially if the game sells gazillion copies because then the slimy AD manager fuckwit at EA HQ can go to the even bigger slimy CEO fuckwit and smugly exclaim how "THIS IS THE NEW SHIT" did it all. And guess what? All their following games will have even bigger hype-budgets and that money has to come out of somewhere and sure as hell it won't come out of shareholders profits.

 

[Grunker]

Most of them are mad because Bioware treats it's target audience which supposedly is the entire RPG market, which like it or not includes some of the codex, specially considering this was supposed to be an old school PC exclusive game for the old fans (the fuck happened to that anyway?), as prepubescent horny losers.

I think I may have expressed myself in typical idiocy. What I meant was this:

This game still has potential to be for the oldschool crowd. But, assuming Bioware already has them, and can't do shit to appease the codex, 'cause who the fuck could, the rock n' roll marketing is to make the other gamers jump on board.

Case in point: People saying this game is going to be retarded do so mostly because of supposed retarded marketing. What is really retarded, are those people.

Was that more clear?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

What sisay meant was that there was a good chance gamer A or B wouldn't have bought the game at full price.

maybe he would if he wasn't 100% sure someone would finish it in two days and sell it for less than full price. But I got what he meant, yes.

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS ONLY THE SHEEPLE LIKE THIS GAME IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OPINION LIKE EVERYONE AT THE CODEX DOES THIS GAME SUICKS AND EVERYONE WHO HAS PLAYED IT KNOWS IT??!?!!! SMART PEOPLE LIKE ME AND SKYWAY LIKE UNIQUE STUFF LIKE PRICN OF PERSIOA

 

[Gay-Lussac]

Most of them are mad because Bioware treats it's target audience which supposedly is the entire RPG market, which like it or not includes some of the codex, specially considering this was supposed to be an old school PC exclusive game for the old fans (the fuck happened to that anyway?), as prepubescent horny losers.

I think I may have expressed myself in typical idiocy. What I meant was this:

This game still has potential to be for the oldschool crowd. But, assuming Bioware already has them, and can't do shit to appease the codex, 'cause who the fuck could, the rock n' roll marketing is to make the other gamers jump on board.

Case in point: People saying this game is going to be retarded do so mostly because of supposed retarded marketing. What is really retarded, are those people.

Was that more clear?

Well yeah I know what you're saying I'm still definitely buying (well pirating but you know what I mean) this game cause I think the gameplay will be good and honestly bioware's stories/dialogue have ranged from very entertaining to at least passable to me. But still some of what's in the marketing reflects what's in the game (i.e. the sex scenes, the absurd amounts of blood) and it's there just to make hype for the little boys. The whole thing is just lame. How long 'till these things become so prevalent that whatever semblance of a fun and interesting game is completely buried underneath it?

 

[infomercialabsfuckyeah]

I haven't been paying attention and this has problem already been addressed but the course being taken in this thread makes me wonder: anybody know whetherl DA will be moddable (modable?) to the same extent as NWN, or will it be nearer Mass Effect?

If the former, then I can see the game being "fixed" within a year or so, so maybe things aren't so bad after all.

 

[mediocrepoet]

The attempts at hype generation for DA strikes me a lot like "2 Marketers, 1 Cup".

It's really amazing because I get more interested in the game the more I stay away from anything resembling official marketing - with the exception of gameplay videos. It's not really surprising that their marketing gurus end up highlighting the differences between their fugly in-game zombie women that you can sex up, the non-interactive fugly game cutscene women and the attractive real women they were based on. I don't know that I get the point though, unless they're hoping that the adolescents playing the game will download the Maxim pics and then jerk off to them every time they manage to get laid in game. Clearly this is another example of how firmly EA Bioware has their fingers on the pulse of old school RPG fans everywhere.

I hope the friggin' thing ships before I stop being interested in checking it out.

 

[roll-a-die]

It's moddable to the extent of NWN, Info.

 

[Avu]

Well, so you're either a naive young man or a failed-at-life-but-is-on-denial old man. That's a good start.

How about neither. Communism is the best system for a perfect society just so happens there is no such thing as the human race is one big fucking joke. I am a cynic.

Most people sell their games after finishing it, no matter the possible replaying value. In fact, most people won't replay a game unless it gives you stuff on a second run (ME makes people play it twice by giving Shepard a new skill on a second play, to give a recent example). The obvious result is that people will see the discs sitting there, and will pass them on. Most people aren't codexers with shelves full of their favorite games. They aren't gonna keep trying a game with different character builds over the years.

The majority do not, as said. No company is going to sell mainly to the tiny percent of players, unless they're a niche company already.

Most people are idiots and fickle this is common sense. Also I hope you can back this up with numbers.

Not all console players are drooling l337 kids with zero attention spam, but this is the codex so I guess I'm supposed to say "I agree, fucking mouthbreathers" to get my kool kodex kredits.

Would you suprised to know l337 drooling adhd kids are not the only retarded console players? Old people can be retarded too. They just have learned to hide it better.

Yeah, except that didn't really happen and instead they are just trying a reasonable tactic of offering you extra junk on a new purchase. You can't go around blaming people for what they COULD do. I have a dick, so you'll beat me up because I WOULD rape women if given the chance?

Reasonable is such a nice word. Also quite meaningless seeing how it is extremely subjective. I can blame whatever the fuck I want especially if your past behavior is indicative of your future one. I can't send you to jail for something you did not do yet but I will not fucking invite you to meet my sister.

But as he pointed out, it was faulty to begin with, so lollipops, I guess

Oh he said it was faulty just didn't say why he just went on with a weaker analogy.

Yeah, except that didn't really happen so I dunno what you're on about. The rape thing above still applies, you're assuming they want to fuck you over for the lulz instead of making money.

I don't fucking care why they want to fuck me over and you are retarded if you think that if it's for profit it's ok and if it's for lulz it's wrong.

How can you compare assrape with simply offering extra shit for direct buyers is beyond me. Don't merchants do this already? "If you buy these delicious fruits from me instead of the bigass market over there, I'll throw in another one for free".

You know as well as I that my car analogy is better than your apple one. One more apple is pretty much the same experience as the ones before just more of the same. Features removed from an intellectual project directly affect the experience of the product just as removing a feature from a car affects that experience. Also I can compare it effortlessly.

You're a commie, everything you say is invalid by default. Like all commies, you get mad by the very concept of people being more successful than you.

You sir hurt me deeply. Logical fallacies will get you far grasshopper.

Sure, hate the buyers for their shitty taste or whatever. But hating the companies for doing what they're supposed to do, i.e., selling, is stupid. Like I said to skyway, I'm not defending the kickass game!!1!!, I'm saying that offering extra stuff is a p reasonable solution, compared to,say, only-3-installs-DRM. In fact, old games did this too.

Remember those games that came with cloth maps, etc? Extras to convince you to purchase a new one from them, instead of from your friend.

Yes, the friend may still have those things already, but most likely he lost it or won't bother getting them for you. If you ask him for the game, he'll give you the game, not the game + everything that was inside the box.

Who are you to limit the scope of my hate? Suicidal bombers are supposed to blow shit up themselves included. Should I give them a free pass too just because that's what they are supposed to do? Also people hate shit for the most retarded of reasons because their neighbor that they hate likes it, because oprah said it was bad because they are dum dum. I too demand my right to hate.
And again you go with the reasonable. Reasonable for an apologist probably is different from what I consider reasonable.
Even admitting that cloth maps were made to dissuade second hand sales, witch I find laughable seeing how piracy was a much more important problem for a niche market as well as fierce competition, even admitting that the fact remains that a cloth map does not actually influence the experience as compared to a jpg while a fucking missing character does. While I don't fucking need the lunchbox that came with the game or the toy soldiers one would assume the latest patch for that game and all the official addons would be norm when lending the game right?
The thing is this shit hurts the idiots that buy it in the first place. A pirate will not face this missing character shit for second sales or online activations or whatever. You apologists say that is ok that is understandable that they must make a profit but what you fail to understand is that they specifically fuck only the people that want to be fair and pay for their shit. One would think a company that depends on the good will of its customers (or their stupidity and inability to pirate) would do it's best not to drive these customers to the dark side. Alas they don't have to walk on eggshells because there are always fools that will eat any shit put in front of them.

Oh yeah. I am quite certain we will never agree on this subject so let's just say I am an idealistic commie and you hold dear the great principles of capitalism and leave it at that.

 

[Lingwe]

Relive the darkest hour of the Grey Wardens with all-new content

I'll say it's all new. We haven't even gotten the game yet.

 

[Volourn]

Why are people having a spazzy heart attack over Maxim pics? WTF WTF WTF? Big deal. LMAO *shrug*

 

[infomercialabsfuckyeah]

why are you dudes so mad about a game why can't we all be friends like trotsky and stalin were

Thanks for the info my little rolly polly

If DA is the new NWN, then all I really want out of DA is for its combat system to be more tactically rewarding than the MMOish clusterfuckery of NWN and NWN2. Eventually so many community scenarios and expansions will be released that I don't think it'll really matter what kind of bullshit is in the story as it ships initially.

although offhand i can't recall any NWN/NWN2 mods that were substantially better than, say, MotB so i am probably wrong i guess

oh well there's AoD soon enough

 

[roll-a-die]

Almraiven/Shadewood off the top of my head are very great modules. Very good mage mod series.

Soul Shaker as an addition to me previous point. Almost System Shock-ish IIRC.

The Bastard of Kosigan is a fairly good series of mods. Very good story and it's a french mod so you get your foreign game Kredits.

Shadowlords/dreamcatcher series will also do in a pinch.

A Dance with Rogues if you can stand playing as a girl.
It also predate Bioware move to oversexuallization. You can fucking be a hooker and make a profit in this mod. It even has a corresponding skill.

Enigma Isle is another good one.

The Prophet series is also fairly well put together.

I haven't played it but allot of good things have been said about the Aielund saga.

Sanctum of the Archmage is a very good mod.

Do I need to go on?

 

[GarfunkeL]

I guess those are all NWN1 mods? Any good ones for NWN2?

DA:O isn't new NWN in the case that the multiplayer part of NWN is absent. So no DM kit or persistant worlds. Or LAN-parties.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

How about neither. Communism is the best system for a perfect society just so happens there is no such thing as the human race is one big fucking joke. I am a cynic.

So...it's perfect but it's impossible to achieve...useless, then, except for college mental wankery? Yeah, that's what I was talking about.

Most people are idiots and fickle this is common sense. Also I hope you can back this up with numbers.

Numbers? How the fuck am I supposed to come up with statistics for this? Talk to people, listen, make friends. You'll soon see that most people will not keep a bunch of games they don't play anymore. People that play the same game for 50 times (like codexers with JA2) are pretty fucking rare.

Would you suprised to know l337 drooling adhd kids are not the only retarded console players? Old people can be retarded too. They just have learned to hide it better.

I suppose this is opinion so I won't argue this.

Reasonable is such a nice word. Also quite meaningless seeing how it is extremely subjective.

Well, then you're paranoid because offering extras on a new purchase is a pretty tame thing, yes.

I can blame whatever the fuck I want especially if your past behavior is indicative of your future one. I can't send you to jail for something you did not do yet but I will not fucking invite you to meet my sister.

So you're a paranoid fuck, I guess.

Oh he said it was faulty just didn't say why he just went on with a weaker analogy.

Analogies suck balls anyway. This matter doesn't need analogies, it's really simple and can be explained in a few words. "Buy new, get extra".

I don't fucking care why they want to fuck me over

They don't, you paranoid fuck.

and you are retarded if you think that if it's for profit it's ok and if it's for lulz it's wrong.

Except I didn't mean that, so yeah, I guess.

You know as well as I that my car analogy is better than your apple one. One more apple is pretty much the same experience as the ones before just more of the same. Features removed from an intellectual project directly affect the experience of the product just as removing a feature from a car affects that experience. Also I can compare it effortlessly.

There's the problem. Like in a car, these features weren't "removed", they simply weren't there for you in the first place, because, you not being a new customer and buying it second hand, doesn't need to be seduced by the vendor. You feel entitled to something, when it's their shit and their offer. You want to tell them what they should include in the package. Unless you work there, this is lunacy.

You sir hurt me deeply. Logical fallacies will get you far grasshopper.

Farther than communism, lol

Who are you to limit the scope of my hate?

Well, I imagine you want to, you know, MAKE SENSE. But if you just want to go with your lulsy ineffectual rage to get your kool kredits, go on.

Suicidal bombers are supposed to blow shit up themselves included. Should I give them a free pass too just because that's what they are supposed to do?

except companies are supposed to make money, and people aren't supposed to kill each other. Mostly because selling games isn't a crime, and blowing people is. I know this is just a retarded analogy, but really?

Also people hate shit for the most retarded of reasons because their neighbor that they hate likes it, because oprah said it was bad because they are dum dum. I too demand my right to hate.

Like I said, if you want to look like a retard, go on. I thought people didn't want to look like retards.

And again you go with the reasonable. Reasonable for an apologist probably is different from what I consider reasonable.

I imagine anyone consider ( not just "apologists", whatever that means) bonuses on new purchases a p reasonable measure, yes. What is reasonable for you?

Even admitting that cloth maps were made to dissuade second hand sales, witch I find laughable seeing how piracy was a much more important problem for a niche market as well as fierce competition

If you pirated the games, you didn't get the maps...jesus

even admitting that the fact remains that a cloth map does not actually influence the experience as compared to a jpg while a fucking missing character does.

Missing? Again, you're determining what should be in the game in the first place, like you're one of the developers. Also, he's optional, you can finish the game without him. Also, iirc, the cloth map was the only map you had, you didn't get one ingame (for that ultima game, at least), so yes, it affects the experience a lot more than some optional character.

While I don't fucking need the lunchbox that came with the game or the toy soldiers one would assume the latest patch for that game and all the official addons would be norm when lending the game right?

Patches, yes. Addons, no, because the way these addons work isn't like a expansion you buy and keep it. They are extras being offered to anyone who makes a new purchase.

Btw, they have no business with you lending the game.

The thing is this shit hurts the idiots that buy it in the first place. A pirate will not face this missing character shit for second sales or online activations or whatever.

piracy shouldn't even exist in the first place*, so using pirates to support your demands doesn't really work. Pirates don't pay for the game at all, so why should legit customers, right?

*Utopia, yes. Like communism, amirite

You apologists

new buzzword?

say that is ok that is understandable that they must make a profit but what you fail to understand is that they specifically fuck only the people that want to be fair and pay for their shit. One would think a company that depends on the good will of its customers (or their stupidity and inability to pirate) would do it's best not to drive these customers to the dark side. Alas they don't have to walk on eggshells because there are always fools that will eat any shit put in front of them.

Again, you can't use pirates that got everything for free as an example, because they shouldn't be doing that in the first place. A robber doesn't have to pay for the jewelry he gets, that doesn't mean you should also take it for free. His advantage of not paying is illegal.

Also, they're not fucking people who want to be fair and pay for their shit. You get the bonuses on a new purchase, which is cool because you should be purchasing the game legally anyway, pirates getting shit for free isn't a sane argument... I seriously don't get what you're on about in this paragraph.

Oh yeah. I am quite certain we will never agree on this subject so let's just say I am an idealistic commie and you hold dear the great principles of capitalism and leave it at that.

Well, communism failed hard, so that should be a hint not to follow it anymore. But ok.


/Vault Dweller

 

[Naked Ninja]

I pawned some games once, using the money to buy a new game. I made ripped copies of the old games first. Had my cake and ate it too.

So yeah, those evil publishers, making money off second hand sales. I wish I could make a magical free photocopy of my car and then sell the original. That would be great. And when car manufacturers took measures to make buying first hand copies of products more enticing, I'd wave my fists in moral outrage, too.

 

[infomercialabsfuckyeah]

CLOCKWORK KNIGHT :evil:
I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU MISTER :evil:

1) JUST HOW MUCH ABOUT COMMUNISM HAVE YOU EVER READ SO THAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO CRITICIZE IT ON A HISTORICAL-THEORETICAL PLANE INSTEAD OF BEING LIMITED IN YOUR CRITIQUE TO A MERELY SUBJECTIVE-MORALIST VIEWPOINT :evil:

2) WHAT IF AFTER I FUCK THE CAMEL I EAT IT MYSELF IS THAT OK ??? :evil:



i think the worst thing about communism is communists it's a lot like lesbianism; it is such a great idea but almost all of the people involved are ugly bitches


there should be a communist background trait in dragon age
-5 Charisma
but you can never be silenced BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I don't think there's a problem with eating your own cummed meat, no

in a way, I'd sooner eat it than become a communist

at least I can pretend I didn't know I was being fooled

 

[infomercialabsfuckyeah]

I don't think there's a problem with eating your own cummed meat
I'd sooner eat it than become a communist
at least I can pretend I didn't know I was being fooled

well clockwork let me tell you my cummed meat is scrumdiddlyumcious and that's NO FOOLIN'

like thick lumpy country-style gravy

 

[Avu]

Since I cannot be assed to do another quote war I will do a quick reply.

Capitalism is failing as hard as communism no surprise there since it's run by people.
Yes numbers talking to the three people you meet at the grocery store does not make a viable statistical sample.
Yes I am a paranoid fuck. Doesn't mean I have no reason to be paranoid though.
The features are removed. You must be extremely stupid if you cannot equate having shit for a first time buyer that poofs as second time buyer with removed.
How dare I suggest what a company should do or not do. I mean the customer is just a slave of the capitalist regime he is there to buy shit and shut the fuck up. It's not like companies need them or anything. Also that fool that went on about customer is always right was so dead wrong right?
Says who what is one supposed to do and the other isn't? For the suicide bomber what he does is not only a crime but a ticket to heaven. Surely his goal is more important than just plain making money. The point remains giving shit a free pass just because it's what they do is stupid as shit.
You certainly don't want to look like a retard but are succeeding oh so flawlessly. Myself I really don't care what others think.
Wow you didn't get maps if you pirated. It's like a parrot repeating your own words only differently and then like trying to refute your argument with your argument. That is mastery right there. Retarded grand-mastery first class that is.
Yes retard is fucking missing if the product has it for one buyer but does not have it for the next. It's simple as that. There is no middle ground it's either missing or it's not.
Only map you had in ultima? So I thought you said your friends did not lend games to you with all the contents. They must hate you truly wanting you to go on about as a blind bat.
There was a time when addons were free and it was normal. Extra shit my ass. Extra shit you get with new purchases don't evaporate usually.
Piracy does exist and ignoring it makes you an idealist too right? Or just retarded. And yes I can use reality as an example because it's how shit works.
Also great at pointing how a flawed system used by shitty people failed since it has nothing to do with my points unless of course capitalist buyers are slaves and all with no say at all.

 

[infomercialabsfuckyeah]

avu you are probably just a kautskyite revisionist or an ultra-left lumpen fetishist or probably even worse a "third way" guevaraista singing the praises of nepalese extremists while ignoring the domestic industrial struggles of your own country if you love communism so much why don't you immerse yourself in the daily struggles of the organized proletariat i.e. the labor unions and their affiliated political parties or failing that AT LEAST form a cadre-education circle with an organizational focus on literature and periodicals
if you're so commiesmart :evil:

 

[Avu]

I don't give a fuck about communism or more to the point I don't give a fuck about the human race. From my point of view it is a gross failure and only a matter of time until we do ourselves in. But if you really want me to spell it out: having some opinions that might coincide with communism does not make one a communist. I have some opinions that would make a nazy and a liberal and a democrat and a republican and a socialist and an anarchist. Is my grand view of the world the one system to lead us into a golden age? Fuck no. There is no such shit and even if it were it would not last.
And like I said communism is great in a perfect society just like democracy is great in a perfect society: smart educated logical unbiased people electing true visionaries to lead the world into a new era. Only it doesn't work like that people are idiots, uncultured louts without a logical bone in their bodies that vote on whim color because oprah said so and for any other number of reasons and the ones they vote are funded with the money of large corporations and usually want to get richer than they are.
Also to the ones that think capitalism is so great I would ask you what would happen in a world with completely unregulated capitalism no social protection from the government. I tell you what corporate feudalism.