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Destiny

Discuss all things Destiny.
6/25/2015 4:11:28 AM
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We all need to take a step back concerning the Taken King SNAFU

First off, take a deep breath. Forget every forum post, internet article, podcast, and interview you have seen concerning the Taken King (TTK). We're going to examine the bare bones facts concerning the prices and content for all the TTK bundles. We will see if Bungie really can be accused of being greedy or if they can be justified in their practices. For the most part, I will try to be as objective as possible, but my own opinions will come in toward the end. This will be a pretty long post, but please read it through with an open mind and don't be overcome with emotions of betrayal and what not. I will be using US dollars because I live in the USA, so bear with me oversees Guardians. Right now, we can buy the base game for $40. We can also buy both the Dark Below (TDB) and House of Wolves (HoW) together for $35. So that's $75 worth of game as of right now. Many of us launch or early players paid $95 (when the base game was still $60), which is a fairly sizable investment. Now, granted games do depreciate and many games release a bundle the following year at a reduced price. So we can expect the base game, TDB, and HoW to be offered in some sort of bundle for a reduced price. TTK is being sold alone for $40. For the sake of sanity, we will not go into the semantics of whether the content is worth that much or not. TTK looks good so we will give it the benefit of the doubt for now. TTK Legendary edition is being sold for $60 and includes the base game, TBD, HoW, and TTK. That seems very low, considering that the base game still sells for $40 and TDB/HoW go for $35. If you add up all the games and expansions separately, TTK Legendary edition would be worth $115. Even if you discount the base game and TDB/HoW more, it would still be more than $60. At that price, you are essentially getting close to a 2 for 1 deal (again we could argue semantics on how much content equals a full game). TTK Collectors edition sells for $80. If you buy the physical version, you get the base game, TDB, HoW, TTK, some books and posters and other knick knacks, three Vanguard guns, three shaders, three emotes, and three class items. As we already calculated, the base game, TDB/HoW, and TTK should sell for at least that altogether. The physical goodies could justifiably cost at minimum another $20 (could be argued they should cost more). As others have posted, the shaders, emotes, and class items could be priced out somewhere between $10 and $20 total when comparing them to cosmetic items in other games. Adding that up we get a total of $110 to $120 worth of content and goodies for the TTK Collectors edition. The $80 asking price is a ridiculously good deal for those who will be playing for the first time. Bungie announced today that they would be offering the cosmetic items from the TTK Collectors edition as a stand alone bundle for $20 for those who do not want to repurchase content they already own. That seems reasonable, though some argue that the items in it are not worth that amount of money. This is personal preference, if you really want the items you will pay for them. If not, do not buy them. It all depends on if you as an individual thinks they are worth $20. So lets summarize. TTK alone is not too bad of a deal. TTK Legendary edition is a very good deal for new players who get all the content up to now for pretty close to half price. For those who have already bought and paid for that content, it seems unfair that what we paid for has depreciated that much in a year. TTK Collectors edition is a downright absurd deal for new players who get all the content, plus at least $40 worth of cosmetics and physical goodies. So here's where my opinions start to come out, but please hear me out and see if it doesn't make sense. If you look at the bundles, they seem to be catering more to new players than to current ones. On the one hand, it definitely feels like a slap to the face from Bungie, but think of it from their perspective. Destiny debuted to mixed reviews and to this day has people who still are not completely sold on the game. Some even say they are leaving the game or taking a break. For Destiny to be the 10 year franchise they want it to be, Bungie HAS to bring in new players. It cannot rely on the current fanbase, as some of us might get bored with the game or just move on from gaming. So making the TTK Legendary and Collectors editions such amazing deals for new players makes sense. Is it greedy? Not really, just smart business. Is it a slap in the face to early players? Partly, yes. It did show a certain lack of caring for the existing players by not providing a bundle of say TTK and the cosmetics and other good stuff WITHOUT the base game and TDB/HoW. Because, while TTK isn't a full Destiny 2, it's coming one year after the original and is a big enough release that it feels like a new game. And most new games tend to have that special edition with a bunch of good stuff. TTK Collectors edition just happens to come with stuff some of us already own. Is the content available in TTK Collectors edition worth $80? No, it is worth much more. However, if you already own the base game and TDB/HoW, think what the $80 really buys you. TTK, cosmetic items, guns, and some physical goodies. TTK is already $40, so is the other content worth the other $40? To me, it's a tempting offer. It really does come down to perspective. To Bungie, offering old content for almost free to get new players interested is a smart business model. They just got too carried away with it and forgot how it would look to the established players. And it definitely looks bad. That being said, you need to actually look at what you are paying for and how much you feel it's worth. If you plan to buy TTK, you are going to spend $40. No matter if you are a new player or have been here since day 1. If you're a new player, TTK Legendary is a great deal. If you're a seasoned Guardian, why are you buying that version anyway? Just buy TTK. The Collectors edition is an absurdly good bundle for new players. For veteran players, you can now just buy the cosmetic items from it for $20. Or you can buy the full Collectors edition, in which case, ignore the fact you are rebuying old content. You get TTK ($40) and all the cosmetics and other goodies for another $40. It's up to you to decide what you want and how much you want to pay for it.

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  • It's much more simple than that I think. BungieVision can only charge new players about as much as what the game should have cost up to now. The players having long felt overcharged, now see clearly how they paid 2x for a game which had content removed to provide for multiple paid DLC updates. BungieVision chickens are coming home to roost. IMHO, BungieVision earned a front row seat at this cluster and the uproar is not likely to die soon. All the latest juggling of the TKK pricing feels like Titanic staff busily trying to sell reservations for the remaining deck chairs.

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