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Lego City Undercover Switch cover mentions 13GB download [Up3: Full game on card]

jdstorm

Banned
Few scenarios

1) Pub uses larger more expensive cart, games has to cost more. Switch owners pissed off
2) Pub uses smaller cart, mandatory day 1 download. Price parity. Switch owners pissed off.
3) Pub uses larger more expensive cart, price game same as other versions. Switch owners happy, investors and Financial Director pissed off.
4) Pub goes digital only for switch, price parity across versions, loses retail presence of game, sells below expectations. Combination of pissed off switch owners who want physical and pissed off investors who see this and switch as a flop.

In this scenario the Financial Director and Investors still make profits. Its an everybody wins scenario. This policy is just a publisher being greedy for what doesnt amount to a huge amount of money.
 

faridmon

Member
Haha great game on the Wii U, but I can attest, the load times are Brutal. It didn't put me off or anything, but it was pretty painful. At least the world is pretty seamless once you're in. If you'd played the 3ds game, you'd know the loads are just as bad annnnd the world is segmented all over the joint.

This is why the idea of playing it on the Switch, with all the Loading times improved, seemed so appealing and very exciting.

Only to hear this disappointing news
 
Fucking shame on WB for this bullshit.

This is pretty common on other platforms. I don't understand why some in this thread thought that the Switch would be less likely to experience this phenomenon rather than more.

Nope. Even on other platforms you only need to install a game from the disk (because games are getting big enough that disks are too slow for loading), you never need online to play single-player content. This is just WB being cheapskates.
 

Xcell Miguel

Gold Member
This is pretty common on other platforms. I don't understand why some in this thread thought that the Switch would be less likely to experience this phenomenon rather than more.

On other platforms it's most of the time a day-one patch, not 70% of the game to download.
Sometimes it's just MP stuff that couldn't fit on the disk, but you can still play the solo part of the game without updating.

Here they make it a mandatory download, so you can't even play the game if you don't have internet.

Imagine a publisher releasing a 50 GB game on PS4/XB1, but on a cheaper 25GB single layer BR with a mandatory 25 GB download, with no other way to play the retail game but downloading the rest of the game.
 

tolkir

Member
Few scenarios

1) Pub uses larger more expensive cart, games has to cost more. Switch owners pissed off
2) Pub uses smaller cart, mandatory day 1 download. Price parity. Switch owners pissed off.

At least, Point 1 can be cheaper eventually. Point 2 is permanent.
Right now, I prefer Rime solution even if it's controversial.
 

Xando

Member
In this scenario the Financial Director and Investors still make profits. Its an everybody wins scenario. This policy is just a publisher being greedy for what doesnt amount to a huge amount of money.
Depends on how well the game sells on Switch.
If there is price parity but the switch version costs 3-4$ more to manufacture they'd have to sell x amount to make it worthwhile. If that doesn't happen investors won't be happy with selling games at a loss.
 

maxiell

Member
Many of my disc-based PS4 games don't work without downloads. The fact that this is the majority of a game's data rather than a minority of it seems like a fine point.
 
I'm struggling to think of any platform other than PC where you buy a retail game and have to download the majority of the game to even play it.

Not quite majority, but Vita. Sly Collection didn't have Sly 3 on the cart, it was a download code. Luckily that didn't become a trend. Also Tony Hawk 5 on PS4/XO where the day one patch was almost double the size of the game on the disc and added like most of the game.
 

jdstorm

Banned
Depends on how well the game sells on Switch.
If there is price parity but the switch version costs 3-4$ more to manufacture they'd have to sell x amount to make it worthwhile. If that doesn't happen investors won't be happy with selling games at a loss.

Sure, but investors/Publishers wont sell games at a loss (mostly) and their analytics would take that into account.

It might mean less 3rd party games overall, but given the antagonistic relationship most 3rd party publishers have with Nintendo customers thats not really a big deal.

Most consumers understand games wont be ported it they wont make money. Its really not a big deal.
 
Not quite majority, but Vita. Sly Collection didn't have Sly 3 on the cart, it was a download code. Luckily that didn't become a trend. Also Tony Hawk 5 on PS4/XO where the day one patched was almost double the size of the game on the disc and added like most of the game.

Same situation with Final Fantasy X-2 on the Vita.
 
I have to admit I didn't think 16GB game cards wouldn't be all that expensive. If it's the case though that even using a 16GB card is already a significant cost, then I'd actually argue Nintendo should eat up a little of that cost for third parties. Unless they want situations like this to happen on a regular basis...
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Not quite majority, but Vita. Sly Collection didn't have Sly 3 on the cart, it was a download code. Luckily that didn't become a trend. Also Tony Hawk 5 on PS4/XO where the day one patch was almost double the size of the game on the disc and added like most of the game.

Tony Hawk 5 was completely on the disc. The day one patch was huge, trying to fix the broken game. I tested this myself.
 

maxiell

Member
Bullshit. Please name one game.

Many Telltale releases come with only the first episode. Always-online games require patches to even load up the game. Just Cause 3 and a variety of other games had large patches that completed the game's content or significantly adjusted the game's performance.
 

Bluth54

Member
I have to admit I didn't think 16GB game cards wouldn't be all that expensive. If it's the case though that even using a 16GB card is already a significant cost, then I'd actually argue Nintendo should eat up a little of that cost for third parties. Unless they want situations like this to happen on a regular basis...

I wonder what Nintendo charges for their platform license fee? If it's the same price as the PS4 and Xbox One maybe they should drop the price a little bit to subsidize Switch game cards.
 

llehuty

Member
As discussed plenty of times in other thread, the likes of Rime cost $10 more due to the cart prices. A $2-$4 increase in price for publisher means they need to increase price by $8-$10 to compensate for that increased charge.

Uhh, can someone explain the maths behind this? I really don't understand it. If the cost of producing the game increases 2$-4$, I'm expecting the game to have that increase on the price, not more.

Also, I know this is controversial, but what if they release all versions of the game 5$ more expensive and call it a day? Of course they should pull this when announcing the price for the first time, but nobody would know.

Fake edit: Wait, I just checked the pricing on amazon.fr and the game is still 5€ more expensive in the Switch, WTF? They just want to make it a failure to stop supporting the Switch?

1xgme3K.png


2nd fake edit: But in Amazon.es and amazon.co.uk is 5€ cheaper. American and German amazon have the same price for the 3 versions... what's going on in here?
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
You would prefer they not release it on Switch or overprice it?

Then we would only blame Nintendo and think WB is mostly innocent.

Zelda was almost the same size as Lego City. Was it released overpriced?

Lego City has been out for a long period, yet it's 60 dollar. Isn't that overpriced? Even with that price they cheap out on a bigger cartridge.

Lego City had never been always online. Stop comparing it it such games.
 

Xando

Member
Sure, but investors/Publishers wont sell games at a loss (mostly) and their analytics would take that into account.
Exactly.
Which is why games will either cost more on Switch, require you to download parts or not release there at all.

Nintendo is not really in a position to tell WB,EA or others to eat the cost or don't bother with Switch.
Nintendo needs third parties. Third parties can live without the Switch

Uhh, can someone explain the maths behind this? I really don't understand it. If the cost of producing the game increases 2$-4$, I'm expecting the game to have that increase on the price, not more.

Also, I know this is controversial, but what if they release all versions of the game 5$ more expensive and call it a day? Of course they should pull this when announcing the price for the first time, but nobody would know.

Fake edit: Wait, I just checked the pricing on amazon.fr and the game is still 5€ more expensive in the Switch, WTF? They just want to make it a failure to stop supporting the Switch?

1xgme3K.png


2nd fake edit: But in Amazon.es and amazon.co.uk is 5€ cheaper. American and German amazon have the same price for the 3 versions... what's going on in here?
Switch EU prices are all over the place for some reason
 

Bazry

Member
This might as well just been a download code in a box, so not only is the cart itself useless and unplayable out of the box, but once you've downloaded the majority of the game onto the system, you still need the cart to launch the game
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Many Telltale releases come with only the first episode. Always-online games require patches to even load up the game. Just Cause 3 and a variety of other games had large patches that completed the game's content or significantly adjusted the game's performance.

That's not the same. Just Cause 3 has bugs with or without the day one patch, but functions without it. Lego City doesn't. Telltale release incomplete physical games because they want them out in the stores before the games are complete. They call them season pass discs, and they are very open about it. They also release physical complete editions when the games are done with everyone on the disc. Lego City is complete, yet they don`t release everything.
 

Anth0ny

Member
You would prefer they not release it on Switch or overprice it?

Then we would only blame Nintendo and think WB is mostly innocent.

overprice is the lesser of the two evils

price can drop in time, required download is required forever. and then that download will be taken off servers and the cart is useless.
 

jdstorm

Banned
You would prefer they not release it on Switch or overprice it?

Then we would only blame Nintendo and think WB is mostly innocent.

Yes. Dont release it if you cant make a profit. Thats better then having customers unknowingly buy a game at the shops/airport and being unable to play it when they want to because of lack of access to the internet.

Aditionally with most PS4 games pushing 40-50gigs its not unreasonable to assume that publishers will use the smallest cart possible in order to maximize profits. This will essentially lead to Switch users having to do large installs every time they want to switch 3rd party games.

Thats a terrible user experience and something that could kill the platform if Nintendo cant get this sorted.
 

Xando

Member
Yes. Dont release it if you cant make a profit. Thats better then having customers unknowingly buy a game at the shops/airport and being unable to play it when they want to because of lack of access to the internet.

Aditionally with most PS4 games pushing 40-50gigs its not unreasonable to assume that publishers will use the smallest cart possible in order to maximize profits. This will essentially lead to Switch users having to do large installs every time they want to switch 3rd party games.

Thats a terrible user experience and something that could kill the platform if Nintendo cant get this sorted.
You know what else could kill the platform? Not having AAA third party games.
 

llehuty

Member
Switch EU prices are all over the place for some reason

So are cartridges more expensive, cheaper or are publishers just taking advantage of the Switch being a new console and being able to blame it on cartridges for their questionable choices?

Is there any publisher directly referencing if the cartridges are more expensive for them, and, if that's the case, how much?
 
Tony Hawk 5 was completely on the disc. The day one patch was huge, trying to fix the broken game. I tested this myself.

From what I recall of videos around launch none of the online modes or customisation was there, and only a few create a park environments. There was the whole tutorial only thing floating around but that got debunked.
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
From what I recall of videos around launch none of the online modes or customisation was there, and only a few create a park environments. There was the whole tutorial only thing floating around but that got debunked.

You could only play the tutorial when the game was installing. I think that`s where everything started. I asked the developers if everything was on the disc, and they told me it was, so I tested it myself when the game was £7.
 

Joni

Member
Uhh, can someone explain the maths behind this? I really don't understand it. If the cost of producing the game increases 2$-4$, I'm expecting the game to have that increase on the price, not more.

Publishers only get a certain percentage of the final sale price. Let's say they get 50%. If they need to recoup $5 the price needs to raise by $10 in that case.
 

Vinnk

Member
Wouldn't bat an eye? You either release a complete physical product or make it all digital.

Of course it would need to be the full game on the cart. But I don't bat an eye at buying things from Limited Run Games. Physical might cost more. I can live with it.

But not even having the full game on the cart? Unacceptable.
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Of course it would need to be the full game on the cart. But I don't bat an eye at buying things from Limited Run Games. Physical might cost more. I can live with it.

But not even having the full game on the cart? Unacceptable.

Yeah I got you wrong.
 

Xando

Member
So are cartridges more expensive, cheaper or are publishers just taking advantage of the Switch being a new console and being able to blame it on cartridges for their questionable choices?

Is there any publisher directly referencing if the cartridges are more expensive for them, and, if that's the case, how much?

Cartridges are definitely more expensive than blu rays. Don't know if we have confirmed numbers but from what i've seen thrown around on Gaf they're 2-4$ more expensive.

Then release a code inside the box and don`t try to screw people over.
I'm sure publishers would love that since they'd make more money. Retailers? Not so much.
 

jdstorm

Banned
Exactly.
Which is why games will either cost more on Switch, require you to download parts or not release there at all.

Nintendo is not really in a position to tell WB,EA or others to eat the cost or don't bother with Switch.
Nintendo needs third parties. Third parties can live without the Switch


Switch EU prices are all over the place for some reason


EA hasnt even started porting Frostbite to NVN and think they may have hardware issues again. EA support outside of a shitty last gen FIFA port is going to likely be non-existent for close to 2 years at the earliest.

Nintendo should honestly negotiate a deal with Konomi for PES exclusivity and No Micro transactions then tell EA that they arent interested in their shitty FIFA port and let EA execs have to explain to FIFA why they were banned from porting their liscenced game to a console platform due to lack of being bothered.

Im Sure Ubisoft and Activision or Take2 would love to try and steal the FIFA liscence from EA and with the amount of money FIFA makes, EA would just eat the cost of a Switch port just to stay in FIFAs good graces.
Not that Nintendo has the balls to pull a power move like that

As for other 3rd parties. Nintendo is planning on carying the Switch by themselves after 3rd parties proved increasingly unreliable on the WiiU. A lack of 3rd parties hurts their bottom line but it really doesnt change their plans too much.

Nintendo are planning to use the Nvidia created NVN api to create an IOS like system of console revisions that count as a combined install base. It may not happen overnight, however Nintendo are backing themselves to build a large installbase over a series of devices that will eventually be too large for 3rd parties to ignore. When 3rd parties decide to jump on board is ultimately up to them. However having them ignore the Switch's earlydays is hardly problematic by this criteria.

As for 3rd parties. They may be able to live without the Switch. Good for them. If there is money to make there they will likely try and make it though since ultimately they are slaves to the bottom line.

You know what else could kill the platform? Not having AAA third party games.

Wasnt a huge issue for the 3DS. Also a solitary port of a 4 year old WiiU game for $60 is hardly AAA support.
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Cartridges are definitely more expensive than blu rays. Don't know if we have confirmed numbers but from what i've seen thrown around on Gaf they're 2-4$ more expensive.


I'm sure publishers would love that since they'd make more money. Retailers? Not so much.

The physical version of Lego City is almost as useless as code, so why not..?
 

Xando

Member
The physical version of Lego City is almost as useless as code, so why not..?

Because if it's only a code why go to a store? Buy it on the Eshop.

Wonder why PC retail is almost non existant? Because why bother going to a store and get a code instead of buying it on steam instantly.

EA hasnt even started porting Frostbite to NVN and think they may have hardware issues again. EA support outside of a shitty last gen FIFA port is going to likely be non-existent for close to 2 years at the earliest.

Nintendo should honestly negotiate a deal with Konomi for PES exclusivity and No Micro transactions then tell EA that they arent interested in their shitty FIFA port and let EA execs have to explain to FIFA why they were banned from porting their liscenced game to a console platform due to lack of being bothered.

So what you're saying is that Nintendo should say fuck off to the biggest game on the planet for a game that has been bombing these last couple of years. Seems like a good business decision.
Im Sure Ubisoft and Activision or Take2 would love to try and steal the FIFA liscence from EA and with the amount of money FIFA makes, EA would just eat the cost of a Switch port just to stay in FIFAs good graces.
Not that Nintendo has the balls to pull a power move like that
Fifa couldn't care less about nintendo with the amount of money EA brings in for them
As for 3rd parties. They may be able to live without the Switch. Good for them. If there is money to make there they will likely try and make it though since ultimately they are slaves to the bottom line.
Sure they want to make money. Selling games at a loss is not making money though
 

*Splinter

Member
So Nintendo pushes costs onto publishers (by providing insufficient internal storage and opting for expensive physical cartridges), publishers push these costs onto customers, and the publishers take the blame from fans.

Sly move by Nintendo, imo
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Because if it's only a code why go to a store? Buy it on the Eshop.

Wonder why PC retail is almost non existant? Because why bother going to a store and get a code instead of buying it on steam instantly.

You almost have to download the entire game if you buy the physical version anyway. Just buy it on Eshop..?
 

ggx2ac

Member
I have to admit I didn't think 16GB game cards wouldn't be all that expensive. If it's the case though that even using a 16GB card is already a significant cost, then I'd actually argue Nintendo should eat up a little of that cost for third parties. Unless they want situations like this to happen on a regular basis...

It's definitely not the 16GB that's expensive. It would be the 32GB version but, that will go down in cost over time.

To prove it, Just Dance 2017 is 12.5GB in size. It uses the 16GB game cards and the game is sold at full price for $60.

This is Warner Bros purposely trying to reduce costs to increase margins by not taking the 16GB card or by compressing the game and instead choosing the cheaper 8GB card and forcing the consumer to download the rest of the game.
 

D.Lo

Member
They should release a 'special pack' that contains the 13GB download on an included 16GB SD card.

First 'double cart' game since Sonic 3 and Knuckles!
 

Xando

Member
You almost have to download the entire game if you buy the physical version anyway. Just buy it on Eshop..?

I agree with you but some people(most of them actually) still like to go to a store and get a game with case and disc(cartridge) or to later have the chance to give it away or resell it.

Retail also often is cheaper than digital.
 
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