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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- 16 free DLCs for everyone!

Linkyn

Member
You know what I meant.

Shall we call Diablo III's UEE patch 2.0 update, DLC as well because because it happens to add "content" to the game that you need to "download"

CDPR are great devs with their DRM-free games and their online game store GoG which promotes this as well, but lets not act like CDPR isn't trying to make some kind PR statement and jab other developers at the same time with this thing.

I'd rather they take the high road and do what have done in the past and added the content and improvements much like they did with the updates to The Witcher 1 and 2, which wasn't any different as it added content to the game without charging a price to the players, and of course without the thinly veiled PR mudslinging to other devs who charge a price for content after a games release.

CD Projekt Red is better than this.

Of course they could have just done this in quiet, but having the reassurance that nothing has changed as far as their philosophies are concerned means the world to me. In a time when getting free DLC (regardless of the form or importance) is everything but granted, and you generally have to wonder whether it's even possible to get all the content for a game, who was to say what was going to happen?

Like I mentioned above, I've had nothing but great respect for the people working at this studio since the EEs for the first games, but realistically, the development / production landscape for this title is a very different one than it was for its prequels. We are no longer talking about a relatively niche RPG series born as a spin-off of a series of Polish dark phantasy books, but a highly anticipated game and one of the biggest western releases of 2015. It was not inconceivable that eventually, exclusive deals or other nowadays common practices could happen.

That is why, regardless of how they chose to divulge this information, and despite the fact that, theoretically, they could have just released everything at once (although we really do not know whether all that's been announced was / will be ready for when printing begins or even the current release date, and so including it could potentially have resulted in a further delay), this is above all good news.

Also, speaking of terminology, I don't think I'd use the term patch for anything but balancing or bug fixes. Instead, I'd more readily refer to large amounts of single player content being added as an expansion, but those are really just technicalities.
 

system11

Member
People are actually getting upset over this?

Upset? No.

However if it's just unlocks of stuff on the disc, that content will in the future not be usable when the online services have been shut down. For no good reason.

Sega did this slightly better when they released lots of additional content for Phantasy Star Portable 2, everything was there in the original install, and they drip-fed codes you could type into the in-game visiphone to unlock it.
 

Lunar15

Member
Holy shit, how can there be negativity around this? Whether or not it's a PR stunt hardly matters, it's stuff that's entirely free. Even if they cut these items from the main game just to offer as DLC, it's still entirely free of charge, so I just don't get why anyone would be upset here.
 

Lucifon

Junior Member
This is great. But they arguably don't look like they really add that much, at least the ones announced so far. They seem like the kind of thing that some companies would make retailer exclusive, so it's good that they're not!
 

Ricker

Member
Why not just put them in the game on release if they are free and so close to said release...I mean I am not complaining,since its free lol....guess it's good PR.
 

RK9039

Member
Holy shit, how can there be negativity around this? Whether or not it's a PR stunt hardly matters, it's stuff that's entirely free. Even if they cut these items from the main game just to offer as DLC, it's still entirely free of charge, so I just don't get why anyone would be upset here.

They must be Destiny fans.
 

Prologue

Member
I was going to rent( haven't played series before) but I'll buy now with this kind of community support.

Great job!
 

Ateron

Member
This is a very good thing, but they aren't the only ones doing this. Rockstar has been giving items/weapons/clothes/vehicles for free with every new update the game gets. It's something to be praised, nonetheless. I was going to buy the game regardless, but this is a pretty nice gesture of them.
 

Nordicus

Member
I guess none of it are substantial for them to be releasing in such short period of time.
One or two bits of it might be. The last ones will be released almost 2 months after game's release, and that might be enough extra time to actually get something together
 

Seanspeed

Banned
Holy shit, how can there be negativity around this? Whether or not it's a PR stunt hardly matters, it's stuff that's entirely free. Even if they cut these items from the main game just to offer as DLC, it's still entirely free of charge, so I just don't get why anyone would be upset here.
I think some people just feel it insults their intelligence a bit.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Even though I'm not sure how much I'll like this game, worried it'll be too big for its own good, stuff like this makes me want to day 1 it to support.
 

JP

Member
Bastard developers!!!!!

EDIT:
Wait, no. I'm not going to be able to use that one here am I.
 

Denton

Member
Polygon has more extensive interview, should be added to OP:
http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/6/71...e-downloadable-content-program-as-dev-attacks

The fact that we are announcing the DLC before launch does not mean it is ready at this moment in time," he told Polygon. "As you probably know, we are currently focused on polishing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This means that most of the teams are involved in finalizing development and optimizing the game. However, some of the teams are free to start working on additional content that can be released after we launch the game. This is the case here. DLC will not be present on disc."

"When you get invested and emotionally attached to a game — and as we all know that's what gaming is about — you want to have the full game and have access to all the options," he said. "Why not have a bit better sword, armor or, yes, horse armor — if it's possible to. You might use it, you might not, but you want to have it. It's pure psychology and, from the 'here and now' business perspective, it's an opportunity to get more money out of each copy. I am not saying all DLCs are not worth the price, but I think this business model is definitely abused to say the least. We think things shouldn't look like this, and that's why we do it differently. We give this stuff for free."

"We really hope this will initiate a change in the industry, even if it's a small one at first," he said. "This, and we also hope to make someone's day better."

While Iwinski and CD Projekt Red seem against the notion of paid downloadable content for games, that doesn't mean they've entirely ruled it out for The Witcher 3 and future games from the company.

"If we ever decide to release paid content for Wild Hunt, I promise you, gamers will see why we decided to charge for it," he said. "We'll ask ourselves a simple question: Could anyone feel ripped off when they buy it? If there's even a slightest possibility they will, we won't do it."
 
GAF has really just blown my mind with how some people can actually react negatively to this. You guys are unbelievable.

Why isn't it on the disc?

Because they can CONTINUE to make content for the game after release, CONTINUE to IMPROVE IT, and bring you MORE VALUE

Why did they make an announcement? (aka should have taken the high road)

Because they are trying to bring about CHANGE. They think the current DLC practices are predatory and want to draw attention to it.


We waste so much time arguing over 900p vs 1080p and shit when we should be concerned about stuff like this. Games like Destiny are basically slapping all gamers directly in the face, shit needs to stop.
 
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the assassins creed ones are free for everyone as well...
 

Danneee

Member
Hey let's cut shit from the game and then say it's free DLC for some good PR.
I'm not buying it. And I'm not buying it.
 

Sendero

Member
Some persons will complain no matter what.

CD Projekt constantly work under the pretense of trying to be fair to their customers, so it's not like they suddenly modified their behavior for PR purposes.

They are not perfect (nor have to), but if doing the right things helps to promote their image -in times were other companies are moving in the opposing direction-.... that's great. And they need it to because, despite all of this, their games are still relatively unknown among the mainstream players.
 
Nice of them. Hopefully it'll be delivered seamlessly in automatic patches.

However, I also hope that the base game will still be meaty with lots of cool diverse content outside of the main quest. Because that's what reviews and early sales are going to be based on. I don't want another Destiny or Titanfall situation here.
 

BouncyFrag

Member
Upset? No.

However if it's just unlocks of stuff on the disc, that content will in the future not be usable when the online services have been shut down. For no good reason.

Sega did this slightly better when they released lots of additional content for Phantasy Star Portable 2, everything was there in the original install, and they drip-fed codes you could type into the in-game visiphone to unlock it.
That's why I save all my dlc on thumb drives. Little things like this I probably wouldn't bother with though.
 

Raptor

Member
GAF has really just blown my mind with how some people can actually react negatively to this. You guys are unbelievable.

Why isn't it on the disc?

Because they can CONTINUE to make content for the game after release, CONTINUE to IMPROVE IT, and bring you MORE VALUE

Why did they make an announcement? (aka should have taken the high road)

Because they are trying to bring about CHANGE. They think the current DLC practices are predatory and want to draw attention to it.


We waste so much time arguing over 900p vs 1080p and shit when we should be concerned about stuff like this. Games like Destiny are basically slapping all gamers directly in the face, shit needs to stop.

I agree!

But you know, we love to argue lol.
 

Kiyo

Member
GAF has really just blown my mind with how some people can actually react negatively to this. You guys are unbelievable.

Why isn't it on the disc?

Because they can CONTINUE to make content for the game after release, CONTINUE to IMPROVE IT, and bring you MORE VALUE

Why did they make an announcement? (aka should have taken the high road)

Because they are trying to bring about CHANGE. They think the current DLC practices are predatory and want to draw attention to it.


We waste so much time arguing over 900p vs 1080p and shit when we should be concerned about stuff like this. Games like Destiny are basically slapping all gamers directly in the face, shit needs to stop.

All this encourages is more developers cutting content from their base game, relabeling it as DLC, and re-adding it to their game as "Free DLC". This is an obvious PR stunt and let's be honest, if EA/Ubi/Acti tried this people would be calling them out on it.

Look at Blizzard who added a ton of content and weapons and models with their 2.1 patch to D3. They didn't call it DLC or make a huge deal about how it was free. Those are the types of acts we should be praising.
 

Denton

Member
Next time CDP will announce that Witcher 3 itself is freeware, and people will find a way to complain about that.

"It's just a PR Stunt! Blergh!"
 
That's some serious value. Nice job CDPR!

This is my most anticipated game for this entire generation right next to Halo. I played the ever loving shit out of Skyrim on the PS3 and am hoping this has a similar feel to it (I've never played a Witcher game).
 
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