The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

With their fast patches, free DLC (which is the content that was meant to be a part of the original game but never got finished, but they have a heart and release it for free, even though that is what they should do), neat little extra materials in my game case (a short lore book, stickers, physical game map, etc.)... and they don't even go for the whole "Season Pass" or paywalls or any sort of sham. They instead call it "expansion pass" which is rare nowadays, and they actually tell you what you're gonna get before they finish the expansions. Oh and no microtransactions, either.

They are also the rare sort who even make a simple statement on paper about thanking the customer for the purchase and rewarded us with things.

And this is one of the only games I ever play that made me want to do the Side Quests first before tackling the main quest, and that's because each sidequest is actually different, not the same repetitive shtick about fetching things or slaying a certain monster. The varied dialogue helps with that, too.

It may all sound a bit melodramatic, but they put companies like EA, Bungie, and such others to shame. CD Projekt Red puts their heart into it for only the possibility of the same amount of sales as more lazy games like Star Wars Battlefront or Destiny or even Dragon Age Inquisition. There's probably better examples than those, but that's at the top of my head.

What do you think? "Cool story, brah" or something? :/

Can't say I agree or disagree, since I think CDPR is just capatilizing on the anti-DLC movement with the whole "LULZ 16 FREE DEE EL CEEEEZ" thing. Speaking of which, I just picked the game up a few days ago, really enjoying it especially after the HUGE patch. Also DLed most of the free DLC, which came off as content that could have been just patched in, which further establishes it all as a PR move.

It didn't matter if they called it "Season Pass" or "Expansion Pass", it still comes down to it being a pre-order for upcoming downloadable content at a slightly cheaper, bundled price. The Borderlands series, for example, releases several expansion packs for their games and people cry "greedy" about that. TW3s expansions are about the same price point, but no one complains. (Doesn't bother me either way, but just pointing out how this may all just be one huge PR move on CDPR's part and its smoke and mirrors.)

Edit: Fun fact, Batman Arkham Knight was one of the very few open world games where I tackled all side events before the main story, a game also published by WB.

Fair enough. Maybe it just shows how low the standards of the majority of people have with video games these days... which is probably why I'm praising them for doing what they're supposed to do (Cd Projekt, I mean).

Still, considering how easy it can be for them to jump on the "greed train", they stick with having some dignity and work into their titles.

You've got to remember that, although its prequels were enjoyable games, the game didn't have to live up to huge expectations. (Obviously, their next games will suffer from this even if it's not about the witcher franchise)

DLC being released for free is just a gesture from the developers which they can afford because they don't work for someone else. Same goes for the level of polish which is a factor because they didn't get a very limited schedule imposed by the one who pays you.

With that said, you still have to give them credit because that was their first open rpg and overall it was a great experience. Nothing's perfect though but, at the end of the day, you can see that they did their job with passion, something which is dying out.

Also, their DLC aren't overpriced if you consider the amount of content.

I agree. I definitely got my money's worth out of this game

TheNextAvatar4 posted...

Fair enough. Maybe it just shows how low the standards of the majority of people have with video games these days... which is probably why I'm praising them for doing what they're supposed to do (Cd Projekt, I mean).

Still, considering how easy it can be for them to jump on the "greed train", they stick with having some dignity and work into their titles.

I will no longer take the "greed train" arguement seriously unless numbers follow said arguement, because development costs aren't exactly cheap these days.

Anyone saying that the free content is a PR move hasn't been following CDPR. They have given out free content for years now.

LandfillAO posted...

Anyone saying that the free content is a PR move hasn't been following CDPR. They have given out free content for years now.

Witcher 1 and Witcher 2 Enhanced Editions spring to my mind at that mention.

ClericIdola posted...

TheNextAvatar4 posted...

Fair enough. Maybe it just shows how low the standards of the majority of people have with video games these days... which is probably why I'm praising them for doing what they're supposed to do (Cd Projekt, I mean).

Still, considering how easy it can be for them to jump on the "greed train", they stick with having some dignity and work into their titles.

I will no longer take the "greed train" argument seriously unless numbers follow said arguement, because development costs aren't exactly cheap these days.

I'm referring to lazy titles like the recent Star Wars Battlefront. You don't need numbers to figure out why.

ClericIdola posted...

Can't say I agree or disagree, since I think CDPR is just capatilizing on the anti-DLC movement with the whole "LULZ 16 FREE DEE EL CEEEEZ" thing. Speaking of which, I just picked the game up a few days ago, really enjoying it especially after the HUGE patch. Also DLed most of the free DLC, which came off as content that could have been just patched in, which further establishes it all as a PR move.

It didn't matter if they called it "Season Pass" or "Expansion Pass", it still comes down to it being a pre-order for upcoming downloadable content at a slightly cheaper, bundled price. The Borderlands series, for example, releases several expansion packs for their games and people cry "greedy" about that. TW3s expansions are about the same price point, but no one complains. (Doesn't bother me either way, but just pointing out how this may all just be one huge PR move on CDPR's part and its smoke and mirrors.)

Edit: Fun fact, Batman Arkham Knight was one of the very few open world games where I tackled all side events before the main story, a game also published by WB.

I completely disagree with you. Nothing (good) is free anymore. CDPR is the exception. If you don't think that to be true you need to broaden your horizons and play some more video games, especially those that are chock full of "micro transactions" which basically is greed. No other way to define it.