Season Pass confirmed for new Killer Instinct; Paid roster discussed

[STORMS]

Yes, this game will be free to play when it comes out with Jago being the one free character you get. If you want more characters, they can be purchased. If you just want the full game, that can also be purchased so there are many ways of investing your money in to this legendary fighting game. All of this "paying" has also upset some folks, but when you break it down... it's only Microsoft thinking about the consumers.

Some players only play a few characters in a cast and never touch all 24, 30, 35 or whatever it may be. With the route Killer Instinct is taking you have all of the options above or as been confirmed via VG247.com and Polygon.com, you can also buy a Season Pass. This pass will likely include all DLC, if in fact, the new Killer Instinct will have DLC. No price point has been set for this yet, of course. But there you have it... even more options for you!

“Some games have anywhere between 30, 40, even 50 characters. And in reality, most players don’t play that many characters.

“You just only have so much time to get good at so many characters. So we wanted to take that into consideration and release the game in a way that took that into consideration and allowed players to get in and play the game at the level that they... Continue to VG247 to keep reading!

 

[PND_Ketchup]

The complaining makes no sense to me, you'd be getting the full game but for way less than retail price, as the game is allowing you to only buy characters you want to play as.

That sounds convenient to me. I will probably only be playing Riptor and a tiny bit of Sabrewulf, so if I was just a casual guy that only wanted those two characters, I'd be laughing. Of course I'll be getting the full game regardless.

People like to complain for the sake of it.

 

[Reptile Orion]

This actually isn't a bad idea.

It's rare that anyone would commit the time to truly master every single character in a fighting game.

One disadvantage that did come to mind is what about practice mode. Even if you don't want to main a certain character will you at least be able to practice against their special moves, combos, frame data etc. ?

 

[Vagrant]

This is actually a really cool idea.

 

[Reptile Orion]

This is actually a really cool idea.

It really is. I'm wondering what the price points will be for the different options.

 

[trufenix]

People like to complain for the sake of it.

It's all a problem of presentation, both MS and Double Helix have done a terrible job at conveying the positive aspects of this model, as this article (revealed a week too late for any sort of damage control) is attempting. Instead all people see is an empty shell of a game that can only be filled up with dollar signs.

If MS isn't ready to come to the table with a presentation that puts people in their corner, they should really keep their traps shut.

 

[Posthuman]

I want a disc copy of KI3, not because I wanna sell it or buy it used... I just want to add it to my collection!

 

[Linkuei82]

Its not necessarily the paying that upset me anymore. Its one of my favorite fighting games just being on Xbox one.

 

[STORMS]

Instead all people see is an empty shell of a game that can only be filled up with dollar signs.

How was their presentation an "empty shell of a game"? If you want the full game, just pay for the full game. If not, just buy the characters..

People turning this in to a negative thing have no hope..

 

[STORMS]

Its not necessarily the paying that upset me anymore. Its one of my favorite fighting games just being on Xbox one.

I asked Patrick Gimore about PC and he said it's too early to say.
https://twitter.com/MrEpilog/status/346871697992998912

 

[Ninj]

How was their presentation an "empty shell of a game"? If you want the full game, just pay for the full game. If not, just buy the characters..

People turning this in to a negative thing have no hope..

Agreed. It's not Microsoft's job to think for people. The potential benefits of this type of model for casual gamers appears pretty high.

For example, I started Injustice with Killer Frost - let's assume each character is $5. So that's $5. After putting some thought into it, I then picked Catwoman, another $5. I had a feeling she'd fit my play style and I was right. I've also bought Scorpion. So yeah, I'd take $15 Injustice over $60 Injustice, cause I play it on a casual level.

This assumes you know how to find characters that fit you, and that's not a science.

This also does have a very real potential drawback of not being able to use anyone else in Practice mode. That would suck, but for the casual player who doesn't care, it'll probably work out well either way.

At the very least, they're giving more options. That's always a good thing as long as the normal purchase options remain intact, which it sounds like they are. Good idea Double Helix/Microsoft.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[supernumian]

If there'll be the option to buy a disc with the full roster in it, the boxart, the manul and all the other little things that I like to have when I buy a new videogame, I'm fine with the idea of "I purshase only what I use".
That's because, even if it's not a bad idea at all to purchase only what you are interested in, I'm scared that will become standard.

 

[Posthuman]

If there'll be the option to buy a disc with the full roster in it, the boxart, the manul and all the other little things that I like to have when I buy a new videogame, I'm fine with the idea of "I purshase only what I use".
That's because, even if it's not a bad idea at all to purchase only what you are interested in, I'm scared that will become standard.

This^^^

 

[prospic]

What about the ppl that do not have online? I guess they do not want to make money. big mistake

 

[trufenix]

How was their presentation an "empty shell of a game"? If you want the full game, just pay for the full game. If not, just buy the characters..

People turning this in to a negative thing have no hope..

For what its worth, I support the model wholeheartedly. As both a thrifty consumer, and a long time fighting game fan I think (provided its bugless and seamless) its a genius move that can lower costs all around.

But I also understand a lot of people's reservations about it and its predominately because there are no details. Even the initial announcement of F2P was bungled, and so they had to waste a day apologizing for statements that were never really made. Both the people who are positive and negative have had to fill in the logical gaps all by themselves, and whatever you say about LoL and Farmville the majority of games that have gone to a F2P model have not done it graciously to their customers. People feel cheated the second they find out someone else who pays will have something they don't. Just look at Injustice iOS, and that was totally free.

If you want to come out of the gate with some radical new change to the business model, you need to express to your customers why it is a good idea or expect a backlash, its that simple. Its basic salesmanship. Say sure, this is change, but you want it because x/y/z.

But because nobody in any camp wants to say this is concrete judgement on pricing structure, availability, amount of functionality per character, release schedule, how do I play them at tourneys, etc, trolls and pessimists have been able to damage the credibility and viability of their product. That's terrible.

If they weren't ready to tell us whats good about a pay per character release, then they should've kept that shit under wraps until they were. It's why nobody springs the online pass or season pass or 20 dollars worth of day one dlc on their customers until long after there's an established market. It's just stupid to give the internet a chance to EA your product before its even had a chance to take shape. MS should know better by now.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

If they weren't ready to tell us whats good about a pay per character release, then they should've kept that shit under wraps until they were. It's why nobody springs the online pass or season pass or 20 dollars worth of day one dlc on their customers until long after there's an established market. It's just stupid to give the internet a chance to EA your product before its even had a chance to take shape. MS should know better by now.

They explained this from the beginning. You can either just buy the characters you want, or you can buy the full game. That's pretty straightforward. It's just a case of people not listening to/reading the entire thing and spinning it into whatever they want it to be.

I detailed this a week ago here:
http://www.testyourmight.com/threads/killer-instinct-live-developer-commentary-exhibition-matches-w-mike-ross-ryan-hart-and-more.34127/

 

[thecure13]

First of all, why put it as Free to Play if their just going to end up charging in the end? There was no point. Now people are just going to be upset and they could have avoided this all from the start. In the end, im pretty sure I wasnt the only one who was looking forward to paying for this as one would assume you'd get much more content than the F2P version.

I will spit on your tomb!

 

[STORMS]

Its not necessarily the paying that upset me anymore. Its one of my favorite fighting games just being on Xbox one.

I get that, but I think we all knew this from the get-go. It's essentially owned by Microsoft so if there was a new title.. it would be their exclusive.

I don't see how we're complaining about this. My only complaint is the art direction. IMO the new KI is looking too much like Street Fighter.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

First of all, why put it as Free to Play if their just going to end up charging in the end? There was no point. Now people are just going to be upset and they could have avoided this all from the start.

That's generally what F2P means -- you get a bare-bones version of the game for free, and then you pay to add characters, in-game currency/energy/resources, or pieces of content to it as desired.

 

[NapoleonComplex]

The complaining makes no sense to me, you'd be getting the full game but for way less than retail price, as the game is allowing you to only buy characters you want to play as.

Yeah I brought this up and everyone stomped on it..

 

[Vulcan Hades]

Alex Shepherd, Agent Helix and Scorpion as guest characters.

I'm calling it.

 

[xWEBSx]

If there'll be the option to buy a disc with the full roster in it, the boxart, the manul and all the other little things that I like to have when I buy a new videogame, I'm fine with the idea of "I purshase only what I use".
That's because, even if it's not a bad idea at all to purchase only what you are interested in, I'm scared that will become standard.

Many people's argument that PS4 > XB1 due to the OPTIONS the PS4 gives.. The option to play off line, the option to play/trade/sell physical disc... All I am seeing all over the Internet is WE <3 PS4 OPTIONS!!!!
Now the dev's start catering to options in their games, people have a problem with it? It amuses me..in Ninj post he gave the model of how these options could benefit fans price wise.. Sure there will be those games that you will be such a fan of you are picking up full game upon release.. But this type of model is a great perk for what the possibilities are with the XB1..try it for free.. See what you think, then purchase what you the gamer is interested in.

 

[trufenix]

They explained this from the beginning. You can either just buy the characters you want, or you can buy the full game. That's pretty straightforward. It's just a case of people not listening to/reading the entire thing and spinning it into whatever they want it to be.

I detailed this a week ago here:
http://www.testyourmight.com/threads/killer-instinct-live-developer-commentary-exhibition-matches-w-mike-ross-ryan-hart-and-more.34127/

I love you Crim, but you either didn't read my post, or didn't read your own. Everybody "clarifies" their bungle after the fact, but there was still a day and a half worth of JAGO ONLY PAY FOR THE REST paranoia before anybody said anything to cool the fires. /That's/ where they fucked up, and even after they clarified it, they still haven't actually illustrated why the F2P model is good. Until this article, they hadn't given me as a consumer, any reason to get behind it, other than inferences I've drawn from other genres and games. Remember back when everybody thought Injustice was just gonna be Smash Bros w/ Capes? Knowledge is power.

And that's whats doing the damage to KI's PR, well that and general XB1 blowback. They haven't actually sat down and told us, this is how its going to work if you don't have characters, this is how we're doing online play for jago only players, this is whats going to happen at your friends house, or a tournament, and these are the kind of pricing packages we're looking at.

Until you have that (see: Good news) you're not doing anything but stirring the pot. This is why people are having trouble getting behind it. And they should know better. If you have something controversial, you keep that shit under wraps, because all it does is derail the hype train.

That said, is it all going to blow over? Of course, so maybe this is moot. And again, for the record, I totally support it. I love the F2P model. But, this is damage that didn't have to be done.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

But what was bungled? They announced the game, everyone jumped to conclusions before they even had the details.

DHG said that even if you decide to pay, they aren't intending to nickel-and-dime everyone and make the characters expensive.

The characters could be $.50 or $10, but no one bothered to look into it before making assumptions; and to me that's 100% the fault of a bunch of crying gamers.

 

[Kugga]

Positives:
- Potentially pay LESS for the game (if you plan to stay at home and only play online...)

Negatives:
- Buying a character to find out that you absolutely hate their play-style after a few weeks.
- You may need to repurchase your main character(s) if you go to somebody's house that doesn't have them. Assuming the characters are in the $5-10 range, you can easily rack-up $40-50 by purchasing a few characters at home, and then bribing your friends to buy your main as well.
- The nerf train will hit that much harder if your only character (that you possibly payed for more than once) gets stomped.
- It could discourage picking up another character just to do some experimentation.
- Microsoft will forever dictate the price of the characters, and smaller content purchases are generally less likely to change in cost than big ones (i.e. the full game getting discounted)
- Potentially pay MORE for the game (when any/all of the above end up happening...)