Lot's Wife Edition 1 2017

The Cautionary Tale of Evolve
No pricing scandal is more infamous than the 2015 shooter, Evolve, developed by Turtle Rock
Studios. Before Evolve even launched, Turtle Rock shot itself right in the foot with convoluted
pricing structure and an avalanche of additional content (and hence costs). Evolve would ship
in three editions, the most expensive costing US$100. On top of that, US$60 of additional,
online only content was available to download at launch. Individual characters for the game
could cost up to US$15 each. Individual skins as much as US$8. The cheapest way to get
everything Evolve had to offer at launch would set you back US$185 – that’s near AU$250. You
want the full experience? Well fuck you.
Evolve had every additional cost possible. The mountain of DLC available at launch went
beyond accusations of cutting content from a game to sell later – it was a textbook example.
The multiple ways to simply buy the game showed a focus on snapping up pre-orders over
delivering a solid experience at launch. The ridiculous costs of single pieces of content made
it clear that micro-transactions were built into the game. And embroiled at the centre of this
controversy, the creative director of Turtle Rock Studios Phil Robb essentially pleaded with
consumers to reconsider their anger. “I don’t like people thinking we’re doing underhanded,
dirty shit” he said. “If we’re going to make money we want to feel good about the way we’ve
done it,”
The issue isn’t about making money. The Sims 4 in its complete form costs around double
what Evolve can cost. The issue is value. Where $15 in The Sims 4 will get you a bundle of new
cosmetics, items and gameplay, $15 in Evolve will get you a single character. It’s not about
being underhanded or dirty. It’s the unreasonable expectation that there must always be more
to buy; that players should take whatever price they are given or have their game held for
ransom until they can afford the rest of it.
Funnily enough, Evolve did terribly. The player base hemorrhaged after launch to less than
400 in the world. The game then became free-to-play, but still didn’t manage to sustain a
healthy community. And less than a month after that, Turtle Rock Studios abandoned Evolve
all together. Was it the huge backlash over the pricing that killed the game, or was it that
Evolve simply wasn’t fun? Questions like these pervade every failed game and it’s unlikely that
Evolve will be the last to upset players with its cost.
arts/culture
In truth, gaming has
Gaming Without (Some of) The Cost
For myself and many other students with limited disposable incomes, it can feel like we are
priced out of modern gaming. While most additional costs are entirely optional, it can feel like
publishers are constantly dangling the carrot. Still there are some relatively easy ways to still
choose gaming as a hobby without feeling like there is always more to buy.
Patient Gaming: Most games eventually go on sale. Games with DLC often re-release as a
bundle pack with everything included, in some cases cheaper than the original game. Sites
such as IsThereAnyDeal can be setup to email you when a game goes on sale. In the case of
Evolve and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the pre-order DLC was eventually given to everyone for
free after their respective controversies.
Be Informed: I know this sounds a little obvious, but simple things like reading reviews,
watching a stream of a game or googling ‘Is [this DLC] worth it?’ will give you an idea of
whether or not the actual content of a game is worth your money.
Make Use Of The Market: Unless you are dead certain you will replay a game, trading in or
selling old games is a quick way of saving money. EB Games does store credit for traded games,
and JB-Hifi frequently do trade-in deals. On the flip side, you can also buy games preowned.
The argument against this is that you are no longer giving your money to the developers, only
the retailer – but that’s a question of ethics, and where yours lead is on you.
Older Games: By virtue of their age alone many games are ridiculously cheap. Microsoft, Sony
and Nintendo all offer older games for download to their consoles. Online PC game retailers
such as Steam and Good Old Games keep libraries of older games and frequently send them to
sale. EA Games’ Origin Store for PC allows players to access older games entirely for free and
often to keep.
Indie Games: Indie games are currently experiencing a huge resurgence thanks to the
widespread nature of PC gaming. Anything from rhythm games to RPGs to story-based
adventure games are out there, all easily downloadable online and most under $20.
The One I Will Not Advocate: Also known as, ‘The One the Government recently tried to block
but did so really poorly making it easy to continue to use but you didn’t hear that from me, no
sir.’
The good thing about videogames as a hobby is you can take it as far as you like. You can get
all serious like me and lament the shady business practices of major games publishers, or you
can just focus on saving money where you can. But that’s the best thing about videogames –
the possibility, the interactivity – at the end of the day, it’s up to you.
always been expensive
article by rachael welling, illustration by erica gage
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