When I was 15 I would have gotten angry, but I really don't care at 22.
Asura's Wrath
Game » consists of 12 releases. Released Feb 21, 2012
Asura's Wrath is an interactive anime action title that tells the tale of violent demigod Asura on a quest for vengeance against the cabal of gods that betrayed him.
Morally bankrupt DLC. Asura's Wrath real ending for $7
@Mnemoidian said:
And I feel that the recent mounting rage at DLC in general is really silly, but I'm trying to understand it.
This and if I were to give a two-bit opinion on how to understand it, it's because of the different goals each stakeholder of the video games industry has:
- Consumers want value - to some that may mean enough content to be satisfied, to some it means spending as little as possible
- Publishers want profit and market dominance - which could be either long term relationships with customers or short term rip-off merchants
- Developers want profit and (hopefully) make good games - depends on efficiency/laziness
- Journalists want to either be considered valid and/or get as many clicks/money as possible by adding fuel to the DLC debate
Lots of moving parts in this industry and it hurts my brain... fucking magnets hurt my brain too.
@arjybarjy said:
@Mnemoidian said:
And I feel that the recent mounting rage at DLC in general is really silly, but I'm trying to understand it.
This and if I were to give a two-bit opinion on how to understand it, it's because of the different goals each stakeholder of the video games industry has:
- Consumers want value - to some that may mean enough content to be satisfied, to some it means spending as little as possible
- Publishers want profit and market dominance - which could be either long term relationships with customers or short term rip-off merchants
- Developers want profit and (hopefully) make good games - depends on efficiency/laziness
- Journalists want to either be considered valid and/or get as many clicks/money as possible by adding fuel to the DLC debate
Lots of moving parts in this industry and it hurts my brain... fucking magnets hurt my brain too too.
Emphasis mine. I think that's the part people should be worried about. Demonising DLC is not the right way to go. If the game leaves you with a feeling of poor value, then you should complain about that. But I always see a lot more people complain about the concept of DLC than people who complain about (specific) game value.
Sure, there can be questionable DLC - I think that the free DLC for FFXIII-2 which gives Serah a bathing suit and Noel a suit of armor is a bit gross (and I don't really understand who it's for). But I won't condemn more content for a game I enjoyed [edit: assuming the DLC is tasteful, of course.], and didn't leave me with a bitter taste of being cheated.
What I was getting at with my previous question in this thread ("how would you feel if they put it on a disc/in a box and called it an expansion pack? for 20-30 bucks?") was that there seems to be a lot of people who think that "Expansion Packs" were much better than DLC. Which really makes my head hurt. (However, in this case, that was clearly not the issue).
While the other points mentioned are certainly real and valid - as consumers, they are wholly uninteresting to us, as our only concern is receiving enough content to be satisfied. (I'm not trying to hamper a debate on the other points... just, you know.)
I think you guys need to play Asura's Wrath before bashing the DLC. That game is practically an anime box set with gameplay in it.
The thing that's annoyed me the most about this was that the game already said that it had a 'true ending'. That they always intended to ship a £40 game ($60) and then sell the real ending is pretty shady.
I totally get what people are saying about episodic gaming and cliff hanger ending, and I think they are totally valid points, but this is not "hey the game's been out for 6 months, lets continue the story", as this is something I'm totally cool with. But this is being labelled the bloody 'true ending'. This could have all been averted by some much better PR, a different title and maybe a little more time between release and announcement.
@Gatehouse said:
The thing that's annoyed me the most about this was that the game already said that it had a 'true ending'. That they always intended to ship a £40 game ($60) and then sell the real ending is pretty shady.
As far as I can remember, the game actually says "True Episode 18" ? I can't remember if they actually mention it being the end or if that's implied.
[edit: actually, just looked up a video, upon beating (not true) Episode 18 you get a message stating "The story is far from over. For the true ending, you must beat the hidden episode."], so I'll cede that they suggest it's the true end, at least.]
Past the whole ethical argument, I think this is a bad practice for an entirely different reason.
This devalues cliffhanger endings in video games. If people come to expect this style of closure to be answered almost right away for a little extra money than what is the point of them exactly?
Of course, people who like video games are terrible at coping with cliff hangers anyway and always claim them to be "bad endings" so I can see why game companies don't *really* do them anymore.
@Metal_Mills said:
@YI_Orange said:Yes. That's a separate product.Is it worse than a direct sequel for 60 dollars?
So the key is to just make you pay more money for it and don't let you download it from within the game you already own?
@Jimbo said:
@AlisterCat said:Don't worry, most people get broken down into unthinking consumers who will accept anything eventually. They rely on it.When I was 15 I would have gotten angry, but I really don't care at 22.
Not caring and not thinking aren't the same thing.
@Brendan: Personally, I think that cliffhangers/to be continued is largely poor writing. I feel that the best told stories in games are the ones which can deliver a coherent, self-contained story in a single game. That story can be part of a larger entity, but there needs to be a clear goal - which you either succeed (high mood end) with, or irrevocably fail at (low mood end) upon completion of the story.
Mass Effect is a fairly good example of a well written multiple-Cliffhanger story. Each game is a distinct sub-story to the whole Reaper-arc. There are cliffhangers at the end of each game, but your goal in that game has been fullfilled.
While something like Halo 2 is an offensive example - suddenly when you think you are approaching the end (in the "High action" part), you get a "TO BE CONTINUED" screen.
Asura's Wrath's end... maybe not the best, but I didn't think it was offensive. And as I mentioned before - I've not seen nearly as much complaint about the end to Asura's Wrath before this DLC was announced.... and I get a feeling that a lot of the people who are arguing here have either not played Asura's Wrath, or have not finished it, but are rather being upset in general about DLC, which is silly.
@Mnemoidian said:
Emphasis mine. I think that's the part people should be worried about. Demonising DLC is not the right way to go. If the game leaves you with a feeling of poor value, then you should complain about that. But I always see a lot more people complain about the concept of DLC than people who complain about (specific) game value.
Sure, there can be questionable DLC - I think that the free DLC for FFXIII-2 which gives Serah a bathing suit and Noel a suit of armor is a bit gross (and I don't really understand who it's for). But I won't condemn more content for a game I enjoyed [edit: assuming the DLC is tasteful, of course.], and didn't leave me with a bitter taste of being cheated.
What I was getting at with my previous question in this thread ("how would you feel if they put it on a disc/in a box and called it an expansion pack? for 20-30 bucks?") was that there seems to be a lot of people who think that "Expansion Packs" were much better than DLC. Which really makes my head hurt. (However, in this case, that was clearly not the issue).
While the other points mentioned are certainly real and valid - as consumers, they are wholly uninteresting to us, as our only concern is receiving enough content to be satisfied. (I'm not trying to hamper a debate on the other points... just, you know.)
This perspective is reasonable, but it might help everyone else to get a sense of how this looks from the other side. No one was really expecting Asura's Wrath to sell well at the outset. In the bombcast, Jeff pointed out that with its niche appeal, the publishers might well have figured that an initial price of 30-$40 wouldn't generate more sales than a $60 launch. In my view that's Fair enough, because what even is that game.
If you're anticipating a swell of sales later on after word of mouth (and maybe after a price drop) then it makes sense to pay attention to your after-release content, because there and only there will you able to sell content at full retail price to people who otherwise balk at the value proposition, as well as to the Johnny-come-latelys for a slow burn like Asura's Wrath.
Expansion packs don't really fit into this model as well anymore because they were a product of the limited powers of delivery a publisher had at that time, and also a reflection of the lower development lag and overhead. In the days of Heroes of Might and Magic 2: The Price of Loyalty, the only way NWC could get content to its audience was through discrete boxed things, and frankly the content didn't take as much time, money, manpower and coordination to produce. Games are big and expensive now, and any relevant content will require enough of the team (and outside teams) that it doesn't make sense to create additional content that isn't already a part of the development process (with its own budget) or as a full-on sequel later on. Simply coordinating that many entities for post-launch development is a huge headache when your development team is global.
Now, in view of all that, calling the extra four chapters the "true ending" might raise your hackles, but if it does then I suggest you're taking it too literally. I think the cliffhanger ending for Asura's Wrath is the expression of the Cyberconnect12 guys' skill at the cliffhanger, so in that Sense, the "True Ending" is the one you get by getting all the S-ranks. The DLC is exactly that; the single place it makes the most sense to invest the time it takes to make four chapters. Where else would four chapters even go? I wouldn't have been interested in a prequel set of chapters, and jumping another 12,000 years ahead would've diminished the tension they had cultivated. But I know that after that cut at the end there's only going to be more insane stuff which is precisely the part of asura's wrath I might even consider paying $8 for.
Don't worry, most people get broken down into uncaring consumers who will accept anything eventually. They rely on it.@Jimbo said:
@AlisterCat said:Don't worry, most people get broken down into unthinking consumers who will accept anything eventually. They rely on it.When I was 15 I would have gotten angry, but I really don't care at 22.
Not caring and not thinking aren't the same thing.
Actually, you guys, Psi-Ops was the worst ending. I don't know if the GB LOL showed it, but that game ended with a big fat "TO BE CONTINUED" and the game didn't do very well, Midway sat on it for years, then died, and the rights to the sequel blew away in the wind. I'm sure somebody has them, and I'm just as sure there will never be an ending to that game. I'd rather have an ending out there to buy if I wanted it.
Although, "YOU GUYS, I SHOT THIS BIG BLACK MAN WHAT MOVED THE MOON FOR ME, LOOK AT HOW EVIL I AM" is a pretty good ending.
@the_great_skenardo: Great points! I hadn't even considered the whole with the publisher possibly even assuming that Asura's Wrath would be a slow burn from the start - and that reviews and word of mouth would spread the word for them much better than marketing could for a game like that - earning them some cash back through DLC.
Well, there's ONE part of Asura's Wrath they skipped - the bit with the big hydra. But I assume that's the DLC Episode that's out now (been too busy to check it out yet).
I mean, I can kind of see where people are coming from - withholding the end is not a great way of handling it. But getting 4 episodes at once is kind of like an expansion pack - which I've read people arguing for (maybe not in the Asura's Wrath situation, but for other games). And as I wrote in a previous post - I think that stories should be largely contained, and Asura's Wrath pretty much does what it sets out to do.
If the "true end" DLC is something like the Persona 4 "true end" - then it's ok by me. You know, an end that introduces a new concept and says "Ok, so this is why these guys did this - because this infinite horror were manipulating them".
Random: All this arguing about the value of the game has made me realize that the bits of the game with Augus are alone worth full price for me. Those bits were incredible! Prequel-DLC playing as Augus?!
@Mnemoidian said:
@BPRJCTX: *shrug* Just trying to understand the argument
Basically, your problem is the concept of To be Continued [edit: or Cliffhanger]. Which is far from unique to this game - and at a stretch, all other similar DLC - like the GTA stuff (Lost and the Damned, etc).
I'm just saying... I played Asura's Wrath. I had fun. Said "Huh" at the end, put the disc in the box on the shelf. This will probably get me to take the disc out again, mission accomplished for the developer/publisher? I don't feel cheated because I feel like I got what I expected out of Asura's Wrath.
And I feel that the recent mounting rage at DLC in general is really silly, but I'm trying to understand it.
Wow, really?!
You're comparing the GTA DLC, what most ppl will tell you is the best DLC of this generation, and the template for how to do DLC, something Rockstar worked on from 6 months to a year respectively, with more content than most 60$ games out there, and was sold for 20 bucks each or 40$ for both episodes, and could have esily been sold as the next GTA game...
To the last 4 episodes of Asura's Wrath, something that they took out of the game, to sell it as DLC?
Really?
You either don't get it or you just don't care, either way, i don't have time for this, i'm not here to change anyone's mind, glad you enjoyed the game, maybe i would have enjoyed it too, but i'll never know, cos Capcom will never see my money untill they stop using these shitty business practices.
@BPRJCTX: I'll admit I picked a slightly offensive choice (though, I did not enjoy GTA4, so *shrug* It's a valid choice for me). [edit: to be clear, I picked well-liked DLC to highlight that it too tells another story in the same game that could be argued to be "cut content" if you wanted to be harsh. And we're arguing about the value of DLC that is not out for 2 more months, which none of us really know what it is. Also... "cut content" is another pet peeve of mine, which is another weird complaint.]
Besides, you apparently haven't played Asura's Wrath(?), and is just raging at Capcom's DLC practices, without any first-hand knowledge of the subject you are arguing against - or any knowledge of what the 4 episodes in question are, except for their b randing as "the true end".
So, you are right, we don't have anything more to discuss.
And this forum seems to be the grand master apologists. This is the true ending of a game. Not some little extra, not some added bit, the fucking ENDING. You can't even get that in a short, linear, full priced game anymore. I can see next generation when CoD forces you to pay an extra $30 to download the multiplayer and people go "What? It's a good multiplayer! It's worth $90!"Just don't fucking buy it then. Maybe they'll eventually cotton on, and be force to re-think their content delivery.
Jesus, some of you are beginning to sound like Daily Mail columinsts.
The gaming industry loves to ream its legitimate customers far more than even Hollywood or the music industry. But something sucks about a movie(like 3D for example), reviewers will say it sucks, customers say it sucks and hell, maybe even some of the actors will say it sucked. When something sucks in a game half the writers ignore it, the other half defend it, the few writers that make an article of it get treated like shit, the fans defend it and insult anyone who is against it and the people against it are called whiny and have a bloated sense of entitlement. So the company never learns and knows they can push it even further.When I was 15 I would have gotten angry, but I really don't care at 22.
@Metal_Mills said:
, the fans defend it and insult anyone who is against it and the people against it are called whiny and have a bloated sense of entitlement. So the company never learns and knows they can push it even further.
And this is pretty much the problem with videogame fans. There has always been outlets that fellate this fanboy mentality that has existed within the games industry, from mainstream gaming websites to the advertising campaigns of games and systems themselves. This has led to horrible overreacting on both sides of a debate whenever something like this happens. Take for example the ME3 ending "controversy", there isn't a "right" side to take there. It's just a clusterfuck of extreme reactions by people who should know better.
@Metal_Mills: Poor practices should certainly not go without notice... that's not what I'm arguing.
My primary concern (which I have been voicing here) is mostly against the general attitude some people have been loudly voicing lately - which is one of entitlement. All DLC (typically exceptions are made for DLC the person likes, like the Lost and Damned) is "cut content" and should have been included in the original release - and these issues are only brought up once the DLC is announced. Stinks of double-standard to me?
Then again, as I understand it, your understanding on the game and how the game plays out is based on hearsay anyway? Which is another thing that bothers me. (disclaimer: Of course someone who hasn't played it still has a valid opinion, but...) How can you judge it's value and the value of future DLC if you haven't even experienced it? If all of your opinion is based on what someone else has said?
@Jimbo said:
@Enigma777 said:POP had it's ending as DLC. It was gross.I never played the DLC, but consider the in-game ending to be one of the best game endings ever.
As do I. I've never been so conflicted in a game's ending as I was in POP. I literally had to put the controller down for 10 mins and take some deep breaths. To get that kind of emotional response out of me is outstanding.
The DLC is still gross though.
I have not played Asuras Wrath but from what I hear it had a good ending. This seems less like selling you an ending and more like selling you the next season of a show.
@Metal_Mills:
I think it's easy to call complaining fans whiny when they use dramatic rhetoric and make sweeping accusations.
Maybe you don't enjoy cliffhanger endings much, and if so, then you could certainly be disgruntled about that and call it poor direction. But let's be clear about one thing; people who purchased Asura's Wrath haven't been robbed. As-released, that game has an ending (two, in fact) which is consistent with the style of narrative. The DLC as another ending you could pay for if you wanted more action and more resolution, but that doesn't diminish how I felt when that last "To Be Continued" flashed.
You're not wrong to think the motivation is at least partly money, and the realities of development do make companies look kind of shitty for having to develop DLC alongside the flagship title, but I reject the notion that it's any more immoral than a season cliffhanger in a television series or the stinger that leads into a new movie. "Tune in next time," it invites you, and if you are engaged enough by the story and characters, you do.
That doesn't matter in this example. When the developer says this is the "true ending" then it doesn't matter what ending it has, it isn't the end of the game. Now if this was just post-ending contiuning it on a bit then that could be alright but it isn't, it IS the ending.@Metal_Mills: Poor practices should certainly not go without notice... that's not what I'm arguing.
My primary concern (which I have been voicing here) is mostly against the general attitude some people have been loudly voicing lately - which is one of entitlement. All DLC (typically exceptions are made for DLC the person likes, like the Lost and Damned) is "cut content" and should have been included in the original release - and these issues are only brought up once the DLC is announced. Stinks of double-standard to me?
Then again, as I understand it, your understanding on the game and how the game plays out is based on hearsay anyway? Which is another thing that bothers me. (disclaimer: Of course someone who hasn't played it still has a valid opinion, but...) How can you judge it's value and the value of future DLC if you haven't even experienced it? If all of your opinion is based on what someone else has said?
@Enigma777 said:
@Jimbo said:
@Enigma777 said:POP had it's ending as DLC. It was gross.I never played the DLC, but consider the in-game ending to be one of the best game endings ever.As do I. I've never been so conflicted in game's ending as in POP. I literally had to put the controller down for 10 mins and take some deep breaths. To get that kind of emotional response out of me is outstanding.
The DLC is still gross though.
I agree with you on both counts, though I still say the DLC is gross not because they tried to add on to a powerful ending in a completely unnecessary way, but because they tried to add on to a powerful ending in a completely unnecessary way and did it terribly.
@Metal_Mills: Here's a synopsis of the game, and a brief on what I expect the end is. I've seen the "true episode 18", which is in the game, but I have not played the DLC which is out now (which is not the coming "true end DLC"). Be warned that it spoils the large parts of the story... though I'm not sure if I'd say the story is even the main reason to play the game. Your choice to read it or not, but hopefully it'll explain why I don't think it's a big deal in this case.
Background: Asura is hunting down the 7 guys who pissed him off by murdering his wife and kidnapping his wife. There's also an apocalyptic theme represented by the corrupted "Ghoma".
Normal End: Asura kills the leader of the 7 guys and defeats the thing that is spreading the corruption. Asura is reunited with his Daughter -> Fade to Black with Credits. After credits you get an epilogue with a character that has appeared at parts of the story.
You are then told you can unlock the "True Episode 18" (the final episode being "Episode 18") by continuing to play (turns out that means 5 S-ranks or 50 episodes played).
"True End": Everything is the same until Asura is reunited with his daughter, instead of going to credits, you get an additional 3 minutes of the game. At that point, a character who might as well have been dead (I'd forgotten about her/didn't think her important anymore), threatens Asura's Daughter and is promptly slaughtered by a new villain who is revealed. The new villain says a bunch of philosophical stuff and possesses Asura's Daughter. Then you get Credits.
The "new villain" makes cameo-appearances at 2-3 times in the game, but is never in a position to seem threatening or villainous (though he makes some ominous comments).
My take: The "True Episode 18" is the "trailer" for the "True Ending DLC". And if they hadn't added that 3 minute scene to the game they wouldn't have had any way of latching on 4 episodes. I'm guessing that the 4 Episodes will deal with this new villain, which was revealed in an end only people who cared enough to get 5 Episode S-ranks (admittedly not that difficult) or finished 50 episodes will see. And then is interested enough to play through the final Episode (which is identical to the "normal" Episode 18) again. I think it's fine.
Why are people so surprised that this is the direction DLC is going. That being said. PaTRICK got me hyped on buying this game. Payday tomorrow!
DLC should be a service for fans, a message that says "hey, if you like this game, here's some more cool stuff!" that enhances your already complete purchase. Instead, it seems as if some publishers are assuming that games are now $80, and if players want the complete experience, they should expect to pay for DLC that includes content intentionally cut.
@Metal_Mills said:
That doesn't matter in this example. When the developer says this is the "true ending" then it doesn't matter what ending it has, it isn't the end of the game. Now if this was just post-ending contiuning it on a bit then that could be alright but it isn't, it IS the ending.
Nope. This is a THIRD ending. Hell, you might as well call it Asura's Wrath 2. In this particular case there is nothing to complain about since the game itself has an ending with a satisfactory ending that wraps up the story and experience of the game. Done and dusted. You will never have to think about this franchise again if you are so inclined and not feel the least bit cheated.
Then, by fulfilling the requirements to get the SECOND ending, you get a nice teaser/cliffhanger into DLC or a sequel, which even then is well made enough as to not come off cheap.
They really should've just said "The continuing saga of Asura's Wrath" instead of True Ending because players like you who haven't even played the game are the ones who are crying foul about this and screaming about the heavens falling. Hey, I'd call this bullshit as well if I hadn't played the game, but in this case it's perfectly acceptable, even welcome. Something I notice more or less everybody who's posted about this subject that has finished the game agrees with me about.
This "selling the ending" argument doesn't hold any water. The main game's ending does properly conclude the main game's plot. The second ending plus this DLC is a self-contained arc after the main game. Nobody would be complaining if the DLC's setup had just been a separate cinematic, rather than running contiguously after the main ending.
Prince of Persia was the same way. It finished it's main story, then had DLC that was a sidestory afterwards. The DLC neither added nor took anything away from the main story.
I don't think this goes far enough. I think they should give us the whole game, except some other parts instead.
No beginning - sure, you can see the end, but if you want to know how what you played makes sense, you buy the beginning.
No voice - you can play the game, entirely, except you have no idea what they are saying, so you buy the voices.
No background - you can play the game, but you have no idea where your character is going, so you buy the backgrounds.
The potential is unlimited to what they can leave out of the game, just to get you to buy it. User pays right?
I played the game, through the 2 endings, and I feel cheated. I really don't understand people finding this normal, it's not. The game is not finished and you have to buy the end through DLC, that's how I see it.
By defending Capcom and those practices people are just encouraging them.
I have nothing against DLC content if it's well done but I won't buy any DLC for this game and I'll think twice before buying any new game from Capcom.
Buy the game used, watch the true ending DLC on youtube. There you voted with your wallet and didn't miss out on anything. Hope this helps.
This game is set up in such a way that they can keep doing episodes for as long as they like, and I'm fine with that. There's no need for an Asura's Wrath 2 when this game has the frame work in place for them to do anything that they need to with the characters and the story. Also I accepted DLC 5 years ago and I think a lot of others need to do the same, there's no need to rebel against it when it's done well.
Okay, from what I've read in this thread, I'd say the people calling the "True Ending" DLC of Asura's Wrath Morally bankrupt are....completely narrow sighted.
I admit, I thought the "True Ending" being a DLC was kinda a dick move....but then I remembered with the rise of HD(Both 720p and 1080p) for Electronics, which is one of the reasons of the DLC decision.
If you're asking "Why would HD matter?", I'll explain it. The higher definition, the more storage space needed to hold the detail. Since most of the game is cinematic with smart programming to make the cinematic interactive, A lot of space is needed. DVD's have around 4.7 GB of space(8.5 GB if using Dual Layer).
CyberConnect2 and Capcom may have realized the whole game was too large to fit on one disk....although there are other options other than DLC, like additional disk(Which could raise the price).
Still, I don't get the hate DLC gets. If it's about the price, it's likely because of the bandwidth costs for the game's content to be stored on a server and sent to consumers.
@artistickamenrider: Just to poke holes in your absurd argument, even with the knowledge that you'll likely never see my retort, Asura's Wrath takes about roughly 6 of the 8 available GB for 360 games. It wasn't a space thing. It very fucking obviously isn't a space thing.
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