Destiny Microtransactions and Expansions Can Co-Exist, Activision Says

[cdrcouey]

So, after the Kotaku microtransactions article from a couple weeks ago, further bolstered by Jason Schreier's expose on the troubled development of Destiny, it was widely accepted that paid DLC releases would be replaced by live events throughout the year supported by revenue from microtransactions. Activision offered a counterpoint yesterday that we may see both. Here's an excerpt from a GameSpot article yesterday:

 

"Destiny's microtransactions and paid expansions are both selling well, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said on an earnings call today, November 3. As such, Destiny players can expect to see more of both in the future. Not one or the other, but both--and at the same time, Hirshberg explained."

 

From what I have read, Bungie consistently refers to smaller paid content packs like TDB and HoW as DLC, but larger content drops like TTK as expansions.

 

It seems like we will at least see a large, annual expansion fill the gap in between the biennial, full retail Destiny releases, but maybe Bungie/Activision continue to release smaller, paid DLC packs like TDB and HoW as well.

 

What do you think?

[Aranea Highwind]

I read the interview yesterday. From my understanding what they are trying to say is that microtransactions will cover the cost of small events like the one currently Festival of the Lost. I wanted the microtransactions to cover the cost of expansions like TDB and HoW but oh well.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Paige

[Kubanga]

It was pretty obvious this was coming eventually. I saw it and stopped playing the game and I have no regrets.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Kubanga

[NotAFoxAnymore]

Of course they can co-exist, any excuse to earn more money right?

[ShadowStar83x]

Of course they can co-exist, any excuse to earn more money right?

Pretty much this.

[Red-River13]

I got a better idea; cut the expansions up more so you could sell them piece by piece like you would a microtransaction. Want the next half of the first expansion? Pay more money. I call it; Microexpansions.

I should be the CEO.

[PREDRAG-K]

Isn't this what all other MMOs do? If they want to keep the game and community alive, they introduce a big expansion every once in awhile. Between those, we get smaller DLC packs. As for microtransactions, they only have the new silver currency (as far as I know). And that's used to buy emotes, or masks for the current Halloween event. Which, again, is nothing new for MMOs.

They aren't doing anything crazy here. They're just doing what every other MMO ever has done. However, I won't be buying any of the future DLC, because I'm already bored of the game.

[TheYuriG]

I got a better idea; cut the expansions up more so you could sell them piece by piece like you would a microtransaction. Want the next half of the first expansion? Pay more money. I call it; Microexpansions.

I should be the CEO.

Hired, you start next monday.

 

Well, this takes us back to the last thread made which said they wouldn't make you pay for MT and DLCs. Let's quickly remember that?

Keep in mind that cosmetic microtransactions is going to open the path for future expansions free of charge. The current plan is to release a new Destiny game each year and offer the new expansion without charging us.

I'm skeptical. TTK was also free but had the pay barrier to access it's content to the fullest, I don't doubt the same can happen here in a different manner.

This seems to be true actually. A few months before TTK was released, someone on Reddit that had insider information leaked a huge list of changes that would be happening in the game. So far everything that was leaked has been true so far. One of the things mentioned was cosmetic microtransactions replacing paid season pass, which seems to be happening sooner than later.

This is Bungie, folks. Expect nothing less than being screwed over and over again. I feel sad about the few folks I know that were like "oh, no more paid DLC? damn, i'll buy these emotes to support you Bungie" and now they gotta pay for the DLC as well.

 

Lesson of the day: Destiny is highly competitive and people will pay whatever price there is to be more powerful than the others. I must also predict, there will be new weapons in the future only acquired through paid DLC packs in the future and they will obviously be more powerful than anything you can get in game.

[StrickenBiged]

I should be the CEO.

 

Job's already taken by Cobra Commander, remember?

[Aranea Highwind]

Hired, you start next monday.

 

Well, this takes us back to the last thread made which said they wouldn't make you pay for MT and DLCs. Let's quickly remember that?

 

This is Bungie, folks. Expect nothing less than being screwed over and over again. I feel sad about the few folks I know that were like "oh, no more paid DLC? damn, i'll buy these emotes to support you Bungie" and now they gotta pay for the DLC as well.

 

Lesson of the day: Destiny is highly competitive and people will pay whatever price there is to be more powerful than the others. I must also predict, there will be new weapons in the future only acquired through paid DLC packs in the future and they will obviously be more powerful than anything you can get in game.

 

The thing is Bungie never said microtransactions would pay future DLC. The person who leaked the information on Reddit was correct on everything except the expansions part. When Bungie announced that Ever Verse microtransactions would fund future projects the announcement was vague to say the least. Now we can almost be completely sure those funds will be to support small events rather than expansions.

[cdrcouey]

Well, this takes us back to the last thread made which said they wouldn't make you pay for MT and DLCs. Let's quickly remember that?

Again, this was an interpretation of Kotaku's analysis. Bungie never said DLC would be free, nor did they ever imply it. The release only ever mentioned live events. It was Kotaku that expounded this comment to mean paid DLC would be going away.

 

I feel sad about the few folks I know that were like "oh, no more paid DLC? damn, i'll buy these emotes to support you Bungie" and now they gotta pay for the DLC as well.

Words matter here and neither Bungie nor Activision think paid expansions means smaller DLC releases like TDB or HoW. The legal contract between Activision and Bungie that was released in the aftermath of the Modern Warfare 2 lawsuit uses the term Comet to refer to what we know as an expansion (e.g., TTK) and DLC to refer to TDB and HoW. Saying paid expansions will continue means the Comet releases will continue every other year, but not necessarily that smaller TDB/HoW-style releases will come or whether they will cost money.

 

I must also predict, there will be new weapons in the future only acquired through paid DLC packs in the future and they will obviously be more powerful than anything you can get in game.

That's a tremendous leap of logic to make when Bungie has been very outspoken that those types of microtransactions would break the game and should not exist in Destiny.

 

Based on the expose, I don't think Bungie has nearly enough resources to continue to support smaller, paid DLC releases. Microtransactions to support live events and time-gated quests throughout the year would be far less intense a commitment for Bungie as a company. Plus, it allows them to focus more development resources against the large releases allowing us to get incredible things like the TTK story, cinematics, and King's Fall raid.

[TheYuriG]

The thing is Bungie never said microtransactions would pay future DLC. The person who leaked the information on Reddit was correct on everything except the expansions part. When Bungie announced that Ever Verse microtransactions would fund future projects the announcement was vague to say the least. Now we can almost be completely sure those funds will be to support small events rather than expansions.

Again, this was an interpretation of Kotaku's analysis. Bungie never said DLC would be free, nor did they ever imply it. The release only ever mentioned live events. It was Kotaku that expounded this comment to mean paid DLC would be going away.

Eh, Paige. You have been in this business with Bungie for a way longer time than me, I expect you to know how Bungie works with those Smoke&Mirror tactics. They say something ambiguous/vague which lend people to think one thing, them they come a lot of time later and say "hey folks, you understood wrong, we are actually doing this instead". I never said they said it, I said I doubted they would ever do it. I did say though, that it was information contained in the last thread as you can see in my own quote below.

last thread made which said

 

---

 

Words matter here and neither Bungie nor Activision think paid expansions means smaller DLC releases like TDB or HoW. The legal contract between Activision and Bungie that was released in the aftermath of the Modern Warfare 2 lawsuit uses the term Comet to refer to what we know as an expansion (e.g., TTK) and DLC to refer to TDB and HoW. Saying paid expansions will continue means the Comet releases will continue every other year, but not necessarily that smaller TDB/HoW-style releases will come or whether they will cost money.

There will be no more expansions to Destiny, their course of action said clearly it was DLC DLC COMET DLC DLC DESTINY2 (rinse and repeat). I believe they have used expansion instead of DLC which was an honest *ahem* mistake of them which I'm sure they will correct in the following month or the next.

 

That's a tremendous leap of logic to make when Bungie has been very outspoken that those types of microtransactions would break the game and should not exist in Destiny.

 

Based on the expose, I don't think Bungie has nearly enough resources to continue to support smaller, paid DLC releases. Microtransactions to support live events and time-gated quests throughout the year would be far less intense a commitment for Bungie as a company. Plus, it allows them to focus more development resources against the large releases allowing us to get incredible things like the TTK story, cinematics, and King's Fall raid.

Eh, wouldn't stop them from doing it and saying that we misunderstood what they said previously.

I think that the initial $60 should already have provided the awesomeness. Paying $40 to get a good story is a rip-off, but oh well, take here a Spark of Light and jump right into the TTK content, it's not like you gonna miss a relevant story or anything.