thought's about "loyalty content"

[Stargazer2600]

So I was out with some friends the other day and the subject of video games was brought up. I can't exactly remember how this idea came about in the conversation but one of us came up with this idea called loyalty content. Loyalty content is content meant exclusively for players who would support a game through its bad time. Let's take No Man's sky or Mass Effect Andromeda as just an example.

Neither game received favorable review upon launch but what would happen if some content was made and I am talking damn good content, maybe even exclusive DLC but to get it you had to bank so many hours before a certain date? No player would obviously know this until it's too late, that way people can't just suddenly pop in and try for it. What if Fallout 76 finally gave NPC characters? Made a few shop keeps humans and such and you see a few walking about but this was only available to people that supported and played the game a great length prior to a certain date? Let's say this kind of content would be exclusive, so it's only available to a limited pool of players. How do you think this would go over?

Now I know on paper this sounds horrible and anyone who pitched this idea should be tossed out a window. However, why shouldn't the loyal players be rewarded? If I made a game and I had some players still play it after it got review bombed, I would wanna thank those players in the best way possible. If my game was getting better and more people are coming back, why not give that pool of players that were around in the worst of times, something to show my appreciation?

 

My friend said if something like this ever came to pass, it would straight up cause war against the game, and I don't doubt this. There would definitely be some rage from people that would forever be locked out of that content but If my game was bad but then got really good, why should those that only popped in when it got good get to experience all the good things when there's those that had it bad? If games like Friday the 13th can have Kickstarter exclusive rewards then why not something for the loyal players?

again, just an idea and I thought it be a fun conversation piece to have here.

[Lava_Yuki]

I agree with the point that if something were to crop up like this, it was cause rage among gamers who would be locked out of content. I feel that gaming is becoming more and more commercial and money orientated these days, where developers dish out half complete games, charge you full price and then release paid DLC episodes afterwards along with microtransactions in the form of weapons, items, outfits etc. FFXV pops to mind with how they kept releasing stuff even two years post release, as well as FF13-2 which was criticized for releasing part of the story later and charging for it. 

 

I liked it better in the old days where you got the complete package with no strings attached so everyone can enjoy the whole thing which is the case in remasters such as Kingdom Hearts, FFX/X-2 and Spyro. However, newer games seem to rely on DLC.

 

I think although some people enjoy DLC and microtransactions to boost their gaming experience, many don't due to having to pay extra on top of the already expensive game price. I feel that making loyalty exclusive DLC would be like throwing more oil on the fire. Also, if it is only available to loyal players and made in such a way that you can't get it if you weren't loyal or it's too late, I don't see how it would attract new players or boost popularity as it would essentially be targeting people who already play the game anyway as it wouldn't be accessible to new or returning players.

 

Interesting thought though. I think another good way to get loyalty is like what some of the Tales and FF games did; if you save data from a predecessor of the series, you get exclusive in game items. I remember FF13 series did this, and so it Tales of Zestiria and Xillia. I'd love to get exclusive themes and avatars. 

[damon8r351]

People would find a way to complain about it, and I have real world proof for it.

 

Elite Dangerous has a special ship, the Cobra Mk. IV, given out as a loyalty bonus by the developer for PC players who purchased the Horizons or Lifetime Expansion Season Passes before February 2016 and XBox players who purchased the Horizons Season Pass before July 2016. This was within the first year of the release of the season pass, so you were paying for goods sight unseen, and Frontier promised that the ship was a loyalty exclusive to those who did that, forever. PS4 players didn't get the game till 2017, so that means we're locked out of the ship unless Frontier backtracks on their promise, which is something they're not going to do. Every once in awhile, a flame war erupts on the Frontier forums concerning this stupid-ass ship, which objectively is only good for someone just starting out in the game. It never fails to get ugly.

[ProfBambam55]

there is kind of a loyalty system with some current games in the form of daily challenges...i know gta v had them where you got a reward for 28 straight days completing them...supposedly red dead online will have a similar system where repeated daily challenge completion unlocks rewards as well...rdr 2 also had a bonus treasure map for anyone who pre-ordered before july 1st, 2018...some games also give avatars for completing the plat...and then there is the sony rewards program...unfortunately not worldwide yet...

 

as far as having secret rewards that unlock unique content, I don't really see it happening as a new feature...just seems like it might cause drama...

[Gamer-Girl-Noire]

if a company ever did this is would actually just avoid them all together and i'm sure many others would too. it's gating content off for people who might get the game later due to not everyone having money to get a new game moment they drop.

[Asvinia]

It would probably go alright, gamers accept every other form of bollocks so why not that too?

Point is, a game shouldn't be released in such a sorry state that it needs to reward people for playing it. If you're going to lock me out of content, it's just another reason for me to not buy your game.

Accepting loyalty stuff for 'bad times', just means that you think it's okay for games to be released broken or unfinished.

 

Kickstarter backer stuff is different and generally expected as a 'thanks for backing'.

[ExHaseo]

For individual games, this is a terrible idea. All something like this would do is incentivize people to buy broken/unfinished games, and punish people for not buying them broken/unfinished. Not to mention give developers an excuse to release games in even worse condition than they do now. People need to stop buying broken games at launch so that developers stop releasing games until they're done. There wouldn't be broken/unfinished games at launch if more people did this.

 

For consoles, I like the idea of rewarding early adopters. Like Nintendo did with the 3DS. Giving people who bought the system in the first year a free game or two at the anniversary would be a great way to build up a player base faster, and reward those who believed in the console enough to buy it early.

[starcrunch061]

On 3/17/2019 at 3:22 PM, ProfBambam55 said:

there is kind of a loyalty system with some current games in the form of daily challenges...i know gta v had them where you got a reward for 28 straight days completing them...supposedly red dead online will have a similar system where repeated daily challenge completion unlocks rewards as well...rdr 2 also had a bonus treasure map for anyone who pre-ordered before july 1st, 2018...some games also give avatars for completing the plat...and then there is the sony rewards program...unfortunately not worldwide yet...

 

I was thinking of something similar with Diablo 3. There are tons of seasonal rewards out there, which have limited shelf life. 

 

On 3/17/2019 at 4:39 PM, ExHaseo said:

For individual games, this is a terrible idea. All something like this would do is incentivize people to buy broken/unfinished games, and punish people for not buying them broken/unfinished. Not to mention give developers an excuse to release games in even worse condition than they do now. People need to stop buying broken games at launch so that developers stop releasing games until they're done. There wouldn't be broken/unfinished games at launch if more people did this.

 

Certainly, as the OP has described the "loyalty reward", I agree with this. Rewards for loyalty to bad products is a bad idea across board, I think. Obviously, a company has every right to do what it wants, but I think consumers would be silly to buy for this reason, and developers would be silly to offer it.

 

Loyalty should be earned, and not bought.