DLC Pricing Policies - your thoughts?

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Hypergolem
Please, moderators..., please stop these useless threads or at least close them right away after 3 replies.
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If you find it useless then don't trouble yourself with it đź’ˇ

I personally have found it a useful place to post my thoughts, which are all within the forum guidelines, on the DLC pricing policy. And, after 20 pages, that is what is still being discussed.
 
It's a few quid for a few extra cars and tracks, fair enough if you ask me.

Even more right when you know it's money going straight into the development of GT6 and the continued support of GT5 (not all of which we have paid for don't forget).

You take your mrs to the cinema yea.... Tickets, pick n mix, drinks, petrol etc etc... bout ÂŁ25 in all i'd say. ÂŁ25 for two hours entertainment. Ask yourselves how many hours of enjoyment GT5 has given you, I did, and I reckon well in excess of 1000! yagetmeh?!

Besides, on a personal note... Selling X1's on ebay made me a small fortune so I can't exactly complain about buying cars LOL :)
 
I'm ok with DLC, for the most part. We got a lot for free, but some things have a price (cars and tracks, mostly). Since I got the first bundle, suits and paints came along. And this is where trouble begins.

After buying one car via DLC, I can buy it again using game credits. However, the same doesn't apply to paint chips. DLC paint chips can only be obtained if you buy another DLC. IMO this is somewhat wrong, since the rule is different for cars.

Unless I'm missing something, there should be a way for us to obtain those GT paints in game.
 
Honestly I think Sony is using GT to take more money from people. Their last DLC had a bundle why on Earth is this one not the same?

You watch, it wouldn't surprise me that Sony would charge you again if they release a "Route X Midfield" in a couple of months and charge us for it. How many are going to buy that? Probably most.
 
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I think rather than making us pay for a few cars, we pay for a particular car, example.

New DLC

(In USD)

Nissan Leaf G ’11 $1.00
Mini Cooper S Countryman ’11 $1.00
Jaguar XJR-9 LM Race Car ’88 $1.00
Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 ’11 $1.00
Volkswagen 1200 ’66 $1.00
Aston Martin V12 Vantage ’10 $1.00

Then to buy all it still goes the $6.00 USD it is but if you just want one or two of the cars you can just buy that one and not waste so much money on the others. Every DLC car pack has equalled to $1.00 a car, so I think that makes more sense then having to buy full packs.
 
Skython
I think rather than making us pay for a few cars, we pay for a particular car, example.

New DLC

(In USD)

Nissan Leaf G Â’11 $1.00
Mini Cooper S Countryman Â’11 $1.00
Jaguar XJR-9 LM Race Car Â’88 $1.00
Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Â’11 $1.00
Volkswagen 1200 Â’66 $1.00
Aston Martin V12 Vantage Â’10 $1.00

Then to buy all it still goes the $6.00 USD it is but if you just want one or two of the cars you can just buy that one and not waste so much money on the others. Every DLC car pack has equalled to $1.00 a car, so I think that makes more sense then having to buy full packs.
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Yeah, most people would pay $1 for the Lambo and the Aston, and maybe for the Jag, but how many would pay $1 for a Leaf G?

Simple illustration: Let's just say out of 10 people who bought the Lambo, 1 also bought the Leaf. So, if you were PD, how do you boost the sale of the Leaf? You stick it with the Lambo so people who buy the Lambo will also buy the Leaf. So now the sales would be 10 Lambo and 10 Leaf sales.
 
ChoShoTamashi
Yeah, most people would pay $1 for the Lambo and the Aston, and maybe for the Jag, but how many would pay $1 for a Leaf G?

Simple illustration: Let's just say out of 10 people who bought the Lambo, 1 also bought the Leaf. So, if you were PD, how do you boost the sale of the Leaf? You stick it with the Lambo so people who buy the Lambo will also buy the Leaf. So now the sales would be 10 Lambo and 10 Leaf sales.
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Well if they did that they would truly know that the masses don't want to drive a Leaf and that would show Kaz that people wouldn't agree with what he is doing. But it is his game and his vision.

I'm sure he wouldn't be happy to find out not everyone would want to drive that car, even if the modeling is perfect and the car is represented well.
 
marchi
Absolutely outrageous. $17. Nearly $10 more than the US price listing and we have the stronger dollar!

It's not the price but the principle. Why are Australians paying considerably more for the same product, even with a simple currency conversion. Fine if it's within a few dollars, but not nearly double the price!
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Its not only in this. I do sales for a company here in the us and everything costs proportionaly more in Aus. Anything that is made outside of aus. Do you guys have an insane import tax rate?
 
trk29
Well if they did that they would truly know that the masses don't want to drive a Leaf and that would show Kaz that it people wouldn't agree with what he is doing. But it is his game and his vision.
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Thing is though, GT5 isn't just as simple as a game, it's a marketing tool for car manufacturers. Let's just say Nissan decided to pay PD to make the Leaf in GT5 to advertise the car and paid according to # of DLC purchased.

You are Kaz, how would you structure the DLC so that you can get the most copies of Leaf out, make Nissan happy and get lots of money and support in the future? Think about it, would Nissan be happy to see if the Leaf DLC didn't sell well? There's more to it to GT5 than just PD, I'm sure car manufacturers are watching to see if the GT Franchise would be a good channel to advertise everyday cars.
 
If Nissan decided to pay PD to force a car on people who ordinarily wouldn't want it, I can't see how bundling it would do anything but make people like it even less (since not only are you paying for a car you don't want, but you are paying for a car whose development costs were already paid for).
 
HJLamont
Its not only in this. I do sales for a company here in the us and everything costs proportionaly more in Aus. Anything that is made outside of aus. Do you guys have an insane import tax rate?
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Well, there hasn't been a recession here for a start, but that's not the point. The software is not made here (Japan) and the point of sale is not here (Europe), so there is no legitimate reason for the software to cost 70% more than in the US or 40% more than in the UK.
 
It's not a lot of money, but even the most wealthy of us still appreciate value for money.

For me the Spa track pack was excellent value for money, and I'm glad I bought it, but the rest of that bundle was not, so I did not buy it.

I'm one of those that will drive a new car for a few hours, but will drive new track for a few months. Tracks are massively more valuable to me.

But this route x pack is not anywhere near as valuable. Corners are what makes a racing game fun. The process of driving round them is infinitely more satisfying than holding the throttle open for minutes on end.

So on a corner-per-pound basis, the difference between the two track packs is massive.

That said the car pack is slightly tempting this time. I'm only really interested in the Beetle, because in my head with some "tuning" and rubbish tyres it will drive like a 911 of the period. Not paying 6 quid to find out, though. The other cars are of limited appeal.
 
Toronado
If Nissan decided to pay PD to force a car on people who ordinarily wouldn't want it, I can't see how bundling it would do anything but make people like it even less (since not only are you paying for a car you don't want, but you are paying for a car whose development costs were already paid for).
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I don't think Nissan's main goal is to get people to like the Leaf by putting it out on GT5. It's more like getting the word out to the community on the Leaf and make it recognizable and let people try it out.

I'm sure some people found the Leaf to be quite interesting after they tried it and maybe considered it better than the Prius, Insight, or iMiev.

For the people who didn't like the Leaf, they weren't going to buy it anyways. So why not make them buy it and hope that there might be a few converts. Look at it this way, you already disliked the car and wouldn't have gotten the car if it was sold separately. But now that it's bundled, you might just take it out for a spin and it may make a different impression on you.

For PD and Nissan, bundling the DLC cars together is a win-win situation from a business perspective.
 
Moving it here since this is the proper thread for it.

Toyota GT1
As for the bargain, yes i think its a complete bargain ! look at NFS DLC bundles, as high as 30 dollars to unlock all the cars !?
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No.


Toyota GT1
Polyphony Digital is by far the smallest racing game company, you think they'd want massive amounts of cash, infact its the exact oposite :sly:
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Amazing how short people's memories are.

There was one point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) wanted people to pay real money for to purchase additional copies of the DLC cars in the game. There was one point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) wanted people to rebuy the tracks for each account on the system. And the only reason they didn't is because of how vicious the outrage was when they tried.


In fact, there still is a point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) are charging money for one-time use car paints.
 
Toronado
Moving it here since this is the proper thread for it.


No.




Amazing how short people's memories are.

There was one point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) wanted people to pay real money for to purchase additional copies of the DLC cars in the game. There was one point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) wanted people to rebuy the tracks for each account on the system. And the only reason they didn't is because of how vicious the outrage was when they tried.


In fact, there still is a point in time where PD (or Sony or whoever, because it makes no difference) are charging money for one-time use car paints.
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Haha, your right one that one :sly: But other companies wouldnt give into that rage and would leave it as is, if you asked me .
 
ChoShoTamashi
Thing is though, GT5 isn't just as simple as a game, it's a marketing tool for car manufacturers. Let's just say Nissan decided to pay PD to make the Leaf in GT5 to advertise the car and paid according to # of DLC purchased.

You are Kaz, how would you structure the DLC so that you can get the most copies of Leaf out, make Nissan happy and get lots of money and support in the future? Think about it, would Nissan be happy to see if the Leaf DLC didn't sell well? There's more to it to GT5 than just PD, I'm sure car manufacturers are watching to see if the GT Franchise would be a good channel to advertise everyday cars.
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I agree with what you said. And that is why I believe DLC will always be a little odd because not only do we have to accept what Kaz gives us we also have to look at GT as more of a marketing tool since it is online now and the ways of making money off of us are limitless.
 
If i really think about it, DLC's have made the gaming community quite selfish! say back on ps2 we couldnt get an updated game, so people could only rant, but there rants would reach no where, so there was no ranting! i think those days are forever gone :ouch:
 
ChoShoTamashi
Yeah, most people would pay $1 for the Lambo and the Aston, and maybe for the Jag, but how many would pay $1 for a Leaf G?

Simple illustration: Let's just say out of 10 people who bought the Lambo, 1 also bought the Leaf. So, if you were PD, how do you boost the sale of the Leaf? You stick it with the Lambo so people who buy the Lambo will also buy the Leaf. So now the sales would be 10 Lambo and 10 Leaf sales.
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Raise or drop the price depending on the car. Say $1.50 for the Lambo, Aston and Jag. 50 cents for the VW, Nissan and Mini.
 
Why should it be free? it takes money to develop and make these things, even stuff that would be in the game upon initial release. my point is that it still takes money to make this stuff happen, and it should be paid for, because someone had to pay money to make it happen. it's really basic economics
 
ChoShoTamashi
I don't think Nissan's main goal is to get people to like the Leaf by putting it out on GT5. It's more like getting the word out to the community on the Leaf and make it recognizable and let people try it out.

I'm sure some people found the Leaf to be quite interesting after they tried it and maybe considered it better than the Prius, Insight, or iMiev.

For the people who didn't like the Leaf, they weren't going to buy it anyways. So why not make them buy it and hope that there might be a few converts. Look at it this way, you already disliked the car and wouldn't have gotten the car if it was sold separately. But now that it's bundled, you might just take it out for a spin and it may make a different impression on you.

For PD and Nissan, bundling the DLC cars together is a win-win situation from a business perspective.
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You know id actually forgoten about the leaf :s i think ill test drive it. Perhaps ill drag race it against the other mighty beasts in my garage :)
 
Carlos Fandango
Since when has USD5.99 = GBP4.79 = AUD9.95 (the current price for car pack 3)

Today's spot rates show USD5.99 = GBP3.89 = AUD5.76 (no that isn't a typo, Sony has a 72% uplift in currency for Australia)

Lets assume that Sony has a reasonable argument for pricing differently between the US and EU stores (although I can't think of one that would justify such a large disparity) so we just consider GBP4.79 vs. AUD9.95.

Again, today's spot rate shows that GBP4.79 = AUD7.09 (so in this instance, Sony has a 41% uplift in currency)

The AUD has been within 8% of the USD for the last year now, and hasn't had a monthly average above the USD since January 2011, what are you worried about Sony? I'm happy to support your product, but please, stop taking the 🤬
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I'm not pointing at you directly, Carlos, but just quoting your post. To utilize some of your information, one thing to consider:
Federal Minimum Wage for each country:
US: USD 7.25
UK: GBP 6.08*
AU: AUD 15.00
*Ages: 21+ (the majority of the age range here)

So let's translate this into USD, since that's what the majority points to:
GBP= approx USD 9.39 (29.5% higher)
AUD= approx USD 15.60 (115% higher)

So using current exchange rates to USD and utilizing the above information for car pack 3:
US: USD 5.99
UK: GBP 4.79= USD 7.40
AU: AUD 9.95= USD 10.35

How many hours would a minimum wage person need to work to pay for this?
US: 49.5 minutes
UK: 47.3 minutes
AU: 39.1 minutes

I have no bias towards this... even though I live in the US. But let's recap:
Joe Smith in AnyState US has to work 10 minutes longer than Joe Smith in AnyTerritory AU. Joe Smythe in AnyTown UK needs to work 8 minutes longer than Joe Smith in AnyTerritory AU. (To compare US/UK is fairly negligible as most of us screw off at work and get paid for it 2 minutes daily:dopey:)

I've heard arguments that "my prices are higher for everything else", so I shouldn't have to pay as much. Well, if everything seems to be about the same elevated price... then it makes total sense. Someone described paying twice the price for a measurement of gasoline, and twice the price for DLC. That'd pretty much throw that argument out of the window... you're talking about your country/territory/currency/location, not Sony's price points- they're following suit. Whether this makes it right, is another issue. What's the norm may not be right, but it just... is.

I'd imagine that'd take care of the "why so much more _____(here)?" question.
 
Jubby - thanks for the post. Despite the tone of my note, I'm not jumping up and down like a 4 year old on this, and yes I did buy the DLC (per my earlier comment, if I don't support DLC, I can hardly be disappointed when they stop releasing it).

I fully understand the argument that you are putting forward, and agree that it would typically explain 95%+ of product that is priced higher here. If the transaction touched Australia at some point then I'd be more 'accepting' shall we say - but I'm buying Japanese SW from an EU store and paying 40% more than someone else buying from the same EU store that lives in the UK.

I guess what I am trying to say is that, yes, pricing is higher here for many items due to the cost of the infrastructure (labour included) to support it. In the case of the DLC that we purchase from the EU PS store, that infrastructure/labour argument is less plausible.

I'd rather Sony take a macro approach and say "we expect to sell X number of DLC, and we need Y number of dollars. Since everyone is buying the same content, lets charge them all the same globally". Appreciate this is extremely niave of me, and if you knew what I did for a living you'd laugh your 🤬 off at me, but we're talking about software here, made in one place and distributed globally - so what's wrong with my vision for commercial utopia :lol:

Jubby
... you're talking about your country/territory/currency/location, not Sony's price points- they're following suit. Whether this makes it right, is another issue. What's the norm may not be right, but it just... is.
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This is more likely the case - it's priced that way because that's what everyone else does...but that doesn't mean we should roll over and accept it. Utlimately, I am my own worst enemy as I have purchased the DLC anyway :dunce:, and thus removed the only useful tool that I have to protest with, but cutting my nose off to spite my face wasn't going to get me the Lambo or the Aston now, was it? :sly:

Cheers to you Jubby đź‘Ť
 
HJLamont
Its not only in this. I do sales for a company here in the us and everything costs proportionaly more in Aus. Anything that is made outside of aus. Do you guys have an insane import tax rate?
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yes we do.
head to http://www.porsche.com/australia/ and price a stardard 911 carrera (sydney's post code is 2000)
weep with us (or lol@)

I am my own worst enemy as I have purchased the DLC anyway
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dittoo :O
 
Jubby
I'm not pointing at you directly, Carlos, but just quoting your post. To utilize some of your information, one thing to consider:
Federal Minimum Wage for each country:
US: USD 7.25
UK: GBP 6.08*
AU: AUD 15.00
*Ages: 21+ (the majority of the age range here)....
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You are incorrect about your minimum wage figures for Australia. The Federal 'award wage' may be $15 for one particular industry, but not only does this vary between industries, it also varies from state to state, and business to business as a company can choose to use the State award wage in place of the federal one, apprentices come under a different classification also. I earned $8.65/hr as an apprentice when I was 18, I believe the wage for being 21 was $9-something. I would like to see the figures for average household income, but that being said statistic can be bent to further any agenda you might have.

If you went to a supermarket and bought a bag of apples priced at $6.99 and when you got to the counter you were charged a mark up based on how much you earn how would you feel? For a long time people have bumped up prices here based on how ****ing far away from everything we are (and some mental import laws), for example books are $20+ and a game here is $100+ dollars but it certainly doesn't cost more to pump virtual cars down the internet to Australia, we shouldn't be punished for Americas ****** minimum wage.:grumpy:

Note: I cant be bothered to re-write this now but it wasn't meant to sound like a personal attack on you jubby.
 
How is this still an argument. Guys... it's this simple.

You think the price is justifiable, (sp?) you buy it.
You don't think it's worth it, you don't buy it.

I know the whole "don't use logic on the internet" thing.. but still. :dunce:
 
Toyota GT1
I find all the pricing to be completely reasonable and would gladly buy more :sly:
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Mh i like the game and bought the DLC (DLC complete pack, DLC 3) but i dont think the price is so reasonable.

The sound is al little better i think but su... anyway and isnst unique and good enought.

You pay about 0,8

In Forza you pay 0,4 per car with season pass and get the car with the unique sounds of its own.

So i dont know if the pricing is as good as you say. I think the pricing is good but not the best :)

Some patches and SPEC2.0 was for free so i can life with 1$ per car :)
 
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TheProcrastin8r
You are incorrect about your minimum wage figures for Australia. The Federal 'award wage' may be $15 for one particular industry, but not only does this vary between industries, it also varies from state to state, and business to business as a company can choose to use the State award wage in place of the federal one
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Workers unions pretty much decide on minimal hourly rate. Going by the memo from my union, $15 is right on the money for anyone working within either Woolworths Limited or Coles Myer (which is pretty much everything you can think of).

As for the DLC, I paid more in my coffee than I did with these car packs so (no offense) unless your unemployed I don't think you should be complaining. But the cost of living in Australia (Carbon Tax... yay for the red headed ****) may be the cause of the outrage of costs here.

I agree that DLC should be enjoyed by all but you get what you pay for. So excuse me while I send my Leaf on another performance test :sly:
 

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