PS4 Ep 06
I already own the game on GoG, however I was considering getting a physical copy for PS4 when I read that some telltale games actually contain all the content on disc (which I found quite surprising) In reading about individual telltale games It seems that GoT only contains episodes 1-5 on disc with Ep 06 being a DLC voucher code.
I am wondering if this is actually true, and if so what would be the reasoning behind going so far as to release 5 episodes in physical and offline format but to exclude the final episode?
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It is,I remember reading about it.
Part of the people were annoyed cause the disc didn't include episode 6,or something like that.
I don't know what Telltale was thinking, perhaps the rush of the release.
The Season Pass Disc, which is a physical copy, comes with Episode 1, and you are able to download episodes 2-6 for free. So, basically, episodes 2-6 are DLC.
Yes, but that is still selling an incomplete product which makes no sense at all to sell a physical copy that is not the complete game. Why bother with a physical release at all if nearly all its content is only accessible via digital distribution?
I get that telltale wants to make accessible their products to the console market. However if they are relying on this digital distribution method then why not relegate the release to the respective store for XLB, PSN, etc and then when when the game is actually complete, THEN release the physical copy with all content included, instead of this backwards way of doing it. I guarantee you many people WILL wait and buy the whole product when it is released.
The ugly truth is that online connectivity has already wrought havoc upon the industry and this is a good example of how it is playing out. Not everyone has unlimited broadband. More importantly not everyone wants to be required to go through gate keepers like PSN, XBL and Steam that make unreasonable demands and extort voluntary compliance to a perpetually changing set of T&Cs that are progressively becoming more and more anti consumer. Many people like to have something tangible for what they exchange their money for and are willing to accept being second class gaming citizens and wait, to get the product they want. For example I personally waited for about 2 years for the Skyrim Legendary edition, and a year to get Dark Souls 3 The Fire Fades edition. Much like the internet rule states, you are never the only one, It goes without saying that there are others willing to do the same and in many cases eagerly await for publishers to produce the product they are willing to shell out their money for.
Again I get the desire to launch on as many platforms as possible. That is a sound strategy. However that can just as easily be accomplished by releasing on digital storefronts at launch and saving a physical disc release for after the whole product is complete. Nothing is really lost because anyone who buys copies in this structure already are doing so with the expectation of using digital distribution to get the consequent episodes anyway.
Waiting to release a physical copy is harmless. However releasing an incomplete physical copy does certainly do harm. It ensures less of those physical copies will be sold by walling the product off to those who are unwilling to purchase an incomplete product.
This is a huge problem the industry is currently facing, even if most consumers either do not understand or could not care less at the damage that is being done. While Telltale is not actively participating in this "games as a service" model directly, by participating in it with DLC required releases, it is helping to proliferate this "content in the form of a code"problem. Its perpetuating the practice of relegating some gamers as "second class citizens" of the gaming community by participating in the denial of equal opportunity of experiences to all gamers.
Furthermore, It is essentially a back door way of forcing games to a digital only format future which large swaths of the gaming community do not want. Notably as seen with the backlash against the Xbone announcement that was rescinded and further reinforced by how strong GOG.com is within the industry despite having access to a fraction of the biggest releases as their PC competitor Steam has.
Sorry to get up on a soapbox here. There is no inherent problem with digital distribution. It certainly has its place. However contentious objectors to that mandatory digitally distributed future also have their place. Many of which have as many decades as gamers under their belts as gaming has being an industry. Yet increasingly we are being left by the wayside through this war of attrition and if we DON'T speak up, we will see a life long hobby that we supported to becoming a colossal form of media entertainment turn its back on us more so than it already has.