Console-exclusive bonuses: an open letter

edited November 2011 in Sam & Max
Dear Telltale,

I really hate to be such a misanthrope, but this is something I felt had to be addressed.

It seems that on the PS3 version of The Penal Zone, when you start up a second playthrough you get access to a new psychic power: the Nutrition Specs. These allow you to see intriguing new visions throughout the game.

Yet this bonus content is ONLY available on the PS3.

For shame, Telltale.

I am a die-hard PC gamer. I have never been able to "get the hang" of consoles, no matter how much I've tried. I've watched helplessly as big game companies abandoned the PC market, one by one, and transferred all their focus to the console world.

I thought Telltale was unique in placing so much of its efforts on the PC platform. This pleased me deeply, and cemented my love of your games.

When TOMI and then Sam and Max switched to direct control, I assumed it was because of the reasons Telltale stated, that it made it easier to construct the games' environments. Some naysayers claimed it was really because the company wanted to put the games on consoles, but I ignored them.

Then, in the promotion leading up to the release of The Penal Zone, the PS3 version was the only version featured in advertising. Again, I assumed this was because the PS3 was a new platform for Telltale, so you wanted to show it off as much as possible.

Now I find that Telltale has put out The Devil's Playhouse on PS3 with exclusive, extra-cool bonus content that the PC version lacks. This is something I had never expected would happen, and as a "console-illiterate" gamer, it pains me greatly. Moreover, it casts a new and uglier shadow over the previous events I mentioned above.

You've disappointed me, Telltale. I've learned you're just like every other game company: eager to move to the console market, and willing to shaft PC gamers in the process.

Please, prove me wrong in the future.


EDIT: So, maybe it's not so exclusive after all? Great! Mea culpa, I'm sorry, je suis desolé.

The lesson we can learn from this, I think, is that poor communication kills. I went off in a moment of anger and posted an ill-thought-out rant on these forums, but I wouldn't have done so if Telltale had cleared up the exact nature of the Penal Zone bonus content sometime earlier. Blame all around! ;)
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Comments

  • edited April 2010
    Consoles offer developers a lot of money for exclusives... think playing as the Joker in the PS3 version of Arkham asylum... I imagine its a really hard offer to pass on.

    Plus I imagine they would like to keep a friendly relationship with one of the gaming powerhouses...

    I agree it bums me out that I may not ever get to see the PS3 exclusives but I can hardly blame them.
  • edited April 2010
    You know, nearly all the retarted people (such as myself) that plays one episode over and over to hear ALL of the dialouges are still playing the game on PC platform. Closing the access of some other great dialouges and another cool toy to play around for PC gamers (and... well... iPad I guess?) eventually makes us feel bad.

    Um, and, please don't say "you get the DVD, they get the toy". Most of us still don't get the DVD because of the overpriced shipping.
  • langleylangley Telltale Alumni
    edited April 2010
    The PC version may have more bonus content than you know. Stay tuned.
  • edited April 2010
    langley wrote: »
    The PC version may have more bonus content than you know. Stay tuned.

    why bonus content for anyone at all?
  • edited April 2010
    Crrash wrote: »
    why bonus content for anyone at all?

    w8wat?
  • edited April 2010
    I think they meant why exclusive content for anyone at all?
  • edited April 2010
    To encourage multiple purchases of the same thing by hardcore fans, I don't know. I buy every version anyway because I'm crazy.
  • edited April 2010
    Crrash wrote: »
    why bonus content for anyone at all?

    Bonus content is brilliant! It's enjoyable for fans to have something extra other than just simply the game itself. Also, it's a clever move from any company. If you release different bonus content on separate versions of the game, then there is an incentive for fans (mostly collectors) to buy those other versions. I know that some people miss out on certain bonuses, but they also get extra content that others don't. Everyone gets an even amount of extras, just a slightly different experience depending on which version you buy.
  • edited April 2010
    Yeah it makes sense from a marketing perspective to give out exclusive bonuses per platform. From MY perspective it majorly sucks though, because I will never ever pick up the PS3 version and get the exclusive content therein.

    I would much rather that everyone on every release platform get the same bonus content. It's fairer to all the gamers. But then I guess Telltale would make less money...
  • edited April 2010
    Me either ATM... I guess we are just big fans and not hardcore fans like some other people who buy 5 copies of the same game to complete their collection....
  • edited April 2010
    I see no point getting it for the PS3... because I don't have a PS3.
    I like the games and buy them all, but am not a collector or whatever.

    But guess we'll have to wait what all the bonus PC stuff turns out to be...
  • edited April 2010
    I do have a PS3 I will not be buying it for it.... I still like playing these on my PC..
  • edited April 2010
    durrr, i meant exclusive bonus content. Bonus Content at all is awesome anyway
  • langleylangley Telltale Alumni
    edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Yeah it makes sense from a marketing perspective to give out exclusive bonuses per platform. From MY perspective it majorly sucks though, because I will never ever pick up the PS3 version and get the exclusive content therein.

    I would much rather that everyone on every release platform get the same bonus content. It's fairer to all the gamers. But then I guess Telltale would make less money...

    You're making some assumptions here. Just wait and don't jump to any... well, you know.
  • edited April 2010
    We'll probably be able to unlock the Nutrition Specs whenever this page properly goes live. It'd make sense since the advert tells you to go there to order Future Vision with the Nutrition Specs included for free.
  • edited April 2010
    Pinchpenny wrote: »
    We'll probably be able to unlock the Nutrition Specs whenever this page properly goes live. It'd make sense since the advert tells you to go there to order Future Vision with the Nutrition Specs included for free.
    This makes sense. Possibly,. they are just giving the Nutrition Specs to PS3 users nopw because whatever promo they're going to do won't work with PSN.
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited April 2010
    Indeed.
  • joeldeejoeldee Telltale Alumni
    edited April 2010
    Hello all

    We really do not have any mission to drive individuals to buy the games multiple times in multiple ways (not to say that we'd discourage this ;) )

    Sometimes, an add-on feature opportunity becomes available in one place ... which isn't to say that it won't also be available later in another place.

    We do our best to deliver as much fun and value as possible where ever we can!

    - Joel, Telltale
  • edited April 2010
    I feel that the people buying direct from Telltale get a fair number of bonuses that aren't available to console & steam users (such as the pre-order forum and the free dvd) so it's only fair to give those users something extra which will probably end up available for the PC/Mac users.
  • edited April 2010
    Aside from the big hints the TTG team is dropping, I'm guessing this episode might have what the Launch of the Screaming Narwal had, a treasue hunting game. This was add after the inital release to add replayablity. The PS3 has an extra feature already because console versions are more difficult to update compared to a direct connection to the game on PC.
  • edited April 2010
    First the TF2 items, now this... I'm detecting a rather large feeling of entitlement from this forum.

    Still at least this one appears to be a false alarm. After all, with a month between updates, it actually makes a lot of sense that they may unlock extra options in the episodes to keep people interested.
  • edited April 2010
    Zonino wrote: »
    First the TF2 items, now this... I'm detecting a rather large feeling of entitlement from this forum.
    Agreed. I wouldn't mind if the TF2 items and the Nutrition Vision were exlusive. It's nice to have them, but they're ancillary to the reasons I bought the game from Telltale. I didn't buy from them because it would give me a free pass to anything and everything, I bought it from them because I like getting a DVD at the end, I like Telltale's direct DRM more than Steam, I like buying direct from the developer when it's a smaller production, and Telltale users got the best pre-order deal. Everything else is extra, though nice to have.
  • OMAOMA
    edited April 2010
    You guys are a complaining bunch...

    - Waaah! Some people get to play early in the iPad!
    - Waaah! Some people are getting silly items for a totally unrelated game!
    - Waaah! Some people are getting a bonus item!

    Luckily, Telltale quickly addressed the latter two. But even if they didn't, all these are just small potatoes. Nothing like Ubisoft's draconian DRM that requires constant Internet access for a single player game, or not releasing "Prince of Persia: Epilogue" for the PC at all (it ended being really console-exclusive).
  • edited April 2010
    Hey, don't let that stop anybody from pitching a big fit and immediately going onto the Internet and complaining about platform exclusives and how they and they alone are getting shafted and cheated by an evil money grubbing company, though.

    Cause that never gets old.
  • edited April 2010
    It's like bickering to my family! I get all BLEHBLEHBLEHBLEHBLEH and they only respond to me after I annoy them for enough time.
  • edited April 2010
    Isn't this right about when the tags start showing up?
  • edited April 2010
    Chuck wrote: »
    Hey, don't let that stop anybody from pitching a big fit and immediately going onto the Internet and complaining about platform exclusives and how they and they alone are getting shafted and cheated by an evil money grubbing company, though.

    Cause that never gets old.
    Before I started this thread, how much did PC gamers know about potential future PC Penal Zone bonus content? That's right, absolutely zilch. Whereas the PS3 bonus content was immediately evident upon release.

    In this case I wouldn't have gotten nearly so annoyed if Telltale had clearly communicated in advance that any PS3 special bonus content was forthcoming for the PC as well. Instead we got total silence on the matter. So when PS3 owners start showing up out of the blue and talking about their special NutriSpecs I fancy myself quite justified to ask what is going on.

    I can understand the perspective of other forum users who personally don't mind this sort of thing. But when Telltale employees begin mocking their own customers for speaking out, belittling people who have paid money for a game and thus feel they should receive the same gameplay as other customers get, an ugly line is crossed.

    I never thought I'd see the day that one of my favorite game writers insulted me. Telltale formerly was regarded for the politeness of its employees on these forums. Obviously those days are long past.

    Let me make it clear: I LOVE Telltale. It's my absolute favorite game company. But when I see it engaged in what might *even possibly* be construed as questionable practices, I feel obligated to speak out. If you don't want to hear my critique, you might as well close these forums.
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Before I started this thread, how much did PC gamers know about potential future PC Penal Zone bonus content? That's right, absolutely zilch. Whereas the PS3 bonus content was immediately evident upon release.

    In this case I wouldn't have gotten nearly so annoyed if Telltale had clearly communicated in advance that any PS3 special bonus content was forthcoming for the PC as well. Instead we got total silence on the matter. So when PS3 owners start showing up out of the blue and talking about their special NutriSpecs I fancy myself quite justified to ask what is going on.

    I can understand the perspective of other forum users who personally don't mind this sort of thing. But when Telltale employees begin mocking their own customers for speaking out, belittling people who have paid money for a game and thus feel they should receive the same gameplay as other customers get, an ugly line is crossed.

    I never thought I'd see the day that one of my favorite game writers insulted me. Telltale formerly was regarded for the politeness of its employees on these forums. Obviously those days are long past.

    Let me make it clear: I LOVE Telltale. It's my absolute favorite game company. But when I see it engaged in what might *even possibly* be construed as questionable practices, I feel obligated to speak out. If you don't want to hear my critique, you might as well close these forums.
    I dunno. Personally, I like that the developers can speak freely, and I'm pretty sure they have spoken freely for years now. It means they're people with opinions and not PR tools with leashes around their necks(it's a lot less kinky than it sounds).

    The issue is that you're very much over-reacting. Even if it was PS3-exclusive, so what? We get an exclusive DVD, exclusive bonus content, an exclusive forum, a free episode, TF2 items, exclusive downloads, and coupons. PS3 users got...five bucks off. And the ability to play on a PS3.

    This scale does not look like one that is heavily balanced in the favor of anybody but the people who buy from Telltale's store. We have gotten everything we were promised and, well, more. I don't think an after-game distraction for PS3 users should not have been a big deal at all.
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    I never thought I'd see the day that one of my favorite game writers insulted me. Telltale formerly was regarded for the politeness of its employees on these forums. Obviously those days are long past.

    i agree.
    i think it's obvious that people would get slightly miffed (or a lot) when they (we) see someone else getting more content for the same money without explanation. Sure, we are getting the DVD, but some don't care about it and others have to pay an insanely high postage for it.

    I didn't mind about the TF2 items though when i thought that they were steam exclusive, since i knew that that wasn't up to telltale.
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    I never thought I'd see the day that one of my favorite game writers insulted me. Telltale formerly was regarded for the politeness of its employees on these forums. Obviously those days are long past.
    Like Rather Dashing mentioned, I'm glad to see Telltale is not so corporate as to have its staff muzzled on these boards (except for that one time that Nikasaur slapped down Yare).

    Hell, I'd love to be insulted by TTG if I crossed a line!
  • edited April 2010
    I dunno. Personally, I like that the developers can speak freely, and I'm pretty sure they have spoken freely for years now. It means they're people with opinions and not PR tools with leashes around their necks(it's a lot less kinky than it sounds).

    The issue is that you're very much over-reacting. Even if it was PS3-exclusive, so what? We get an exclusive DVD, exclusive bonus content, an exclusive forum, a free episode, TF2 items, exclusive downloads, and coupons. PS3 users got...five bucks off. And the ability to play on a PS3.

    This scale does not look like one that is heavily balanced in the favor of anybody but the people who buy from Telltale's store. We have gotten everything we were promised and, well, more. I don't think an after-game distraction for PS3 users should not have been a big deal at all.
    You may think I'm overreacting to this issue of exclusive platform content. I say it's my prerogative as a customer to react as I see fit.

    Quite simply, I would have liked to know, before release, whether any special extra content existed on the console versions, and whether or not that content would eventually make its way to PC. I feel this information is my right, since it's my money and I'm choosing which platform I want to play this on.

    Telltale began by not addressing this issue at all. Now we've gotten some vague statements alluding to PC bonus content to come at some unspecified future date. I am still not entirely satisfied, and am beginning to think the company's communication skills are sorely lacking. Oh for the days of Emily...
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Telltale began by not addressing this issue at all. Now we've gotten some vague statements alluding to PC bonus content to come at some unspecified future date. I am still not entirely satisfied, and am beginning to think the company's communication skills are sorely lacking. Oh for the days of Emily...
    And in doing so, you have likely spoiled what Telltale was planning to do with the 516vision site. Congratulations!
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Quite simply, I would have liked to know, before release, whether any special extra content existed on the console versions, and whether or not that content would eventually make its way to PC. I feel this information is my right, since it's my money and I'm choosing which platform I want to play this on.
    So, to get this completely straight, you would have switched to playing on the PS3 if Nutri-Specs was PS3-exclusive, and this was advertised ahead of time.
  • edited April 2010
    Remember the Treasure Hunt for TOMI? Don't worry, Telltale are pretty awesome at adding bonus stuff at later dates.
  • edited April 2010
    Fury wrote: »
    Remember the Treasure Hunt for TOMI? Don't worry, Telltale are pretty awesome at adding bonus stuff at later dates.

    no, i don't
  • edited April 2010
    This scale does not look like one that is heavily balanced in the favor of anybody but the people who buy from Telltale's store.
    Well, we DO give them the largest amount of money.
    $35 here is $35 for TTG.
    $35 on PSN is I don't know how much for TTG, since Sony takes a fair cut. Same with Steam...

    So it would make sense for TTG to try and make the most people get it directly from them, unless they prefer making less cash themselves, and wealthying (is that a word?) Valve and Sony...
    (Of course if Sony/Steam would pump 'em large amounts of money if they make them exclusive stuff, that becomes a different story I guess...)
  • edited April 2010
    So, to get this completely straight, you would have switched to playing on the PS3 if Nutri-Specs was PS3-exclusive, and this was advertised ahead of time.
    Why does it matter? What if I didn't? Customers deserve to be informed about things like this, so they can make informed choices. I'm not the only one who's dissatisfied here, if you haven't noticed.
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    I say it's my prerogative as a customer to react as I see fit.

    That's true, but it comes across a little... oddly, if the immediate initial reaction is one of incandescent self-righteous outrage. A little patience goes a long way - it often helps to ask the question before making sweeping statements based on assumptions and conjecture.

    As you said though, it's your prerogative to react as you please. Just understand that that may affect the way others react to you.
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Telltale began by not addressing this issue at all. Now we've gotten some vague statements alluding to PC bonus content to come at some unspecified future date. I am still not entirely satisfied [...]

    Telltale do listen and respond to their customers - within 15 minutes of your original post you had a response here essentially saying "wait and see".

    I prefer not to know everything upfront, it's nice to have little surprises and extras trickle through during the month-long wait between episodes. I understand that you feel differently though.
  • edited April 2010
    puzzlebox wrote: »
    That's true, but it comes across a little... oddly, if the immediate initial reaction is one of incandescent self-righteous outrage. A little patience goes a long way - it often helps to ask the question before making sweeping statements based on assumptions and conjecture.

    As you said though, it's your prerogative to react as you please. Just understand that that may affect the way others react to you.
    You're right. I was pretty livid when I wrote the initial post, and it shows. I sound a lot angrier and more enraged than I intended to. In retrospect, I probably hurt several people's feelings, and I ought to have waited and calmed down a bit before posting. I apologize if I came off as rather.... unhinged.

    I didn't mean to offend anybody, but I was sorely disappointed by what seemed to me at the time to be an unfair apportioning of bonus content. It appeared to me that I had been duped into paying for the PC version, a game that was in hindsight inferior to the PS3 version, which contained hitherto-unadvertised, and what I believed to be exclusive, bonus content. Again, to repeat, the lack of prior communication on Telltale's part is key here.

    I do love Telltale--again, they're my absolute favorite games company--so the perception (however ill-founded) that they are taking my money for a PC game, while giving me less gameplay than console gamers get, is all the more wounding because of how much I like you guys. Call me a jilted lover.
  • edited April 2010
    ATMachine wrote: »
    Why does it matter? What if I didn't? Customers deserve to be informed about things like this, so they can make informed choices. I'm not the only one who's dissatisfied here, if you haven't noticed.
    It matters because you're being an ass over nothing if you wouldn't have. It matters because, if you would not have done that, then you're taking something that obviously was not some secret, back-room corporate deal and crafting unreasonable conspiracy theories and overly-dogmatic speeches over nothing.

    I understand that customers have certain prerogatives, but there has to be some manner of respect on both sides of the customer/seller relationship. Your immediate, strong reaction feels like if someone jumped onto a table and started giving a sermon about customer rights in a restaurant after noticing they did not get any ketchup with their fries, before bothering to double-check the table to see if there was some there already or asking the waitress if she could kindly why you did not get any ketchup.

    Here's an exercise: Try e-mailing Telltale for a refund. The vast majority of the time, they will actually give it to you.

    And try and get some manner of scale in your thinking, here. We're talking about a platform whose experience is inherently inferior in just about every single way. What they have now is an obscenely small scrap of content that is incredibly unimportant.

    You jumped to conclusions, you made sweeping accusations, and you've given off the impression of being horribly unreasonable about it. There is generally a step between "noticing something is wrong" and "moral outrage". In fact, there are generally several.

    EDIT:
    ATMachine wrote: »
    You're right. I was pretty livid when I wrote the initial post, and it shows. I sound a lot angrier and more enraged than I intended to. In retrospect, I probably hurt several people's feelings, and I ought to have waited and calmed down a bit before posting. I apologize if I came off as rather.... unhinged.

    I didn't mean to offend anybody, but I was sorely disappointed by what seemed to me at the time to be an unfair apportioning of bonus content. It appeared to me that I had been duped into paying for the PC version, a game that was in hindsight inferior to the PS3 version, which contained hitherto-unadvertised, and what I believed to be exclusive, bonus content. Again, to repeat, the lack of prior communication on Telltale's part is key here.

    I do love Telltale--again, they're my absolute favorite games company--so the perception (however ill-founded) that they are taking my money for a PC game, while giving me less gameplay than console gamers get, is all the more wounding because of how much I like you guys. Call me a jilted lover.
    Ah, this came right in under my nose as I was typing. All is fine then, nevermind. :)
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