In the MMO shooter Destiny , fans are upset about the costs of the expansion “The Taken King” and the content of the individual editions. An interview with Bungie’s Game Director has made things significantly worse.
Fans upset about three things with “The Taken King”
Fans of Destiny were frustrated last week when the prices and editions for “The Taken King” were announced, mainly over three things:
- The price for the “The Taken King” expansion at $40 is only $20 cheaper than the price for the Legendary Edition. That includes “The Taken King”, the base game Destiny, and the first two DLCs. Many fans feel that “newcomers” are favored while “existing customers” are neglected. After all, veterans will have spent around $140, while newcomers pay only $60, and both groups are at the same level.
- Additionally, many players are upset that Bungie is selling a “Collector’s Edition” again with special items, including digital ones: The Collector’s Edition contains some emotes, shaders, and exotic class items that grant additional experience. Veterans are frustrated that they would have to pay $80 for things, although they already own the original Destiny and the two DLCs, just to get the additional emotes.
- And thirdly, the expansion costs $40, nearly the same as the base game. Yet, it appears, at least at first glance, to have far fewer gameplay contents.
These three topics are concerning the Destiny community. All our article, in which we present the expansion “The Taken King”, the prices, and editions, has now received 315 comments. The vast majority revolve around the “cheaper version for newcomers”. In the English-speaking subreddit for Destiny, frustration about the exclusive items of the Collector’s Edition was particularly dominant last week.
Unfortunate interview stirs emotions
Last night, a interview on Eurogamer was published featuring Game Director Luke Smith. He is the former journalist who designed the raids with a team and now takes on a larger role in public relations for “The Taken King” for the first time.
The tough questions about Destiny
Most of the interviews conducted by Bungie staff last week during E3 were what are called “soft-ball” interviews. Friendly questions and prompts so that the interviewee can present their product and its many advantages. Most interviews at E3 were about the new subclasses and how damn cool they are.
The interviewer from Eurogamer played “hard-ball” instead, putting the “tough questions” on the table and didn’t back down:
- Do you get the emotes if you don’t buy the Collector’s Edition?
- Will there be a chance to purchase the items and emotes in the Collector’s Edition separately at some point?
- Why does the expansion now cost $40, when it offers so much less gameplay content compared to the base game? You’re buying only one zone for the same price instead of four, way fewer missions, and so on.
Community Manager DeeJ at a “very soft” interview at E3 – no nasty questions asked, everything is nice and friendly … the interview this article discusses, goes quite differently:
“When you see the emotes, you’ll throw money at the monitor”
The Game Director responded in a way that is driving fans crazy on Reddit.
He stated that nothing in Destiny is offered “separately”, as that goes against company policy. If someone wants the emotes, they must buy the Collector’s Edition. D The issue is that they haven’t shown everything the players would get for their money yet. If Smith were to show a video of the emotes right now, the interviewer would throw money at the monitor.
Smith did not address the fact that the British version of Destiny would cost 40 pounds (around 63 dollars), stating that this currency is “foreign” to him, implying that there is a sea of the world between them.
“The value is right”
Smith repeatedly defended the price of the expansion by saying that the “value” is correct. Currently, players do not know what awaits them with “The Taken King”. There will be 2 PvP modes, 4 new PvP maps, and a lot more that will be discussed later. Bungie is very confident that they will provide players with something that justifies the “value”.
Smith also explained the discount for newcomers by referencing value. It is about the value at that particular time. Those who join Destiny late have missed out on the first year’s experiences and cannot repeat them. The time of “Crota’s End” is over and will not return.
They are currently working on embedding these “memories” of what Guardians have achieved in the first year directly into Destiny. Additionally, several exclusive goodies will be included in the pure $40 expansion for veterans, such as a Sparrow, an emblem, and a shader.
The conversation creates the impression of growing tension between the two speakers. The interviewer repeatedly probes, questioning the proportionality of the prices, and asking why he can’t buy the emotes from the Collector’s Edition for a few pounds.
Smith insists that the content justifies the price. Bungie is confident in that. He cannot say more.
Reaction to the interview is disastrous
As expected, a wildfire ignited in the comments section directly under the Eurogamer article. Generally, there is not much love for the MMO shooter. However, the reaction to the interview is extremely negative even in the usually Destiny-friendly subreddit /r/DestinyTheGame. A post on the topic has already garnered 1800 comments within 3 hours.
The tension had been high due to the naked prices and the facts already last week. While Bungie staff typically appear diplomatic and placating, fans now perceive the Game Director as brash and rude. Smith is repeatedly described negatively, which in German could be summed up as “slippery, arrogant jerk”.
Especially the “$80” Collector’s Edition, which veteran players are expected to purchase at full price even though they already own most of the software, is particularly frowned upon.
