https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/07/ea-pulls-a-reverse-ubisoft-makes-some-old-bioware-dlc-free/
Single-player downloadable content for the PC versions of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 will be available for free going forward. The change—which EA is announcing via apparent emails to some Origin users—comes alongside the pending shutdown of the BioWare Points digital currency system.
Those BioWare Points used to be the only way to purchase DLC for the developer's legacy titles. And because those points rarely went on sale, the price of that DLC relative to the heavily discounted base games would sometimes get a little ridiculous. As an angry change.org petition noted in 2015, "to purchase enough BioWare Points to own all DLC for the [Mass Effect] series would total $105; over 3 times the cost of all three base games."
[...] DLC and other content previously purchased with BioWare Points will still be accessible, EA writes. That's in sharp contrast to Ubisoft, which announced last week that a coming server shutdown means DLC purchases from PC games like Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3 will no longer be playable after September 1.
(Score: 3, Funny) by drussell on Saturday July 16 2022, @05:38PM
Ewww...
A "reverse ubisoft" sounds more like something dangerously dirty that naughty naked people might do to each other or something. ;-)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Opportunist on Saturday July 16 2022, @06:11PM
They'll now treat customers like customers instead of criminals, don't expect them to use their ridiculously invasive always-online launcher to play a friggin' single player game, not release the same game year after year and asking full price for it and stop milking their customers dry with mandatory, 0-day DLC?
Ok, one out of 4 is more than could be expected from EA...
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Saturday July 16 2022, @09:11PM (2 children)
They're sitting on my shelf right now.
Crysis I & Mass Effect I
(Score: 2) by drussell on Sunday July 17 2022, @05:02AM (1 child)
I believe they're talking about additional downloadable content, things like extensions, expansion packs and extra levels or enhancements...
Part of the argument seems to be that they're giving away the game itself dirt cheap or free, but then charging insane prices for all the old subsequently released add-ons.
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Sunday July 17 2022, @12:21PM
Shoot. That's a standard practice for new 'free' games. I know I'm getting older, but the new gaming sales models are just nailing the coffin shut (for me).
(Score: 4, Interesting) by boltronics on Sunday July 17 2022, @03:59AM (1 child)
Amazing news from EA. I still won't support their predatory micro-tranctions that exist in recent games, and their DLC situation has been getting out of hand (nearly killing the NFS franchise, for example) but they certainty won some goodwill with customers here - especially after what Ubisoft has done.
As someone who owns lots of Ubisoft games and DLCs (I've been pre-ordering collector's editions of Far Cry games since FC2), I think it's past time to stop supporting them. The big FC5 deer skull on my wall, the large replica flame thrower on my shelf, even the FC2 shoulder bag I've used regularly to this day are starting to become an embarrassment.
FC6's DLC went too far, removing maps from the game and offering to sell them to you as micro-transactions - which weren't even part of the CE's included season pass! Spending hundreds on the game isn't enough for them. Now we know they'll take all that DLC away at some point as well, I simply won't be buying any DLC in future, including CE versions that include season pass content. With DLC becomming an increasingly important component of Ubisoft games, at some point I'll stop buying them entirely.
More and more I've been spending my disposable income on buying retro games, because they're still awesome and don't have all these BS DLCs - and actually increase in value because of it, instead of eventually just becoming a paper weight.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Sunday July 17 2022, @12:27PM
I was really excited for BF2042 and it is a giant turd. After WWI (seriously?) and Battlefield 1942 II the blandening. They made BF2042 completely for consoles. I realize that's where the money is, but the PC gamers are who made the franchise. I don't need a PC centric game. Just some basic driver support.
It went from a flagship excellent game to garbage.