Topic: Discussion - Season Passes: how much is too much?

Not really related but the price for the Dying Light Season Pass is going up early December so if you want to buy it do it before then.

imho any season pass should not exceed 1/3 of the RRP. I don't however think season passes should exist at all. The game should be complete at time of release. If the company feel they have additional content at a later date then make the next game in the chain with that content.

I can't remember how much it was, but I loved the DriveClub Season Pass. The content was regular and of a good quality, you always knew what you were going to get, and it seemed to last for ages. I'd happily buy another DriveClub Season Pass to be honest.

I think the key is transparency: a lot of developers don't really explain what you're going to get and when you're going to get. For the model to work it should be abundantly clear what you're getting and when. It doesn't matter what the price is then, because people can clearly see whether it's going to be worth it to them or not.

@TomKongPhooey: Games like CoD and Battlefield are 'complete' at the time of release. The fact that the on-disc content (Maps in particular) hasn't significantly changed from the days before DLC and Season Passes - in some cases the overall content has increased over the years says to me the game is 'complete'. Paying no more than a set amount (i.e 1/3rd of the RRP of the main game) is irrelevant and doesn't account for the quantity or quality of the DLC. CoD and BF for example have at least 4 DLC packs that more than double the amount of playable maps in CoDs case it also adds more than double the maps to the co-op component (Zombies/Extinction) and BF often adds more than double the available game-modes to play. For those that play these games, they pay around 2/3rds RRP for the Season Pass and get more than the on disc content provides overall in some areas. Obviously the man game has all the coding, and a campaign too but it more than doubles the variety and experiences. The MP team, those responsible for Map design, are working on creating new maps and have deadlines after the game has released to make these maps. They are not required for the 'next' game a that stage of development and rather than make them redundant whilst the 'story' team are in the early stages of the next games development, they are creating the DLC content for the current game. DLC doesn't automatically man that content was cut or from an unfinished game.
The Witcher 3 offers a Season Pass for 1/3rd RRP yet in total hours of extra content, that equates to roughly 1/6th. I know it costs more to make a 'story' DLC than maps and often these SP DLC packs are short lived experiences - played once or twice at most - compared to hundreds of time those maps get used. I am not saying the Witchers DLC is poor or bad value but for some, it is a higher cost per hour experience than the more expensive Season Passes offer.
Regardless of the cost of the Season Pass itself - whether its 1/3rd or 2/3rds, its cheaper than buying all the extra content separately. The cost is generally more to do with the size and number of expansions/DLC packs. The Witcher only has 2 expansions compared to CoD's 4 and both are better value than the combined individual cost of each games packs.

@get2sammyb Driveclub as a game has had good updates and they seem to be constantly working on it and improving the experience. I just got the seaon pass on sale for £5 so a even better bargain just need to download all the season pass content.

I have never played a game where you have need the extra DLC or expansion packs to make it a complete game. The extra content just adds a richer experience to the game. It gives the developer a chance to add to the game or try something new that would migth never been in the original game. Games like Mass Effect 3 had so many good expansions to an already great game. I never begrudge extra DLC being released or season passes. Its always up to the consumer whether they buy them or not and often you can get a discount on them at a later date through PSN. It also gives the developer a chance to get extra money for the game if someone has bought it 2nd hand and they then buy season pass/DLC.