26 replies to this topic

[neddamttocs]

Well this week we have a good question coming from Guest_Jim_*:

What bonus material influences a game purchase?

For example, a soundtrack with a game and it can push me over the edge when I'm not sure about getting a game.
Other bonus content like movies, digital books, maps, etc. don't grab me as much, but maybe they do for some people.
Of course this bonus material isn't pre-order DLC or just included DLC that can be purchased separately.

I chose to leave a poll out of this as everyone will have a unique answer.

[Stonerboy779]

You can still get games with bonus material? Haha

I do remember getting Morrowind with a pretty map a chunky manual and a coin I think. I don't know but its been years since I have gotten anything with any real bonus material it just seems that companies have no interest in putting in bonuses or even manuals.

So ill say that no material influences a game purchase for me.

Also we should bring back the days of being able to take the audio tracks out of the game files instead of getting a seperate soundtrack.

[Skidmarks]

I don't care about any bonus or DLC material, it's just a money making racket. I turn off the games music unless it's a game like GTA where I can listen to my own stuff. I also avoid multiplayer games like the plague. A good game with a good single player campaign is a must for me.

[EuroFight]

If there's a game that's bundled with an earlier game in the series (e.g. Bioshock Infinity + Bioshock 1), I think that's cool because I can follow the series better.
Plus I get a free game.

[Deathmineral]

I don't really know of too many cases where there's bonus material. Anymore games usually sell by themselves and that's it, anything else usually has to be bought separately. Have to pay for soundtracks now even.

About as close as I get to this concept is paying for collector's editions or something like that, but that's not really bonus material, I just really can't even think of any games with bonus material, could we get specific examples perhaps?

[VaporX]

Bonus material for me almost never makes any difference. When I look to buy a game I look at the games story line to see if it will draw me in. If it does then I go and try to find a demo so I can see if the game mechanics are something I will enjoy.

[Coors]

I don't care about bonus stuff at all. I just want a good quality game is all I care about.

[96andrei]

Bonus material? Give me only the steam/origin key for a fair price, remove the cost of manuals and other stuff and I am happy.

[road-runner]

If I played games and bought them it would not matter if its something I want I would buy it...

[d6bmg]

Bonus materials doesn't affect my choice at all. All it matters is the quality of game and how I love that series and its previous releases.

[kyfire]

Would depend of the value of the bonus. In genereal I'm with Ed, story line and ablity to draw me in has more weight in my desion to buy.

[Guest_Jim_*]

Since it appears that some are not sure about what I meant by bonus material, here's the stuff added to the Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition. Some of these are not bonus material, but I'm listing them all first:

• Additional hours of gameplay: New major adventures set in previously unseen locations, expanding the story and introducing new characters, mysteries and monsters.
• New Game Introduction and cinematics: All new animations and cut scenes, including a new, three and a half minute pre-rendered cinematic depicting the assassination of King Demavend of Aedirn.
• BAFTA Award winner and Academy Award nominee Tomasz Baginski brings this key historical event to life, setting the stage for the story told in The Witcher 2.
• All of the up-to-date DLC and improvements introduced in the 2.0 version of the PC game, including:
• Arena Mode – an arcade mode that allows players to fight against endless waves of enemies and test their combat skills. Players can share their results with their friends by uploading high scores to the forums or to Facebook .
• A new, extensive tutorial system - allows gamers to be gradually and smoothly immersed in the game world and Geralt’s adventures.
• Dark Mode – a difficulty level designed for hardcore players, with unique dark-themed items. At this difficulty level, even greater emphasis is placed on battle preparation, defensive maneuvers and opportunistic attacking.
• Official soundtrack in MP3 format.
• World Map - A map of the game's world.
• Quest Handbook - The Witcher 2 quest handbook for both novice and experienced role-playing fans.
• Game Manual - A rulebook and interface explanation to help you get started.

Here is what I would consider bonus material:

• BAFTA Award winner and Academy Award nominee Tomasz Baginski brings this key historical event to life, setting the stage for the story told in The Witcher 2. (I believe this is in reference to the video documentaries)
• Official soundtrack in MP3 format.
• World Map - A map of the game's world.
• Quest Handbook - The Witcher 2 quest handbook for both novice and experienced role-playing fans.
• Game Manual - A rulebook and interface explanation to help you get started.

It is game related but not directly game content. It may be something you would see included in a collectors edition, but it obviously doesn't have to be as this edition of the Witcher 2 is the only version on Steam and if you bought it before the Enhanced Edition was released, you get all of the new content free.

Now I also feel like some may not have understood question I was asking, so I'll try restating it in a clearer way.
I have known that the Witcher games are really good games, so I have been interested in them, but had not purchased them. Then they were on sale so I could get both for just $10, but I still wasn't sure. I should be saving my money, I have plenty of games already, and it may be some time before I play these, but they are still well recommended games. Well, the desire to save money and the knowledge I won't play the games for potentially months would discourage my purchase enough that I would not have bought them, but I did because I love game soundtracks. Their inclusion pushed me over the edge to get the games because I enjoy music as much as I enjoy a game, and it won't be months before I enjoy these soundtracks. (And I do enjoy the soundtracks, especially the Witcher's 2 soundtrack. One of the best in my collection.)

Note, it is not the soundtracks that made me interested in the games. I was interested in the games but was no certain if I wanted to purchase them at this time. The inclusion of the soundtracks gave me the certainty I needed to purchase them. I do not buy games for soundtracks. That would be quite silly. The soundtracks do not affect the interest in the game, just the decision to purchase at any given price or time. So the question perhaps should be, 'will you forgive a good sale price for not being great if the game comes with bonus material?' It was not the intention of this question to bring up the quality of a game or franchise. We can assume the quality is great enough to have earned your interest if not your purchase, as of yet.

TL;DR: Just read the last paragraph for the idea of the post.