Comment on Paradox issues Bloodlines 2 refunds after backlash over paywalled clans
Mad_Punda@feddit.org 3 days ago
I thought this day one DLC crap was just then trying to break even. But now they are refunding people? I don’t get what their play is here.
redhorsejacket@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I’m reminded of the narrator’s distillation of his career from Fight Club. Paraphrasing, but the gist is “I’m here to apply the formula. A is the number of cars on the road. B is probably rate of failure. C is the cost of an out of court settlement. A times B times C equals X. If X is greater than the cost of a recall, we issue one and no one gets hurt. If X is less, we don’t recall.”
In this case, whoever counts Paradox’s beans determined the cost of issuing refunds was going to be less than the cost of staying the course (from a PR perspective, if nothing else).
Mad_Punda@feddit.org 3 days ago
But this whole day one DLC thing is a PR nightmare already? Step back from it somehow = win back some good will?
I used to work at PDX (dev studio). And even there players were saying the DLCs were just cut from the game to charge for them later. Which I can tell you, is not at all how that works for the grand strategy games.
But with a day one DLC it’s quite obvious. I mean maybe they wouldn’t have made the extra clans at all because they couldn’t justify the production costs? Personally I think they thought this is the most likely thing to break them even on the sunk cost of this dumpster fire.
The other peeps from the dev studio I’ve talked to are just as baffled (and upset about the consumer hostile practices).
I’m so glad I got off that sinking ship.
dodos@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I feel like sadly a lot of companies recently have decided good will isn’t worth anything for them. It’s not a viewpoint I agree with, but actions of many companies point in that direction.