Final Fantasy XV (was Versus XIII)

[Tashasaurous]

Damn, that's for sure I don't like that $20 price tag for these updates. They look really good but.... I feel like that's a bit much for people to spend when they've likely already paid for a $60 game. But maybe I'm a bit old fashioned. Anyways, I can't spend this moola right now so I guess I'll wait til late this year or.... maybe if there's a price drop for this someday.

I agree with you. It is a bit much for people to spend $20 just for an update, especially for a game that was expensive along with an expensive console to begin with, and I thought the $6 earlier updates were bad enough.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Yeah, that price is a little much. It really only further reinforces my "don't buy single player games until all the DLC is out on PC" stance that I have...

 

[Flintlock]

Same here.

To summarise: the Ultimate Edition of the game cost $269.99 and didn't come with the Season Pass. The Season Pass costs $24.99 and doesn't come with the Royal Pack. The Royal Pack costs $19.99.

Yes, I know the Ultimate Edition was expensive partly because it came with stuff like a figurine, so let's examine the Digital Premium Edition instead, which was $74.99. On top of that, you'd need to pay $1.47 for the Travel Pack, Angler Set and Camera Kit, which were included in the Ultimate Edition. Add the Season Pass and Royal Pack and we get a total cost of $121.44 for the full game.

Or at least I hope it's the full game. Is there still the possibility of more to come? Either way, it's quite the counterexample to the "games still only cost $60" argument, I think.

 

[Tetsujin]

Is the game complete now or is there still the possibility of more to come?

As far as I know, there is still a season 2 of more DLC. Probably. I think?

But yeah, buying day one these days if you want all the content available is punishing your wallet. Better for poor chaps like me to wait.
Recent example for me: Resident Evil 7. Released at €70, season pass is 30. So it was 100 Euros for the full thing.
I bought the Gold Edition (includes all DLC) in December instead which was €50 on Amazon. Got it for €36 from a UK online store so I saved even more.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

It's a difficult situation:

- Obviously for those who have to have a game (and its DLC) sooner, they receive the benefit of having gotten to play a game before those who wait -- in this case, for a year and a half before the Royal Edition arrives

- Those who wait get the benefit of a cheaper game

Somewhere in the middle of this equation, though, is the fact that all this additional content would not exist without some people buying a game and its initial wave of DLC early. Those purchases funded the later content.

It ends up that some of the "backers" feel like they got the short shrift, though, because they're still paying for the additional content down the road while latecomers pay the original price (or even less) yet still get everything.

There's no easy answer. Some of the early buyers will feel cheated; some will feel they've made an investment that has paid off.

I'm not going to judge anyone who feels like they should get an early adopter discount (i.e. free), but I do think this kind of thing presents as much of an opportunity to gamers as it lends to headaches. You do really get to vote with your wallet, and it seems like Tabata's team has responded to a lot of the demands about content from people already playing.

Obviously for every development team that does this sort of thing well there's going to be more that don't, but it's a potentially great model. Almost like crowdfunding as you go.

For sure, though -- whether good or bad -- this sounds the official death knell for the old days of buying a complete game at launch. You may still get a complete experience of one sort or another, but the game itself? Probably not ever again, at least with expensive-to-develop AAA titles.

 

[Strangelove]

I got an email about this and was all ‘oh boy, finally because I’d rather buy the complete version and now I can finally play ffxv’ and now you people are telling me this isn’t the complete edition but a sort of semi-complete-for-now edition?

I just want to buy a game and be done with it because I don’t have money to be buying full priced games then spending half or more of that price just to get the full experience.

If future dlc is just multiplayer expansions and weapons/skins and not story dlc then maybe I will get this but otherwise I’ll keep my money

 

[Tetsujin]

I think they said there might be three more "Episode"-type DLCs. Episode Ardyn seems pretty much confirmed.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

What puts me off is that I don't know how much the DLC would cost at the start. Granted, in this case, that's because no one at SE thought the game would do as well as it did. It's almost like the game's cost is $60 + ?. And to top it off, some of the paid DLC changes the base game on a very different level then most DLC do.

It feels different then... well, let's go with FFXIV, which by this time I've probably spent more money on then FFXV costs in it's entirely. But I'm pretty okay with that since I knew going in that I'd be paying $x amount of dollars per month and $60 per expansion and whatever else I spend on the cash shop from time to time. But none of those expenses were a surprise. I knew (often years in advance) that they were coming. Now granted, a subscription MMO is different from a single-player game, but I feel it's weird that it's the single-player game that I'm having a harder time justifying getting due to expense and not the MMO.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if the DLC for FFXV hadn't come out of nowhere then I'd be more okay with the current cost of FFXV being $60 + ? since we'd know it was going to be that from day 1. Since nobody (not even the game company) knew that, it comes off as being more then a cash grab then it probably is.

 

[Flare]

Somewhere in the middle of this equation, though, is the fact that all this additional content would not exist without some people buying a game and its initial wave of DLC early. Those purchases funded the later content.

I do really appreciate that with XV they have been taking a lot of fan input into the direction they uprgade the game, and there is some truth to this, that the success of the game already has given the company the ability to expand upon it so much (which was needed anyways tbh).

I only have a problem with the numerous price tags attached. If this edition was maybe $10, it wouldn't be as much of a deal? But $20.... I'm finding it hard to justify paying a 3rd of the cost of the game originally for this newest batch of updates.
Although in my case the game was a gift (YOU TWO KNOW WHO YOU ARE <3) and I've not paid for anything yet, I would still be having this same issue. XD I don't make a whole lot of money and while I love supporting things I love, it's not like SE is lacking in funds right now or is a small indie game company.
I've only bought a few games brand new in my life, and seeing the DLC trend of games the past few years makes me think it's a good idea to stick with buying them later on, after time has passed and prices have dropped.
The only game I'll feel a huge pull to buy right away will be the Remake whenever the fuck that comes out, purely because I would absolutely love to enjoy it with you guys.

 

[Blade]

There's no easy answer. Some of the early buyers will feel cheated; some will feel they've made an investment that has paid off.

From MY perspective (as someone who fully intended to experience everything FFXV "ne Versus XIII" had to offer), the issue was never about "feeling cheated" or "Not getting my money's worth".

I've always been the type who buys things regardless of price because I believe in the value of my investments.

Another way to put it: it doesn't matter how high the price is: if it's something I like I'm GONNA SAVE UP AND GET IT.

Maybe that sounds a little crazy to people who prefer to save their money and watch their budgets... but I've been a poor gamer for most of my childhood.

I've been there. Everything was $60 bucks brand new, even when I was a kid. The price has only gotten higher in recent years due to the added content and such.

But at the same time, to me it isn't ABOUT the price... it's the cost of producing the work, and if it's a cost I can afford, it's a cost I'll invest in if the work is worth experiencing.

People still give me weird looks and reactions when I say the exact same thing towards DLC from other companies I have interests in. Especially stuff that is borderline something many would protest (like the controversy with BlazBlue Crosstag's 20-man DLC plan).

I still fully intend on investing in it BECAUSE they're being honest about what they aim to do... and they aim to do something GOOD.

I honestly don't see the problem here.

Even now, with this additional add-on, even AFTER pre-ordering the game with OST and season pass already... I feel like 20 bucks ain't much to top off FFXV. If they're gonna give me more, I'll buy it.

If they feel their vision isn't over, and they want to show me something wonderful, so be it.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I'm one of those folks who's in a situation where I'm more than happy to be at the immediate receiving end of things that help fund them to happen. Sure there's a cost that's definitely past the $60/game, but it's one of those things where I'm happy to support it because I know that it contributes to the continued content and success of the game – AND I know that doing that means that eventually there'll be a cheaper / complete version of the game for folks who would rather wait.

In my mind, it's the same thing you get with reading comics. It costs a LOT more to read comics the day they're released in single issues vs. waiting for the collected trade prints, but being there when they come out help to ensure that those specific comics keep getting made. Despite not being an indy dev, even bigger game companies run the same numbers games to keep making content, and so long as it's something I enjoy, I'll gladly support it that way and be ok with it.

Additionally, I benefit from things on the other side, too – I'm not really interested in Injustice 2 all that much, but there's a complete edition that is being released with the Ninja Turtles and all other fighter pack DLC characters, and I'm totally into it JUST for that – but that only happened because of the folks who supported all the individual releases leading up to that. (The same will be true if Asura ever becomes a DLC character for MvCI).

I think it's also why I've turned into someone who really focuses on just playing a few "living" games that I really enjoy (still playing primarily XV & Overwatch when I do play games), so the cost is much different compared to if I was actively consuming a lot MORE excellent games with regularity.





X

 

[Blade]

^Ironically I haven't bought Comic books in years, but I still buy my favorite Manga volumes when they hit their street date.

 

[Kuja9001]

This is like capcom and their shopping list of street fighter editions.

 

[Blade]

This is like capcom and their shopping list of street fighter editions.

I'd argue it's not, because the changes are more than subtle or even cosmetic.

SF games, actually MOST fighting games, face high levels of scrutiny and analysis to get the Devil out of the details per update.

Adding content to a JRPG of this magnitude takes lots more work, and the changes are just so much more obvious than tweaks in hitboxes, frame data, or damage scaling.

All the more reasons why the Fighting Game Community gets so much drama over fluctuations in Tier Lists, because changes are small and sometimes feel like they're not worth paying for.

It's why people want Extra Modes, New Characters, and Alt fighting styles, because they're easier to notice.

 

[Ryuman]

Hey, guys. I was checking out the 30th anniversary art exhibition (So awesome) but something odd caught my eye. It's this idea board for FFXV's map.

Spoiler

It seems like it's from a bit earlier from development but I can't be sure when. Most likely after 2010 though because Cidney is mentioned. Obviously it could be anywhere from there until close to release. It might not be a literal map, explaining things that don't match up but some things do feel different anyway.

Spoiler

What really bothered me was this little art of a car coming from Insomnia.

Spoiler

It's not the Regalia as we generally know it. At first glance it seems to be the Type-F, however, I am not all that convinced. Why that design here? I think this might be closer to around Nomura's time as director.

This car design seems to have existed since 2008, as evidence by this sketch from Cloud Magazine which had a page on extremely early Versus development. Squint your eyes for this one.

Spoiler

Of course, the car we see in early CG does not match this.

Spoiler

However Tabata's team did give us a look at an early version of the Regalia, which is very reminiscent to this design.

Spoiler

If we look further though we can see the actual design used in the 2011 trailer, being driven by good ol' Driver-san.

Spoiler

In fact, storyboards by Roberto Ferrari (possibly originating from 2012/2013, but I can't remember if there is any evidence to pin it down accurately) gives us a top-down glimpse of this iteration of the Regalia. I can't really be sure if this is the full-blown 8 wheel design though.

Spoiler

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling without a real purpose here. I guess I felt that if this was from earlier in development, maybe there would be some interesting details to be gleaned from the scribbles. Perhaps I simply wanted to lay out some research.

Anyone have an opinion? Any idea as to when this was made? Is it just me who finds this interesting? I saw a tweet saying this map was in the Cook and Becker art book but I have no idea if that's true. Sorry for a big wall of mind-vomit.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I only have a problem with the numerous price tags attached. If this edition was maybe $10, it wouldn't be as much of a deal? But $20.... I'm finding it hard to justify paying a 3rd of the cost of the game originally for this newest batch of updates.
Although in my case the game was a gift (YOU TWO KNOW WHO YOU ARE <3) and I've not paid for anything yet, I would still be having this same issue. XD

I haven't paid for anything yet either (you 18 know who you are ), so at this point, even paying $20 for the Royal Pack feels like getting it free.

Anywho, Square Enix has apparently clarified that listing the Royal Pack at $19.99 was a mistake. The DualShockers article that mentions this muddies waters further, however, by claiming the contents of the existing season pass are also part of the Royal Pack. Presumably this is a mistake from DualShockers.

Final price and content remain pending.
----

In other news, a lot of cool observations have been made by fans on Reddit about the Royal Edition trailer. For instance, it was observed that when the new Omega boss appears, it emerges from a gate whose design resembles the floor switches used in places like Steyliff Grove and Costlemark:

Spoiler: Click here for screenshot

It's also been observed that there's a split second in which we can observe the name of Noct's new ultimate Armiger Unleashed move, which depletes the tech bar by three. Its name is

Spoiler: (endgame gameplay and ending spoilers)

"Legacy of the Lucii." Given this name and that all the Armiger weapons fly away from Noct into the ground, which then appears ready to shatter, it's being speculated that this is going to give us a Knights of the Round-style summoning move like the one Noct uses to vanquish Ardyn's spirit in the ending.

Finally, the gargantuan sea creature seen in the trailer appears to have runes on it like those visible at campsites:

Spoiler: Click here for screenshot

No idea what the implications of that may be.
----

Also, there's a glitch been discovered that lets you free roam as the other bros during Chapter 5:

----

And finally-finally, someone created an awesome synthwave version of "Somnus":

 

[Blade]

Synthwave.... so that's what that style of music is called.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

The early version of the Regalia made a few appearances in Kingsglaive, as well. I recognized features of the Type-F in earlier trailers when the Regalia design had been altered the first time, if that was indeed supposed to be the Regalia Noctis was being chauffeured in.

I think it's cool that despite changing so much from the original project, they still managed to recycle a few concepts. Maybe we'll see recycled concepts from Versus in future games.

 

[Lulcielid]

Here's a build to sort of get the most out the greatsword Apocalypse, it's not really that effective but it can be sort of fun to do.

 

[ultima espio]

Pocket edition is coming on the 9th, 10 chapters with 1+2 being free:

https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/finalfantasy-xv-pocket-edition/id1152350815

 

[Tennyo]

Wednesday is the last day of the Assassin's Festival. If you haven't played it yet you should. It's a lot of silly fun and if you are a fan of dork!Noctis you won't be disappointed.

Although I'm peeved that in order to get the Master Assassin's robes you needed to get the dream egg from the Moogle Chocobo festival. If I had known I would have gotten it. :/

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Also, you can hang onto the Assassin's Festival as long as you want if you go ahead and turn off the automatic updates feature on your console until you're done with the event.

Which is what I will have to do.
----

In other news, I just now saw this Ray Chase interview from a couple of weeks ago posted on Reddit.

This portion in particular struck me as relevant:

The game keeps on getting bigger with new DLC&#8217;s and expansions. Are you still recording lines for FFXV?

We are in a bit of a hiatus right now. Hopefully they&#8217;ll bring us back for the second season of DLC &#8211; but we have no idea what&#8217;s coming until we are actually in the studio recording!

Makes one wonder whether Tabata's team has decided on the content yet for season 2 -- or if Ray just doesn't know about any of it because Noctis isn't going to be in any of it.

 

[Ryuman]

I was looking through some stuff again and it JUST dawned on me that the Big Bang art they have in the 30th art exhibition is longer. There's a whole bit on the right that's new. Got some more interesting beasts, humanoid figures and something that seems visually similar to Gilgamesh. There's actually a tiny slice on the left as well but obviously there isn't anything to see. Not sure how I missed that before.

Spoiler: (Image)

I did some more searching and apparently this is a remade version Amano whipped up for the exhibit specifically, naming it 'Big Bang -Creation-'. The added stuff are meant to be a celebration of the series' history.

Spoiler: (Amano's quote)

Old news now, I know. Just thought I'd post it here for anyone else who didn't hear of this. This will always be an odd piece in regards to its relevancy to the game it was made for.

 

[Blade]

Regarding that Apocalypse setup... honestly I never liked Low-HP based weaponry for damage. I prefer uber setups that involve leveraging everything so that you're doing lots of damage WHILE maintaining your HP at a decent amount.

I'd sooner use the 3-Megaphone setup than anything else.

(Example: FF3 Onion Equipment with Blood Lances + Onion Lances, tons of damage and tons of HP back)

 

[Tetsujin]