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General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 07, 2015
Two full-blown expansions for the epic RPG.




The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost here. That means the game is pretty much finished, and the devs are about to take a deep breath while CD-presses and hype machines slowly wind up to take things through the home stretch. It's not gold yet, but now that development is coming to an end, the CD PROJEKT RED team is ready to start their work on two new, ambitious monster-hunting expansions.

The expansions will be called <span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span>, and <span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span>. Combined, they'll offer over 30 hours of new adventures for Geralt, and the latter introduces a whole new major area to roam. More items, gear, and characters (including a few familiar faces) will all be crafted with the same attention to detail as the game itself.
<span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span> is a 10-hour adventure across the wilds of No Man's Land and the nooks of Oxenfurt. The secretive Man of Glass has a contract for you - you'll need all your smarts and cunning to untangle a thick web of deceit, investigate the mystery, and emerge in one piece.
<span class="bold"><span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span></span> is the big one, introducing an all-new, playable in-game region to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It will take you about 20 hours to discover all of Toussaint, a land of wine, untainted by war. And to uncover the dark, bloody secret behind an atmosphere of carefree indulgence.







There used to be a time when buying an add-on disk or expansion for your game really meant something. That's what CD PROJEKT RED are going for, it's about bringing that old feeling back. You can take it from our very own iWi, (that's Marcin Iwinski, co-founder of CD PROJEKT RED):

"We’ve said in the past that if we ever decide to release paid content, it will be vast in size and represent real value for the money. Both of our expansions offer more hours of gameplay than quite a few standalone games out there.”

Hearts of Stone is expected to premiere this October, while Blood and Wine is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016, so there's still plenty of time ahead. We're offering you the <span class="bold">Expansion Pass</span> now - it's a chance to pre-order the two expansions and even show your support for the devs. But we can't stress Marcin Iwinski's words enough:

“Don’t buy it if you have any doubts. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call."







The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is just over a month away, and you can pre-order the game right now - it's a particularly great deal if you own the previous Witcher games and take advantage of the additional fan discount (both The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings are 80% off right now!). You can also take a rather unique refresher course on the universe with The Witcher Adventure Game at a 40% discount, all until Thursday, 4:59 PM GMT.
Post edited April 07, 2015 by Chamb
Posted April 09, 2015
high rated
Hello Everyone,

First of all let me thank you for your feedback. Although a bit harsh at times, it is always very passionate, emotional and we really do appreciate it.

I wanted to add a few words to the original press release, which will hopefully shed some more light on the Expansions and the timing of the announcement.

Let me start with the Expansions themselves. The work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost done and we are waiting for the final certifications. Thanks to it we were able to allocate part of the team onto the expansions. Yes, we have been thinking about it for some time, as with over 250 people on the Witcher team good planning is essential.

Rest assured, there is no hidden agenda or cutting out any content from the game. Both Expansions are being built at this very moment, from the ground up – hence the release dates long after the launch of Wild Hunt. We develop them in-house by the same team, which was working on Wild Hunt. This is the best guarantee we can give you that our goal is to deliver both the story and production values on par with the main game.

Now, on the timing of the announcement - in other words “why now” and not - let’s say – “a few months after the release of Wild Hunt”. The reason is very simple: we want to get the word out about the Expansions to as many gamers as possible out there. There is no better time for it than during the apex of the Marketing & PR campaign of the game. Doing it sometime after the release would mean that our reach would be much smaller.

Yes, we are a business, and yes, we would love to see both the game and the Expansions selling well. Having said that, we always put gamers first and are actually quite paranoid about the fact that whatever we offer is honest, of highest quality, and represents good value for your hard earn buck.

Yes, these are just my words. So let me repeat myself from the original release: if you still have any doubts -- don’t buy the Expansions. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call.

Cheers,

Marcin
Post edited April 09, 2015 by Destro
Posted April 09, 2015
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iWi: Hello Everyone,

...

Cheers,

Marcin
I suggest to make this post sticky, or in a new thread, so more people can see this.

Thank you for your response.
Posted April 09, 2015
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iWi: Yes, these are just my words. So let me repeat myself from the original release: if you still have any doubts -- don’t buy the Expansions. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call.

Cheers,

Marcin
Thank you very much for providing further explanation Marcin. Most of the times all we passionate fans of GOG require is a little communication on how and why these decisions were made. Although I still think that the announcement for expansions was fine but actually selling them right now before the release of The Witcher 3 doesn't seem any different to me then what others do, so instead perhaps offering preorders for the Expansion Pass after the release of the main game wouldn't have prompted a few people to cancel their orders in my opinion. I guess it was just my naive hope that you guys would prefer doing things slightly differently as I think Expansions would still sell well just after the release of the main game and probably much better when people have actually played it.

But atleast you are being totally open and honest with us once again regarding your decision to sell the Expansion Pass now so I certainly can't argue with that as you obviously know more about the business side then me. I would like to however make a humble request for all of us that usually wait for full versions of a game that includes everything so please do provide this option down the line a year or so later when sufficient time has passed after the release of The Witcher 3 and its expansions. Best of luck for the release of The Witcher 3 and I hope it turns out to be one of the best games of the year while exceeding everyone's expectations.

Thanks again for taking the time to read our feedback and then respond in this thread, it is appreciated and certainly shows that you guys care about what your customers have to say. :)
Post edited April 09, 2015 by stg83
Posted April 09, 2015
Since I came up with a new analogy for my view, I'll give it a try to put it down on writing.

Let's say the CDPR wasn't selling a game, but a car. A good, solid car for everyday use. They've been talking about how they are making an awesome car, the car they wanted to make. Hey, I wanted a car, and I trust the manufacturer, so I'll get it. I can't even drive it yet, as I don't currently have a driving licence, but when I get my licence I'll have the car ready for me. And even if they add a few stickers to the car later on, the car will still be ready as new when I finally drive it, so might as well get it now.

And then, internally, someone goes, "hey, how about we add some armour to the car?". And someone else replies, "yeah, let's put a big fucking gun on it too!" "Yeah, let's make a fucking tank! So cool!". But, the party crusher common sense manager says, "Sorry folks, but there's no budget for a tank. We're only making a car here". "Then, how about we sell the car, and then offer the option to upgrade it to a tank for a few extra bucks? Shouldn't that provide us with the funds to make the tank we'd like to make? It's not like the car will be any worse of a car just because it has no armor or guns" "Actually, that sounds fair. Let's go with that".

And so, today we are offered a car, with the additional option of upgrading it into a tank. And my reaction is to say, "Whoa, that tank looks awesome. However, I wanted a car, not a tank, plus I can't afford the tank. I won't buy your car anymore". Which to many, makes no sense.

Why do I take this approach, when I could still happily buy the car and ignore the armor and the guns? Well, because I will only drive each vehicle for a limited amount of time, and I want to get the best of what each vehicle can offer me. And now, I believe that when CDPR think of what their product is, they're thinking about the tank and not the car. What they want to make, their goal, is the tank. Therefore, I want to drive that tank. But I can't afford it. So I will wait until I can afford the tank and I'm ready to play with it. Until then, I'll just use other cars that are in the market, even if those cars end up being inferior to the armorless, weaponless car that CDPR originally offered me.

I'm not saying the car is now worse than it was when they originally showed it to me. I'm not saying the armor and the gun are not worth the asking price. I'm not saying CDPR lied by saying long ago that they intended to make a car, and then offering the option to buy a tank. All I'm saying is, that tank looks awesome and much better than the car, therefore what I now want to drive is the tank and not the car. But I can't afford the tank (yet), so I won't buy it and I'll wait until I can afford it.

Is this really such a weird point of view?
Posted April 09, 2015
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P1na: Is this really such a weird point of view?
Yes. Are you aware that hydrophobic glass is in production, and in the near future, your car won't need wipers, since water won't stick to the windscreen? Will you refrain from buying a car until you can buy a car with a hydrophobic windscreen, or will you buy a car now and then upgrade its windscreen (or buy a newer car)?
Posted April 09, 2015
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BKGaming: Which isn't a bad idea really. I sometimes do the same depending if it's a game I'm fine with waiting for.

I'm just saying this isn't some shitty plan that makes CDPR horrible. There is content that should be free and there is content that should be paid for, I don't expect anyone to spend months working on large significant content for free. I expect all those people in here complaining wouldn't want to work without compensation either.
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mkess: I canceled my preorder for the Witcher 3: The Wild hunt 10 minutes ago. My problem is solved now.

But now I will treat CD project like ALL other game developers. And I have over 500 other games to play in the meantime ... waiting for the GotY edition for 5$. And I will do the same now with their "Cyberpunk 2079" game ...
This comment has got a lot of up votes. Really, I mean really. CDPR are just another EA now despite W3 being the first AAA game released day one with no DRM and free DLC (the DLC from before)

Okay you might not like this decision and that's fine but, don't you think this reaction is a little extreme. It's almost like reading a statement from someone who just found out that their religion was a lie.
Posted April 09, 2015
Yes, you can buy the car now and wait until the tank upgrade is released/you can afford it and buy that then.
Posted April 09, 2015
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JDelekto: last time I went to the movies (which can be a bad experience based on the audience), it cost me about $8.50 for a Sunday matinee to see a 1 1/2 hour film.
Being teased to pay $25.00 for 30 hours of game play (in which I have some influence over the 'movie' being played), is one *heck* of a bargain.
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mobutu: What I'm saying is the price for the W3 expansion should be compared only with the price of the W3 base game, and not with movies, books, other games etc:
-Witcher 3 Wild Hunt: $50/200h = $0.25/h (source: https://twitter.com/Bacon_is_life/status/582276508556869632)
-Witcher 3 Expansion: $25/30h = $0.83/h (source: http://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_expansion_pass)

So the expansion "features" a 333% price increase over the base game! Imo, that's not reasonable at all and at the opposite end of a bargain.
That is a fair statement, if you are comparing apples to apples. Sure, it may cost me $1.00 for three apples today and three weeks from now, $1.00 for one apple (assuming they are all the same exact size). In that case, I did not necessarily get the most "bang for my buck".

I think that for me personally, it is 'perceived' value. I still feel I get better value for my money than choosing to do something else with my time. I think in the case of game play and game time, one cannot necessarily compare the price per hour of play, because said game play tends to be subjective (not just between stories, but between individual tastes as well).

It is quite possible that the expansion to the game contains more engaging and enthralling material even if it does have shorter game play. Then again, it could turn out to be a real stinker and I could have just gone off and watched a Manos, The Hands of Fate marathon feeling more fulfilled.

It is an optimistic risk I am willing to take, only because I really like RPGs, the Witcher stories in general and supporting the developers and artists who work hard to create them.
Posted April 09, 2015
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iWi: Hello Everyone,

First of all let me thank you for your feedback. Although a bit harsh at times, it is always very passionate, emotional and we really do appreciate it.

I wanted to add a few words to the original press release, which will hopefully shed some more light on the Expansions and the timing of the announcement.

Let me start with the Expansions themselves. The work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost done and we are waiting for the final certifications. Thanks to it we were able to allocate part of the team onto the expansions. Yes, we have been thinking about it for some time, as with over 250 people on the Witcher team good planning is essential.

Rest assured, there is no hidden agenda or cutting out any content from the game. Both Expansions are being built at this very moment, from the ground up – hence the release dates long after the launch of Wild Hunt. We develop them in-house by the same team, which was working on Wild Hunt. This is the best guarantee we can give you that our goal is to deliver both the story and production values on par with the main game.

Now, on the timing of the announcement - in other words “why now” and not - let’s say – “a few months after the release of Wild Hunt”. The reason is very simple: we want to get the word out about the Expansions to as many gamers as possible out there. There is no better time for it than during the apex of the Marketing & PR campaign of the game. Doing it sometime after the release would mean that our reach would be much smaller.

Yes, we are a business, and yes, we would love to see both the game and the Expansions selling well. Having said that, we always put gamers first and are actually quite paranoid about the fact that whatever we offer is honest, of highest quality, and represents good value for your hard earn buck.

Yes, these are just my words. So let me repeat myself from the original release: if you still have any doubts -- don’t buy the Expansions. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call.

Cheers,

Marcin
Developers have been making expansions for years. I think the harsh feedback is just bad timing. I think it's good to let people focus on the main product before introducing it's features. But yes harsh feedback is harsh.
Posted April 09, 2015
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P1na: Is this really such a weird point of view?
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JMich: Yes. Are you aware that hydrophobic glass is in production, and in the near future, your car won't need wipers, since water won't stick to the windscreen? Will you refrain from buying a car until you can buy a car with a hydrophobic windscreen, or will you buy a car now and then upgrade its windscreen (or buy a newer car)?
Does it repel also mud and dust? Nothing will stick to it, even if someone eggs it?
Posted April 09, 2015
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JMich: Yes. Are you aware that hydrophobic glass is in production, and in the near future, your car won't need wipers, since water won't stick to the windscreen? Will you refrain from buying a car until you can buy a car with a hydrophobic windscreen, or will you buy a car now and then upgrade its windscreen (or buy a newer car)?
I'll buy a car that is what the manufacturer intended, or as close as it got within its budget. Between a car designed with hydrophobic glass in mind that I can't afford, the same car without hydrophobic glass that I can afford, and a different card that I can also afford that never even considered hydrophobic glass to begin with and will never be able to equip it; I'll choose to use the different one for a while, get as much as I can from that experience, and move on to the fully equipped one later on when I can afford it. Otherwise, I would get to experience the non-hydrophobic glass experience, then upgrade to the car with the glass (grown tired to write hydrophobic, couldn't you have come up with a shorter example name?) and drive it all over again to experience the glass experience, but I will have lost the chance to try out that different car. And I want to get as many experiences as I can within my limited time.
Posted April 09, 2015
After serious thinking for at least half a minute, I went ahead and bought the expansion pass. I want to be the first one not to play it! (because I probably won't have fast enough PC by then)

I also bought Elminage Gothic at the same time, I think I should be able to run that at least.

By the way, Fallout is missing once again. It just can't keep still, can it?
Post edited April 09, 2015 by timppu
Posted April 09, 2015
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Kristian: Yes, you can buy the car now and wait until the tank upgrade is released/you can afford it and buy that then.
I take it that this is a reply to my comment, but you're missing the point. I'm not willing to spend more than a car's worth on a car. Even if I pay it in pieces, I'm still not willing to pay tank price. Luckily for me, in this particular industry a 5 year old tank is the price of a new car, so I'll wait until the whole tank is at least within my budget.
Posted April 09, 2015
Really can't understand heaters-counter heaters-fan and the like.
Perhaps I'm just older now.

Game companies are more and more aggressive in the marketing and are so skilled they are able to sell to us products that still doesn't exist.

So they push the thing farther: selling you prodcuts that doesn't exists that build over products that doesn't exists.
This is brilliant!
You can play a buggy game just from the beginning!

Who is as at fault are the people that "can't wait" (whoooooouuu) to spend their money on something that doesn't exists.
But then... they start complaining.
About what?

You can sell something that doesn't exists but you can't sell something that doesn't exists that build over the still-to-happen game?

Advertising an expasion is not saying that the base game is bad, it just say the company is hungry for more money.

In the good old days the companies were so involved in the main game that expansion where planned only and only if sales was good enough and the game had captured a large following.
Nowdays expension are just factored in the initial production cost and selled for more cash.
Posted April 09, 2015
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OldOldGamer: Game companies ... are so skilled they are able to sell to us products that still doesn't exist.
Are they skilled or are we, the consumers, getting dumber and dumber as time goes by? ;)
Posted April 09, 2015
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Kristian: Yes, you can buy the car now and wait until the tank upgrade is released/you can afford it and buy that then.
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P1na: I take it that this is a reply to my comment, but you're missing the point. I'm not willing to spend more than a car's worth on a car. Even if I pay it in pieces, I'm still not willing to pay tank price. Luckily for me, in this particular industry a 5 year old tank is the price of a new car, so I'll wait until the whole tank is at least within my budget.
So you are saying that The Witcher 3 is overpriced? If so that was the case before the announcement of the expansion pass if not what then are you saying?
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Community
General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)