Elite Dangerous, too expensive?

[Bernard Buckshot]

I love Elite Dangerous, but with Horizons already costing $59.99 USD, with one expansion per year for ten years, that's a total of $599.90 USD. If someone were to buy the normal Elite Dangerous it would cost $479.89 USD, which is a lot of money for one game.

I live in Australia, so for me, Horizons with the 25% discount would be $65.07 AUD, and if I wanted to get all of ED, using the current exchange rate it would cost me $694.06 AUD.

I understand that Frontier is a business, and I would like to purchase the expansions to support ED, however at the current price and exchange rates, it's not affordable for many people.

Perhaps if Frontier were to sell Horizons and future expansions as DLC (reasonably priced), as opposed to stand alone products, there would be mutual benefits for the developer and the consumer. This would create cheaper prices for the consumer, more sales for the developer, and in turn creating greater profit.

I would appreciate opinions on this matter and constructive feedback.

[Burnt_RAM_]

its not bad actually considering its this or a monthly mmo fee, which i really hate. this way you have the option to pay for the expansion if you want to or not.

[SeeJay]

I think it's way to expensive. I got ED on sale and will not buy (if ever) any update unless
it's on sale.

[Burnt_RAM_]

Originally posted by SeeJay:

I think it's way to expensive. I got ED on sale and will not buy (if ever) any update unless
it's on sale.

id bet most steam users only buy games when theres a good sale. unless theyre just rich or its a must have game. get the expansions when theres a sale. big whoop guys.

[Edelweiss ✿]

Originally posted by burnt_RAM_:

Originally posted by SeeJay:

I think it's way to expensive. I got ED on sale and will not buy (if ever) any update unless
it's on sale.

id bet most steam users only buy games when theres a good sale. unless theyre just rich or its a must have game. get the expansions when theres a sale. big whoop guys.

Most steam users are spoiled with sales, yes. Developers do not work for free, and the seasons are discounted for previous owners already.

[SeeJay]

I have no problems paying full price for a game. Done that many times.
But when the expansions, DLC or whatever you want to call them, cost almost (or as ) much
as the full game, it's too expensive in my book.

I've played Evochron Mercenary (Now Legacy) for more than 5 years with weekly updates and
even an expansion (new game) and I haven't been charged a penny other than the $25 for the
initial purchase. How come that game has more content than ED will ever have without
charging you tons of money every year to add contents that should have been there in the
first place? Yeah, I know, ED is an Early Access with a never ending story to a full game
release. The Dev for EL has worked since 2011 with the recently released game without
any funding from the public. He doesn't want to release an unfinished product, so don't tell me
it can't be done!

Don't get me wrong. I like flying around in ED, so I don't complain about the game, only
how they finance it. SC is not any better and won't get my money until they have a finished game.

[Malfeasance]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: vote with your wallet.

Is X item worth the cost to you personally? If yes and have the means to do so, purchase it. If not for any reason, don't. Simple as that.

I personally do not agree with how the additional content is being handled, so I'm not purchasing it, at least not yet. At the same time I absolutely hate it when people spam bad reviews or forum posts about it (not including you, OP, I'm talking flaming/baiting and general non-constructive feedback).

Yes, it's $45 for planetary exploration (and ammo reloading!). But what about 6 months or more down the line? What will we have then? It may very well be worth $45 then.

Note: My views are entirely independent of knowledge of the rewards for backing the kickstarter, so if there's some sort of conflict with the pricing and previous agreements, I don't know about it and it doesn't apply to the above.

[<>...mAma:))]

That is over the period of 10 years. $600 over a decade. Seriously. Or if $600 over the period of a decade is too expensive, then wait for the last expansion to be released and buy the 'Game of the decade' version.

The whole point of paying for expansions for a game in active development is to have access to these portions as they at released rather than waiting for a decade before playing. It's a choice rather than forced on the player since the game doesn't require a subscription fee.

And honestly, during the course of the games life, the amount of money you currently find difficult to afford, will not be as prohibitive as it is now.

[Agony_Aunt]

OP, simple option.

Buy base game now for $30.
Wait until the end of the Horizons season when its complete, grab it for an estimated $15.
When season 3 is released, don't buy it early access, wait a year until its complete for an estimated $15.

Rinse and repeat.

If you can't afford $15/year for a game that you might get literally hundreds if not thousands of hour play out of, then you have much more serious problems in life than the cost of a game.

On the other hand, if you really want the seasons as they are released, better be prepared to shell out the full cost.

[Bernard Buckshot]

Originally posted by Edelweiss ✿:

Originally posted by burnt_RAM_:

id bet most steam users only buy games when theres a good sale. unless theyre just rich or its a must have game. get the expansions when theres a sale. big whoop guys.

Most steam users are spoiled with sales, yes. Developers do not work for free, and the seasons are discounted for previous owners already.

That is an interesting point you make, as Frontier hasn't specified how the 25% discount works in conjunction with other sales.

[Bernard Buckshot]

Originally posted by SeeJay:

I have no problems paying full price for a game. Done that many times.
But when the expansions, DLC or whatever you want to call them, cost almost (or as ) much
as the full game, it's too expensive in my book.

I've played Evochron Mercenary (Now Legacy) for more than 5 years with weekly updates and
even an expansion (new game) and I haven't been charged a penny other than the $25 for the
initial purchase. How come that game has more content than ED will ever have without
charging you tons of money every year to add contents that should have been there in the
first place? Yeah, I know, ED is an Early Access with a never ending story to a full game
release. The Dev for EL has worked since 2011 with the recently released game without
any funding from the public. He doesn't want to release an unfinished product, so don't tell me
it can't be done!

Don't get me wrong. I like flying around in ED, so I don't complain about the game, only
how they finance it. SC is not any better and won't get my money until they have a finished game.

Thanks for your reply, I had a look at Evochron Mercenary/Legacy I might try it out, it looks like fun. If I were to make an educated guess as to why ED charges for expansions, it would be because ED has better graphics. I'm sure there is more to it than just the cost of the graphics.

[zeuss000]

Many people buy series of games that cost a lot more, look at the Assassins Creed series, they bring out a new one probably twice a year and they cost around $80.00 a pop, there is others the same, Borderlands, Call of duty etc

[Bernard Buckshot]

Originally posted by ¯\_(ツ)_/¯:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: vote with your wallet.

Is X item worth the cost to you personally? If yes and have the means to do so, purchase it. If not for any reason, don't. Simple as that.

I personally do not agree with how the additional content is being handled, so I'm not purchasing it, at least not yet. At the same time I absolutely hate it when people spam bad reviews or forum posts about it (not including you, OP, I'm talking flaming/baiting and general non-constructive feedback).

Yes, it's $45 for planetary exploration (and ammo reloading!). But what about 6 months or more down the line? What will we have then? It may very well be worth $45 then.

Note: My views are entirely independent of knowledge of the rewards for backing the kickstarter, so if there's some sort of conflict with the pricing and previous agreements, I don't know about it and it doesn't apply to the above.

Thank you for your reply, I agree with your views. Frontier has a very good relationship with its online community. Perhaps if enough people believe the expansion is unfairly priced and were to clearly communicate this to the developer, the developer may see it would be reasonable to reprice the expansions.

[OssomUmbra]

Horizons is, in effect, a 'season pass'. It'll include all the upcomming expansions without any further purchases.

[Glorious Tachikoma Overlord]

Oh man, THIS topic again. Seriously people, just buy the base game and enjoy it. No, right now the content of Horizon is NOT worth it, unless you really love the game or are an enthusiast. No, Horizons will not forever stay at the current price, the devs (who are also the publishers) have already stated that the price of the season expansion will go as low as ~$15 in future sales (which might even stack with your orignal %15).

Just wait till there is a sale, there is more season content to justify the purchase, enjoy the base game with 95% of the content and stop spamming the forum with complain threads or spamming negative reviews... seriously.

[MycroftCanadaNS]

Originally posted by Wolfiy:

Horizons is, in effect, a 'season pass'. It'll include all the upcomming expansions without any further purchases.

You are wrong there. Season Pass is for that one season only. Season 3 will cost you again, same goes for season 4, and so on.

Purchasing Horizons is not a pass for every other season after it.