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[Men_in_Boxes]

Baldur's Gate 3 is a huge commercial and critical success. Yet, it doesn't have a chance at having a respectable completion rate. (Divinity: Original Sin 2 only has a 11.5% completion rate)

Why? Because Larian Studios main operative is to extract $70 dollars from people before they play the game. Once they have you're money, they don't care how much time you spend with it. Beat it, drop it, they don't care. Baldur's Gate 3 is pure FOMO hype at this point. It's the talk of the town that everyone wants to be a part of, but in two weeks, the pink cloud of mist vapor that is currently circling everyone's head will dissipate and the crowd will move on to the next shiny object. Notice, all the people who say "Games should be shorter. Give me a solid 10 - 15 hours SP game. That's all we really want" are silent right now.

The completion rate for Baldur's Gate III is going to be pitiful because most players will grow bored of it before completing it.

Why do you guys put up with this? The incentive structure is not set up to benefit the player.

Can you imagine how much better Baldur's Gate 3 would be if Larian Studios primary objective was to get players to love PLAYING their game, rather than to love BUYING their game?

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[calistan]

People wouldn’t buy the game if they didn’t love playing it. Everyone gets two hours on Steam to find out how good it is.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Mugatu was right. Derek Zoolander only had the Blue Steel look.

Add another game to your backlogs people!

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

People wouldn’t buy the game if they didn’t love playing it. Everyone gets two hours on Steam to find out how good it is.

People buy lottery tickets because they like imagining what 200 million dollars could do to their life. They don't buy lotto tickets to acquire 200 million dollars.

You literally can't play Baldur's Gate 3 before forking over 70 bucks so how can you love it? You can love the idea of it. Marketing FOMO.

 

[amigastar]

Nah, and hearing F2P leaves a bitter aftertaste in many cases.

 

[Lupin3]

Why do you guys put up with this?

Put up with what, exactly? Completion rate?

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

 

[a multicultural team of v]

This is like asking why would anyone pay money for drinks when a casino gives them out for free. I dunno, maybe the crippling gambling addiction part?

 

[Danjin44]

Worse idea I ever heard.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Put up with what, exactly? Completion rate?

I think a 90% failure rate, which Baldur's Gate 3 will likely have in a year or two, should result in a class action lawsuit. It's snake oil.

 

[kittoo]

F2P cancer in my singleplayer games? GTFO!

 

[Meicyn]

It's snake oil.

What do you mean by this?

 

[Lupin3]

I think a 90% failure rate, which Baldur's Gate 3 will likely have in a year or two, should result in a class action lawsuit. It's snake oil.

I think you've had too much snake oil today.

 

[Zheph]

Get some help please

 

[Fuz]

I call for a ban if he's not trolling.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

What do you mean by this?

I think it's a grift. To be selling a full priced game that will be heaved upon 90% of players backlogs like a cheap trinket.

The media tells us it's a 96 Metascore, GotY quality game, and the vast majority of it's players will get too bored by it to bother finishing it.

Remove you from your money before you get bored. That's the snake oil. There's something deeply toxic about this payment model and marketing blitz.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I think a 90% failure rate, which Baldur's Gate 3 will likely have in a year or two, should result in a class action lawsuit. It's snake oil.

What? Far from it. People that love BG, LOVE BG. 3 has acquired a ton of new fans as well. I think plenty of people will love it and finish it. There will probably be plenty that don't finish it, but will still love it. If they enjoy their time with it, then it's money well spent. At least buying this game they know that they're getting a ton of content for their buck. If it's what they're into of course.

I'd much rather pay for a full price title full of content then play some F2P game clamoring for my dollar in various ways.

 

[Puscifer]

Feel like OP is one of those devs mad that a small studio accomplished what they couldn't

 

[Meicyn]

I think it's a grift. To be selling a full priced game that will be heaved upon 90% of players backlogs like a cheap trinket.

The media tells us it's a 96 Metascore, GotY quality game, and the vast majority of it's players will get too bored by it to bother finishing it.

Remove you from your money before you get bored. That's the snake oil.

That’s not what snake oil is.

Snake oil is a fake remedy that does not accomplish what is advertised, knowingly pitched by an individual who relies on deception to make money.

Baldur’s Gate 3 does exactly as advertised. There is no deception involved. It is not sold as a cure for boredom. It’s a fully featured game. It is a product sold in the traditional manner relying on an element of trust between the developer and consumer, a trust that so far, has not been broken.

The F2P business model makes sense for some games, but a single player story-centric CRPG? What would you even monetize?

 

[Guilty_AI]

Just get it Men_in_Boxes , i know you're dying to play it.

He's waiting

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

What? Far from it. People that love BG, LOVE BG. 3 has acquired a ton of new fans as well. I think plenty of people will love it and finish it. There will probably be plenty that don't finish it, but will still love it. If they enjoy their time with it, then it's money well spent. At least buying this game they know that they're getting a ton of content for their buck. If it's what they're into of course.

I'd much rather pay for a full price title full of content then play some F2P game clamoring for my dollar in various ways.

If the current PAY BEFORE YOU PLAY model was outlawed, what would you change it to? What payment model incentivizes developers to get player to love PLAYING their games?

 

[winjer]

So non-sense...

 

[WoJ]

I call for a ban if he's not trolling.

Seconded.

It's not Larian Studios fault if most gamers have the memory of a goldfish and can't finish the game.

This in the top five worst takes I've ever heard.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Just get it Men_in_Boxes , i know you're dying to play it.

He's waiting

I WILL NOT GET IT! I WILL NOT!

Oh believe me, the last 24 hours I was allured by all the praise this game was getting. I had the pink vapor swirling around my head too. Then I saw this Tweet and it completely woke me up.



That's some Animal Crossing, Second Life bull****. Then I realized "Oh wait a second, I played 10 hours of DOS2 before quitting. Those 10 hours weren't even that fun." My backlog will not get bigger, no sir!

 

[Fbh]

A F2P version would be designed around grinding through repetitive content over and over for color coded loot or gacha waifus, like all F2P RPG's. Sounds like a terrible game.

As for the length, I haven't played BG3 so I can't speak about that game specifically but the reason I want most games to be shorter isn't because there's something intrinsically wrong with long games, but because 95% of long games don't have the quality and variety to justify their length. If I'm 60 hours into some RPG and they send me back to an earlier area to do what's basically a mandatory fetch quest while fighting a powered up color variant of the same enemies I fought 40 hours ago then yeah, my reaction will be "this should be shorter".
Meanwhile 60 hours into a game like Elden Ring I'm going to a new location I haven't seen before where I fight cool new enemies I haven't encountered before culminating in a cool new boss fight I haven't done before, so I don't mind the length.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Such a shit take good heavens.

Are you the same way with other entertainment? Cinema, concerts etc like?

I find it unbelievable how cheap most gamers are. They would rather play mind garbage for free than commit to something.

To suggest that BG3 should’ve been built around addictive loops that make you grind for bs and is always trying to trick you into overspending is some shit.

 

[JimboJones]

You don't have to always complete a game to have fun and feel like you've enjoyed what is has to offer.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I'll always appreciate your takes box even when the world thinks you're retarded

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Such a shit take good heavens.

Are you the same way with other entertainment? Cinema, concerts etc like?

I find it unbelievable how cheap most gamers are. They would rather play mind garbage for free than commit to something.

Most media that I fail to finish is what I consider to be bad media, yes. If I walk out of a concert, it's because the band was trash.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Most media that I fail to finish is what I consider to be bad media, yes. If I walk out of a concert, it's because the band was trash.

But you paid the ticket. And in turn what you are entitled to is an attempt to entertain you, not that you are entitled to be entertained.

 

[Meicyn]

Most media that I fail to finish is what I consider to be bad media, yes. If I walk out of a concert, it's because the band was trash.

So by your logic based on this thread, all bands should make music that you like, else it’s snake oil.

What a narcissistic, self-centered take on the world.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I'll always appreciate your takes box even when the world thinks you're retarded

 

[amc]

Someone's desperate to play the cool games but can't afford to buy the cool games. The take.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I WILL NOT GET IT! I WILL NOT!

You will

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

So by your logic based on this thread, all bands should make music that you like, else it’s snake oil.

What a narcissistic, self-centered take on the world.

No. Bands should play concerts that don't force 90% of ticket buyers to walk out of.

 

[cireza]

And how are the developers supposed to get money in the process ?

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Op's thinking is " If I can't afford it, nobody should!"

 

[MiguelItUp]

How does OP not have a title like "F2P ambassador" or something? Lol.

 

[Fabieter]

I WILL NOT GET IT! I WILL NOT!

Oh believe me, the last 24 hours I was allured by all the praise this game was getting. I had the pink vapor swirling around my head too. Then I saw this Tweet and it completely woke me up.



That's some Animal Crossing, Second Life bull****. Then I realized "Oh wait a second, I played 10 hours of DOS2 before quitting. Those 10 hours weren't even that fun." My backlog will not get bigger, no sir!

So you dont like DOS 2 either? Why do you hate Larian Studios so much?

 

[Sgt.Asher]

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[Meicyn]

No. Bands should play concerts that don't force 90% of ticket buyers to walk out.

We both know you’re just making shit up now because 90% of ticket buyers don’t walk out in the first place since they know exactly what they’re getting when buying the tickets. No one goes to a Taylor Swift concert and suddenly has buyer’s remorse expecting heavy metal music and all the associated theatrics.

 

[{insert code here}]

 

[diffusionx]

I really do not understand the OP's thought process. It makes zero sense. Must be a zoomer thing.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Op's thinking is " If I can't afford it, nobody should!"

Sushi Combo, I'm fighting for you. You're not going to finish Baldur's Gate 3 (statistically speaking). Don't you want to enjoy games so much that you actually want to finish them?

Is this what Jesus felt like when he was carrying the cross through Jerusalem? You guys are throwing food at me, but I fight to make your games better.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

 

[Fafalada]

Can you imagine how much better Baldur's Gate 3 would be if Larian Studios primary objective was to get players to love PLAYING their game, rather than to love BUYING their game?

This is technically true - but F2P games (And all GaaS really) optimize for repeat engagement - ie. they're designed to be addictive, not completable or fun.

That said that does translate to general polish of the user experience being worse with paid for games, even though it perhaps sounds counter-intuitive.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I really do not understand the OP's thought process. It makes zero sense. Must be a zoomer thing.

It's really simple.

Would you rather pay for your check at the end of your meal, when you're certain you're satisfied?

or

Would you rather pay for your check before you take your first bite of food, no refunds?

Obviously, the former leads to a better dining experience but you people are so ingrained in your ways that you can't see the light.

 

[killatopak]

That already exists. It’s called mobile and I want no part of it.

 

[Meicyn]

It's really simple.

Would you rather pay for your check at the end of your meal, when you're certain you're satisfied?

or

Would you rather pay for your check before you take your first bite of food, no refunds?

Obviously, the former leads to a better dining experience but you people are so ingrained in your ways that you can't see the light.

Weird example to make, when you still have to pay at the end of the meal whether you liked the meal or not.