Dead Space 3’s microtransactions have caused much discussion of late, but until now we didn’t know exactly how much they’d cost – you’ll probably want to sit down for this…Â We also didn’t know there’d be an online pass (there is, it’s $9.99) but that’s par for the course now anyway.
So, it looks like there’s a few in there – and tellingly, although EA were keen to demonstrate that scavenger bots could be used to pick up more resources, those bots can be boosted with, yes, real cash. For $4.99 you can add capacity to the scavenger (presumably to get more resources) and there’s also a $4.99 Personality Pack for it.
There’s also a Bot Accelerator. Again, another $4.99.
Other things to look out for? There’s a Maruader Pack ($4.99), a Sharpshooter Pack ($4.99), a Tundra Recon Pack ($4.99) and a Witness the Truth Pack ($4.99). That’s a fair few packs, and transactions that perhaps stretch the definition of ‘micro’.
There’s also two weapon and resource packs – an Epic one for $2.99 and an Ultra one for $1.99. The repeated resource packs, which you will be able to buy multiple of (to our understanding) in order to boost your in-game currency amounts are a dollar each.
The “First Contact Pack” is free.
Here’s the full list:
- Bot Capacity Upgrade – $4.99
- Bot Personality Pack – $4.99
- Bot Accelerator – $4.99
- First Contact Pack – Free
- Marauder Pack – $4.99
- Sharpshooter Pack – $4.99
- Tundra Recon Pack – $4.99
- Witness the Truth Pack – $4.99
- Epic Weapon & Resource Pack – $2.99
- Online Pass – $9.99
- Ultra Weapon & Resource Pack – $1.99
- Resource Pack – $0.99
Presumably more localised pricing will look very much the same. So, yeah, that’s Dead Space 3 – a full priced game – launching with over $40 of DLC and the still ugly notion of repeated resource transactions at a dollar each.
Yes, they’re optional, but the way the bot packs are worded suggests that if you want to get the most out your scavenger (the way to pick up resources for your in-game weaponry and so on) you’ll need to spend a bit of cash. We’ll be able to confirm all this when we get our hands on it.
List via Destructoid.
sshaunss
That is ridiculous £80 for a game and yes I don’t have to pay for all the dlc and to upgrade the guns etc but I could also go out and buy a different game for £40 with everything already included/finished.
Youles
This isn’t new though – Final Fantasy XIII-2 has over £33 of DLC but TSA didn’t mention that. I guess EA and Square-Enix are trying to cash in as they would with games that have multiplayer DLC. I’d prefer this scenario over Final Fantasy though, as at least I can still obtain everything in-game with Dead Space 3.
avengerrr
It comes to something paying £45 for some pretty featured polygons. I think the more appropriate term is money grabbing w***ers.
Starman
Could see this game tanking now, I’ve seen so many negative reactions to this but I’m yet to see any from the mythical smart phone gamer who wants to pay full price & then pay further to get everything quickly.
a inferior race
It won’t tank, but it could harm any future sequels.
tactical20
To be honest, I don’t know what the fuss is about. How’s this any different to buying DLC from the store? Lots of games offer ‘quick cut’ DLC to unlock all levels/cars/etc..
Alex C
Because, as I’ve tried to explain before, the resource transactions aren’t one off.
Think of it as buying fuel for your car, rather than a car.
hazelam
suddenly i’m reminded of that consumables rumour from a few years ago.
tactical20
Fuel for your car is necessary.
Alex C
yes it is. and i’m thinking that grinding for resources isn’t going to be much fun.
EA have already said this aspect is like similar stuff on smartphones. not sure why you might think this isn’t the case.
=)
tactical20
I’m just saying, everyone is so quick to kick off before we even know how much it effects the game. If the resources are meant to be rare, and take a while to accumulate, then surely that makes upgrades and stuff more rewarding, and if anything, adds to the whole survival aspect that everyone was worried was lacking in Dead Space 3?
Alex C
Maybe I’m just being cynical. We’ll see.
Youles
I see tacticals point – Dead Space 1 could have required 10 playthroughs if you were shit at finding nodes and wanted everything upgraded. Some people might want a short-cut. It doesn’t change the outcome or the experience of the game.
KeRaSh
Same here. I don’t really get the fuss. It’s DLC that doesn’t affect the game. It’s optional… even the one time use transactions. Dead Space is meant to be intense so even if EA is holding back resources in the game its probably going to be even better for people who want the game to be challenging.
Didn’t Dragon’s Dogma have more DLC content than the vanilla game? People moaned about that for a second but now everybody loves it. DS3 will come out and the transactions won’t affect anyone’s gameplay unless they want them to. I can’t wait until there’s something serious to whine about…
hazelam
you didn’t know there’d be an online pass?
i did.
it’s an ea game with multiplayer, of course it’s gonna have an online pass, the chances are these days even if it a single player game from ea it’ll still have one.
do ea even make any single player games any more?
and i stand by my prediction that you’ll need so many resources to buy most of the upgrades and weapons to make the only viable upgrade option, in anything like a timely manner, be buying them with real money.
Jumping Monks
I think I’ll probably miss DS3. Loved the original, and indeed it is perhaps my favourite game this gen. The second one I failed to get in to, I’ve restarted it more times than I’d care to admit. I won’t be supporting this sort of business practice that’s for sure.
TSBonyman
I hope this trash doesn’t make it’s way to ps+.
blackredyellow
OK I’m done. I refuse to buy this, just cancelled my pre-order.
Jones81
I actually liked the demo and want to but this but I feel like ‘d be doing business with the devil or something
jbni
We’ll just have to see if they find a glitch that allows you to get infinite nodes/resources etc. It would also mean there was an ‘unofficial’ way of getting resources quickly without having to dole out real money for it.