What if Destiny was $95 with 2 FREE expansions? (Destiny)

by RC , UK, Monday, July 14, 2014, 05:25 (3583 days ago)

I'm wondering about price and value perception here.

Currently
Destiny - $60 - Standard edition at release
Expansion Pass - $34.99 - 2 Expansions
Limited Edition - $99 - Includes Expansion Pass + Steelbook case and extras
Ghost Edition - $149 - As Limited + Ghost Model and more extras

What if
Destiny - $95 - Full game + 2 FREE Expansions in 2016!
Limited - $99 - As above + Steelbook case and Digital and Physical extras
Ghost Edition - $149 - As above + Ghost Model and EVEN MORE extras

If you want all of Destiny, you're going to be getting the Expansion Pass. With not only multiplayer maps, but also story missions, co-op activities and new gear, they're going to be much more valuable to more people than Halo map packs ever were.

That is already $95 spent on this game. Instead of bothering with extra cards with codes on them (so fiddly and annoying), why not just raise the buy-in price and then let every copy access the Expansions as soon as they're released?

That gives much more $ per copy for the eager Day Oners and a lot more headroom to discount it overtime. If Steam Sales have taught us anything, it's that gamers love a (perceived) bargain. e.g. a $95 Destiny could be 37% off and still be $60.

Sometimes I think the only reason this hasn't happened yet is that no-one has had the balls to try it. No one has had the requisite confidence in their game and their fans reaction to it.

The industry seems to have got it into their collective heads that success must be DAY 1 OR DIE. That pre-order numbers are god and you can't upset the status quo. EA might struggle with something like this, but I think Bungie's quality bar is high enough that they could pull it off if they tried.

Obviously the Day 1 sales would be way down, but if the revenue is up then what does it matter? How many wouldn't buy, and would continue not to buy through successive discounts, compared to everyone paying $60 on launch day?

This would totally change the comparative price of the LE and Ghost Editions as well. Instead of having to really dig around inside the LE's content list and find the Expansion Pass there to justify most of the price difference, it just becomes a simple $5 upgrade (like Halo 2 to Halo 2 LE was). The Ghost Edition, instead of being 2.5x the price of the regular edition, is just 1.6x the price instead.

A lot of games, especially the big ones (like Halo), have had this massive peak of activity at launch, a sharp initial decline, then a long slow decline to their inevitable death. I think it might actually be a good thing for the game's health (and server stability :P) to split this peak up over time into coordinated stages of discount and get a fresh round of players in.

Have release at $95, then discount it 3 months later in time for Christmas and re-promote. Discount again at Expansion 1 release with a new round of promotion and discount a 3rd time at Expansion 2 with a final round of promotion. When Destiny 2 releases, offer a bundle that includes Destiny 1.

Think it would work?