Not to be a downer but: Destiny, Fallout 4, and power creep (Destiny)

by Claude Errera , Thursday, October 29, 2015, 03:22 (3409 days ago) @ narcogen

But that's a problem all MMO style games struggle with, and it's not likely to change, as WoW seems to be doing alright and Destiny is to. So they have no incentive to change the way their games operate.

But when you do stop playing, it's never going to be from a place of excitement or satisfaction. Your game should go out with a bang, not a whimper. That's ultimately why MMOs and the idea of constant everyday play is counterproductive in the long run. You never finish a game, you just quit. Give your players a great, tight, awesome experience that doesn't last a second longer than it has to, and they'll throw money at you for a sequel.

Standard vanilla Destiny was $60. Dark Below + House of Wolves was $40. Taken King was also $40.

The take for Destiny's first 12 months was $140. They've essentially already sold a sequel without needing to burn 3 years worth of development expenses waiting for more revenue. If they make more than third as much on every year's DLC than they would on a full game, it's a no brainer-- they should do it this way.

Yeah, but the numbers don't really work that way. It's doubtful that 100% of the folks who bought Year 1 also bought all of the DLC, while it's likely (or even probable) that a full $60 release in year 2 would have sold as many copies as Vanilla Y1 Destiny.