Why can't we buy content (music, face, unit packs) individually? Why reduce consumer choice?

[mudcrabmerchant]

I made a thread earlier asking if there was any way to purchase the steppe music pack individually, but the answer is apparently no. I want this thread to be a general discussion about this new direction for selling smaller DLC.

Personally, I'm completely baffled, and entirely against, this change of direction. I have no interest in face or unit packs, but have always eagerly awaited the new music pack with each expansion. However, I refuse to buy the entire content pack just to get the one item I care about. I've seen other posts on this forum by people who wanted one or two of the things in the bundled Horse Lords content pack, but didn't want to pay for everything included.

So why are we forced to purchase things that we don't care about in order to get what we actually want? Each element of the content bundle stands alone, and can easily be separated from the others, as we've seen in past releases. The only reasons I can think of to bundle them all together are:

1. Make customers pay for things they don't want and would never pay for if sold individually (I've come to trust Paradox, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this isn't the reason)
2. A misguided sense of providing convenience to the customer - hey guys, you no longer have to buy all the DLC separately, we've already bundled it all together for you! (ignoring that there are people who don't want to buy all of the DLC)

If #2 is the reasoning behind the change, I'd like to ask the folks at Paradox to rethink the matter. Maybe sales numbers show that the majority of people buy all minor DLC, if they buy any. However, I doubt anyone has not bought a DLC simply because it wasn't bundled, while I know that I personally will never buy any more minor DLC, if I'm forced to purchase them in bundles that make me pay for things I just don't want.

 

[Ilyasviel]

I think it's because they realized that the massive amount of DLCs was scary for new customers.

 

[DMcCool]

I think it's because they realized that the massive amount of DLCs was scary for new customers.

The issue is that the cutting up of DLC into smaller bits offered us customers only one real advantage, and that was being able to pick and choose the bits we wanted. With that advantage gone, you have to ask the question why can't these things just be included in the main expansion, like what would have happened before the advent of DLC?

 

[Daronaollard]

I think it's because they realized that the massive amount of DLCs was scary for new customers.

Looking at the list of DLC now I am like eh, it's nothing. Mainly because I bought it over time as it was released and on sale. However, if I only found this game last week and saw the amount of DLC I would think it isn't worth it and turn the other way. So I think you're probably right.

 

[Ulfing]

if I only found this game last week and saw the amount of DLC I would think it isn't worth it

My friends are all hyped to play it, but they're always "waiting for a sale" and I can't blame them. The mega bundle on Steam is like, £110 now.

Not that I'm justifying the bundling, going from all separate to all together is a bit unfair on players.

 

[mudcrabmerchant]

I think it's because they realized that the massive amount of DLCs was scary for new customers.

Well, we already have several dozen DLC, so even if all future DLC is sold like this, I don't think it'll make much of a difference.

And if we must have bundles, we could at least get bundles of similar DLC. Like, after individual content has been out for a while, regroup it into diachronic unit, face, and music packs. E.G. after we see another two expansions, the separate unit packs would vanish from the store, and we'd see a "Horse Lords to Secret Bears of Jan Mayen Unit Pack", and similar collections for faces and music. It could also be retroactively applied to former DLC.

I still prefer buying everything independently, but if we must have bundles, I think it'd be better to split them around type of DLC, rather than expansion themes. I will always be interested in music, and never in unit packs, and I imagine there are people who similarly only want face and/or unit packs.

 

[Daronaollard]

My friends are all hyped to play it, but they're always "waiting for a sale" and I can't blame them. The mega bundle on Steam is like, £110 now.

Not that I'm justifying the bundling, going from all separate to all together is a bit unfair on players.

That's understandable though. I mean it's either to be bundled or sold separate. Which would you prefer, a flood of DLC or a nice compact list of bundles? I know it's not ideal but I can't think of any way better to be honest.

 

[Ulfing]

That's understandable though. I mean it's either to be bundled or sold separate. Which would you prefer, a flood of DLC or a nice compact list of bundles? I know it's not ideal but I can't think of any way better to be honest.

Oh yes, it is understandable. The big pack is ideal for new people, if you just want to buy everything. But people who are money conscious will go through the list and question what bits they really need - and its a really long list now. It must be the longest on steam. Is the new music really that important to our enjoyment? Do I really want to spend £1 to have feathers on the helmets of my early frankish troops? Yeah, that's why I can see that individual items are off putting.

 

[Flamestalker]

I do buy pretty much everything, but not all at the same time. I pick up the stuff I really want early on release and get the others later when the 75% sale comes around. Because of the new bundle system I'm now forced to buy the whole bundle or nothing at all. I'm now cheated out of getting the face packs early and Paradox just cheated themselves out of the money I would've paid for it.

 

[mudcrabmerchant]

That's understandable though. I mean it's either to be bundled or sold separate. Which would you prefer, a flood of DLC or a nice compact list of bundles? I know it's not ideal but I can't think of any way better to be honest.

I would always rather have more choice. You can already pick up a ton of minor DLC in sale bundles.

 

[Daronaollard]

Oh yes, it is understandable. The big pack is ideal for new people, if you just want to buy everything. But people who are money conscious will go through the list and question what bits they really need - and its a really long list now. It must be the longest on steam. Is the new music really that important to our enjoyment? Do I really want to spend £1 to have feathers on the helmets of my early frankish troops? Yeah, that's why I can see that individual items are off putting.

Ah yes, I see your point totally. I guess then it is just down to each individual player on how much immersion they would like to put into their game. But I do see why some people would prefer it sold separate. Personally it doesn't bother me, but the choice to choose would be important to some people. And while we are talking about it, the new music is quite enjoyable.

 

[Daronaollard]

I would always rather have more choice. You can already pick up a ton of minor DLC in sale bundles.

I guess it's just down to keeping the DLC list compact then and not overflowing moreso than it already is. As I said the choice would be ideal though.

 

[Matthias_Wlkp]

Hold on... So if I didn't buy the face pack, but I bought Horse Lords already, I will have to buy them again in a bundle to get the face pack??

 

[Tom013]

Though I understand the bundling as well, I liked the choice.

Previously, I always picked up the main expansion, then waited for ANY sale on both the music and the faces while frequently waiting for a bigger sale on the unit models. It was a matter of personal value derived. The big items directly impact every game I play. The secondary ones impact my general enjoyment of the game (love the music, see the faces all the time). The tertiary ones only impact me when I'm playing/looking in the right region and generally when I'm playing slowly, not a consistent thing.

Hold on... So if I didn't buy the face pack, but I bought Horse Lords already, I will have to buy them again in a bundle to get the face pack??

No. The content pack is separate. It's just that now it's content and expansion rather than music, faces, unit models, and expansion.

 

[Hiiri]

I suspect it's because the unit packs do not seem to sell very well individually, and by packing them together with items people do care about we're "forced" to buy all or nothing.

In EU4 they added this completely useless feature in the post-battle screen that shows big models of your units, which probably had the same purpose... to sell unit packs.

 

[TheChronoMaster]

Because consumers don't know what they want.

 

[Ulfing]

completely useless feature

Useless, yes, but I couldn't imagine life without it now!

 

[Tom013]

I suspect it's because the unit packs do not seem to sell very well individually, and by packing them together with items people do care about we're "forced" to buy all or nothing.

In EU4 they added this completely useless feature in the post-battle screen that shows big models of your units, which probably had the same purpose... to sell unit packs.

This was my conclusion as well. I think a lot of us play zoomed out a bit and moving around fairly quickly, so we don't always notice them as quickly.

They really do add to the game's flavor, so it would be a shame to do away with them completely, and so I'd rather have them bundled than not at all.

 

[Matthias_Wlkp]

I agree that the unit packs seem to add the least value. You play zoomed out most of the time, so you don't see the units clearly enough. I got three unit packs, only because they were bundled with the main game when I bought it.

I like the face packs though. Diversity between the regions is really nice, but probably I will never buy them at full price. The same goes with music.

 

[Sernista]

Yeah, this is a result of all the teacup tempests about there being "too many DLCs". It's not the best. On the other hand, the content:dollar ratio has been fantastic on both, so at least there's that.