Dear Microsoft, Turn 10 Studios, and Playground Games:
Congratulations on the launch of Forza Horizon 2! It’s a fantastic game, and easily one of my favorite racing games of all time. Unfortunately, today I am writing not to praise, but to criticize your continued nasty DLC policies and the lack of value therein. You listened to your fans when we questioned your practices within Forza 5 and I’m hoping you consider doing so again.
Today, 1 week after release of the base game, you announced the Mobil 1 Car Pack for $5. I’m assuming Mobil has paid you straight out for this placement or has offered you some kind of valuable marketing cross-promotion in exchange for having their name associated with this content. That you are charging customers while simultaneously accepting sponsorship does not sit well with me.
Much worse though, is that you decided to sell all the cars individually EXCEPT the Jaguar F-Type, which can only be acquired with the purchase of the full pack. This ongoing practice of holding the most desired cars “hostage” behind $5-$20 DLC packages has to be one of the most hostile anti-consumer practices that exists in the gaming industry. If you have the capability to sell the cars piecemeal, excluding certain cars only highlights greed and how little respect you have for customers and fans.
In Forza Motorsport 5, you locked the Bugatti Veyron behind the $20 VIP pass. Yes, one of the most coveted cars in history was not available unless customers, who already paid $60 for the game, ponied up an additional $20. This is analogous to sports games making the most popular players or teams available only to those who pay extra. These practices exemplify everything that is wrong with DLC today, and as consumers, we must rally against them or face a very bleak and expensive gaming future.
Also, there has been a noticeable decrease in value provided by the Forza series. Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Edition for $80 which included a physical package with a steel case, a very nice 100 page hardcover book, an additional 15 cars and VIP membership. In stark contrast, Forza Horizon 2’s $80 Limited Edition was download only (so no disc, steel case, or book) and only included 5 extra cars and VIP membership.
I hope you will consider freeing the most popular cars from their packs and allow ALL cars to be purchased separately. In the meantime, I will continue to urge gamers to avoid DLC purchases of this nature and spread the word that these business practices are insulting to your most dedicated customers and a blight on the gaming industry.
Thanks,
David "CheapyD" Abrams
Cheap Ass Gamer
Congratulations on the launch of Forza Horizon 2! It’s a fantastic game, and easily one of my favorite racing games of all time. Unfortunately, today I am writing not to praise, but to criticize your continued nasty DLC policies and the lack of value therein. You listened to your fans when we questioned your practices within Forza 5 and I’m hoping you consider doing so again.
Today, 1 week after release of the base game, you announced the Mobil 1 Car Pack for $5. I’m assuming Mobil has paid you straight out for this placement or has offered you some kind of valuable marketing cross-promotion in exchange for having their name associated with this content. That you are charging customers while simultaneously accepting sponsorship does not sit well with me.
Much worse though, is that you decided to sell all the cars individually EXCEPT the Jaguar F-Type, which can only be acquired with the purchase of the full pack. This ongoing practice of holding the most desired cars “hostage” behind $5-$20 DLC packages has to be one of the most hostile anti-consumer practices that exists in the gaming industry. If you have the capability to sell the cars piecemeal, excluding certain cars only highlights greed and how little respect you have for customers and fans.
In Forza Motorsport 5, you locked the Bugatti Veyron behind the $20 VIP pass. Yes, one of the most coveted cars in history was not available unless customers, who already paid $60 for the game, ponied up an additional $20. This is analogous to sports games making the most popular players or teams available only to those who pay extra. These practices exemplify everything that is wrong with DLC today, and as consumers, we must rally against them or face a very bleak and expensive gaming future.
Also, there has been a noticeable decrease in value provided by the Forza series. Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Edition for $80 which included a physical package with a steel case, a very nice 100 page hardcover book, an additional 15 cars and VIP membership. In stark contrast, Forza Horizon 2’s $80 Limited Edition was download only (so no disc, steel case, or book) and only included 5 extra cars and VIP membership.
I hope you will consider freeing the most popular cars from their packs and allow ALL cars to be purchased separately. In the meantime, I will continue to urge gamers to avoid DLC purchases of this nature and spread the word that these business practices are insulting to your most dedicated customers and a blight on the gaming industry.
Thanks,
David "CheapyD" Abrams
Cheap Ass Gamer
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