by Tuesday PopeControl is a critically acclaimed game that came out less than a year ago. It’s celebrating the very recent release of its latest DLC which crosses over with Alan Wake. The game itself is imaginative and fun with the imaginative, creatively told story we expect from Remedy. It’s also no secret we are on the cusp of the next generation of gaming and as such, many players are wondering which games will be ported and which will have free upgrades. Free upgrades and ports were standard at the beginning the the current console cycle.
As it turns out, many are opting to make their upgrades available for a fee. $10 seems to be the norm as reflected by Call of Duty and NBA 2k. Control, on the other hand, does not have this option. The only way to get your upgraded port, for a game that is less than a year old, was to buy the ultimate edition. This means that early adopters who bought the game at release were just out of luck. 505 Games, the publisher of the Remedy title, released a statement saying it was impossible to do this with the standard version and would only be something that could be done with the ultimate edition.
This is becoming an increasing issue with the triple A gaming environment. You buy the game at release and then miss out on the soon after released ultimate edition or what have you. It really lessens the value of the launch edition, the edition which is critical for companies to measure failure or success of any given title. Sure you get preorder incentives, but are they really worth more than the incentives or the ultimate or platinum or whatever edition? This is an issue for another article.
Well as it turns out, akin to when Anthem “accidentally” made their game fun with increased loot drops, 505 made an oopsie. Players who logged into the PlayStation store found that this elusive ultimate edition upgrade that is so very impossible to receive with their standard editions is suddenly available for download. And just like that, the narrative was shattered and they now have access to the port when the PS5 launches. For free.
Now I don’t have an issue paying $10 for an upgrade especially since $70 seems to be the new normal for game standard edition prices and current gen still costs $60. I have an issue with the lies. Just make your port $10 and call it a day. The transparent greed is what I have an issue with. And it’s the greed that makes triple A games and their practices less and less tolerable.
505 Games now has a huge fire it will have to put out as players are not taking this lie lightly. Players were already angry at their poor initial excuse to not have a free upgrade, especially when The Witcher 3 was getting a free upgrade. The saddest thing? I’m not surprised by any of this.
