CD Projekt RED Co-founder Says Companies 'Over-Exploit' Gamers

Category: Gaming
Posted: July 18, 2012 02:07AM
Author: bp9801

If you start counting the number of games that have paid downloadable content, you may be going for a little while. Paid DLC exists for many games, and while some of the content adds new levels, quests, and areas, there are others that simply add something cosmetic. Gamers have been getting nickeled and dimed for ages, but CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwinski says the practice has to stop. Constantly asking gamers for more money will "drive publishers into the ground," according to Iwinski, and he may be on to something. Gamers want the $60 product to contain everything they need to enjoy it and not have to shell out another five dollars for some characters already on the disc. That kind of stuff will drive gamers away and publishers do not seem to notice the "over-exploiting" of the customers.

Free is always better, which is something CD Projekt RED found out with The Witcher 1. Iwinski said the studio went to Atari, the publisher at the time, and explained all the extra content it wanted to give gamers for free. The Atari executives balked at the idea and said it should be $10, but CD Projekt disagreed. Free DLC was released for The Witcher 1, which in turn helped to drive sales of the Enhanced Edition pretty far. I wish more companies would follow the lead of CD Projekt RED and release content for free, but the publishers typically have a different idea. Maybe one day we will not have that problem, but until then, we have to cherish the companies that buck the trend.

You can read Marcin Iwinski's full interview with Gamasutra here.