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Early Access for Premium Edition Customers is Brilliant

Is everyone going to copy this?

  • No

  • Yes

  • Some


Results are only viewable after voting.

Three

Member
I don't mind early access but it's kind of bullshit paying a premium instead of a discount for it. The people paying a premium are either playing a buggy game they are paying to test or the people paying regular price are artificially being held back from playing a game that's ready. Charging just for the DLCs is fine.
 
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legacy24

Member
If the money helps to pay for the dev costs i don't mind it whatsoever since it's still gonna be on gamepass
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Never complained on any other game? Why complain now? As far as I'm concerned technically Forza is free for me. The sheer amount of games I've played and haven't paid full price for makes this free.

Still feel like I'm robbing someone. At full price, it's $180 dollars a year. Halo Campaign, Age of Empires 4, Back 4 Blood = $180 paiiiiiiiiid for.

Now let's list as many of the games that I've played on Gamepass that I can shall we? Maybe one might understand why I'm not the least bit upset about this.
A Plagues Tale
A Way out
Age of Empires 2
AOE 3
Anthem
Bleeding Edge
Battletoads
Code Vein
Dead Cells
Dishonored Death of the Outsider
Destiny 2 + all dlcs I didn't previously own
Doom Eternal
Dragon Quest XI
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XIII
Forza Horizon 4
Frost Punk
Gears 5
Gears 4
Gear Tactics
It Takes Two (as of recent)
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Mirror's Edge 2
Octopath Traveler
Ori and the will of the Wisps
Outriders
Prey
Psychonauts 2
Remnant from The Ashes
Scarlet Nexus
Sea of Thieves
Slay the Spire
The Outer Worlds
Twelve Minutes
Wasteland 3
Wolfenstein youngblood
Wolfenstein II
World War Z
Yakuza Like a Dragon
***I gathered this list while sifting through the current gamepass listings. There are others that are no longer available. Stellaris for example. Cuphead...I mean you get the idea.
 
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FrankWza

Member
Never complained on any other game? Why complain now? As far as I'm concerned technically Forza is free for me. The sheer amount of games I've played and haven't paid full price for makes this free.
But it’s not just for gp users is it? I thought anyone could buy the ultimate edition or whatever it’s called? Gp just gives you a discount.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
But it’s not just for gp users is it? I thought anyone could buy the ultimate edition or whatever it’s called? Gp just gives you a discount.
Yea anyone can buy whatever edition has the early access and play it. For gamepass users though, I think it's half as expensive. $44 for GPusers. Non gamepass users I think have to pay $80? Don't quote me. I'mma gamepass user so it only tells me my price and I'm just getting it on Tuesday so my price is "Pre-Install".
 
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“Will everyone copy it”? Huh? Almost every pub already does this. Even Sony does it.

Dso7chG.jpg
 

Wizz-Art

Member
I always buy the Premium/Ultimate/Gold Editions (or whatever it's called) of both Forza games if they offer it. Simply because they're the best racing games on console imo, I'm playing those games at least once a week untill the next one releases and because they offer a lot of extra's which I'm going to buy anyway. So the extra early acces perk comes as a nice little bonus, but I'm not paying for that, I'm paying for the car pass, the expansions and VIP in game perks.

I'm pretty sure there is no company that only offers paid early acces without a package I mentioned above.
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
Lots of companies already do this. Just off the top of my head EA, Ubisoft, Activision, and Codemaster do it. There are other too.
And its not delaying the release, its a few days early access for he people that bought the premium edition. Just a little bonus for going the extra mile.

I dont know why suddenly this is a nig deal now Microsoft have done it.

I was going to say the same thing. It's not new and it's certainly not limited to Xbox games, I even doubt that Xbox was first to include early access with premium editions of games.

I do find it really strange that so many Sony fans on an enthusiast forum seem to have been completely unaware of this perk offered by many game companies for many years. It seems like the overwhelming success Forza Horizon with over 1 million pre-launch players currently that purchased the premium game or premium DLC before the official launch of the game has some people shook.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
I don't see a problem with giving early access to people who pay a premium. Might as well get something for the money.
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Seems like a good way to milk extra out of the impatient. Hell I’d prob pay a bit extra to play destiny before servers are fucked day 1.
 

Kacho

Gold Member
Now that's really interesting. I don't recall any of the people in here that are having a stroke over FH5 giving early access, freaking out when MLB: The Show did it with their higher priced premium edition.
Yeah it couldn’t be more obvious. I don’t remember seeing the ‘issue’ come up with FH3 or FH4 either.

Let’s not pretend like Playground Games don’t put out quality expansions. They’re proven so it’s very low risk if you’re going to play the added content down the line.
 

JLB

Banned
Nope. Ill play Winning Eleven on PS1 if I have an itch. One would assume EA and Activision does this.

Im more curious if Sony and others will follow. Like others with Halo, I would easily pay extra so others play GOW a week later.

Are you implying that good old Konami is somehow at a higher moral stand than EA or Activision?
By the way, if you put FIFA as an example do the homework (aka: 7 seconds Google search) beforehand at least.
 
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JLB

Banned
Im quite confused by this thread. I guess some people really think that pay to get early access is something somehow invented by Playground and/or Microsoft. There are a ton of companies doing this since forever, Sony, EA and almost any other big one included.
 

Clintizzle

Lord of Edge.
As a few have pointed out, Forza's implementation of this is not bad. This early access doesn't result in a competitive advantage where the buyer's cars drive faster than the standard edition user.

A bad implementation of this is where a game allows you to play 5 days early and unlock exclusive perks not available to standard users that make you OP in certain ways when the game eventually releases.
 
Its predatory tbh. It is a day one release, only that its paywalled to highest bidders. Customers are just conditioned into thinking otherwise. Imagine its a game your kids desperately want and all his friends already have it, it takes advantage of compulsive/impatience behavior. I guess its ok for SP games, but for games like fifa ultimate team, its predatory for sure.
 
Are you implying that good old Konami is somehow at a higher moral stand than EA or Activision?
By the way, if you put FIFA as an example do the homework (aka: 7 seconds Google search) beforehand at least.
No, im saying I like Winning Eleven on PS1.

I dont care who does it first. I am curious if it will be normalized, coming off this success. Should Microsoft offer day one(“early access”) access to all who purchase premium versions of their games from here on out? And late access(“day one”) to everyone that buys the standard version( or tries to access it through gamepass). Seeing how delusional some people here are with the practice….

“Day one is November 9th! Even though I’m playing the game with million other people right now. The game isnt released yet!”

“Its like a preorder, except you can play it now!”

“Early Access(day one) is a bonus!”

… I fully support it. And Sony should follow. They are always complaining about how expensive games cost nowadays. Charge for impatience.
 

eNT1TY

Member
Paid early access is harmless unless it's for a competitive open pvp mmo game where a week of fairly uncontested farming/grinnding can yield resources that would likely dictate and establish market/territory dominance that would be hard to shake.
 
Now that's really interesting. I don't recall any of the people in here that are having a stroke over FH5 giving early access, freaking out when MLB: The Show did it with their higher priced premium edition.

Its even worse in these games like this one from Sony or any of the EA/2k titles because while Horizon 5 gives you future access to actual meaty content and expansions, all you are getting from Sony there is early access and a bunch of packs/boosters for their monetization modes, basically a small head start to give them even more money down the line.
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
As others have said, they've been doing this for years so not sure why people are only just talking about it now.

Personally I have no problem with it. Yeh it seems like they've just pushed the release date back a week but oh well if it makes them more money and grants them more resources to make games and content then all good by me. I'm not a child, I don't mind waiting a week.
 

Chukhopops

Member
“Will everyone copy it”? Huh? Almost every pub already does this. Even Sony does it.

Dso7chG.jpg
Keep this post ready for when the same outrage inevitably happens with Halo Infinite next month.

I bought the premium access for €29 so I literally paid less than if I bought the expansions later. All Forza expansions have been even better than main games (Fortune Island, Lego etc) and the main game of FH5 is beyond my wildest expectations so I think it’s a good deal overall.
 
It's smart because it generates extra revenue at no additional cost. I know it's not the only perk of upgrading but it's probably a pretty popular one.

I'm not a huge fan of the practice but if the revenue it generates keeps costs down for me I can't complain too much.
 
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DavidGzz

Member
I don't like it but if it means it will keep Game Pass as cheap as it is, I'm all for it. More money for Turn10 and MS from the impatient. They will have me by the balls for certain games. I almost pulled the trigger on FH5 but decided to wait. Avowed, Halo, Fable 4, etc will be a different story though. I do consider the early access date the actual release date though. Game Pass players are playing day +4. We can agree to disagree. Gamers are impatient, you can't stagger a game release and call the second phase day 1, lol. The early access term is reserved for incomplete games.
 
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Slayer-33

Liverpool-2
Fair game, it's their product.

If they can make extra money because people are being LOYAL customers and are buying a premium edition of their game fair f'ing game. They are just granting early access, the game has a release date already, no conspiracy here.

Call it a perk for buying the highest edition of the game, nothing wrong with it. Smart business.

Don't like it? Too f'ing bad, I'm still trying to figure out how this affects anyone negatively because other people that DID want to pay more for other things get to enjoy their entertainment earlier as a bonus.

Total non issue.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
What does this have to do with Xbox lol? Loads of games have offered earlier access if you pay a premium or purchase a special edition. Timed exclusives are just that as well, if I pay a premium of owning another console, I get to play the game earlier than everyone else. The idea is that it's not of benefit to every title, some people who want this for Forza might not be interested in Halo for instance. It's an option.

It was annoying about two years ago but it's been normalised from online stores shipping earlier, VPN/regional access, premium editions, streamers and influencers with early access etc. The time to complain has been missed by a long time. It's just a little loyalty bonus for buying blind. Everyone who pays for a season pass, DLC is taking a risk. You have no idea what the content is like, how long it will be or the quality of it. Playground actually have a decent record though, as do companies like Guerilla so people might commit early to support the devs/game. As a loyalty bonus they give you a few days early access.

If the market exists, eventually it will be capitalised. It's how businesses work. There is a market for people getting the game slightly earlier than everyone else. And the thirst from gamers using various methods to get it earlier and 'break street date' feed it. It's just life.
 

Topher

Gold Member
"Early access" is just marketing. I don't care for the practice, but as others have pointed out this isn't new. Not worth making a big deal about it now.
 
"Early access" is just marketing. I don't care for the practice, but as others have pointed out this isn't new. Not worth making a big deal about it now.
Doesnt matter that it isnt new. It seems to be a made quite a nice profit. I think it’s hilarious people keep calling it day one when it releases for standard copies, but early release doesn’t count somehow.

Now mods are telling me I shouldnt single out Microsoft like im supposed care about a companies feelings. Im suppose to mention every single time it has happened before. I dont. I can single out this particular instance whenever I feel like it.

That like someone going Sony isnt the first to charge 70$ for a game! You cant mention it! Without reporting the history of 70$ games. I find this “game hasnt been released” push back extremely fascinating.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
It bullshit, they just moved the release date 1 week.

What's more important is who cares, just wait while the suckers pay extra for that week.
exactly. It's a fucking bs.
It's a digital release. If it's ready, it's ready. Holding normal customers back is asshollery
 
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reksveks

Member
Now mods are telling me I shouldnt single out Microsoft like im supposed care about a companies feelings. Im suppose to mention every single time it has happened before. I dont. I can single out this particular instance whenever I feel like it.
Think the mods are just saying stop being disingenuous when you are highlighting this case.

If you genuinely didn't think this was the case before then fine by me for posting a thread.

If you genuinely think that this is a specific case cause it has a meaningful impact that others didn't, again fine.

If you are posting this thread cause its specifically Microsoft doing it then it's just an example of shitposting. And you will get called out (not that it really means anything) for that fact.
 

Chukhopops

Member
Doesnt matter that it isnt new. It seems to be a made quite a nice profit. I think it’s hilarious people keep calling it day one when it releases for standard copies, but early release doesn’t count somehow.

Now mods are telling me I shouldnt single out Microsoft like im supposed care about a companies feelings. Im suppose to mention every single time it has happened before. I dont. I can single out this particular instance whenever I feel like it.

That like someone going Sony isnt the first to charge 70$ for a game! You cant mention it! Without reporting the history of 70$ games. I find this “game hasnt been released” push back extremely fascinating.
You should re-read your own OP where you make it sound like MS invented it, you even mention FIFA and COD "following this model" when they have been doing this before, that's the disingenuous part.

When Sony raised their prices plenty of people mentioned that other pubs like 2K had increased their prices before them.
 

mxbison

Member
I fucking hate it.

And yes, many will copy. Just like paying extra for the full game and calling it premium/deluxe.
 

Boss Mog

Member
I don't really mind the premium buyers getting early access for Forza because it's available both in physical and digital forms but what Take 2 and R* are doing with GTA trilogy is a disturbing potential trend because they're releasing digital earlier than physical. As somebody who beieves in ownership I buy most of my games in physical format and if there was a big release i'd been waiting years for and it released digitally only for a week or potentially more, I'd be a little upset.
 

nowhat

Member
Getting your customers to pay you to be beta testers of your product is brilliant, true. Not sure if it's brilliant for the customer though.
 
You should re-read your own OP where you make it sound like MS invented it, you even mention FIFA and COD "following this model" when they have been doing this before, that's the disingenuous part.

When Sony raised their prices plenty of people mentioned that other pubs like 2K had increased their prices before them.
I mentioned those in JEST. Of course those two companies would pull all kinds of scummy things.

Microsoft is the only one that promises day one releases on gamepass. They what irks me is this early access, as if its not day one.
 
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Soodanim

Member
On paper, it makes perfect business sense. You give customers something they want that costs you nothing to provide. You get free money.

In reality, if it hasn't already happened there will undoubtedly come a time when that period of early access is ruined because the game desperately needed a day 1 patch.

As a customer, they can fuck right off. Not interested.
 

MMaRsu

Banned
Its absolute trash, but people seem to like to pay more for less so yeah publishers will be all over this bullshit.
 
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