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Lets break down this new Shadow of War Charity DLC...
- Thread starter AHA-Lambda
- Start date
Ever hear the phrase read the fine print? It's always smaller than usual. Point is it's there if you cared enough to look for it. This thread is about someone who didn't care enough.
I watched it on my iphone so it is much harder to make out, considering the wholepoint of this DLC is to contribute to the family of the deceased devs they should make it as clear as possible which places are excluded.
I see it differently. For me "the whole point" seems to be to immortalise the man and give players a fun "Mysterious Stranger"-DLC. Then there's the added bonus that some of the money goes directly to his family.
Hating this charity drive boils down to
WB and Shadow have been the whipping boys for a few months now and doing something nice isn't gonna change the haters.
I'd expect a Jimquisition on it too, because that's right up his alley.
Thank you, both. Ever since this came out, a lot of people on this site have been on a vendetta against it because they're so enraged about the handling of the game. Put your fucking pitchforks down. If you don't wanna help, then don't help but stop belittling the gesture because there are some complications when the alternative is nothing at all.
Hating this charity drive boils down to
WB and Shadow have been the whipping boys for a few months now and doing something nice isn't gonna change the haters.
I'd expect a Jimquisition on it too, because that's right up his alley.
I know someone else did this already, but thanks to both of you!
Peroroncino
Member
Agree. I kinda like this initiative, but this is pretty shitty way of doing it. I was prepared to purchase that dlc but now I know that all the money would go to these greedy fucks because I don't live in the US. Be more upfront about this.
Jawmuncher
Member
Since they can't do the charity everywhere. IMO they should just take off the "we only donate until X month". Just donate forever on what that DLC gets. Since they'll be making money off the other regions that can't support it.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Normally when you do gestures of respect to people that passed away and you appreciate, you don't try to get money out of it, using it like some goodwill gesture.
If they wanted to help the family they could have done it in another way.
I wonder if there's any reason for that, though. I really doubt this DLC will be selling anything at all in 2020. We'll probably have a Complete Edition with all the DLC next year, anyway. I honestly doubt they're expecting to make money for themselves after that date.
No doubt. I've become quite bored of his shtick theses days.
Panaphonics
Banned
Damn. NeoGAF never Change. Do you think they should PAY the 30% Steam by themself? Wtf is wrong with you? They are being nice... Whats your Problem??
Shifty
Member
Echoing what I said in the other thread, immortalising the guy in the base game and donating a flat percentage of sales to the family would have been the safest bet here.
They need to put out some sort of clarification on which sales actually go to the family instead of hiding it away in the small print, and also the reasoning behind why the profits are split the way they are.
Explain it straight up, and point customers in non-applicable regions to a separate donation avenue like the YouCaring link in the OP.
If you want to go straight to maximum cynicism you can of course argue that they didn't/won't do that because it would hurt sales of the DLC.
Maybe, but until this plays out and they either say something or don't, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Their DLC practices are disgusting, but profiting off the back of a dead colleague is on another level entirely.
Did you watch the video? He makes it very clear that outrage isn't the goal here and should be avoided in favour of calm discourse because it's a sensitive subject.
I don't think it's quite so binary. I'm happy to jump on WB for blatantly scummy practices, but some pause for thought is appropriate when it involves something so morally and ethically serious as profiting from the deceased.
They need to put out some sort of clarification on which sales actually go to the family instead of hiding it away in the small print, and also the reasoning behind why the profits are split the way they are.
Explain it straight up, and point customers in non-applicable regions to a separate donation avenue like the YouCaring link in the OP.
If you want to go straight to maximum cynicism you can of course argue that they didn't/won't do that because it would hurt sales of the DLC.
Maybe, but until this plays out and they either say something or don't, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Their DLC practices are disgusting, but profiting off the back of a dead colleague is on another level entirely.
Did you watch the video? He makes it very clear that outrage isn't the goal here and should be avoided in favour of calm discourse because it's a sensitive subject.
I don't think it's quite so binary. I'm happy to jump on WB for blatantly scummy practices, but some pause for thought is appropriate when it involves something so morally and ethically serious as profiting from the deceased.
Running charity drives is hard and this is funny coming from the guy that weaponizes charity.
The laws around that are pretty complex. I've never seen DLC-as-charity be a permanent thing.
The laws around that are pretty complex. I've never seen DLC-as-charity be a permanent thing.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Yeah, have fun explaining that to your publisher.
MikeBison
Member
He's still getting that ad money off this faux outrage though, isn't he. Wether he asks for calm discourse or not.
atomic moth
Member
The moral of this story is that you should never do anything nice for anyone. Ever.
Thy would probably make that amount back easily with all the micro-transactions they've stuffed into this game.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Why can't they accept donations from certain states within the US? That's even crazier.
Spehornoob
Member
He explicitly brought that up in the video and said that he would be donating all profits from that video to charity.
I don't see the 30% as an issue as that's the standard platform cut so that can't really be helped. The lack of transparency with exclusions is the problem here, since a 12 seconds scrall of minuscule fine print is the only thing that's making mention of the exclusion areas in the marketing. You also have to keep in mind that not everyone will be as informed regarding this, and a good portion will just purchase this off the storefront with no previous knowledge aside from the information they're seeing there, although I'm assuming said fine print will also be present on the store front (and hopefully more visible).
I don't think anyone has a problem with the gesture of putting the guy in the game, just that they're concerned that people from those excluded areas might buy it with the idea they're helping someone but it's only going to WB, which is a problem regardless of what any of you say.
I don't think anyone has a problem with the gesture of putting the guy in the game, just that they're concerned that people from those excluded areas might buy it with the idea they're helping someone but it's only going to WB, which is a problem regardless of what any of you say.
Did you watch the video?
What did he mean by this?
Member
TB wrong again? Big surprise
Tacklemacain
Member
The charity DLC of this war of mine says, that 100% is going towards charity. Maybe they just talked to Valve and didnt had to pay the 30% fee and WB just didnt ask Valve.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/348040/This_War_of_Mine__War_Child_Charity_DLC/
The Problem i have is, that until i saw the TB video,i didnt know, that my money would all go towards WB and i think a lot of other people outside the US will buy the DLC thinking the family will get a cut from it.
Even all the gaming news websites overlooked that detail.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shadow-of-war-adding-dlc-character-to-honor-develo/1100-6453054/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/348040/This_War_of_Mine__War_Child_Charity_DLC/
The Problem i have is, that until i saw the TB video,i didnt know, that my money would all go towards WB and i think a lot of other people outside the US will buy the DLC thinking the family will get a cut from it.
Even all the gaming news websites overlooked that detail.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shadow-of-war-adding-dlc-character-to-honor-develo/1100-6453054/
Those states require registrations and stuff for this kind of thing. It's stated earlier in the thread via a reddit user.
"100% of 11 bit's proceeds go to the War Child charity!"
Valve will still get their 30%.
Uncreative
Neo Member
I don't get how this isn't the obvious issue people would have.
Uncreative
Neo Member
He says right in the video that any money it generates is going to a research organization studying the exact form of cancer the developer died of. He also puts a link right at the end.
Edit: I see people already pointed this out. Still, c'mon.
wesleyshark
Banned
This... Is not slimy at all. They are being very upfront about what is getting donated and what isn't. Seems cut and dry to me.
What better way than immortalizing a game creator in his game?
You think this dlc needed his death inorder to make a profit for WB? Given the nature of microtransactions today it would've been successful anyway with any other name or face tied to it.
They fact that they are giving a large percentage of the proceeds to the family is commendable.
Realistically, the family will net a very large sum of money that they otherwise wouldn't see.
Edit: Now we have a bunch of ambulance chasers collecting that ad money off of faux outrage...
Too many people here are focusing on the 30% thing, while the real issue here is that this donation isn't eligible outside of the US and seven states in the US even though the DLC can be bought worldwide and that this isn't disclosed at all by WB except in very small print in the last second of the trailer. The press release for this charity has gone out to multiple gaming outlets, including European outlets, without the information that this charity is only eligible in 80% of the US.
And I don't buy for a second that WB can't do the charity thing outside of the US because of taxes or laws, I'm Dutch and I've donated through purchasing multiple times for causes based in the US through US websites. It's not like the money goes directly from your bankaccount to the family, WB could easily track how much money the DLC has made and donate that amount to the family.
They chose not to, just like they chose to not include this pretty vital information in the press release that got send out presumably because they want to donate to this dude's family while making even more money off his corpse. And that's why this is one of the most shady practices I have ever seen by a publisher.
And I don't buy for a second that WB can't do the charity thing outside of the US because of taxes or laws, I'm Dutch and I've donated through purchasing multiple times for causes based in the US through US websites. It's not like the money goes directly from your bankaccount to the family, WB could easily track how much money the DLC has made and donate that amount to the family.
They chose not to, just like they chose to not include this pretty vital information in the press release that got send out presumably because they want to donate to this dude's family while making even more money off his corpse. And that's why this is one of the most shady practices I have ever seen by a publisher.
PhantomThief
Banned
Wow literally trying to make money off a dead person.
Fucking WB scam artists.. fuck their games too.
Fucking WB scam artists.. fuck their games too.
No they aren't, at all! It had to be confirmed by twitter. You have the read the small print to realise the money you think is going for charity is going to WB instead. I don't see it in their EU press releases either. Hell, this might be illegal in various European countries.
Maybe it's a generational or cultural thing, but to me this is absolutely disgusting. Warner Brothers are not advertising the fact this is for profit dlc in the majority of the world, and are making money by pretending it's charity to support a dead staff members family. I really don't understand how that's in any way, at all, defensible. People will be under the impression they are giving to charity when in fact they are just boosting WBs profits - that's appalling, and I don't see how anyone could think otherwise?
Shifty
Member
If you'd watched it, you'd know that the ad money from that video was going to charity.
Don't blame anyone for not giving TB a click. I'm happy he's healthy, but he's still a fucking moron
Tacklemacain
Member
Yeah found a developer comment on it, that valve is getting its 30%.
I don't think it's outright disgusting or anything but not making it openly, explicitly clear in a place everyone will read that you will NOT be donating if you're in those states/outside the US feels negligent at best. Make that disclaimer at the top of the description or close to it.
Lying to people and pretending that they are helping a dead guys family, when they are. In reality just using your money, isn't disgusting?
Like I said, I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a cultural or generational gap, because to me this is frankly one of the most disgusting things a publisher has ever done in gaming. Forget broken launches, bad patches, bullshots etc - this is faking charitable giving to earn cash.
It's commendable that they are honoring him with an in-game character, but they are definitely going about it the wrong way. I think they should have made it free or not for sale outside NA. It does feel a bit wrong that they are not exactly making it clear to people that it's only for charity in certain states.
I'll admit that i did not know about it before this thread. Lets be honest, not everyone reads the small print. They should definitely make it more clear to people.
I'll admit that i did not know about it before this thread. Lets be honest, not everyone reads the small print. They should definitely make it more clear to people.
Wouldnt go that far, the idea is good but the execution isnt 100% correct. As TB said in the video this is a sensitive situation and should be talked about in a calm civil, constructive manner.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
People chomping at the bit to defend large company's shitty practices is nothing new. The only difference in this thread is that there's not a larger amount of voices countering them.
If people arent going to watch the video, dont comment on it. They arent adding anything to the conversation.