WARNING: This post is my opinion. I am putting it here so I can see how others feel about the way Bungie is releasing Destiny content and to start a conversation about why we feel the way we do. Here is a link to a video that I feel perfectly sums up the two main opinions regarding the way Bungie is releasing content and their business model.
http://www.gamespot.com/videos/is-destiny-exploiting-its-players-for-profit-the-l/2300-6425808/
I feel that the way Bungie has been releasing content for Destiny is really polarizing the community. In part, I cannot blame them for the problems, because Destiny is a unique style of game that draws from several different genres. It's primarily a FPS with elements of MMOs and and RPGs. Trying to merge these into one is a huge task, from the coding to the gameplay to the marketing. That being said, Bungie is not doing a very good job of being transparent and explaining to the community how they are going about things.
Destiny is primarily a FPS. The players it attracts are those familiar with things such as CoD, Halo, and Battlefield, where you pay for the base game upfront and get some DLC later on. In a couple of moderate sized purchases, you get an entire years worth of content. Destiny is different in that you pay for the base game, then pay a smaller price for two small expansions, and then pay a moderate price for a slightly large expansion. All of this is done over the course of a year and you wind up paying around the same as you would for a normal FPS. Each installment for Destiny though seems to be lacking in content. On the one hand this feels like you're being nickeled and dimed. I can definitely agree with this. Spend $60 and go wait that was it. Spend another $20, same reaction. And so on. It would have been better to get all that content in one or two fell swoops and feel like I got a better deal.
However, Destiny is not just a FPS. The MMO elements and persistent world aspects are more akin to games such as WoW. These games generally charge for the game and expansions as well as a subscription fee. Destiny doesn't have a subscription fee. It makes sense that, in loo of the subscription fee, Bungie is trickling out content that normally would have been bundled together to make up for the lack of a monthly fee. You wind up paying the same amount, but in several larger chunks instead of monthly. To the FPS players, this seems like being bled dry for cash. To the MMO players, this is more familiar and a better deal as there's no monthly fee. That's where the conflict arises, in my opinion.
The outrage at the pricing for the Taken King bundles exemplified this disagreement. The FPS players are used to paying for a years worth of content in a few packages, whereas the MMO players are more familiar with smaller bundles. That being said, Everyone is in agreement that the severe decrease in price for the base game and the first two expansions feels like a slap to the face from Bungie. Yes, games depreciate, but to drop from a $100 value to $20 in one year is ridiculous. To the players, it looks like money grubbing. To Bungie and Activision, it probably seems like a good business plan. Give brand new players a great deal so they start playing and become more inclined to purchase future content. That is where Bungie is doing a horrible job of marketing and being transparent in its business model. The disagreement between the FPS and MMO groups could have been alleviated if Bungie had explained how it was going to release content and the reasoning behind the pricing plans.
So, please watch the video and reply and tell me what y'all think. This is meant as a way to start a conversation so everyone can voice their opinions. Share this with friends to see how they react. And answer the poll