BioShock Infinite DLC, Season Pass announced

BioShock Infinite will be getting at least three pieces of downloadable content after launch, and 2K and Irrational announced a Season Pass to get all three for $20.

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BioShock Infinite will get at least three add-on packs post-launch, and a Season Pass to snag each of the announced packs on the cheap. The packs promise new stories, characters, abilities, and weapons as you explore Columbia.

The Season Pass will be available alongside the launch of the game for $19.99, granting you three for the price of two. Irrational didn't detail the content of the add-ons, but did say that it just began work on them after the game went gold earlier in the week.

The Season Pass will also include the "Early Bird Special" pack with a variety of boosts: a Machine Gun Damage Upgrade, a Pistol Damage Upgrade, a gold skin for both, and five Infusion bottles to increase health, shield durability, or ability to use Vigors.

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  • reply
    February 21, 2013 7:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, BioShock Infinite DLC, Season Pass announced.

    BioShock Infinite will be getting at least three pieces of downloadable content after launch, and 2K and Irrational announced a Season Pass to get all three for $20.

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      February 21, 2013 7:58 AM

      [deleted]

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      February 21, 2013 8:45 AM

      That is kinda depressing. Just release a game that makes you even to people that don't invest in it early.

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        February 21, 2013 8:56 AM

        Yeah, that "Early Bird Special" thing, if it had not existed, I would have been perfectly fine with the DLC plan, especially considering that they probably aren't the usual multiplayer quick add-ons like "horde mode in existing levels" or something akin to the Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack (especially since Bioshock Infinite won't have multiplayer at all when released).

        The "Early Bird Special" smacks of 2010-era "online pass / season pass / preorder bonus" product planning, the same that many other titles and publishers have been criticized for in the past 2 years. It's as though this was in the PR plan for years, but was left in either because it wasn't reviewed in 2012 (did Rod Fergusson have a say in this? Ken Levine?), or because a gung-ho sales type valued its revenue potential over its negative market perception.

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          February 21, 2013 9:34 AM

          My favorite trend of the 2008-2010 era was the 'lifetime memberships' to up coming MMOs..where you'd preorder for $200 or so to avoid paying monthly. I think Conan had this..maybe LOTRO and a few others? I can't remember which ones exactly.

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            February 21, 2013 9:37 AM

            star trek online had that.

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              February 21, 2013 9:47 AM

              lol
              http://www.giantbomb.com/lifetime-subscription/3015-6247/

              DC Universe Online - Launched in January 2011, dropped mandatory subscriptions less than nine months later.
              The Secret World - Launched in June 2012 and dropped the subscription fee five months later.

              people need to stop buying these things so developers will stop offering them.

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                February 21, 2013 10:36 AM

                If you did drop $200 on a lifetime sub, what do you get when it goes F2P

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                  February 21, 2013 10:50 AM

                  You get credits each month for buying in-game stuff

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                  February 21, 2013 12:30 PM

                  Most F2P mmos have a "premimum" option where you can pay so much a month and had little to no restrictions and free in-game cash shop money/points and/or incentive items every month. People who bought the lifetime subs will get that stuff without having to pay anything extra.

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            February 21, 2013 10:35 AM

            I'm so glad I decided against getting a lifetime membership for Hellgate: London, holy shit was I close. Got my $50 worth for the time, I suppose, but damn was I on the edge.

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            February 21, 2013 10:36 AM

            Not Conan. Cryptic had it for all their games Champions Online and Star Trek Online. I think a few others might have offered it.

            The irony is that I have it for ST: O, but never play the game.

            What a waste.

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            February 21, 2013 3:15 PM

            Hellgate: London

            No regrets!

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          February 21, 2013 9:50 AM

          sales data for DLC indicates that people overwhelming prefer content available closer to release rather than months later when they're done with the game. Waiting until 6 months post release to put out your first DLC is going to lead to much lower sales than if it's available when everyone who was hyped up for it is finishing the game and aching for more, rather than on their 2nd or 3rd new game since your release. I suspect even more so for singleplayer/story focused stuff.

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            February 21, 2013 3:14 PM

            That statistic has been paraded around by Microsoft since XBox Live first supported DLC. Maybe it is supported by data, but that's been the line from sales since day one of that functionality. While it does encourage developers to offer some kind of downloadable content within the first 6 months, it does not do a good job of encouraging wholesome DLC, or discouraging DLC that creates a "haves or have-nots" situation in single-player (DLC multiplayer map packs, that's definitely a thing, but single-player DLC items that drastically affect the gameplay progression are disgusting).

            Also, it doesn't factor in the stigma of bad DLC. "Horse armor" is legendarily synonymous with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Mass Effect 3's "From Ashes" DLC was polarizing on release, and BioWare's whole DLC plan with Mass Effect 3 was the target of a 55-minute postmortem grilling by the Bombcast.

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              February 21, 2013 3:42 PM

              that data is from EEDAR, not MS.

              The problems you cite regarding "bad" DLC in various ways is orthogonal to its release date. It's entirely possible to avoid on day 1 or a year later if it's a priority for the dev/publisher.

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        February 21, 2013 8:56 AM

        Yeah, that "Early Bird Special" thing, if it had not existed, I would have been perfectly fine with the DLC plan, especially considering that they probably aren't the usual multiplayer quick add-ons like "horde mode in existing levels" or something akin to the Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack (especially since Bioshock Infinite won't have multiplayer at all when released).

        The "Early Bird Special" smacks of 2010-era "online pass / season pass / preorder bonus" product planning, the same that many other titles and publishers have been criticized for in the past 2 years. It's as though this was in the PR plan for years, but was left in either because it wasn't reviewed in 2012 (did Rod Fergusson have a say in this? Ken Levine?), or because a gung-ho sales type valued its revenue potential over its negative market perception.

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      February 21, 2013 8:53 AM

      Oh look, a load of game content I'll never see!

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      February 21, 2013 8:59 AM

      [deleted]

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        February 21, 2013 11:47 AM

        from what i've heard about the game it's actually going to be very exploratory/non-linear, way moreso than the first game.

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        February 21, 2013 3:01 PM

        I'm okay with story extension DLC if its play value is commensurate with its price (or more so, as I've heard is the case with Minerva's Den), but the weapon damage upgrade and Infusion upgrades are more sketchy, as they change the flow of the single-player campaign, for a price. It reminds me of Deus Ex: Human Revolution with the silenced sniper rifle only in DLC or the "Augmented Edition". As was said in the Giant Bomb 2012 GOTY's, "PLEASE STOP DLC that should be in the main game."

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      February 21, 2013 9:36 AM

      Hahahah! Yeah, sure. Why not?

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      February 21, 2013 9:40 AM

      [deleted]

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      February 21, 2013 9:52 AM

      [deleted]

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      February 21, 2013 9:53 AM

      Well now we know where that cut content went http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/19/bioshock-infinite-gold-irrational/

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      February 21, 2013 10:33 AM

      hey being fuckheads worked for THQ why not...

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      February 21, 2013 11:44 AM

      This is really just attributed to whether the game is good or not. It is sad to see so many wavering towards such a great series because of news like this. I don't like the system either, but if it's as good as the first, I really could care less. I would not mind paying plenty for more of that much awesome.

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        February 21, 2013 11:49 AM

        The problem being: you don't know yet if the GAME is any good, much less some nebulous DLC.

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          February 21, 2013 1:08 PM

          I have faith in Ken Levine to put out another good Bioshock. Just shouldn't be that they're milking his reputation to do stuff like this.

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