[PeopleLikeFrank]

News today that they're going to be releasing the three different campaigns for SC2 episodic-style. Terrans first, then Zerg, finally Protoss.

All three races will be available for multiplayer from the get-go, though they say that the new single player-content may introduce new units and such, though probably restricted to single-player so as not to upset things. The Zerg campaign will apparently have a stronger RPG aspect, while the Protoss looks to introduce diplomacy. [edit] seems to be further info on this, not sure what the deal is:

Quote

Chris explained that each of the three installments would play a bit differently as well, with different meta-game types in each. The initial campaign would feature Terran Jim Raynor, with a meta game that involves upgrading technologies. The second focuses on the Zerg, with a meta-element involving diplomacy. I mentioned Star Control, and Chris said that that sort of gameplay element had been discussed.

They say that they're taking this route to avoid having to either delay excessively or cut back content, and that there will be enough content with each to justify a new release. I'd definitely be happy if this means that each individual campaign is longer than it might have been in a single release - not so much if it's just paying three times for 1/3rd of that content. Since I'm buying this one pretty much just for single-player, I'm interested to see how this turns out.

[teflon]

Well, if its all stand alone expansions, then they will probably all be released at budget price to start off with.
Hopefully...

[dxlr8r]

If they will all cost full price I think people will only buy one of them to get access to BattleNet and pirate the two others. Hopefully Blizzard also see this problem and don't charge full price.

[Malt-Pipefishes]

Humph. These had better be $16.6667 each to justify my purchase.

[devSin]

Quote

Attendees of the StarCraft II Gameplay Panel got to hear big news about the single-player campaign first-hand: The epic story of StarCraft II will span a trilogy of games, with each game’s single-player campaign focusing on a different race. The first game will go into great depth telling the tale of Jim Raynor and the terrans. Two expansion packs will continue the story, delving separately into the saga of Kerrigan and the zerg, and that of the mystic protoss. By structuring the story this way, each campaign can be substantial, lengthy, and include meaningful choices for the player. Each campaign can also include more missions (the developers are targeting 26 to 30 for the first game alone), more interactive settings for players to explore, and more pre-rendered and in-game cinematics than would have been possible within a single game. Attendees also got to see several new cinematics, including a minute of the StarCraft II intro movie and an early peek at a dream sequence related to the Queen of Blades' origin.

I, for one, would pay full price for all. It just doesn't seem like that big a deal to me, and it sounds like they'll have the standalone release at full price with several expansions (likely including the typical changes to gameplay and balance and adding additional units), so it's basically a whole game with optional addons coming later to expand the story to the different factions.

[PeopleLikeFrank]

I guess those are the details I was looking for. If it's really 25-30 missions per release, then I'm fine with that. I'll be impatiently waiting for my Zerg campaign, but I'd rather have 2-3x the content, even if it means waiting in between.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

mmmMMMMmm.... Longer campaigns...

[QuantaCat]

That and don't forget: as soon as the mp section is released, the mapping community can start gearing up, meaning lots and lots of fantastic user additions, not to forget some (probably) pretty awesome Tower Defence maps!


Endless fun.

EDIT: that and a star control element with a protoss carrier would be a really neat segment.

[rampancy]

I just read the story about that on 1UP.com. Man, Blizzard are marketing geniuses to come up with that idea. Regardless of the certain fan ire they'll face over this, you know they'll be raking in the dough over this one.

While I'd love to see Blizzard price each episode lower (since it seems they're going the HL2 episodic route) I'm not holding my breath for lowered prices. What'll likely happen is a full release of each episode at full price.

[QuantaCat]

rampancy, on October 12th 2008, 02:35 PM, said:

I just read the story about that on 1UP.com. Man, Blizzard are marketing geniuses to come up with that idea. Regardless of the certain fan ire they'll face over this, you know they'll be raking in the dough over this one.

While I'd love to see Blizzard price each episode lower (since it seems they're going the HL2 episodic route) I'm not holding my breath for lowered prices. What'll likely happen is a full release of each episode at full price.

Very VERY unlikely. Even the WoW expansions "only" cost 38€ at the start. And that's a HEAP of content.

[Magnum]

I'll most likely will be buy all three, probably not right away though... It is really nice to know how much game we get with each so I guess paying $90ish for all three would probably be worth it.

[Eric5h5]

Magnum, on October 12th 2008, 09:34 AM, said:

I'll most likely will be buy all three, probably not right away though... It is really nice to know how much game we get with each so I guess paying $90ish for all three would probably be worth it.

I'd say it's a given that when all three are out, they'll have a Starcraft II Battle Chest for a reduced price. Actually, I don't think I own a single Blizzard game that I didn't get in the Battle Chest version.

--Eric

[badger2d]

In order for this to be worth it, they'll have to really step up and put a lot of new ideas into these campaigns. The traditional RTS campaign style, a series of destroy-everything maps with a bit of backstory to frame the action, will not justify the extra cost.

And then there's the changes that the expansions will undoubtedly make to multiplayer, essentially forcing those of us who are more interested in multiplayer to buy them, as most of the player base will migrate to whatever the newest expansion is. If it ends up costing $50 just to get a couple of new units, I'll be disgusted.

[Dark_Archon]

I couldn't imagine paying $150 for Starcraft II. I hope they don't charge full $50 for each release.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Eric5h5, on October 12th 2008, 06:41 PM, said:

I'd say it's a given that when all three are out, they'll have a Starcraft II Battle Chest for a reduced price. Actually, I don't think I own a single Blizzard game that I didn't get in the Battle Chest version.

--Eric

Good point... I think I'll wait for that one... :/

[badger2d]

They've clearly stated that they intend each segment to function as a stand-alone game, which certainly implies they will charge full price for each. Bleh.

One option they could use, to prove to their loyal customers that they aren't just price-gouging, is to offer the other segments at a discounted "expansion" price if you can provide a CD-key to prove you own one of them already. Another possibility would be to offer each additional campaign, or multiplayer expansion, as downloadable addons on an a la carte pay system.

Either of those choices would be good for the customer, and hence probably not as good for the company, at least in terms of short-term gains. But Blizzard thus far has an illustrious history of doing right by the customer, which I believe pays off handsomely in long-term gains — witness their enormous fan base, and the incredible longevity of their games. I'd hate to see them lose that foresight now.

[QuantaCat]

Are you going mad? am I being ignored?

Look at Dawn Of War. All of their expansions save one were standalone, and they costed about 35€. You're all getting paranoid.

[Janichsan]

badger2d, on October 13th 2008, 07:30 PM, said:

They've clearly stated that they intend each segment to function as a stand-alone game, which certainly implies they will charge full price for each. Bleh.

The exact statement is as follows:

Quote

"[The second and third games]will be like expansion packs, but we really want them to feel like standalone products," said Blizzard's Rob Pardo.

So they are not standalone games. The Zerg and Protoss campaigns are to (likely) be sold as expansions – and are probably appropriately priced – but offer the amount of content a full game would. That's what he meant.

The Dawn of War method Quanta mentioned would also be possible, of course.

[badger2d]

Janichsan, on October 13th 2008, 11:58 AM, said:

The exact statement is as follows:

So they are not standalone games. The Zerg and Protoss campaigns are to (likely) be sold as expansions – and are probably appropriately priced – but offer the amount of content a full game would. That's what he meant.

The Dawn of War method Quanta mentioned would also be possible, of course.

That's one quote, but what I've read otherwise has stated straight that they will be stand-alone functional.

Here's some more Blizzard quotes:

Blizzard employees said:

As for pricing -- a big concern for gamers who fear this may be a ploy to sell the same game three times -- neither Sigaty nor Pardo were ready to give any details. "You know, we haven't even talked about that yet," said Sigaty. "I don't know. They're definitely full-sized games. I mean, the scope will be big; it's going to be 26 to 30 missions in the first one, and we intend to have at least that much in the next after that."

Pardo was also quick to explain that the pricing will depend on how much content is in each release. "We would do the retail price based on the value that we're putting in the box," he said. "So, if the value in the box is less than the original, then we're going to price it like that. We're not just trying to get people to pay full-price for something that's less; if the follow-ups end up having the feature set of an expansion, then that's how they'll get priced."

To me that sounds an awful like they're trying to avoid, as much as possible, saying straight out that each installment will run full price, knowing how unpopular that will be. And reading between the lines, it also sounds like full price is what they intend.

[Janichsan]

badger2d, on October 13th 2008, 10:24 PM, said:

That's one quote, but what I've read otherwise has stated straight that they will be stand-alone functional.

Here's some more Blizzard quotes:
To me that sounds an awful like they're trying to avoid, as much as possible, saying straight out that each installment will run full price, knowing how unpopular that will be. And reading between the lines, it also sounds like full price is what they intend.

Hm, that would be of course unpleasant – in addition to the statement that the expansions/episodes/sequels/whatever appear to released a year or more apart.