Cognition Dissemination: Next-Gen Console Owners Could Lose Control
There are still a frightening number of unknowns regarding next-generation consoles despite their launches being around three months off, like precisely which titles will be available at launch (not Halo Infinite for Xbox Series X/S, notably) and especially the hardware prices. But one of the most welcome features and offers they’ll have is the ability to get upgraded next-gen versions of current-gen and cross-gen games for no extra charge. Microsoft has the Smart Delivery system for their platforms, and while Sony doesn’t have an equivalent for PlayStation 5 (though they should for simplicity’s sake), games that will be part of Smart Delivery will be offered free between PS4 and PS5. It’s a welcome change after a console gen with remastered games that had to be repurchased if anyone wanted them on current platforms.
There’s a big, BIG caveat here, though: Publishers can opt out of the program. From the minute that part was known, some dickish company was bound to come along and force everyone to buy their game again on next-gen platforms. EA was a good prediction for the first prize, for clear reasons; but while they’ll have their own program for their sports games, the offer to upgrade expiring when the next versions release (i.e. the offer for a Madden NFL 21 upgrade expires when Madden NFL 22 releases) isn’t too bad of an alternative.
The first publisher and game to extend the middle finger is one nobody predicted: 505 Games with the Remedy-developed Control. The Control Ultimate Edition was announced this week, which will include the original game, both expansions, and the other updates. It will release on several platforms in a variety of forms on different dates. First, it will hit PC via Steam on August 27th, after a year of the original being exclusive to the Epic Games Store. The digital version will then arrive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the EGS on September 10th, while the physical editions for PS4 and XB1 will come at the end of 2020. The digital versions will later arrive on PS5 and XSX/S at the end of the year (in the launch window), with the physical versions arriving in early 2021. It’s a lot.
Here’s the catch: The free next-gen upgrade will only be available to those who buy the UE. This means anyone who purchased the original version and perhaps the DLC in the last year and was hoping to get an upgraded version, like, you know, every other cross-gen game announced thus far, can’t get it. To put it simply, this is bullshit. Take a look at the Like/Dislike bar on the YouTube trailer to see how this is getting exactly the criticism expected and deserved.
There’s a good reason why several players wanted a free next-gen upgrade particularly for Control. It’s one of the worst-running games on current-gen consoles, and suffers from severe framerate drops when the action gets heavy. This is especially the case on the non-Pro PS4. Even after both versions were patched weeks after the release last year, their performances still struggled. There are plenty of base console owners that will be getting next-gen consoles after skipping the updated PS4 Pro and Xbox One X systems. But when they do, they’ll have to nonsensically buy this game again if they purchased it before.
505 has yet to respond to inquiries regarding why they’re doing this, but the reason is easy to figure out: Money. Control wasn’t the highest-selling game when it released a year ago, after it failed to place high in European sales charts and didn’t make American charts at all. The lucrative EGS deal helped, but they would have wanted to make more. Its voice and motion capture talent, led by Courtney Hope (also of The Bold and the Beautiful and several other smaller films) isn’t the most expensive talent around, but she and other cast members demand more than the usual talent for video games. They would have wanted to make a little more on the game, and this will be a way to do that.
Given its critical reception, it probably did deserve to sell more. But this isn’t the way to increase sales. It risks pissing off the player base that paid full price for the original version and liked it enough to buy the Season Pass. This could harm the initial sales of 505’s future titles once people realize they’re not worth buying early anymore. Poor Remedy could get caught up in this mess despite developers usually having little say in these issues, if their next game is also published by 505. It’s possible they’re counting on gamers having goldfish-like memories and forgetting about all this in time for future titles, which — sorry — is not a bad bet. But the former scenario has a higher chance of happening with smaller developers, so it’s not a good bet either.
505 is the first publisher to calmly extend their middle finger to current-gen console owners who purchased their game early for full price regarding the next-gen upgrade, the very people who were looking forward to this game the most at this point last year. But they won’t be the last publisher to do so. You can bet that others are thinking about trying it right now. Get ready.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
