Curt Schilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

January 30, 2012 -

A dust-up over 38 Studios' Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning locking on-disc content behind an "online pass" system has raised the ire of some gamers - which in turn has brought studio founder and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling out of the woodwork to defend the plan.

The Online Pass Code was found in early copies of the game sent to reviewers and leaked onto the Internet. When fans found out they took to the official forums to complain about it.

The text that came with the review copies of the game reads:

"Online pass gives you access to the House of Valor faction quest, featuring seven additional single-player quests."

It then offers steps to take in order to activate the additional on-disc content.

After a rather lengthy forum thread assailed 38 Studios, Curt Schilling decided to jump in and strongly defend their decision:

"DAY 1 DLC, to be extremely and VIVIDLY clear, is FREE, 100% totally FREE, to anyone that buys a new copy of Reckoning, ANYONE. If you don't buy new games you buy them used, and in that case you will have to pay for the Day 1 free DLC content the new copy buyers got for free.

It's clear the intent right? To promote early adopters and MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ME, REWARD fans and gamers who commit to us with their time and money when it benefits the company... This is not 38 trying to take more of your money, or EA in this case, this is us REWARDING people for HELPING US! If you disagree due to methodology, ok, but that is our intent... companies are still trying to figure out how to receive dollars spent on games they make, when they are bought. Is that wrong? if so please tell me how.."

Source: Hot Hardware by way of Uncharted NES. Image Credit: reckoning.amalur.com

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Comments

Re: Curt Schilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by MechaCrash on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 03:42.

I heard good buzz from my friends who tried the demo for this game. Then I found out it's using the Project Ten Dollar bullshit.

I don't want to buy it anymore.

Re: Curt Schilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by Mendror on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 19:16.

Its just another reason why people should stop buying games from EA.

---- Rumblerumblerumber

Re: Curt Schilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by David on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 15:45.

I wouldn't mind this effort to get people to buy new copies if it weren't for the fact that ten years down the line, when there aren't any new copies and the consoles are no longer being serviced by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, people will not be able to access that content ever again. It seems as if companies are looking at their products not as works of art, as a book or a film, but as disposable products that they do not intend to see used past a certain date.

Re: Curt Shilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by mmpr on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 19:19.

It's "Schilling" btw

MMPR

Re: Curt Shilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by Michael Chandra on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 18:33.

If it's DLC that's on the disk, you're begging for hacks to unlock it.

Re: Curt Shilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by sqlrob on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 17:27.

From a comment here (not mine, formatting not quite the same as over there, my fault)

So the devs' official response in the Amalur community forum is: "The House of Valor was created as stand-alone content, and was always intended to be the first DLC."

This just sounds more like convenient PR damage control / spin to me. They've been teasing 6 factions for quite a while, and only now it's revealed one of them was never really intended to be on the disk? Even if that's true it paints a very bleak picture of DLC and how we've always suspected devs are just withholding content already planned well in advance of the game going gold.

Some quick timestamping: The Reckoning forum community seemed to already know there was going to be 6 factions back in early July last year. http://bit.ly/yhsKeg posted 7/8/11: When community member flamechamp asks what else could the devs reveal, community member Ellyssi replies "the six factions in the game we can interact with" Devs officially confirmed six factions in the forums

8/10/11. http://bit.ly/z2M55o posted 8/10/11: "The main quest and each of the six factions contains a mostly-linear narrative you can follow" The House of Valor apparently can be found in the GamesCom 2011 demo (an event which ran Aug 17th - 21st)

http://bit.ly/AgCkzS posted 9/24/11: speculating what the 6th unrevealed faction might be, community member flamechamp posts, "I recall though, in the Gamescom demo in the Deytre Region, there is a huge structure on the world map and its called 'House of Valor.' Maybe thats the 6th faction."

Re: Curt Shilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by Andrew Eisen on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 17:12.

"DAY 1 DLC"

Not exactly "downloadable content" if it's already on the disc is it, Curt?

Andrew Eisen

Re: Curt Shilling Defends Kingdoms of Amular Online Pass Code

Submitted by silversnowfox on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 17:38.

Exactly, and if what's being thrown around is true then it isn't even DLC. It's part of what the game has been hyping itself about. "6 different factions, each with a story for you to follow" and one of them is locked if you don't buy new? That's not exactly what you advertised.

DLC is extra content, stuff like Dead Money, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Road for Fallout: New Vegas. Or Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival for Mass Effect 2. Extras and bonus stuff to help extend the life of your game, not basic services locked behind a 24 digit code online. If I want that, if I want to pay for something that I already own, I think I'll stick with The Old Republic.

"If you really want to enslave people, tell them you are going to give them Total Freedom." - L. Ron Hubbard

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