Dragon Age launch DLC detailed

by JC Fletcher { Oct 8th 2009 at 9:40AM }

EA has announced a selection of downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins, which will conveniently be available right at launch. However, unlike most launch DLC, which elicits complaints of ripping off customers by holding back content that clearly could have been on the disc, most of this DLC is intended only to rip off people who buy used copies of the game.

The "Stone Prisoner" DLC, which includes a new Golem character, has been previously announced as free to new buyers and $15 to those who don't have the code in the box, or buy it past the April 30 cutoff date. The "Blood Dragon Armor," which offers a new suit of, well, armor, will also be included. No price is given for a non-bundled download of this armor. The "Warden's Keep" download offers an entirely new "dungeon-exploring adventure" with exclusive items and even new player abilities. This will be $7 to download, or free to people who buy the "Digital Deluxe Edition" of the game.

The fact that no reference is made to the packaged collector's edition, and the fact that it seems to have disappeared from both GameStop and Amazon make us question its status. We're checking with EA about that -- and thinking of something else to put on the wall where we had planned to hang that cloth map.

Tags: bioware, dlc, dragon-age, dragon-age-origins, ea

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

WREturns (Looking for a graphic designer) @ Oct 8th 2009 9:44AM

I'm torn on this game. Anybody feel like swaying me one way or another?

Mats @ Oct 8th 2009 9:47AM

I know a dude who tested this game for over half a year, and he is still putting down money for the delux ed.

Freak Mojo @ Oct 8th 2009 10:08AM

I did not even know what this game was, but after a quick Google search on the game and watching some videos, it looks like it could be pretty epic. I would have liked it more if it was online though for the consoles.

I always liked the open-world aspect of Oblivion and Knights of the Old Republic. So this has just hit my radar with a vengeance.

tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 8th 2009 10:35AM

I wrote a somewhat long rant on the 1up boards about how bad this is, but you know how I always criticize JRPGs for being the same as they were 10 years ago?

This is the western version of that complaint, which is why I'm staying away from it.

Freak Mojo @ Oct 8th 2009 10:39AM

So tmac - what was the gist of your rant? I can't access 1Up at work and I'm curious to know.

tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 8th 2009 10:42AM

That it looks awful. From all the footage I've seen I can tell that:

The combat sucks, the voice acting sucks, the graphics suck, the animations suck, the story seems very cliche, and the dialog system is ripped straight from Bioware's old PC games...which after playing Mass Effect is a VERY bad thing.

iHavepants {SteamPSN: Arkanti} @ Oct 8th 2009 10:51AM

Ehh I really dislike you Tmac.

That it isn't hack and slash does not make the combat bad.
The the dialogue isn't a misinforming wheel does not make that bad.
That the story is medieval fantasy does not make it bad.(and you really can't judge this shit from a few minute long trailers)

These things make it different to whatever limited ideal you have for a game sure, but it is not an objective take on quality.

The game has gotten really good reviews so far and there are a hell of a lot of people out there who have been waiting for a game like this to resurface again.

TLDR; Fuck off, why do you keep coming to these articles when you obviously hate the direction the game chose so much?

ballistic3188 @ Oct 8th 2009 10:53AM

played it at comic con. It is a return to form. it closer to the classic Baldur's gate series with WOW combat system. better side quest and dialog option than mass effect. DOn't believe the heavy metal trailers. it isn't that cheesy. the dialog and story i had seemed to be good. then again this based on the first hour of gameplay

tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 8th 2009 11:17AM

I came here because he asked people's opinions, and what's the point if it's just going to be the fanboys already nutting over the game. He needs to know the negatives too.

And I don't consider regressing from Mass Effect a good thing. The dialog is not better. You get anywhere from 3-5 options and your character doesn't speak at all, let alone say what you picked....the game just pretends like he said it.

It's literally a 1996 PC western rpg, which I don't consider a good thing because WRPGs have evolved from that archaic system and I have no idea why Bioware's trying to regress with this game.

Tom Kalinske, Former CEO of Sega of America @ Oct 8th 2009 11:20AM

It's not really a regression, it's an update of the older style. Sure, Mass Effect's dialogue system was innovative, but I preferred the KotOR-style system better.

Flankenstein @ Oct 8th 2009 11:55AM

I expect, based on Bioware's track record, for it to be a bug-ridden mess. Though, maybe that EA money will go to some QA (see Mass Effect for examples).

Trulz @ Oct 8th 2009 1:46PM

Bioware has my money, no questions asked, until they abuse that trust.

Still waiting on that. Day 1 purchase for me.

Odog4ever @ Oct 8th 2009 2:25PM

I'm not torn on the game just what version to get: console or PC? Is there going to be a strong mod community on PC (ie Oblivion modding scene was ridiculous but Bethesda was totally cool with it) or will EA locked it down?

dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 8th 2009 9:50AM

They might as well have "fuck Gamestop" scribbled into every texture of the game, a plague only remedied by a code included with a new copy.

Dirty @ Oct 8th 2009 11:25AM

Can it read "Death to Gamestop!!!"?

dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 8th 2009 11:33AM

Sure thing. It's much more foreboding.

Death to Gamestop!

Tom Kalinske, Former CEO of Sega of America @ Oct 8th 2009 9:58AM

They better not cancel the CE.

joshua.nash @ Oct 8th 2009 11:34AM

i don't think they will, it just sold out at the moment i think

a drunk amputee @ Oct 8th 2009 3:58PM

I preordered the CE from EB Games (Gamestop Canada) two days ago. The surly counter guy rang it up. When I asked, "So the CE is still available and shipping at launch?" he grumpily told me that it was. Some stores/outlets may have maxed out their pre-orders, so you may just have to shop around till you find some stock.

To those in doubt about this game, check out the soundtrack and a few of the Origin videos on Bioware's site. You cannot tell me that with the amount of time and effort that they have put into their prerendered scenes and back story that this game will be half baked. I've been waiting for a game like this for this whole generation.

|MaguS| @ Oct 8th 2009 10:08AM

Um the CE for the PC is still available on Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Origins-Collectors-Pc/dp/B002HP2UPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1255010902&sr=8-1

Tom Kalinske, Former CEO of Sega of America @ Oct 8th 2009 10:25AM

Its there for the PC and PS3, yes, but not 360.

Christian @ Oct 8th 2009 10:10AM

Well at least the DLC is a separate story and not like in Tombraider, the actual ending of the game. "Hey, wondering why the game ended in such a nonsensical manner? well that is because you have to pay extra to see the actual ending"

Tom Kalinske, Former CEO of Sega of America @ Oct 8th 2009 10:35AM

Same thing with Prince of Persia, though. The infamous Epilogue DLC?

sleepydumbdude @ Oct 8th 2009 4:16PM

or Hellboy where they didn't even release the DLC so you just got a half told story.

mikejoyal @ Oct 8th 2009 10:22AM

I work for Gamestop, and the reason that the collector's editions are no longer listed is because we maxed out the number of pre-orders we could do. If you already pre-ordered it, you won't have to worry.

Tom Kalinske, Former CEO of Sega of America @ Oct 8th 2009 10:30AM

I wondered about that-Amazon just says 'sign up to be notified when it becomes available.', but the PS3 version is still in stock.

Either a ton of people have pre-ordered this, or they made a truly limited Collectors Edition.

JeezWhiz87 @ Oct 8th 2009 10:35AM

THIS is how they should promote game sales! Fuck your stupid DRM, it only hurts the consumer. Give us an incentive to buy it, and bam! Problem solved. Way to go on this one EA!

Goity @ Oct 8th 2009 10:45AM

This game has gone completely past my radar, but let me say this. The name, Dragon Age: Origins, is terrible. The name (I'm not saying the game is like this) reeks of a dire clone game of any Tolkienesque WRPG launched since the early 90s, and the name alone has put me off looking at anything about this game.

Rob47 @ Oct 8th 2009 10:58AM

So if i just buy the regular edition of this game from a shop in the UK every copy until 30th april 2010 will have the code for the; Armor, golem and the keep?

James @ Oct 8th 2009 11:28AM

Wouldn't it be nice just to feel like they attempted to complete the game instead of having a roadmap of DLC a month or so before it's release?

I mean I know it's coming, but just keep it under wraps instead of dangling it in front of our face.. I suppose this one is a bit different in that it's going to be free for new buyers but still, it's getting ridiclous.

I also have to laugh at punishing used game buyers, what an arrogant industry.

nriveraexpress @ Oct 8th 2009 11:32AM

woa woa why did it vanish from the retailers? the collectors edition that is

Phil @ Oct 8th 2009 11:42AM

CE sold out from most retailers a while ago.

Still available on EA Store though. =/

And I'm glad to see the WK will be available as DLC, being there's no 'digital' copy for the xbox, we had no way to get it. I've already got Shale so putting out 7 bucks for the new area is reasonable.

Oh and by the way, all new copies of DA:O will kick free codes for Shale AND the BDA... So if you don't wanna buy the DLC day one, BUY A COPY OF THE GAME.

The ONLY DLC pieces exclusive to the CE are the three items: a tome, a helmet and a staff.

Everything else is either pre-order bound or kicked with a copy of the first printing of the game. As for whether or not it'll be available to people after the first editions drop well... Who knows?

Ihatemyjob09 @ Oct 8th 2009 11:41AM

I work at Gamestop and have the CE preordered so from what I understand it's still coming out Nov. 11 or at least our computer still lists it even though we're not taking preorders on it anymore. In the past this has happened when we had a really limited number and we got a lot of preorders and were worried about making sure to fill all of them.

dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 8th 2009 1:36PM

heh... nice username

ryan_gliebe @ Oct 8th 2009 2:34PM

Am I the only one disappointed with this trend of DLC? I mean, I like it for the purpose of breathing new life into games I've already played... at a later date, like Fallout 3, Disgaea 3, Killzone 2 and LBP. Months after their release, all this added content came about, so you know they put time into it.

On the other hand, you have Dragon Age launching alongside DLC. What kept the developers from including it in the game they want $60 MSRP for? LucasArts did the same thing with The Force Unleashed... had The Jedi Temple level in every version but the PS3/360, then just after release they said, "Oh, hey... here's that level for $10 clams!"

As I said, I'm all for DLC... as its a staple of this generation, but I'm all for it, if the developer put time and effort into it.

hobocop @ Oct 8th 2009 3:23PM

Just because they finished it before the release date doesn't mean the core game minus the DLC isn't a 60 dollar product. I just think of it as an optional upgrade. If I want the deluxe package I'll drop the $67; if I think the standard package is enough, I'll gladly pay $7 less.

Mats @ Oct 8th 2009 4:13PM

That is not what DLC is for, it is there to prevent you from selling the game.
If you have 5 bucks invested in a game on top of the existing 60 you first put down, and you return it to gamestop, you know that last 5 bucks is not getting counted. That is a total loss, while the loss in returning it to gamestop is a percentage loss.

Also, having a pause in the DLC helps the used gaming marked. If DLC reignites sales after 4 weeks, most of those sales will be used.

Bundeling in the free DLC is to prevent people from buying used. The whole DLC racket is there to plug the used games sales that in truth is hurting the console world marked as much as P2P is doing to PC games.

Expect the next years to have more of this, after all, EA said that the have had twice as many players for Dead Space as they had buyers. While this is not PC piracy rates, it is up there. If 50% of your userbase is not paying you, there needs to be changes done.

EvilBadman @ Oct 8th 2009 2:41PM

The "Blood Dragon Armor" is the code for it in Mass Effect 2.

Ryan @ Oct 9th 2009 6:02AM

With gamestop it isnt that they arent selling the collectors edition it is just that they ran out of collectors edition pre-orders. I also was wondering why the Xbox 360 version wasnt on the gamestop website (seeing that i had preordered that version) and they said that they will complete any preorders it is just that they arent selling any more.

tim.harris @ Oct 8th 2009 6:44PM

For those of you wanting to pre-order the collectors edition of the game from Amazon, and who usually purchase the strategy guide as well, it's possible to pre-order it if you combine it with the strategy guide using the "usually purchased with" option. (I removed the comic book and pre-ordered the game and the strategy guide together) -- and still paid less than buying just the collector's edition from the EA Store.