The lead director and writer for Days Gone has some hot takes to share with the internet. John Garvin, who has since left Bend Studio following the release of Days Gone, appeared on a YouTube interview with fellow PlayStation game dev David Jaffe, known for his work directing the original God of War. The two spent over four hours discussing the games industry, the current direction of PlayStation, and other topics, with one such moment of which focused on Garvin's thoughts regarding the sales performance of Days Gone, and why it likely will not be getting a sequel any time soon.

He began his commentary (2:42:00 in the video) with, "I do have an opinion on something that your audience may find of interest, and it might piss some of them off. If you love a game, buy it at [expletive] full price", in response to people in the live stream chat who were expressing their love for the game, especially after having tried it on PlayStation 5, as part of the PS+ Collection. Garvin continued, stating, "I can't tell you how many times I've seen gamers say 'yeah I got that on sale, I got it through PS+, whatever", with Jaffe countered his point by asking how players would know they'd like a game before playing it, and Garvin replied by saying, "You don't, but don't complain if a game doesn't get a sequel if it wasn't supported at launch".

That exchange quickly found its way to social media infamy, as Twitter users criticized Garvin for telling gamers to buy titles at full price at launch in an industry where Cyberpunk 2077 was pulled from storefronts due to critical issues on release. He added to the debate with the following, "So, you do you. If you don't like a game? If it's buggy? If you listen to reviewers' opinions? If you think games cost too much? More power to you. Just don't buy it on sale a year later, discover you love it, then wonder why a sequel never got made".

Days Gone, which was originally a PlayStation 4 exclusive, released in 2019 to moderate and negative reviews, with critics finding the gameplay generic and dated. GBAtemp also reviewed the game at launch, and our consensus was mostly in line with the at-the-time Metacritic average of 70. It also had a rocky first few days, as the game had lots of bugs, to the point of Days Gone being patched on a daily basis for over a week, as it faced audio issues, console crashes, autosave problems, and other random glitches.

Shortly after that part of the interview (2:42:32), Garvin brings up having faced piracy, and its negative impacts on projects he'd worked on in the past. Here, he mentioned, "we were doing Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, we got so [expletive], because piracy was a thing, and Sony wasn't really caught up on what piracy was doing to sales", and "I was pissed about it then, I was like, this is money out of my pocket". He then ends the topic by claiming, "the uptick in engagement with the game isn't as important as, did you buy the game at full price? Because if you did, then that's supporting the developers directly".

Currently, Days Gone is on track for a Windows PC release next month, on May 18th. Has this interview impacted your thoughts on whether or not you'll be picking up the game--at full price--when it launches? And do you agree with Garvin's overall thoughts on supporting and buying games at launch, if only to support the developers?

Source

 

[Silent_Gunner]

How about releasing a finished game that makes other FPS survival games worth it? No updates, no DLC, the entire game, on the physical godforsaken disc, and with a regard and respect for the money you get from customers.

You know, with how Sony and its "wHy WoUlD sOmEoNe PlAy OlD gAmEs!?" BS, and now the whole scandal with the internal battery that puts one's ability to enjoy the console in the long term in jeopardy (and this is for all PS3, PS4, and apparently PS5 systems), and now this, I'd be lying if I said I was wanting to buy a PS5 for the first time in my entire life. Even back when I was in middle school, I wanted a PS3, even with how expensive the launch system was, because not only could you play PS3 and PS1 games, but also PS2 games!

Alas, Sony would pull that feature from consoles in later PS3 models officially, and only make certain PS2 games BC, except you couldn't just put a disc inside it to play it if you already owned the game physically like with the 360's BC, hit-and-miss as that could be at times.

Honestly, the Xbox Series S/X, as detrimental to its success as I think its name is, to me, is the better purchase, and not just because of Game Pass, good as that is. No, they also provide BC all the way back to the OG Xbox. I don't know if it's as hit-and-miss as the Fusion emulator on the 360 was for OG Xbox games, but it is an option, and unlike even most emulators, they don't just upscale the graphics; they even improve performance in more ways than one!


Companies should seriously value the products they put out and make them available for people who might be interested in them. It may not be a success in the first year or so, but in the case of games like any of the Capcom Marvel games on digital storefronts, they're holy grails; you cannot buy that game if you wanted to avoid either buying a Dreamcast and getting the DC version, or having a PS2/OG Xbox and getting your wallet raped by eBay RARE SEALED NEVER OPENED ripoffs. One way to do that is by producing physical copies and making them available in some capacity. Make it a collection if one game isn't good enough to sell. If there's one company that did this right, it was Netherrealm Studios with MK9 Komplete Edition: on the PS3, Xbox 360, and Steam, you cannot buy the game digitally anymore. If you didn't buy it before 2017-2019 whenever it was pulled from digital storefronts, you can still at least get the game on consoles, and maybe whatever PC version physical release it got.

But no, release games for as little risk as possible to the business, don't give customers the things they want, and when the contract terms are up, pull everything when all the money is made, and cut off those who might have been interested from enjoying classics they want to at least have access to, but don't you go pirating things! "After all, the devs worked really hard on the game, and are paid well and not overworked to the point that they can't barely spend time with their families because we need to put out Flagship Zombie game, Flagship Fighting Game, Flagship RPG, Flagship Zombie game mulitplayer spin-off no one's gonna play past the game's launch date, Flagship FPS, and "


Businesses have always been about making money, but when all I see nowadays are remakes, remasters, re-imaginings, reboots, re-this, re-that, lazy ports, and a lack of new big budget games that do something different, I just look and go, "man, my PS3/a Wii U I could re-acquire very easily can already play a lot of those games," since a PC can play just about everything outside of some console exclusives that haven't made their way to a natural PC port and have no way of being emulated at this point in time.

 

[Maq47]

I actually agree to a very small extent. I originally pirated Valkyria Chronicles but I loved it so much I went out and bought it sealed and brand new to support it. But that's about as far as the love goes.

I'm also a 'try before I buy' kind of person, with the exact same philosophy. If I physically cannot ever buy it, though, all bets are off (rare/stupid expensive games - Lufia & The Fortress of Doom/Lufia II, I'm looking at you; and before long, SM3DAS).

 

[Armadillo]

Nah, it's alright. Plenty of games to play, if something doesn't get a sequel, it's not the end of the world.

 

[BORTZ]

Hey Days Gone director, notice how I didn't buy your game at all? Well how about this, I don't want any games remotely like Days Gone, let alone a sequel to your trash.

 

[TheRealNGB]

Mortal Kombat 11 was the last straw for me paying full price at launch, bought the ultimate edition on presale for $100, ended up having to spend $60 more a year later for the dlc, mean while new players got everything for $40

Don't screw over early adopters and maybe they will keep paying full price at launch

 

[Shadow#1]

with this kind of bullshit I really hope he dies as a game dev this kind of shit really puts off a lot people basically saying used sales is stealing and that's total fucking bullshit.

 

[Silent_Gunner]

Mortal Kombat 11 was the last straw for me paying full price at launch, bought the ultimate edition on presale for $100, ended up having to spend $60 more a year later for the dlc, mean while new players got everything for $40

Don't screw over early adopters and maybe they will keep paying full price at launch

Oh, don't forget about the grind that could take you 500+ hours to unlock the Character Tower stuff with maybe some other items from the other Towers of Time that, as it turns out, you can ease the grind with microtransactions that buy more "kurrency" exclusive to the game to buy from the Premium Shop! And the fact that there is likely to be a third Kombat Pack based on the rumors I'm hearing!

Srsly, its a good thing they're probably ending MK as a series with this one, because I'm kind of fed up with NRS' nonsense considering that they did this exact same thing with Injustice 2 and are probably gonna do it again for Injustice 3 and MK12!

 

[TobiasAmaranth]

Mortal Kombat 11 was the last straw for me paying full price at launch, bought the ultimate edition on presale for $100, ended up having to spend $60 more a year later for the dlc, mean while new players got everything for $40

Don't screw over early adopters and maybe they will keep paying full price at launch

Just a note here:

Early adopters are important. A second wave is also important. Both serve a purpose. I understand why certain trends take place. Social media / influencer stuff drives a lot of game traction now.

Also, if the game has multi-player/community aspects, it absolutely must get new content these days in order to support the existing fanbase as the number of people playing it slowly declines otherwise.

Don't buy Collector Editions or other special editions unless you're doing it to give support to the IP-holder or studio. Don't expect to be given anything extra if you DO buy early, either.

I think one of the major issues facing gaming and the entertainment industry as a whole right now is the FOMO / instant gratification enjoyment. It's nowhere near as organic as it was in the past, as trends cycle so quickly that if you weren't there 'at launch', you won't get the cultural enthusiasm experience. Unfortunately, this is being exploited by pushing out unfinished buggy games. They live and die on the hype.

It's okay to play games late. It's okay to have real life friends with whom you share your gaming experiences. Get a few chill friends, talk to each other about what games would be fun to play, and synchronize your playtime. Talk to each other about the game, don't rush through it, etc. Close friends > The Worldo.

 

[tabzer]

Tbf, the guy said that as a general sentiment in response to people clamoring how "great" Days Gone is.

I agree with the idea, I am just not sure that it would apply to Days Gone. I've paid full price for FFVII - disc 0.5, unfinished edition, with the sentiment in mind. I'd do it again.

 

[Xzi]

Mortal Kombat 11 was the last straw for me paying full price at launch, bought the ultimate edition on presale for $100, ended up having to spend $60 more a year later for the dlc, mean while new players got everything for $40

Don't screw over early adopters and maybe they will keep paying full price at launch

That kinda comes with the territory where fighting games are concerned. Multiple "fighters passes" have been the norm for quite some time. Just something to be aware of for that genre in particular.

 

[driverdis]

How many people bought Half-Life 2 for full price?

Yep, and see what happened there. All those people who did not pay full price was why we don’t have Half-Life 3 yet /s

 

[tabzer]

Mortal Kombat 11 was the last straw for me paying full price at launch, bought the ultimate edition on presale for $100, ended up having to spend $60 more a year later for the dlc, mean while new players got everything for $40

Don't screw over early adopters and maybe they will keep paying full price at launch

You have to also realize that it was because of your great contribution that they decided to release more content--so thank you!

Also MK X did the same thing.

 

[TheRealNGB]

Just a note here:

Early adopters are important. A second wave is also important. Both serve a purpose. I understand why certain trends take place. Social media / influencer stuff drives a lot of game traction now.

Also, if the game has multi-player/community aspects, it absolutely must get new content these days in order to support the existing fanbase as the number of people playing it slowly declines otherwise.

Don't buy Collector Editions or other special editions unless you're doing it to give support to the IP-holder or studio. Don't expect to be given anything extra if you DO buy early, either.

I think one of the major issues facing gaming and the entertainment industry as a whole right now is the FOMO / instant gratification enjoyment. It's nowhere near as organic as it was in the past, as trends cycle so quickly that if you weren't there 'at launch', you won't get the cultural enthusiasm experience. Unfortunately, this is being exploited by pushing out unfinished buggy games. They live and die on the hype.

It's okay to play games late. It's okay to have real life friends with whom you share your gaming experiences. Get a few chill friends, talk to each other about what games would be fun to play, and synchronize your playtime. Talk to each other about the game, don't rush through it, etc. Close friends > The Worldo.

If your games online multiplayer is dead within a year maybe it is not your games strong point, and shouldn't be its focus, Blizzard made games in the past with free online multiplayer that lasted over a decade with a thriving community because those games were fun to play online, fighting games are simply better played locally, and not meant to be so much of a grind that the person spends more time using the AI auto battle system than actually playing the game themselves. Just saying I still like the franchise, and appreciate there attempt to offer more, I don't appreciate buying so called "ultimate" editions that end up feeling like "sucker" editions

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Nah, it's alright. Plenty of games to play, if something doesn't get a sequel, it's not the end of the world.

Maybe except when the game ends in a cliffhanger, dunno.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure for the 3ds comes to mind >_>

 

[TomSwitch]

Create a spotify model for games. When people pay the game developers get paid. So when the games are good the developer get paid when the games sucks player don't complain that they got conned.

 

[nero99]

LOL NO

This fucker wants us to pay full price for these shit games? Go fuck yourself. I hate how a lot of these AAA titles are shit these days, and then the random 15 dollar game I enjoy x10 as much. Fuck him and that shit game.

maybe don't go in with high expectations or something until you play a demo if one is available.

 

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

The only time I buy at game at full launch price is if it's an anticipated enough title to get me to have to play it on release. And with new releases now being more than last gen...it's an even harder sell.

A lot of times, I don't buy a game unless it's on sale. So this is a tone deaf comment because a majority of the time, it's bought on a discount or not bought at all.

 

[RichardTheKing]

And yes, even if games with monetisation were released without an upfront price tag ("free"), and games without monetisation were cheaper, I still wouldn't buy games immediately. I'd wait for reviews from trusted sources, word-of-mouth, information released online (guides, wikis, etc.). I absolutely hate buying games sight-unseen.

 

[slimbizzy]

well aside from all the bullshit he spewed, he did tell one truth.

this did upset quite a few people it seems.

 

[The Catboy]

I wasn’t planning on pirating this game, until now.