I saw this briefly pop up in another thread and thought I'd make a separate discussion on this. Should older content (TSW, TSW2) still be sold for full price? Would DTG actually make more from selling the older content at a lower price where more people are inclined to buy it? I would imagine people are more likely to spend full price on more modern and updated content with the new bells and whistles? I understand a lot of platforms apart from Xbox get decent sales so it's easier to pick up older stuff for cheaper. But this might for instance help shift more old content to newer players and especially Xbox players who have had content on their wishlist for years that hasn't gone on sale. It could possibly benefit the Player base and DTG as a whole?
My opinion, older routes should be permanently discounted. There is no way something like Rapid Transit is worth full price anymore. Even though I still quite like it, it's really dated now. They could make it a separate range. So it was differentiated from more modern routes. It would highlight it was older and let people pick them up a bit cheaper. Also as you say, for Xbox where there are fewer sales, this would help.
It is difficult to place the worth of an item for another individual. If the person is very familiar with the route they may not be concerned with its age. I know Xbox is in its own world when it comes to sales, but on PC - the sales are frequent enough that older routes can be picked up at reasonable costs with a bit of patience. Leaving them at regular cost rewards the company for those impulse buyers that want the route now. Not sure if lowering the price would result in more sales permantly in the PC environment.
I'm not sure I follow with the devaluing of older routes. Obviously, I'd love to pay less (which paying consumer wouldn't) but since the older DLC hasn't actually had anything removed since release (in fact the Preservation Crew had been adding stuff free of charge), I don't see why DTG would start to discount the older routes permanently. As for whether it makes money, my first thought was that people would simply stop buying DLC at full price and wait, but given that DTG routinely give 70-80% off the latest iterations of TSW about 9 months after release, that may not be true. The only reason I can think of that they wouldn't do this is because people don't feel rushed to buy the product. The limited-time nature of sales may compel some to take advantage of the discount instead of waiting, but with a permanent discount, they'd lose the ability to repeatedly put an item on sale and compel people to take a limited-time offer.
I 100% agree that old DLC should be permanently discounted, both routes and individual locos. Older routes and locos are often pretty rough graphically and don't measure up to newer offerings so aren't worth what's being asked IMHO. I have a bunch of old routes and locos on my XBOX wish list waiting for a sale that never comes, and I will definitely buy them if the RRP drops to a more realistic level. Until then my money will remain in my pocket and that DLC will remain unpurchased - over to you, DTG!
A couple of routes from the TSW 1 & 2 era should be lowered in price (like in TSC). Excluding ones that have had remasters like West Somerset or GWE. They could stay a normal price.
I certainly feel there should be permanent price reductions on older items, particularly made to a lesser technical standard. It’s rather ridiculous that routes like Rapid Transit are still being sold for the same price as a DLC released in the last 3 months. After 12 months there should be a sliding scale to reduce the prices.
Yes, total agreement, I have been saying this for so long. How can a new player be expected to jump into this game without spending hundreds? Some of these DLCs really need the layers and any basic research will reveal that to even the newer players. Of course Xbox is especially bad, but on any platform I wouldn't want to be waiting around for some sale to drop, which may or may not have what I'm looking for. Besides all that, what are newer players to think when they download the free starter pack, and then buy something like WCL, RT or CC for full price? They aren't going to get a very good impression of the game overall. On the other hand, if WCL was $9.99, and WCMLos $44.99, or whatever it is, you would instantly be able to tell where the price difference comes from. RSN+363+155 is what, $65? That's crazy! At this point it should only be sold as a bundle, and even then for $20 or $25 max. But will DTG make any of these changes? Extremely doubtful.
Guess it depends on the route. SEHS is old, but still stands as a decent route even compared to more modern releases. Routes like WCL though.
As if Spirit of Steam is now the second most expensive route in the game (£29.99), I think it’s a cash grab as a lot of layers on Preston to Carlisle require you to have it absolute joke a lot more money for the same terrible route. I actually can’t believe that Just Trains used SOS stock instead of Peak Forest clearly an idea by the publishers to make people buy it
Probably depends on the route, does West Sommerset and GWE warrant a discount, he says with GWE currently on discount. NTP needs to be discounted thou, it is not a bad route, it just has bugs that havent been fixed and it is showing its age. What would be nice, if you own a copy of a route, then it is yours regardless of what platform you play it on, so you can go from xbox to ps5 to pc without spending a penny, whats the chances of that?
Routes like WCL or Rapid Transit are absolutely not worth full price anymore. WCL's rolling stock is obsolete now, we've had two improved 150s and the 37 already existed anyway. The 150 layer on WSR is set to be removed, too. Rapid Transit has a little bit of extra value now with the layer to Leipzig - Dresden but it's a route which really shows it's age. Isle of Wight costs 20 quid, too, which I feel was always steep for that route. The Train Sim Classic version - albeit 13 years old - gives you the Steam Railway and a locomotive, unlike TSW, as well as the Island Line and NSE 483 which is identical to TSW's offering. That's for 13 Pounds. If there's no prospect of a remaster then I think routes like these should have their prices slashed.
This only applies to TSW2 as they look the oldest. TSW3+ routes all hold up. They should either lower the prices or remaster them all, then they have a reason to sell them at full price or an increase to £29.99.
It is likely that a £30 route in a sale at £10 will sell more copies during that sale than a route with a list price of £10 would sell the rest of the year, everyone just has to be patient and wait for a sale. Assuming it's like previous years, on console there won't be anything on sale now until November as Sony/Microsoft have rules preventing anything released in the last 30 days from going on sale, and despite being originally released many years ago everything is "new" again courtesy of TSW6 coming with new versions of the old add-ons.
It's also quite baffling given that the wagons from Spirit of Steam that layer onto there also come with the Training Centre.
