How much content does a re-release needs to add to make you buy it?

[Not_Red]

Been wondering about this since reading the article about Atlus/SEGA games being affected due to it. People waiting on the complete edition rather than buying it on launch, series like SMT and Persona being the obvious. It got me wondering tho, how much content do you think makes a re-release worth getting?

If we leave fundamental mechanics and gameplay aside, I think something on the lines of Smash 4 to Ultimate makes for a good amount if you ask me but I can see people settling down with just a little bit less than that.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

The more content the better of course but I'd be happy as long as it's not too overpriced with a few quality of life tweaks. And if it's exclusive to only one or two platforms the more justified it is. just my opinion.

 

[Tonberry]

If the re-release is the first time I'm getting the game I wouldn't say it matters at all.
Me buying a re-release of game that I've already played with additional content probably has more to do with factors like how long ago it was I played it originally, what the price is in general, and whether or not I enjoyed the game. I don't mind buying a game more than once if it's something I really enjoyed, but it usually has to be on sale.

I bought the re-release of GTA 5 on PS4 even thought I got it on PS3 when it was new because my PS3 had broken years before I got a PS4 and I still wanted to be able to play it, and the additional content was overshadowed by the general increase in fidelity.

Though I definitely know I'm glad I waited and bought SMT Vengeance instead of the vanilla version (which my brother played and was seemingly kinda disappointed with story/content wise), and I'll be doing the same with Ys: Proud Nordics.

 

[BrawlMan]

The more content the better of course but I'd be happy as long as it's not too overpriced with a few quality of life tweaks. And if it's exclusive to only one or two platforms the more justified it is. just my opinion.

What @Zerohour2k12 said.

Though if you want to see the best version of a re-release, look at games like DmC: Definitive Edition, DMC4 Special Edition, or Ninja Gaiden II Black. The last one technically has less costumes than Sigma 2, but II Black keeps the better costumes anyway.

 

[iamthemilkman]

If they do this too much, I tend to just wait for the improved version at a discounted price. They've trained me to do this with Yakuza/Like A Dragon. Even though I like those games, they've been milked tf out of.

 

[Boo Man]

i only buy games once

 

[RageBurner]

For me it's not a matter of content, but actual quality, and above all, player choice. More content by itself is just bloat. Let me give you an example:

Shin Megami Tensei 3 has great mods on PC, all optional, that can really make the experience smoother and less frustrating; these should have been all optional toggles in the game itself for a re-release at that price point. Instead you have a Unity port that barely touches the game at all, so you are forced to use an external modding API to get real QoL.

 

[Raccoonus]

A lot of the time merely having new graphics options and the game on PC is enough for me to buy it.

 

[Scotty Scotty]

Updated visuals, maybe some quality of life improvements, and a reasonable asking price are good enough for me.

 

[gwardojones]

It depends on the game. Some games I'd love to see changes to, like rebalancing or fixes for infamous bugs/irritating game design. Others I'd be content just to have a rerelease of the game with some concept art or something.

I think the rereleases of FF7-12 + Chrono Cross have done a good job of adding enough content while keeping the experience intact (Square's love of horrible fonts and dialogue boxes not withstanding). They are God Mode, mechanics to speed up gameplay, and unlimited special attacks. Plus, ways to turn off combat encounters entirely (which I feel all JRPGs should include out of the box). If you want to play it as it was intended, you can still ignore that stuff. But if you want to take a sort of museum trip through one of these important and revered games, you can make it as easy and effortless as you want.

Stuff like that makes me feel like the devs actually care about my experience with the game.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

It really does vary for me by game. It can be significantly or insignificantly different, depending on how much I like the game and also how much it's going to cost me. Most games or re-releases have a "price" that I can eventually agree on.

I have a collector's mindset as well, so I've also bought multi-platform games on multiple platforms with no discernible difference between them other than what you play them on. Maybe they'll have all the DLC included on another platform, but they're usually exactly the same.

 

[mistymermaid]

In all frankness, the internet's fixation on wanting games to be longer irks me.

Lower the price if necessary. Just don't make a frankenstein amalgamation of features from various ports/remakes, that are fan-fiction in all but name.

 

[zacharinolongpants]

I wish there were a consistent and reliable way to upscale prerendered backgrounds. The FFVII AI upscale mod on PC does a pretty good job. You can do some stuff on Duckstation as well. I wish the companies doing official releases could figure something out right out of the box though.

 

[paprikamaster]

If i've beaten the game once I find it hard to justify going back to it even if there are a few new additions to it. I tried playing P5R when it was on gamepass but i found myself having a hard time getting back into it knowing i've already been there done that. There's too many games out there for me to buy a rerelease if i've already played it.

Buuuut if I haven't played the game yet and it looks like the absolute best way to play the game then I will probably pick it up. Im going through the DQ 3 2D - HD Remake right now for example and having an absolute blast.

 

[poppy_]

as someone who just bought sonic origins in the sale... not too much extra content i guess lol

 

[Kovlak]

It's probably an impopular opinion but I generally find additional content in Atlus games to be at best forgettable and at worse detracting from the original game.

For me a new release has to have a meaningful inovation to the base experience, that being a more better fleshed out story, more polished and fun gameplay, and/or additional quality content.

 

[Rocket2049]

if they DON"T do what SQUARE ENIX does, REMOVE STUFF and call it a REMASTER
I ABSOLUTELY cannot recommend to STAY WAY FROM PIXEL REMASTER games enough
basically pixel remaster is just NES/SNES games with cheats (exp boost, turn off encounters, full maps of every place) all of FF1 through 6 are missing something from other versions (GBA, PSP, old mobile)
PSP FF1 has like 5 more dungeons and about 20 more bosses and looks better, it's the best FF1 version
GBA/PSP FF2 has a WHOLE STORY MODE AFTER THE MAIN GAME, not in pixel remaster at all!
you get ZERO EXTRA CONTENT, anything that was NOT in NES/SNES, it's gone entirely

FF tactics remaster has NO PSP content, no baltheir, no luso, no dark knight, nothing from PSP version is there, side story events are gone, various events are gone, you might as well play on PSP to have a complete experience, remaster just gives you difficulties, autosaves, and a very large party roster (50, you can have every unique character, all variations of monsters, and still have 20 slots to spare)

Dragon quest 2dHD games lack casinos and betting on monster fights, like they scrapped gambling as a whole for some reason. and 3 lacks the board minigame, which i REALLY liked
good remakes on the visual and voice acting side and if you're bad at DQ games they're the easiest (very easy) way to play 1 2 and 3, difficulty settings, toggable waypoints, and much more helpful maps of areas.

now people are already mad about DQ7 missing stuff, but DQ7 is a 200 HOURS long game on PS1, that wastes a LOT OF TIME, and i'm a hardcore DQ fan saying that,
the 3ds game was "Shorter" but took a bit over 100 hours for me to 100% complete it all!
i'm not mad about it being shorter, the demo seems good enough to me

so in short summary what a remaster/remake game NEEDS for me to play it, literally all content of the orignal games (and older rereleases as per pixel remaster), and actuall NEW content
not just CHEATS (exp boosters, turn off encounters, powerful gear DLC or whatever)

like, a VERY good example or a remake, Star Ocean 2nd story R,
i generally HATE STAR OCEAN, just to start off, i got mad at Star ocean 4 because it had SO many missable and hard as shit on "normal mode",
none of the previous games have a new game plus, if you missed anything (AND YOU WILL) you're doing a whole new save file from nothing.
...but not Star ocean 2nd story R, oh no... it's the BEST star ocean game to me period
you CANT MISS ANYTHING, it's all nicely MARKED, time limited quests with HOURGLASS ICON,
fast travel, cause on PS1/PSP you had to walk SO FAR BACK for some missable stuff.
combat is better, added super specialties (out of combat skills)
enemies actually spawn on screen (as a floating icon) so you can avoid, chain battles together, instant kill weaker enemies without a fight triggering,
you got stronger "raid bosses" to fight, some of which i didn't beat till post game
aboslutely the thing that MADE ME BUY IT RIGHT AWAY... an ACTUAL NEW GAME PLUS!!
everything from levels to gear to skills carry over, recipes, all the endings save (the game lists them all, easy to see what's missing out of 99, and rewatch them)
so that's the definitive shining example of a remaster to me, nothing is close.

 

[Mopeybloke]

No new content is usually preferred. Most of it wouldn't be good and would pad out the game. I can buy ports of older games on newer hardware and all I want from them is to run well and play well. For looks I prefer minor enhancements.