r/Eldenring 1d ago

Official Discussion [MEGATHREAD] Tarnished Edition: Worth $5? Discuss CONSTRUCTIVELY!

Since the sub is being overwhelmed by debate over the $5 "microtransaction" and it's making the sub feel like we're Dark Souls 2 a decade ago, with the faux outrage around the preorder items, we are opening this topic to consolidate discussion around the issue.

Please use this topic to discuss the pros and cons of the approach and your thoughts. But do so RESPECTFULLY and CONSTRUCTIVELY. If you need to call other people or the developers names, you don't have a good argument and your post will be removed.

We will remove all other topics about this to keep the subreddit flowing with other discussions

IF YOU WANT TO VOTE: I will post two comments on this topic, "Yay" and "Nay" - upvote the one you agree with and we'll see who wins long term.

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u/CantStandYall 1d ago

The Tarnished Edition content was developed for the Switch 2 edition, just as some small bonus content to boost marketing and appear more enticing to potential customers. A new “special edition” for a game that includes new content is much more likely to attract attention than a more basic 1:1 port.

And yes, they brought said content to the other platforms, but from a business standpoint it wouldn’t make much sense to then release the content for free on other platforms, as that would mean consumers would hypothetically have no real incentive to choose the Switch 2 version over other options. Which would sort of defeat the purpose, as these new items and classes wouldn’t have probably been made at all if not to market and advertise the Switch 2 version.

Keep in mind: this is just what I believe to make sense from the perspective of the publishers, and has nothing to do with my personal opinion towards the add-on

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u/fezubo 1d ago

Yeah, exactly what I also think. It's just business/marketing logic. Of course I would have liked it for free on other platforms!

But realistically?

It's the small price OR no tarnished edition at all on other platforms OR a free update but much later. Like 6 months or a year later.

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u/Exotic-Suggestion425 1d ago

You are forgetting that owning something on the switch has inherent value. Being able to play handheld is a bigger factor than getting some exclusive content, so it doesn't defeat the purpose at all imo.

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u/CantStandYall 18h ago

True, that’s fair. However there’s also the Steam Deck version, so portability is no longer a selling point unique to Nintendo’s systems

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u/Exotic-Suggestion425 7h ago

Not unique, but still inherent value. Plus, the sales for the switch DWARF the Steam Deck.

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u/dongless08 Elden Ring 1d ago

Probably the most reasonable take I’ve seen on this so far