As a stingy gamer and professional cheapskate who loves coupons, clearance sales that stack with normal discounts and other ways to save money, Nintendo’s announcement of the DLC and season pass for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia has me concerned. What kind of precedent is set when a game’s season pass ($44.99) costs more than the game itself ($39.99)?
Let me just present the information first (via Nintendo press release):
Season Pass (May 19, $44.99, 22 pieces of content): The Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Season Pass includes all five DLC packs as they release. By purchasing the Season Pass, fans who want to receive all DLC will save more than 30 percent compared to purchasing all 22 pieces of content on their own.
DLC Pack #1 – Fledgling Warriors Pack (May 19, $7.99, three pieces of content): Ideal for early- to mid-game adventurers, this pack includes a new dungeon (The Astral Temple) and two new maps, great for gaining more items, money and experience points.
DLC Pack #2 – Undaunted Heroes Pack (May 25, $9.99, three pieces of content): In addition to a new dungeon (The Inner Sanctum), this pack also includes two challenging new maps that stronger, more seasoned heroes will want to tackle.
DLC Pack #3 – Lost Altars Pack (May 25, $14.99, 10 pieces of content): The mysterious dungeons included in this pack hold the power to upgrade characters to exclusive classes that don’t appear in the main game.
DLC Pack #4 – Rise of the Deliverance Pack (June 1, $12.99, four pieces of content): Discover the previously untold history of Valentia in this Prologue pack. Complete with new story content and additional voice acting that details the rise of the Deliverance in Zofia, this collection of challenging maps includes new support conversations between selected heroes, as well as the ability to take command of a character players won’t be able to control in the main game.
DLC Pack #5 ($5.99, two pieces of content): More information about this final DLC pack will be revealed in the future.
Any of these packs (as well as the individual content pieces in each pack) can be purchased separately, which provides flexibility of choice, but of course, each individual piece is more expensive than it would have been had you just purchased the complete set.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia also features free DLC after launch starting on May 19, available for a limited time. The first free content is a special gift from Goddess Mila with more to come later. Having free DLC is a nice touch… especially considering the insane price tag on the season pass. At that point, shouldn’t you funnel at least $15 worth of content towards, you know, the actual game? I don’t get it, Nintendo.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia launches for Nintendo 3DS on May 19 for $39.99, compared to the $44.99 season pass price tag. A limited-edition bundle launches on the same day for $59.99. Also launching on May 19? The Alm and Celica amiibo figures, available only as a set for $24.99.
What do you think? Does the price of the season pass bother you, or not so much? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
