Destiny - Is Bungie Destined to fail?

So the latest DLC has been announced for Destiny. Readers of this site can see a breakdown of the content here, but, to summarise, for your twenty English pounds you get three story missions, one new strike, one new raid and a bonus strike if you are on PlayStation. How do we feel about this, especially as our American cousins are getting the same DLC for half the price?

Firstly, we have to look at numbers. A combination of a lower population and a higher VAT rate in the UK will always push the cost up. That is the price we pay for living in a smaller country. It's all about economics. Bungie are a business, who care about money and not people. Let's remember that; it's all about the bottom line, and if you are spending big bucks on a game, your investors are expecting big bucks back. 

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Secondly, Bungie have a lot of data about how people play and they know, despite annoying a section of the market, there will be a substantial amount of people playing the game to make £20 DLC worthwhile. Additionally Bungie still have a vast amount of caché in the gaming community. Never underestimate the loyalty Halo has engendered, despite being made by two different developers. 


I have spent seventy five hours playing Destiny. I don't get the time to game as much as I used to, and that is a pretty amazing amount of time for me to devote to a single game. There will be many more who have double or tripled that time who absolutely believe that the DLC is worth their cash. Five hours of my time was spent playing the Vault of Glass Raid. Believe me when I say it, that particular part of Destiny was by far the best gaming experience I have had since playing multiplayer in Bad Company 2. If the next raid even equals that experience, can this validate, what can be seen as a cynical cash-in on a flawed and unfinished game? 

Bungie have promised more story-based content in the new DLC, and accept that the six hour story in the 'single player' was ultimately full of holes and confusing. Again when it comes to a buying decision, some players who have pored all over the Grimoire cards, who have researched all the theories and speculation on the Internet, will want to know more and will be desperate to see these theories by confirmed or denied. 

The biggest test for Bungie will be over the next two months. Many players are wholly invested in their characters. They want to see them progress beyond the existing level cap, but also do not want to be locked out of missions and maps just because their friends have them and they do not. Although Bungie are counting on this peer pressure, I expect to see a big tail-off of players who are done with the game and are unable to go any further (The new COD will also contribute towards this). The DLC will be a flag for Bungie to see how big their player base will be over the next year.

Finally there is the lure of promise. Destiny excels in many areas. Bungie have promised a ten year lifespan, and the hope among Destiny fans is that the game will get better, and more complete. The trouble is that for some, it's already too little too late. Some feel that Bungie promised too much and delivered too little. We already know, from a leak from Bungie itself, that a lot of content was cut back and streamlined for the final release. The next two months will be very telling, both in what Bungie has to offer for the DLC, but also the feedback we get from the players. I wonder what is Bungie's real Destiny? 

What are your thoughts? Are you going to buy the Destiny DLC? Let me know in the comments below.