Bioshock 2 DLC was already on the retail disc, gamers find

[GamingAwesome1]

Aha! I knew it was on the disc! Glad I didn't buy it.....

Paying extra for stuff that's on the disc is bullshit no matter how you put it, it's blatant money grabbing bullshit.

 

[Maze1125]

And under normal circumstances this would be logical. But what happens when you make it impossible for a gamer to either afford or install his games, due to either an overabundance of DLC or overly-restrictive DRM? Do you think he'll quit gaming altogether or just start pirating?

Good job that has yet to happen then. As there are loads of good games with no DRM or DLC.
There are also loads of good games which have Steam as their DRM (and still no DLC) which in fact helps the player, not hinders them.

And the rest of your post I can't be bothered to respond to, but be assured, it's still utterly inane and paranoid.

 

[shadow skill]

The EULA that they put in the back of the manual are not necessarily even valid contracts as has been pointed out more than once in this thread. No sane person would think that a publisher has the right to come into your house and rip out the last five pages of your favorite book. Someone needs to explain to me how that would work. Because at least one court in the US seems to think that buying the disc constitutes a sale in the sense that everyone else actually thinks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc.

 

[LiftYourSkinnyFists]

And if anyone says "just don't buy it" is missing the point. The data is already there! You are paying for stuff you already fucking payed for!

No you're not.
Having a copy of the data in your hand does not mean you own the rights to use that data.
That is what you are paying for.

I would think paying for the data and the disc it's on would grant someone the right to use it.

You pay for the right to use it not the data and the disk, steam for example you could have all their games preloaded but your account can't use it because your account isn't licensed to do so.

 

[shadow skill]

And if anyone says "just don't buy it" is missing the point. The data is already there! You are paying for stuff you already fucking payed for!

No you're not.
Having a copy of the data in your hand does not mean you own the rights to use that data.
That is what you are paying for.

I would think paying for the data and the disc it's on would grant someone the right to use it.

You pay for the right to use it not the data and the disk, steam for example you could have all their games preloaded but your account can't use it because your account isn't licensed to do so.

But it is still a standard transaction just like music cds or books. The publisher or content owner cannot for example prevent you from selling the item again.

 

[robjbroker]

SALE OF GOODS ACT 1923 - SECT 18
18 Sale by description

Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied condition that the goods shall correspond with the description; and if the sale be by sample as well as by description, it is not sufficient that the bulk of the goods corresponds with the sample if the goods do not also correspond with the description.

This is N.S.W law, but you can bet anything where ever you live there are comparable laws. If there had been the implication of content that wasn't there (or "fit for use") , there would be a dispute. But there wasn't, so there isn't. As frustrating as it may make you feel.

 

[maninahat]

Would it have made anyone any happier if they just jacked up the price of the game, essentially forcing you to pay for the DLC on the disk whether you wanted the content or not? People are not getting short changed here.

They wanted a complete copy of Bioshock 2, and that is exactly what they got. It is as complete a game as any other. You can take or leave the DLCs because they are not core elements of gameplay. Sure, the DLC is already on the disk in the first place, but so what? What difference does that make? It just means it is more convenient because it does not have to be downloaded like a typical DLC (making the "D" somewhat redundant).

The whole thing is a little unconventional, but no one was cheated here. It is like buying a TV and then complaining that you have to pay extra for the porn channels, even though your tv is already capable of picking up the channel signals. It doesn't matter if it is physically within your grasp - you aren't getting it for free because it wasn't stipulated you'd get free porn when you bought the tv. Being able to pick up the signals just makes the whole thing more practical in the event that you do pay for the porn - that way they don't have to go to the trouble of building a load of peripherary shit to change your tv.

For all the complaining people are doing, it is rather ironic: by storing the DLC on the disk in the first place, the developers probably saved a bundle making the DLC, enabling them to pass the savings on to you...so quit complaining! You might have to pay more to download it the traditional way.

 

[Shazzam]

As simple as copy+pasting text. I just made a 5mb file with the letter "a". Veiling it as code is not that hard either, and you can put everything into commentary sections, which will not show anywhere else than in the raw code.

Alas it certainly is a mere basic indicator, but things might go this way. It'll take people some time before they realize to check to code for legitimacy.

Erm just a quick nitpick, a decent complier will remove all comments and optimise the code when the program is built. So you cant just add 5mb of comments.

 

[ShroomMinus]

And if anyone says "just don't buy it" is missing the point. The data is already there! You are paying for stuff you already fucking payed for!

No you're not.
Having a copy of the data in your hand does not mean you own the rights to use that data.
That is what you are paying for.

No. People paid FULL PRICE for the disc, by any average person's viewpoint, what's on it is theirs.

Think about it, they put extra work into keeping people locked out from what's on the disc! It's bullshit.

Not for people who bought it from steam.
Or another online download store...
They have virtual copies and no actual disc containing all of this "hidden" data.

 

[Nurb]

And if anyone says "just don't buy it" is missing the point. The data is already there! You are paying for stuff you already fucking payed for!

No you're not.
Having a copy of the data in your hand does not mean you own the rights to use that data.
That is what you are paying for.

No. People paid FULL PRICE for the disc, by any average person's viewpoint, what's on it is theirs.

Think about it, they put extra work into keeping people locked out from what's on the disc! It's bullshit.

Not for people who bought it from steam.
Or another online download store...
They have virtual copies and no actual disc containing all of this "hidden" data.

what they downloaded from steam has the same data that people got on a disc.

 

[ShroomMinus]

what they downloaded from steam has the same data that people got on a disc.

You know what, fair enough.
We paid the same amount too

 

[SavingPrincess]

DLC just keeps getting to be more and more crooked and a rip off of paying customers, and I thought Day-one DLC/Online Shops were bad. Now you have the content on the disk you pay full price for, only to have to pay more to unlock it.

I think maybe a name-change is in order... perhaps like a previous user ninja'd, there should be a strict naming guideline between "Downloadable" content and "Unlockable" content. If it could be regulated that "Downloadable" content always come from an external source, where as "Unlockable" content can be included in the original install and paid for later, we'd not see the fury.

 

[dragonnewby]

I'm suprised how many people actually like paying MORE for an already expensive product. SIXTY FUCKING DOLLARS. And for what? shitty deathmatch and like... 10 hour story? It's not even about the DLC anymore... this consumerism is what is really ruining the US and lets fucking corporates control it.

Oh, and people who say to read some contract or some shit like that, FUCK YOU. I agreed to no contract and I didn't have the manual before buying the game.

I can't believe people like to get ripped off...

 

[DeadlyFred]

What really gets me... for serious... is that people actually stand up and defend their right to get screwed like this. That's just beyond hilarity to me.

How are we getting screwed, exactly?

I'm not going to try and talk you down from your irrational need to spend more money. I don't know, are you old enough to remember a time when you payed $60 bucks for a game and got THE GAME? Like, all of it?

The issue wouldn't bother me so much but for the fact that it honestly seems that DLC is used as a way to rush games out, unfinished and lacking content, then fill shit in and fix things later AT A PROFIT!