EPIC says why they think on-disc DLC is rad

[Nico4]

It's stupid. Defend it all you want, all your doing is rip off your costumers

 

[everythingbeeps]

I have no problem whatsoever with them putting DLC on the disc and then charging to unlock it later. In fact, the amusement I get watching people get all self-righteous about the subject is worth it.

The game is what the publisher/developer says it is. That's what you're sold. I don't think you're entitled to everything on the disc, whether it's locked or not. You're entitled to only the game they sold you. Don't like it? TOUGH. Either don't buy the game, or stop whining.

 

[revjor]

I figure eventually in this economy dlc will start eating into new game sales.

 

[Irridium]

If the content is on the disk, it's not fucking downloadable content. It's content they lock away even though we've already payed for it by buying the game itself.

Why couldn't they have just made it free for everyone? You know, part of the actual game?

This isn't having to stop making it due to deadlines, and then working on it after everything with the game is all said and done, this is finishing the content before no new content can be added, and then charging for it again after we buy the game. It's COMPLETE, before any content-complete deadlines.

The fucking gall of all this is just unbelievable. They charge me $60 for the game, then ask for more money for content that's already on the disk that I already payed for.

yeah hate to break it for you
your paying for the data, the disk itself is near worthless, so come join in the digital age.
My second point follows on from this in that they didn't hide this nor was it some extra part of the story, it was content made after they finished the full game, and it allows them to keep making content for said game at a steady pace via the income made from the dlc.

Would you rather that games just no longer get ongoing support, is that your solution?

<youtube=p1F7hZzIckA>

remind you of anyone?

Alright, I'm paying for the data. The data is on the disk. They are charging extra for data that I already bought.

And they'll be able to make content after the game is sold because it's Gears and will sell millions and turn a massive profit. Like they did with Gears 2.

At the very god damn least they should stop calling it downloadable content, since you're not downloading anything.

 

[Vagon123123]

The issue I have with this is more the fact that I don't like this new trend of making the DLC while the game is still in development, there is no good reason why this content couldn't have been on the standard game but instead they decided to add a 10$ hidden cost for no good reason.

 

[Kopikatsu]

If the content is on the disk, it's not fucking downloadable content. It's content they lock away even though we've already payed for it by buying the game itself.

Why couldn't they have just made it free for everyone? You know, part of the actual game?

This isn't having to stop making it due to deadlines, and then working on it after everything with the game is all said and done, this is finishing the content before no new content can be added, and then charging for it again after we buy the game. It's COMPLETE, before any content-complete deadlines.

The fucking gall of all this is just unbelievable. They charge me $60 for the game, then ask for more money for content that's already on the disk that I already payed for.

yeah hate to break it for you
your paying for the data, the disk itself is near worthless, so come join in the digital age.
My second point follows on from this in that they didn't hide this nor was it some extra part of the story, it was content made after they finished the full game, and it allows them to keep making content for said game at a steady pace via the income made from the dlc.

Would you rather that games just no longer get ongoing support, is that your solution?

<youtube=p1F7hZzIckA>

remind you of anyone?

Alright, I'm paying for the data. The data is on the disk. They are charging extra for data that I already bought.

And they'll be able to make content after the game is sold because it's Gears and will sell millions and turn a massive profit. Like they did with Gears 2.

At the very god damn least they should stop calling it downloadable content, since you're not downloading anything.

If it makes you feel better, it's still DLC. Just now it's Disk-Locked Content instead of Downloadable Content.

 

[LordLundar]

Dear Epic:

Why do you hate your customers?

The Unreal 3 fiasco, the Gears 1 port disaster, the countless times Cliffy has essentially says "I'm God, worship me peons!" and now this.

Honestly, who came up with the idea that saying "F-you!" to your customers is a sound business model?

 

[minimacker]

I thought DLC stood for "DownLoadable Content".

If it's already on the disk, you're not actually downloading it..?

 

[manaman]

If the content is on the disk, it's not fucking downloadable content. It's content they lock away even though we've already payed for it by buying the game itself.

Why couldn't they have just made it free for everyone? You know, part of the actual game?

This isn't having to stop making it due to deadlines, and then working on it after everything with the game is all said and done, this is finishing the content before no new content can be added, and then charging for it again after we buy the game. It's COMPLETE, before any content-complete deadlines.

The fucking gall of all this is just unbelievable. They charge me $60 for the game, then ask for more money for content that's already on the disk that I already payed for.

I will bite on the argument that as work winds down on a game they can start pushing people towards making DLC, or put them on teams geared towards DLC. Granted that some DLC starts out as unfinished game content anyway I can see how from time to time DLC could be finished before the game is released.

The fact a game being delayed and the content being available before official release of the game makes sense, but the way a few big publishers are going about it makes it a stretch to try and believe this of them. They are specifically sectioning off snippets of content to try and entice people into buying new to get the complete game.

 

[4173]

If the content is on the disk, it's not fucking downloadable content. It's content they lock away even though we've already payed for it by buying the game itself.

Why couldn't they have just made it free for everyone? You know, part of the actual game?

This isn't having to stop making it due to deadlines, and then working on it after everything with the game is all said and done, this is finishing the content before no new content can be added, and then charging for it again after we buy the game. It's COMPLETE, before any content-complete deadlines.

The fucking gall of all this is just unbelievable. They charge me $60 for the game, then ask for more money for content that's already on the disk that I already payed for.

I will bite on the argument that as work winds down on a game they can start pushing people towards making DLC, or put them on teams geared towards DLC. Granted that some DLC starts out as unfinished game content anyway I can see how from time to time DLC could be finished before the game is released.

The fact a game being delayed and the content being available before official release of the game makes sense, but the way a few big publishers are going about it makes it a stretch to try and believe this of them. They are specifically sectioning off snippets of content to try and entice people into buying new to get the complete game.

Pretty much this. We've entered boy who cried wolf territory.


Complaining about it being called DLC is silly.

 

[AlphaEcho]

everybody already knows that only Bethesda makes good dlc.

Horse armor.

 

[Char-Nobyl]

The most obvious issue is that of charging gamers for content that's already on the disc.

The one that I take more issue with, however, is came up after I played RAGE: disc space is becoming a very real issue. Unless id Software was just really inefficient about packing data onto their game discs, they needed three discs for a game that I went through over a single weekend. I wasn't playing it obsessively, or inversely trying to make a speed run. I did all the side quests as they presented themselves, and took the time to try and enjoy the experience.

The end result? A gorgeous game that has a great first disc...and then comes the second disc. It plays like a long tech demo: you start in a new quest hub and similarly new part of the game world. Characters appear and are either never fleshed out or outright vanish without warning or adequate explanation. Events happen in an order and general sequence that play out like the content of the first disc, albeit significantly abridged and with different characters.

A grand total of four characters move from the location of the first hub to the second. Four. And one of them is you, the nameless, voiceless protagonist. The first character you ever meet was a memorable survivalist voiced by John fucking Goodman, and once we leave his settlement fairly early on, we're never given motivation to return. And even if we did, the shop there never has any good items (it's static early-game stuff) and Goodman's character is gone. Forever.

So anyhoo, back on topic: RAGE taught me that it's very, very possible to hobble a game because of disc space.Yahtzee touched on it during his Deus Ex review: there was no way that Human Revolution could match the original in terms of quantity because graphics/physics/whatever engines had increased in capability far more quickly than CDs had in their ability to store them.

 

[Thaliur]

Those who don't want to pay for DLC won't, no matter how you deliver it.

Exactly. So it doesn't matter.
If no one buys those day-one DLC packs, the publishers will - after a while - stop including them. If enough people pay for them, there will be more. It's a free market after all. No one forces people to pay for this stuff.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

everybody already knows that only Bethesda makes good dlc.

Horse armor.

Hay, its still better that more funking map packs.

 

[spartandude]

wow epic, i was going to buy your game at some point after christmas when i had more money, but you just lost a sale

 

[Throwitawaynow]

It came with it when you bought it new... It had no online pass, everyone ITT needs to calm down.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Quick quick make up some PR bull to gloss over the consumer screwage!

Well I don't doubt that most people will take your words as if they were handed down by Jesus himself, but I've been around for a while and can smell the money making bullshit and the PR bullshit.

 

[WindKnight]

Eh, I ain't buying any GOW3 DLC till they do an 'all fronts' pack collecting everything their expecting us to buy at a lower price.

and no, i don;t mean the season pass they expected us to buy in advance.

 

[aba1]

Well, that changes almost nothing at all...

*shrug*

I don't understand the rage over on-disc DLC. You're still paying X amount for Y content.

Exactly...it's a new way of doing it, yeah, but I don't see the issue.

If nothing else, you can always buy games that don't do this, the existence of those others isn't harming the children, inciting hatred, offensive to your country or any of the other usual complaints.

but that's is just it if games that do this do well then it says that people don't care and soon every developer will do this and well be stuck paying 300$ just to get everything in a game available to us that we already would have bought with the initial $80 we spent to begin with.

First of all, they're talking about on-disc DLC being no different than regular DLC
Second, that's one of the more ridiculous slippery slope arguments I've heard this week. They're trying to cut into the consumer surplus, which has its limits.

It is a much more slippery slope than you would think I mean look at mac alone they charge almost $2500 for a laptop worth $750 tops all the time. People often just buy things because they feel like they should or because it seems like it is cool rather than buying it because they need it. My main point is that if dlc is on the disks it is clear proof that all the people arguing against dlc were right because now since dlc does so well it is no longer stuff produced after the game it is just things cut out so they can charge extra so much so they they just put it on the disk still even it just proves how fast dlc is altering the market to the place so many anti-dlc people were trying to convince people to avoid

Chill bro, everyone hates DLC here. We're just saying on-disc DLC isn't any different from regular DLC.

The point is, the DLC system is a clear attempt by publishers to reach into the consumer surplus in the video game market. For example, let's say the average person is willing/can afford to spend $50 on a game, ok? But some people are willing/can afford to spend $70 on a game, and a few very rich people are willing to spend $100. The extra $20 dollars the sort-of rich guy is willing to spend and the extra $50 the rich guy is willing to spend is called "consumer surplus."

So, how do video game companies get that money? They can't charge different prices for the same game. So they add DLC. This way, the regular person spends $50, and the other people spend $70 and $100. Maximum profit.

Is this bad? Yeah, it sucks balls for the consumer. But there are clear limits. Consumer surplus has its limits, and once you hit that cap, you can't charge any further, DLC or not.

Sorry if I came off as angry or what ever I am just a little more passionate about this subject since it basically dictates whether or not I continue with my oldest and one of my favorite hobbies that is gaming. Anywho you are right there is a limit I just don't want it to ruin my experience I mean gaming already costs way more than it used to with online fees (xbox) and paying for internet and games and the console and the remotes cost a ridiculous amount these days I just don't have the money for it all let alone being forced into exclusively buying new copies. The thing is that the main reason I game is for the social aspect to I like to get together with a few close friends and well all grab a remote and just play games but everything is so online obsessed this gen I find myself play gamecube games on my wii more than anything else which is sad.