Poll: The Problem with DLC Today

[mitchell271]

Remember when you bought a game, you bought the full game? Now, you're lucky if when you buy a game, there isn't an online pass. It's an even bigger problem for people who don't have internet on their consoles because it locks away content unless it's been unlocked online.

Also, DLC is planned before release now. It seems like when someone announces a game, they also announce DLC for it. What is happening?! You're planning on expanding your game when you have no idea of how many copies your game will sell! Day one DLC is even worse because they've finished the game and then after shelling out $60 for the game, they expect us to to pay another $10 to get a chunk of the game that should have been on the disk! I can understand if there was little thing that didn't make the ship date and then that part could be added on free of charge, but publishers continue to nickle and dime the consumer.

So, fellow Escapists, how do you feel about DLC? I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but I'm doing this before school on the second day back and I don't have time to write anymore.

EDIT: Poll isn't working
1. Yes, don't plan DLC before shipping
2. Yes, ship everything
3. Yes, day 1 DLC should be free
4. All of the above
5. No, it's fine

EDIT2: After reading some responses I feel I should clarify something. I'm not against DLC. I loved the Borderlands, Fallout 3/NV, Oblivion and Halo Reach DLC. I just hate what they've done to DLC, using it to try to squeeze every last bit of money from us.

 

[necromanzer52]

I refuse to buy DLC in any shape or form, unless it's free. That's my stance on the subject.

 

[StANDY1338]

It is getting a bit silly now with day one dlc.

 

[yuval152]

I never buy DLC's,most of the DLC's are just cuts from the game that you need to spend money on to get what's was suppoused to be in the 50$ game you just bought... and because i'm a cheap bastard.

 

[TimeLord]

DLC is a companies way of keeping a game popular and fresh long after it's release. Just look at Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I have long since completed the main games but continue to play both because of the DLC. So in my opinion well made DLC is worth the money.

 

[GiantRaven]

My main problem with DLC is that developers haven't realised just how long they should be releasing it for. For example, I think Bioware are missing out on a bunch of cash by not still releasing short episodic packs of fun missions for the Mass Effect games.

 

[natster43]

DLC is a companies way of keeping a game popular and fresh long after it's release. Just look at Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I have long since completed the main games but continue to play both because of the DLC. So in my opinion well made DLC is worth the money.

This. If the DLC is well made or I love the game the DLC is for I will buy it.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

DLC is a companies way of keeping a game popular and fresh long after it's release. Just look at Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I have long since completed the main games but continue to play both because of the DLC. So in my opinion well made DLC is worth the money.

Back in my day we called them "add on packs" (I know they actually did call them add on packs and they did feel like them to be fair to the Fallout crowd)

Pre-order DLC really pisses on my cornflakes. I didn't pre-order Deus Ex but I was lucky enough to get a pre order copy. It has extra guns and an extra mission. Now half the problem is that the mission is kinda crap and most of the guns are useless. The other half is some of the stuff is quite useful and really adds to the game experience. So on one hand you are forking out for stuff that is awesome and stuff that adds nothing to the game. All because gamers would feel like they are missing out. I want to replay Mass effect 2 before I get 3. I considered getting all the DLC which would run up to be quite expensive. It's not enough to be called an add-on pack and it IS a lot of game I am missing out on. it's a tough nut to crack because it's all about personal value.

1200 points for a new map pack is a lot for you or me who plays it on weekends. but for the person who plays that game almost exclusively that is not much money at all for the experience.

 

[dillinger88]

The way I see it - Day 1 DLC is a reward for those that had faith enough in the developer to preorder/buy on day 1, to say thanks for giving them the money in the time where they most need it. Additionally, it's never a huge part of the game, maybe about 20 mins of gameplay or a pretty item or something. Also, it's pretty much always free if you buy the game on release day/preordered it.

As for Online passes etc, I'm for this. You don't pay for it if you buy it new, only used. I like giving my money to the people who made the game. I feel they deserve it over the retailers. Secondly, If you feel that you deserve everything that some who bought it new gets when you've bought it used, you're an idiot. As with everything, you pay a premium for something new.



I buy DLC if it's worth it i.e. Secret Armoury of General Knoxx. I don't buy DLC if I don't think it's worth it i.e. £12 map packs. Free Day 1 DLC I support, as long as it's just a small bonus, which is most of the time.

I think too many people lump all the DLC together as evil. Some suck, some don't. Tell the developers/publishers this by using your wallets.

 

[Auninteligentname]

What annoys me mostly with DLC's (mostly in RPGs), is that when you start the game with DLCs, you'll get notes and quests almost at the start of the game, and these quests, even if a bit harder, often leads to better loot than anywhere in the game. I wish they integrated the DLCs better. Kinda like having an NPC giving you the quest (like everyone elese) somwhere in the game.

Also, not sure if one can call it DLC, but what Valve has done with TF2 is how it should be..., that would be perfect..., shame that won't happen...

 

[Sicram]

At best, a game could be made with DLC in mind but there shouldn't be DLC planned or even started wwork upon before the game has shipped. DLC that expand the games' life? Fine. DLC to get more pre-orders... lame. Even more so when the DLC IS ON THE DISC.

 

[sniper9474]

I like DLC, infact, I love DLC, when i buy a big game i support it by any DLC released for it. However, sometimes its a bit crap, for example, Understone for Fable III was a dissapointment that added a few little bits, a few houses, but i suppose did give the wheel of misfortune. My only problem is 100%ing a game which has DLC chievys added to it, i have Fallout 3 and bought the disc versions of The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout and Operation Anchorage, however in order for me to finish it 100% i will need to buy MSPs to download mothership zeta, but i will end up having more then i need one i finish buying it, so will have payed more than i wanted for it. I suggest aswell as making anything released on day one to be free the ability to purchase download codes from major game stores(GAME, Gamestop, all the places you often get special pre-order bonuses from) for the price of the DLC converted.

 

[lord.jeff]

I like DLC it gives extra life to a game and is optional, I can see the problem people have with day One stuff but that stuff in most cases would have been cut from the game anyway, and only some of it is done during the game development, here's a little article from Destructoid:

Talking with Ars Technica, Mass Effect 2 project director Casey Hudson explained -- in easy-to-understand terms -- the reasoning behind this choice. Three cheers for logic! "What goes out on disc, it takes about 12 weeks to debug and certify and get into the trucks to go out into stores."

"That gives us a period of 8 to 12 weeks where we can make content, but we can't put it onto the disc because it's already out there. But we can insert it digitally, day one."

Compare that to the amount of time it takes for a finished add-on pack to leave Microsoft after certification and become playable for us gamers, which Casey says is "down to a matter of two or three weeks -- it makes a big difference."

 

[AssassinFisH]

Day 1 DLC is always free to those who buy the game new. It is there for dev's to make money from used sales, so yes its a good thing.

 

[Idsertian]

Everything should be included on the disc from the start. The only thing that should have to be downloaded after; is patches for bug fixes and balancing. It's just greediness at the end of the day, expecting the consumer to fork out for stuff that should have been included on the disc/in the download in the first place.

EDIT: Unless it's free DLC. That's not so bad.

 

[DEAD34345]

DLC is mostly a non-issue in my opinion. If you think it's worth your money, buy it, otherwise, don't. The only DLC I've bought has been for Bioware and Bethesda games (oh, and L.A. Noire), as I feel that their DLC is worth my money. I think the Call Of Duty map packs are a rip-off, so I don't buy them. I have nothing against those that do buy them though, presumably they either have more disposable income than me or they would get more enjoyment from the DLC than me, thus it's worth their money.

The only time I would consider DLC a problem is if it directly impacts the quality of the game without it. Fortunately, I think this is much rarer than people believe. The only example of DLC I actively dislike is from Saints Row 2, because I can no longer play co-op in any form with my friends who have different content to me.

 

[Sgt. Dante]

Entitled brats...

There, now I have your attention;

Games cost an absolute fortune to make, and with 0 money coming back to the publishers on pre-owned sales they have to bring in as much money as they can so that they can keep making games. No money = no new games, then what would you have to complain about on the internet? I'm going to breifly dissect the 3 arguments presented.

1) don't plan DLC.

What? you think DLC just happens, some programmer just farts out some code and then the marketing guys go, hey, that could be DLC!

NO! DLC has to be planned, maybe it was content that had to be cut from the release, maybe it was a mission set that was half finished. You may not know the reasons but most companies try to make games that people want to play, and if they can expand on that experience why the hell shouldn't they? Maybe they had a great idea that couldn't be done by the time the deadline was due? Maybe it would have meant skipping parts of the "main" game? Maybe it would feel a little outta place in the narritive of the main story?

Ultimately if you don't like it don't buy it...

2) ship everything;

Yeah, I love half finished and broken content... And as for the "little things" that they should add free of charge, that's called a patch. Not just used for fixing things, but can add content too.

These things take time, sometimes lots of it, and i don't plan on repeating myself too much so read the above rant again. I'll wait...

3) day 1 DLC should be free ;

It often is, as a pre-order bonus. You know, for people who actually buy the game at full price, and new to boot. Yes Day 1 DLC looks pretty bad but any idea what going gold means? Games can be sent to be printed onto disks weeks or months before they are actually sold. That leaves the developers time to add a few extra twaeks that they might have not had time for before. Don't get me wrong, I think day 1 DlC is a pretty dick move too, but there are good reasons that stuff isn't on the disk.

Anyway a lot of people who moan about this had no intentionof buying the game new anyway. So it's only an issue if you want the content you think you're entitled to. protip; you get what you pay for; DLC can cost extra; no pay = no sale.

Ultimately if you don't like it don't buy it...

4) additional content is unlocked online;

Yeah, the code tha tcomes in the box does require online activataion, I don't know ANYONE who couln't activate a code if they wanted to. I doubt most of you do either. Worst case scenario borrow a mates internet for a short while, make a LAN day of it. But that code in the box is an incentive for new customers and a chance to bring in SOME money from pre-owned sales. And honestly I welcome that. It's basically presumed that your console/pc is online these days, and most of them are. You can't chance all the artwork for the tiny % of colourblind people either, its a problem to very few and a benifit to the rest.

[/rant]

(wow, that came out quite venomous. Not attacking anyone directly I should point out, just get sick of the sense of entitlement we have as a culture. We feel like we're 'owed' the extras and I cannot fathom why.)

 

[Apocalypse0Child]

DLC is just a massive pisstake in my opinion. We paid for the main game, why make us pay AGAIN for stuff you forgot/couldn't be bothered to put in the game originally. Don't make us pay twice for a one time experience (don't bring up replay value, because every game has that in some shape or form, but the first time is usually the most important in my eyes*).

If you're going to make shitty sequels with the same ideas anyway, at least give us the DLC for free.

 

[Stall]

-snip to save space, but you should probably go back to this post and actually read it-

wow, that came out quite venomous. Not attacking anyone directly I should point out, just get sick of the sense of entitlement we have as a culture. We feel like we're 'owed' the extras and I cannot fathom why.

Thanks for saving me some time. You hit most of the points I planned to rant about in a somewhat similar tone. So, I think I'll just quote you, say I agree, and call it a day.

I did say mostly, so this is the one point I want to touch on. If a dev said they were planning an expansion pack shortly after release, would everyone start freaking out? I mean, that's basically what DLC is at the end of the day: stand alone content that isn't big enough to make up an expansion pack. They're nothing beyond bite-sized expansion packs that come at a reasonable cost. Why is it so evil?

Why is there this moronic stigma attached to "DLC"? If Activision had Infinity Ward bundle two map pack, bump the cost to 30 dollars, and sell it as an expansion pack to a COD game, then would anyone freak out?