Poll: Was it a mistake to include DLC in Portal 2?

[dorkette1990]

I think it's a little underhanded of Valve to do this, but they did a similar move in tf2. It's a way to make more money, and I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with that. Am I going to buy any of the DLC? Hell no. Is it evil to include it? No, artists worked on that and deserve money, and plenty of gamers enjoy customizing characters (like in League of Legends - I am guilty of loving skins for my main characters).
And as far as low replay value, I've played through multiplayer several times - it's fun to goof around in the maps and look for any hidden treasures (eg, the companion cube in multiplayer). But I don't really feel the need to blow money when the difference between Atlas and PBody is all I really need.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

You didn't read the opening post, did you? This topic isn't about that. It's about whether or not you think it's going to turn out to be a financial mistake. In the sense that it might cause Valve to lose more money (because of lost sales and development costs) than it will bring in (due to hat sales).

Making these hats and stuff would be really, really cheap. Wouldn't be surprised if most of them were done by a couple of guys on their spare time. They're selling cheaply made goods for a couple bucks. I'd bet that they already made back any development costs associated with making these hats. And if not, they're hats, they wouldn't have put much money into it anyway.

Most of the items in the TF2 store are made by third party developers, sometimes people who have no experience in the game industry. VALVe doesn't even need to spend any time or money, and both the third party dev and VALVe will make boatloads from this.

 

[TastyCarcass]

There isn't DLC in Portal 2. I went on steam and checked for Portal 2 DLC, there is none.


Oh wait, you mean the hats? That's not DLC. Notice how you can see it when you select it. You already have it. You're paying to use it, not to download it.

 

[William Ossiss]

*clears throat* horse armor... that is all.

 

[DJ_DEnM]

It wasn't a mistake, but it could've been included as a pre-order instead. At least it's not neccessary to be able to play the game. I'm looking at you Homefront >_>

 

[Flac00]

People are just being idiots and overreacting. I will say this right now, anyone who boycotted Portal 2 for its DLC is stupid. If they would like to refute my claim, just tell me, i am willing to change my opinion

 

[Hiphophippo]

Portal 2 does not have DLC. That "C" stands for "content" of which there is no downloadable portion of.

 

[unoleian]

It's the new Horse Armor, and that is all. It's unjustified rage over an innocuous enterprising venture that has no bearing on the quality or enjoyment of the game as-packaged.
I've had many hours of enjoyment out of my copy of the game, and I have not desired to make a robot wear a top-hat to improve my testing experience. More power to those who have, however. Way to keep the wheels of capitalism and consumerism turning. They are the wheels that drive the great train of progress.

Huzzah to the sales of innocuous, optional headwear and designer robot accessories!

 

[Titan Buttons]

No the DLC's are the same as the Team Fortress hats, people who want to will buy them and they will make money off of it
And the best part abou the DLC is that if you don't want it you don't have to get it, it's not even adverties in the game which is even better

 

[Littlee300]

I don't like these poll options. Why do I have to say DLC is good or evil. Can't I just say I am OK with the DLC in the portal 2 case?

 

[Zantos]

They're not the first game to put in a store for meaningless accessories. Fable 3 made a profit on the items in their store because it took about five minutes to knock up and there's at least one person out there who has the disposable income to go for it "because they can".

Luckily though this now presents people I know with someone else they can hate on for not buying Portal 2. This pleases me.

 

[GeorgW]

For God's sake, it'd cosmetic! COSMETIC!! It's silly! Who cares, if people want to waste their money, let them. The skins are pretty cool, and for the people that want them, why shouldn't they have it? I already have my skins from pre order, so I'm set.
They cost noting to make, very few will buy them, but the ones that do will make their money back and then some. Seriously, who cares??
I just hope we'll get level DLC sometime, maybe with that new gel?

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

(1) You're forgetting the number of people looking forward to custom levels once the editor comes out. I think they're the ones more likely to buy these things.

(2) It seems especially idiotic to complain both that the items are pointless and that the game is worse for having included them as DLC. Either having to spend money to get them doesn't matter since you don't see the point of getting them in the first place or they're not pointless, in which case they're potentially well-done DLC and you aren't getting "ripped off".

(3) I really wish they'd make a rule against complaining about DLC or something. It's become the absolutely most obnoxious constant on the Escapist.

 

[Cronq]

First off, anyone who buys these stickers/hats/dances is a complete moron. Secondly, anyone who is butt hurt about not being given these is a whiny ***** moron.

The "C" in DLC stands for CONTENT. Stickers and dance moves are not CONTENT.

If anything Valve is only guilty of exploiting stupid people, and I can only applaud them for that as society has moved away from allowing Natural Selection being allowed to work its full process.

 

[willsham45]

Its out of site and out of mind, last time i checked the store was not even open. Does anyone know the cost of these things, they are cosmetic and are not thrown in your face. You will probally find acheivments unlocking hats aswell as though game purches you know what valve is like, buy this game and get a free that themed hat, I already had some hats and things from having the potato sac.

I Dont think it is anything to worry about.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

It's pointless crap and it's causing a hilariously ridiculous amount of backlash for such a small inginificant thing. So I'd say it wasn't a great idea.

Though seriously who would have thought they'd get anything like this for co-op skins. CO-OP SKINS PEOPLE!

 

[droessler]

No it wasn't. Unless you think that making more money is a mistake. Valve found an audience thats willing to buy hats. This audience is apparently significant enough to warrant a store.

Valve is one of the few companies thats doing this right. There are plenty of ways to do it wrong. Portal 2's store is out of the way, un-obtrusive, and only sells cosmetic items. Nothing it sells changes the game's story or gameplay in any way.

It's not too often I see a first reply be spot on with every point.

Valve spends a little on dev work to get hats made and ready for sale. Valve releases hats. Valve possibly makes more money off of Portal 2 than they would without hats.

The fact that the hats are purely cosmetic, and change game play in no way is exactly why I won't buy them. It's also the reason why the store is fine with me. If you feel the need to drop a small chunk of change on something to make your short co-op journey more aesthetically pleasing, go ahead.

If Valve released a store on launch day with say, 10 more co-op or single player chambers, then I may have been upset, as that would just be withholding finished playable content to generate more revenue.

 

[CrashBang]

I really don't see the harm in it. If people want it, they'll buy it. If they don't want it, they... won't buy it. Does the issue need to be more complex than that?

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Am I the only one who knows that games have been doing this for the past 3 years? Like, every single game that is released?

No. It's not a big deal. It's cosmetic.