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

[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?

What are you talking about? There are just a few other games coming out with day-one DLCs. True, sometimes there are "special editions" with extra digital shit, but by far not for every game.

Have you seen the constant Gamestop ads? They sell this kind of stuff all the time.

 

[blankedboy]

Oh my fucking god.
There IS no DLC in Portal 2.
That's like saying the hats in TF2 are DLC. They aren't.

 

[JET1971]

frankly I hate pay for DLC, thank you console players for paying MS and Sony so much money for stuff PC got for free in the past. you shouldve screamed then and refused to pay for content that shouldve came with the game from the get go! but now we have DLC that costs money...

Quite frankly Valve did it right! the DLC Valve made for portal 2 does not affect gameplay as in OP weapons or tactical advantage, does not affect non-DLC players at all except they dont get a hat. does not affect the story at all. thats the way it should be.

you want to complain about DLC? complain about BS like Ubisoft's FC2 fortune pack or BFBC2's camo DLC, or COD's map packs. complain about DLC that affects gameplay or causes friends to not be able to play on the same server!

 

[Kevonovitch]

considering the dlc in portal 2 is purely cosmetic, and has ZERO effect on anything, who cares, unless your gonna get it?

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Have you seen the constant Gamestop ads? They sell this kind of stuff all the time.

No, I'm not from US. What do they sell? I can't imagine how could Gamestop sell digital add-ons for every game on day 1, please elaborate.

Wow. I just read through the topic and again and I realize I completely misunderstood it. I thought it was about the Pre-Order Roll Cage skins.

Totally my bad.

 

[Kyle Roberts]

I think it wasn't since the items are cosmetic its not extra levels or equipment and even then its quite cheap people who want be unique and have spare money can buy a little hat or flag and people who just want to play CO-OP don't have to its not like your missing out on extra levels.

Its mainly just for fun i mean the TF2 store i found it alot better since when i did youtube videos showcasing the weapons i could easly buy one so i wouldn't need wait 80 matches to find it.

Its not like there forcing you to buy the stuff theres no acheivment related things to it (i think) so it was a good thing they put it in but even then everyone complains about anything without the letters C.A.L.L O.F D.U.T.Y printed on it. So im confused why theres so much commotion. (Or around 58 posts about the Portal 2 store)

 

[Merkavar]

you are not forced to buy the hats and stuff so i dont see the issue.

yes they are expensive but they are completely and absolutely optional and do not affect gameplay if you have it or not.

 

[Dana22]

There is no DLC in Portal 2.

 

[Awexsome]

As most people here have said it's really way overblown for how trivial the DLC is.

But if I were Valve I might want to go easy on the DLC right off the bat for the next game. If only to get some good rep.

 

[Jordi]

That found that with TF2 they could create a store for fans who like cosmetic differences. Not just did they like them, they were willing to pay for them. The Portal store is just the continuation of this trend.

But TF2 has a lot of replay value, and a lot of people to potentially admire your hats. Portal 2 doesn't have that, so surely that must mean that there is less incentive to buy stuff like that in this game.

Shame about the emo bastards metacritic bombing it.

Do you think it will cost them sales?

I think Valve would do fine. Those that suddenly decided to not buy it because of the store, probably were iffy on buying it anyways.

But that's the point, isn't it? There are always going to be some people who were going to buy it no matter what, but there is also presumably a large(r?) audience that hadn't made up their mind yet and/or don't know that much about the game to begin with. Maybe those people will base their buying decisions (in part) on reviews/scores they see on the internet.

Also, I think while the way Portal 2 does it is fine (cosmetic stuff), games like Dragon Age 2 having actually day one content that was announced even before the game was released was bullshit.

I agree. Incidentally, I was thinking about this a while back when there was a topic that showed that DA2 sales were lacking compared to DA:O and the OP attributed that to the internet backlash against the game. I wondered how much people complaining on the internet would really affect sales.

No, all of the Portal 2 DLC is insignificant to the game. That whining you hear on Metacritic are just a bunch of Valve haters using rising DLC ire to try and depose Valve.

Do you think they'll succeed in costing Valve money?

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?

Well, it says the DLC, so it is specifically referring to Portal 2's. But actually whether you are OK with it or not was not the main thing I wanted to ask. I'm more interested in what you people think about whether including will turn out to be profitable for Valve. I only included the evil/non-evil part, because I thought that how you felt about the DLC might bias your speculation on its profitability. That was probably a mistake.

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?

Apparently you care, with the exclamation marks and all caps word and double question mark... I'm hoping for new levels too, though.

(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.

1) Fair point. If play time is added to the game, you get more "value" out of your hat purchases, so then there might be more incentive to buy them.
2) That's not what this topic was supposed to be about.
3) First, the number of people in this topic complaining about the DLC is very low, and eclipsed completely by people complaining about them. I agree this is annoying, but if there was anything the Escapist needs to crack down on it's people not reading before posting (not you, but most others). That would be so awesome.

 

[gigastar]

No, all of the Portal 2 DLC is insignificant to the game. That whining you hear on Metacritic are just a bunch of Valve haters using rising DLC ire to try and depose Valve.

Do you think they'll succeed in costing Valve money?

No, 80% of those who has been involved with the Church of Freeman owns this game now. Thats not including Valve non-fans and the casual nitwits.

There will also be longer term buyers, but thats harder to predict.

 

[kasperbbs]

This kind of DLC is harmless, i wont lose any sleep over the fact that i will be missing out on a virtual hat.

 

[Bags159]

I don't think there are too many negative reviews out there, Jordi. MEtacritic's user score was over 8.5 last time I checked,.

 

[Willwillwritehiswill]

I don't really see the opportunity for it myself. i mean, in a game like Team Fortress 2 where there's no end, so to speak, i can see where customisability would be seen as a decent enough skinner box mechanic to keep people playing for longer, but in a co-operative campaign that, at most, spans 5-6 hours and then finishes with no further scope for challenge... well, Adding simple microtransactioned cosmetic upgrades seems so vestigial.

Now, if they were selling challenge maps via the store from day one, i'd kick up a fuss.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

IF we're not discussing the morality of the DLC, then why do the choices pertain to whether or not it's evil? Anyway, it makes no real difference if you don't pay extra for it so it doesn't bother me.

 

[Subbies]

You play in first person. You're not even going to see the hat you buy so what is the effing point I ask?

 

[CleverNickname]

Portal 2 does not have DLC. Portal 2 has an in-game store for cosmetic changes.
Everybody forgot that DLC stands for DownLoadable Content. Hats, flags and skins are not actual content.

So unless an alternate portal gun that does guaranteed crits from the back shows up anytime soon, the internet will remain, as usual, full of blithering idiots.