Portal 2 - DLC Backlash

[Nfritzappa]

Wow...Really? ...I'm ashamed to be a gamer if people are really going to put down a masterpiece just for some silly DLC.

 

[Eggbert]

...

I'm confused. Does the appearance of your avatar really matter this much?

 

[cthulhumythos]

so, is this just a pc-only thing? 'cause i have the console version, and there is no dlc to be seen. pretty amazing game if i do say-so.

 

[zehydra]

It baffles me to no end why ANYONE would ever bother to pay extra money for a change in how things look in game.

 

[Bobbity]

Most of the backlash is a load of shit; check up the accounts - ninety per cent of them are clones created for the sole purpose of bashing this game.

 

[Bags159]

Most of the backlash is a load of shit; check up the accounts - ninety per cent of them are clones created for the sole purpose of bashing this game.

Looks like metacritic purged a lot of them. The negative reviews went from 160ish to 91.

Heh... one of the reviews is pretty much, "the game is awesome, but it's not worth $60. 4/10".

 

[Vault101]

Most of the backlash is a load of shit; check up the accounts - ninety per cent of them are clones created for the sole purpose of bashing this game.

Looks like metacritic purged a lot of them. The negative reviews went from 160ish to 91.

Heh... one of the reviews is pretty much, "the game is awesome, but it's not worth $60. 4/10".

is it worth full price? because Im think of getting it at some point

 

[Bill Bread]

STALKER series, the Cossack series, a few others.

Proper games, not mass popular shit.

I've looked at your Xbox gamer tag. You're in no position to complain about "mass popular shit".

Implying I buy my games and don't just play the ones my brother buys when I get back from uni.
If you're so into stalking you can see I pretty much do fuck all xbox for most of the year, only when I'm at home. PC gaming is superior, I do more of it.

edit: metacritic is now showing up a 7.1, which is still a good game.

 

[Ipsen]

And if you're still convinced that your Portal 2 is incomplete, you're free to wait until the price becomes incomplete as well. Hell, with the extra savings, you could get some DLC with it adding up to $60! Game customization!

A lot of people have chosen to say 'well ahead of you'

Spoiler

and pirated it.

Then by "all means", they can enjoy their free game of Portal 2. From the folks who give 2 copies of their game in one.

Despite your despised Day 1 DLC, I am curious as to what other developer throws bones like [PC+PS3 in one] to us.

 

[Nfritzappa]

Most of the backlash is a load of shit; check up the accounts - ninety per cent of them are clones created for the sole purpose of bashing this game.

Looks like metacritic purged a lot of them. The negative reviews went from 160ish to 91.

Heh... one of the reviews is pretty much, "the game is awesome, but it's not worth $60. 4/10".

is it worth full price? because Im think of getting it at some point

To me, yes. But I got the ps3 copy, so I got a free pc/mac version with crossplatform steam cloud, and I have both a pc and a mac. So, thats like what, $180 value? If thats not enough I can tell you its one of the greatest games I've ever played...Definitely better than Half-Life 2.

 

[Snotnarok]

Seriously I don't get complaining about DLC especially of Portal 2s variety. When you buy a laptop do they include all those color options for your case?

No you have to BUY them, do you need them? No. It's a product and these are accessories, no one is forcing you to buy it and if you feel the need to customize your robot then clearly the DLC is for you, but you have to pay for it.

Those color options represent added value, which is why you pay for them. People are upset about Day 1 DLC because it gives the appearance of lower value in the final product. Whether it's fair or not, the appearance is like they started selling laptops with the 'M' key missing but for the same price. Then, they allow people the fabulous opportunity of purchasing an 'M' key at a later date for the low-low price of $3. So you are spending a little more to get what you would have gotten anyway. At least, that is the perception.

No, that doesn't stand because the DLC in Portal 2 do not add anything. It's cosmetic like a laptop case, which are made before the product is finished. Do you get a colored case with your ipod? No you have to buy that separately.

They give you what's needed and the rest is optional stuff that doesn't effect the game.

You are begging the question. Custom laptop cases obviously represent added value. Whether Portal 2 DLC represents added value is the point in question. The existence of the custom laptop cases obviously does not decrease the quality of the original laptop in the way that is being proposed for DLC. You can compare them every which way till the cows come home, but you're just dodging the issue.

Let me put it this way, then: suppose we each pay $500 for the same model of laptop. The only difference is mine comes with custom case included while you have to pay $30 for it. I think you would agree I am getting a better deal. The whole package for $500 is what we used to get for games. The exact same package for $530 is what we get now. At least, that is the perception and that perception is what people are upset about.

And the fact that the content is cosmetic is just completely irrelevant. Cosmetic features have value, end of.

What you used to get with games is a complete package without stuff that had to be trimmed for a release date. No game you ever got back then wasn't without it's fair share of trimmed levels.

God of War for instance, that cutscene where you see Kratos climbing the titan? That was put in to replace an entire level that was cut out. They cut out wings for Kratos that they put into 2. Sonic and Knuckles are levels that weren't put into Sonic 3 because they couldn't squeeze them in, 4 levels in Sonic 2 weren't put into the game because of a release date.

What MOST DLC is content that got cut out because the game was sent out to get printed and they finished the content while that was happening. They're not doing this for nefarious purposes, this has been happening since the NES days, it's only now the creators are able to provide these trimmings and people are giving them shit for it.

Are the custom skins in portal 2 REALLY harming the game in anyway? No and it's just really painful to see people whine about this stuff. No one is entitled to any of this, ya bought what you bought, it's not like work wasn't put into these things anyway.

 

[Still Life]

I didn't buy the game. I'm angry on behalf of the poor souls who got conned out of what they bought.

Ah... *Wipes away tears of laughter*

Because we buy Portal for the hats, right?

 

[-Dragmire-]

a couple of things seem to be getting/ have gotten rather confused so just to clear some stuff upI'm editing out needless sentences.)

Virtual goods are non-physical objects purchased for use in online communities or online games. They have no intrinsic value and, by definition, are intangible.
Including digital gifts and digital clothing for avatars, virtual goods may be classified as services instead of goods. Sales of virtual goods are sometimes referred to as microtransactions.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtransaction

please keep in mind that palette swaps in fighter games are also dlc regardless of the fact it does not alter or add gameplay of any kind. The term additional/downloadable content in a digital world is really anything(ultimately 1s and 0s - hats included) counts as additional content.

also realize something that is rather unique to electronic marketing - regardless of if you call it dlc or microtransaction you are ultimately paying for a copy of something that is free to reproduce an infinite amount of times. Naturally, no fair comparisons can be made between physical products(to restock a product another one needs to be made, packaged, shipped and stocked on the shelf) and digital products(once the product is made just click to send as many times as you want at no further cost).

As for whether it's right to sell day-1 dlc... no, it's not wrong but it's not right either, it's just a business decision to test the microtransaction waters. They chose a business strategy that makes it painfully easy to cover cost and roll in profit even if only 5% of people who buy the game also get the dlc. From my point of view its just... tasteless.

oh, and just so it's mentioned, the paranoid tick in the back head says this might be the beginning of a slippery slope to lazy development. There are people who fear Valve might take the easy/profitable path and degenerate to a mini EA. I don't share this view, they probably have a while left of quality games, but then again I'd never say the potential wasn't there

 

[Wargamer]

So, wait, you mean this is just like the "Week 1 costumes" that LittleBigPlanet AND LittleBigPlanet 2 had?

Funny, I don't recall Troll Rage at the fact Media Molecule had "day 1 DLC". *rolleyes*

Can I please call Shenanigans on all the LBP references in this thread? near to every costume that LBP had could be unlocked in the effing game. You _could_ buy them, if you wanted, but your could also work hard and unlock them.

And I for one think the hats are dumb. both themselves and the rage that is going on about them.

This is blatantly untrue.

For starters, NONE of the costumes available on PSN can be found in game.

Secondly, "Week 1" costumes could only be purchased, as the name suggests, in the first week.

 

[Ickorus]

- It is not a console port, Valve just kept all the text in the same string and forgot to remove a couple lines pertaining to consoles in their rush to get the game certified.

Valve seriously did that? lol...

Yeah, it was written in a blog post from a valve employee on a website which I unfortunately can't remember, even after checking through my history; he pretty much just said it's easier for them to write it all in one string file and then delete where needed and they just forgot to delete it when they were making sure it would pass certification for consoles since that is an absolute must to have.

Got it:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21926759&postcount=9

Thing is, even if it were a console port it would be a bloody good one.

 

[42]

im sure people have porbably already said this but let me spell this out in caps for those Metacritic fanboy users: NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO BUY THE DLC. its not even in the realm of actual content its just different skins, and doesnt effect gameplay. while im aware Day 1 DLC isnt the the right move with most games this is Valve we are talking about (yes im a fanboy get over it) and they have created an awesome game. Also note if there was actual DLC no company (cept EA mabye) would be that thick and release New Content levels on Day 1. thats just retarded.

 

[Caliostro]

Actually personally, my issue isn't that we don't get them for free, is that we shouldn't get them at all. It's junk.

So then don't buy it; but don't get upset with me if I choose to buy a nice hat for my fiancée. That's why I like this stuff.

Here's the problem, can you turn it off? Was this ever advertised as part of the game? As far as I know, and do correct me if I'm wrong: No.

Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still buy it and enjoy it. But it's... a principle thing. It's not what it could be. It could have been so damn near perfect, and then... This. It's frustrating because it's a cheap cash in for people who don't know better. "OMG IT'S SHINY CRAP!". It's still crap. It's just shiny.

I'm not even in the "it should be free/it should be paid" argument. I'm in the "this server no fucking purpose whatsoever in the game. Why does it exist?" argument.

 

[Arawn.Chernobog]

A few cosmetic items that, considering Valve, you'll probably be able to unlock via achievements or grinding features? I'm not all that phased by this, I'm mildly annoyed that something is included in the game that I have to unlock/pay for... but it's nothing that truly disturbs me... Oh no, I can't paint my robot pink? What will I ever do...

 

[drakythe]

Snip

Odd, usually I have a better memory than that. My apologies for not contributing to the conversation.

(though for the for an 'on topic' comment LBP costumes are oodles cuter than P2 hats, so I'd probably be more likely to pay for them anyway(

 

[BlindChance]

Here's the problem, can you turn it off? Was this ever advertised as part of the game? As far as I know, and do correct me if I'm wrong: No.

Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still buy it and enjoy it. But it's... a principle thing. It's not what it could be. It could have been so damn near perfect, and then... This. It's frustrating because it's a cheap cash in for people who don't know better. "OMG IT'S SHINY CRAP!". It's still crap. It's just shiny.

I'm not even in the "it should be free/it should be paid" argument. I'm in the "this server no fucking purpose whatsoever in the game. Why does it exist?" argument.

But we buy shiny crap all the time. We buy flowers, and small presents. We buy small cakes instead of bread, even if the bread is more nutritious. Shiny crap has worth, especially as a gift. That's why I said my issue is not with the hats, but that trading wasn't up on day 1. That, more than anything else, is the worth of this: The ability to buy things for others.