Online Gaming: Downloadable Content

[Dave]

In this thread, I thought that I would take a little look at the phenomenon that is Downloadable Content. Now, since the introduction of the new generation of consoles Downloadable content has become more readily available and more so than that, used more and more in releases. Some games have used this more than others and have had varying successes in the market. It is a very, very good way for games to make more money with one title and as such has been utilized more often in recent years.

Now, I for one am not a huge fan of DLC. Not by a long way. However, I do realise that DLC is sometimes used to add more to games and hence, my overall enjoyment of the games is improved. The two games that I can think of having good uses of DLC is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Project Gotham Racing 4. Both games used DLC to change aspects of their games and both were instances of how DLC does work and can be useful. PGR4 added more modes to the game and added more cars in a bundle back. It also added more achievements to the game and hence, there was more to do. Call of Duty 4 did the exact same. They managed to cook up a load of new maps and it wasn't so expensive that you would be out of pocket if you bought them. They added more enjoyment to some of my favourite games for a reasonable price and that is the good side of DLC.

However, like most things, there is a bad side to DLC. You see every now and again, publishers and game companies come out and take the piss, to be honest. I am looking at Red Octane/Activision, Epic Games and Bethesda. The problem is, they are charging far too much money for something that isn't that expansive in all honesty. Guitar Hero is by far the worst, especially on XBOX 360. With the XBOX 360, you don't just buy what you want. No, you have to buy more points than you actually need to but the product and then purchase it. It is ridiculous and a money making scam at it's root. Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3 were the exact same. Fallout 3 brought out 3 expansions and charged full price for them. I know it costs money to make these expansions but make no mistake, they are rolling in it by the end of the day. Gears of War is guilty of the exact same thing as Fallout is.

The other thing is, shouldn't you be buying the full game when you pay full price online or in a store? I think so. I am of the impression that some publishers/developers will hold out on some of the material so that they can charge you more later on. Is this unethical?

I would love to get your thoughts on DLC. Are you a fan of it?

 

[Lee]

Nice thread Dave. Now for me DLC really pisses me off, a game is released, say you pay £40 for it, you like it and they release a new costume that costs you a quid, an extra gun another quid you don't notice this and suddenly you're at about £60 for the game.

Sometimes it makes sense for example when a game has been delayed so they release a DLC for the last in the series to appease the fans, that makes sense. But games like SvR where they're adding extra wrestlers left right and centre for DLC.

To me DLC should work by cashing in some sort of achivement points. So say for Smash Bros Wii say you completed Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight princess you'd be able to download Tails as a character for example.

 

[The Doctor]

I'm almost completely against DLC. I say almost because I am for it for wrestling games and games that give you mods or packs. For wrestling games, DLC can be used to give you wrestlers that debuted after the game was released. For mods, the mod had either be extremely significant to justify its price tag, or minor (aesthetic changes) and be sold or free.

I am 100% against what Namco did with Soulcalibur IV, charging us for extra CAS pieces and music. Absolute rubbish, and a scam.

 

[SweetTKO284]

I have mixed feelings about DLC...

For some games, like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, I think that they're a great idea! It's still basically the same game, but just more specific things that you might want to play. Hell, even if it's extra missions for a game that you enjoy, at least you know that you're spending more time playing a game that you really like.

Fallout 3 had five big add-ons. Yes, I bought all five of them. No, I was not happy with them. If I could do it all again, I would have only bought the Broken Steel DLC, just to boost my character levels and prolong the story mode. While the other four were somewhat entertaining, I kept asking myself, "What's the point?" None of the missions really had anything to do with the main story and they ended up being fairly monotonous.

While I do not agree with these video game companies nickle and diming their customers for trivial add-ons, ultimately, it's up to the gamer...I guess the bottom line, to me, is this... It's just little downloadable files for a video game. You're spending real money, that you may have worked hard for, on an intangible item. When it comes to downloading DLC, I now take a very serious look at the item and try to figure out if it will be a good investment.