The DLC Crutch (or) “How I learned to stop worrying and love the drop”

Nowadays a brand new game costs around sixty dollars (or fifty-five pounds or roughly fifty euros depending on where the game is sold). But this is merely the starting price or down payment of the actual cost to the fully realized and complete version of the game later to come?

[philm87]

I agree it's a good business strategy! Probably has to be done to keep companies going. I've never bought a DLC, I've never seen one that looks like it provides good value. I want to buy the Destiny DLCs but I can't see myself paying more than £10 each.

I see no problem as long as it's made clear what's included in the game, and features aren't sneakily left out.

[XTGN]

I don't think I ever saw anyone complain that they had to pay for the second book in series. you wouldn't expect to buy the first Harry Potter book and get all the following ones for free because "they were all part of the same story anyway". It's the same with movies and their sequels.

It comes from a generation who have grown up expecting everything for free, brought on in many cases by the ability to "acquire" any music, movies, games, programs or other media for free.

[Cam977]

That's a stupid analogy because DLC is price-locked since it's digital and it's generally accepted that DLC packages can be overpriced for what you're getting which is why the GRAND THEFT AUTO IV DLC packs were praised so highly; because they offered value for money, something most DLC packages, offering a handful of missions, clothes, weapons or whatever else you may buy, are overpriced for something that isn't technically real which exists on a screen.

Sequels come in full packages, as happened with Harry Potter, not some cheap cash in giving another 30minutes of fun for £10-£15.

And what about the evidence of content being revoked from the get-go to later be sold as DLC? Content that is actually necessary for the full package's enjoyment, not a subsidiary, separate entity. It's a sketchy business.

[Puty]

@XTGN - You couldn't miss more with this analogy.
Here is a proper one: imagine if J.K.R. cut quidditch stuff from the book because it was irrevelant to the main plot and sold it separetly to "add to the experience".

[BellePelouse]

Would you buy a book and pay for the rest of the chapters later?

These days devs probably keep their best ideas to put in a dlc to cash-in.

I miss the days when a game was final on release and they had to put everything they tought of in it before to make i t a classic

[Baka-akaB]

It gets even worse , imagine having to pay for the epilogue and the true end of your book . While rare it has happened way too much already

[Jaevicious]

I don't think anyone would complain about buying book 2. But if they are being made to buy, chapter x, y, z, after the initial purchase to get the full experience of said book. Then I can see them having some issues.

[XTGN]

Personally I always used to think people should stop crying about paying for extra DLC, that was based on the understanding that this was something ADDED to an already complete title. Something extra you could purchase to prolong, extend or otherwise enhance your experience.

I'm quite a "pro-industry" kinda person, but even I can see the worrying trend towards "mission critical" paid DLC that you need buy to even play the game as intended.

I'm finding the "evolve" model to be an extreme example of this - but fingers crossed "it all works out in the end" , god knows how though.

[Baka-akaB]

except the people complaining never agreed that it's something ADDED , but instead was something SUBSTRACTED under the pretense of being unfinished or added afterward . Especially content that used to be a freebie courtesy to show appreciating for a fanbase , now being sold , and with devs and publishers and they cheerleaders telling others to shut up .

And in most cases those people were or are right . Very few of those are actually content created afterward ... most are stuff removed during the creation process , or locked , or planned content left partially unfinished

Like i've said before , i wont lie , i do buy dlcs now , occasionally , and depending on the game and the absolute need it can create (like most fighting games dlc characters sadly) ... so i've thrown away those principle . But then again , DLCs and publishers already won , as the majority accepted it years ago . Making the grandstanding pointless , except for my ego .

[VVgamer4lifeVV]

"except the people complaining never agreed that it's something ADDED , but instead was something SUBTRACTED under the pretense of being unfinished or added afterward"

^^ This.

[mydyingparadiselost]

I still haven't been able to hop on the DLC train, I've bought VERY few pieces (Mario Kart, Dark Souls 2, that's it). I have so little faith in the industry to make quality content after a game releases that I just pretty much ignore it entirely. I hate any story DLC locking important parts of the experience (i.e. the ending), character DLC since I have no trust that those characters will be as balanced as the others, I refuse to pay for micro transactions in anything, so on so on.

About the only kinds of DLC I support are skins or cosmetics and stand alone pieces. Far Cry Blood Dragon was the PERFECT DLC since it was is own, unique story and world. I feel like publishers have just been trying to force people to buy DLC by making so much of it either central or important to spectra of the game instead of making them WANT to buy it. I feel like I'm usually just better off ignoring games with lots of DLC and playing something else.

[uth11]

It really depends on the details. The game should be playable and enjoyable without being forced to buy it. But I don't see a problem with selling special items or extended missions.

It seems like the complainers make the problem sound worse than it is. One of the reasons lots of people dismissed the Crew was "micro transactions". Having played it, you don't need to spend a dime extra to enjoy it. There's one case where the anti-dlc argument was blown way out of proportion

[mezati99]

ᴧᴧᴧ

SMH

[johny5]

When do we ever hear good news about DLC, besides content that should have been there in the first place?

[pompombrum]

MK 9's DLC was pretty well done, same with Injustice. Hearing Freddy was coming to MK was definitely good news about DLC.

[mgszelda1]

What I don't get is why dlc doesn't drop in price after a while

[BC_Master_Haze]

Green man gaming does DLC pretty cheap, same with games. Other than that I don't think I've ever seen a reasonable drop in price from DLC

[WizzroSupreme]

I've learned to stop caring about DLC too. People make too big of a fuss about it more often than not for stuff that's optional anyway.