"No more DLC that gamers have to buy for the full experience" - Ubisoft

Quote: Ubisoft's VP of live operations Anne Blondel-Jouin on what Ubisoft has discovered from giving away Rainbow Six DLC

[Nyxus]

Sounds good.

[sinjonezp]

I remember a time, like the 1990's and early 2000's when we bought games and you have the entire game. Everything was unlocked by actually playing the games, and cheat codes revealed cool stuff.......Those were the days.

[Paytaa]

And it shouldn't be something that is nostalgic. It should be standard.

[jaymacx]

DLC started out as content added to an already complete game such as KOTOR on the original XBox and was free. Then games on xbox360 had paid DLC and expansions (Oblivion) ... Then it started to be content held back or on disc for added $$$... now Seasons passes.

[AnubisG]

@bruce755

DLC could be the greatest thing but it is abused by developers. Yes, something like Blood and Wine is great. It's what DLC should be but we gotten to a point where you have to pay money for skins, guns, cars or other items and most of the time these are already on the disc but is locked behind a paywall. So there is a huge problem with DLC as it stands.

[TWB]

There were always paid expansions for games, but they were just much more larger. Its like, we now have a hybrid of patched in content and expansion packs for DLCs.

All the old Doom and Quake games had paid expansion packs.

I would rather enjoy going back to that setup, to see companies make some actually good expansions if they want to milk us.

[andrewsquall]

Yep my last major Sega Mega Drive game was Sonic and Knuckles that was pretty much a "DLC"/addon for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Those were the good days alright. We should also go back to soundtracks that sound worse than a polyphonic ringtone from 2001. Man these rose tinted specs sure are on tight.

@bruce755 Exactly. Somebody making sense. I have to assume these "good old days" people are actually grandpas in their 70s.

[yeahokwhatever]

Games have become immeasurably more complicated, with complexity comes defects(bugs). A single engineer COULD write all of Sonic the Hedgehog. Such a task would be completely impossible for modern games. There's just too much going on. DLC policy shouldnt be attached to patches.

[Newmanator]

Everyone is forgetting one big point - development costs have skyrocketed and game prices have pretty much stayed the same so if the people want better graphics and smooth online they have to understand it must be funded from somewhere. P.s these companies are businesses.

[morganfell]

The infamous Horse Armor...

[BongSmack]

@bruce755 " Developers couldn't add on entire worlds" Sure they could. They did. A couple that I thoroughly enjoyed were, Beyond the Dark Portal and Thy Flesh consumed.
True though, that not all dlc is bad, but it's awful if you have to pay for dlc to enjoy the core game.
Also it's good when it's free (Go Valve)

[ChronoJoe]

Oh come off it, don't make out that these games are in some way ripping you off in terms of content of the core package. No open world game even comes of the 2000s even comes close to the scope and scale of games like Watch Dogs 2, and it's not just due to technological advancement, publishers like Ubisoft are putting more into these games (in terms of staff and finance) than they ever have.

[TheSaint]

Yeah I 'member.

[-Foxtrot]

Not really

Think about it...

Rainbow Six launched with a lack of content, the rest of the free DLC was basically what we should have gotten in the main game.

Ubisoft gave off the ILLUSION that it was "doing right by gamers" when really it was just a simple trick

Please tell me you guys are not that stupid...come on it's Ubisoft they've tried this before, hell we've seen this before with something like Evolve.

[Aloren]

Content wasn't free at all in Evolve though.

[Teh_Leviathan]

What was missing from the game when it released?

[just_looken]

Just like the ghost recon wild lands having a season pass already and watchdogs clothing/accessories is behind a paywall.

Rainbow six siege well it took them 5 months to get the hit registration working like a ps2 game they have yet to deliver on all the content.

[-Foxtrot]

Teh_Leviathan

Compare a past Rainbow Six game with this one. You'll see for yourself

It was just a game which was lacking.

[freshslicepizza]

rainbow six is still getting support and they will announce year two season pass, goes to show your lack of knowledge. just because the game doesn't offer an offline campaign mode doesn't mean it was not worth the price. you get far too hung up on hating on multiplayer. i'd rather they make an awesome online game than an average one and an average campaign mode.

what i want to know is does watchdogs 2 have a ton of dlc? ubisoft must be feeling guilty now admitting dlc was required to get the full experience. thats why i never supported destiny, it was a shame from the start.

[Muzikguy]

@moldy

Problem is the online isn't that great. I had more fun with terrorist hunts in RB6 Vegas.

[UltraNova]

Well Halleluiah, look who decided to wake up and join the real wolrd! But remember Ubi, actions speak louder than words.

[Mikelarry]

Exactly, i dont know maybe I have become jaded but this just makes me think they must have found another way to screw us over.

reminds me of the time they said no more online activation for new games only to turn around and screw us over with crazy season passes and eye watering DLC prices

[Kokyu]

Ita called microtransactions

[AnubisG]

That is completely true UltraNova. It's actions, not words that define someone. As it stands Ubisoft are liars and can't be trusted because of what they did in the past few years showing us BS videos of games claiming that it's in-game video. So, I would take this from Ubisoft with an iceberg worth of salt, such as the size that sunk the Titanic.

[Princess_Pilfer]

Outside of (finally) doing the right thing and not splitting the playerbase of shooters, it sounds like it's just words.

Best case, they put even more microtransactions in things and make things like "expansions" (it's in quotes because with Ubisoft it's usually the case that it just feels cut from the main game) are free. If that's the case then I'm mostly indifferent to it, because while they are lowering the barrier to entry and avoiding segmenting the playerbase, both good things, they're doubling down on micro transactions in fully priced games, which are a cancer that usually involves systems being specifically designed to psychologically pressure you into paying for them which is an inexcusable practice in a game I just paid 60 bucks for. Seeing as that alone is grounds for me to not buy a game (I don't pay 60 bucks for a game just to have to endure being constantly pressured into spending more,) it won't have an impact on me

[Ripsta7th]

You guys better thank Mircrosoft since they basically started this trend
started with Halo 5, then Gears of war 4, then it was titanfall 2
so u ponys at least should show some respect

[Princess_Pilfer]

The trend of putting even more microtransactions into games instead of splitting the playerbase? No thanks.

How about don't split the playerbase *and* don't do microtransactions. Halo Reach, for example,. released an entire seperate game-mode for the halo anniversery thing. The playerbase isn't split by map packs, *and* no microtransactions.

[MasterCornholio]

No more broken promises Ubisoft especially with this one.

[DragonDDark]

R6S is a good example of good DLC practice.

[SlightlyRetarted]

I'm still 100% into BF1 (that took completely wrong approach with DLC), but i'm going to buy Siege soon and big factor for that is the approach Ubi took with DLC's. Vote with your wallet works both ways and i'm going to support R6 and maybe the practice will be here to stay.

[LOL_WUT]

I hope you enjoy it like I do. It's a great game. ;)

[SlightlyRetarted]

I bet i will. I'm ready for some slower paced action, i'm just worried i'm bit too late to the party.

[-Foxtrot]

By launching with hardly any content and then giving you the rest of it free which should have been in the game at launch

It's just a simple trick.

It makes them look like they are by generous when really it's just an illusion. Witcher 3 is a real example of how to do it as the main game was bursting with content.

[Artemidorus]

It's a great idea but it's Ubisoft saying it.

[Duke19]

She looks like she is judging the shit out of the cameraman

[Hoffmann]

I think she was horny.

edit: Hey they changed the photo!

[Allsystemgamer]

That's....no what a horny woman looks like dude...

[gbsrnctaln]

Go easy on her, she might suffer from perma-bitch-face.

[DillyDilly]

They will fuck us over some other way

[--bienio--]

Well? Ubisoft should ask CD Project Red how to do DLC. BLOD AND WINE IS A MASTERPIECE so ubisoft can learn something from this people.

[_-EDMIX-_]

? The one they charged for?

Ummmm but RB6 dlc is free.....

[--bienio--]

It worth that price

[_-EDMIX-_]

I know, I own it.

How about CDPR that note from Ubisoft and make it free...?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Also what's to learn? Do you not understand that art is subjective? It is not an objective thing...

One cannot simply look at what CD projekt Red has done and recreate the same thing in fact that is actually a disrespect to CD projekt Red to assume that anything they create could simply be mimicked simply by knowing the process.

The team that crafted that game worked very hard and they're very talented what they do is not something you could merely mimic.

You really think creating a successful game and successful downloadable content is something that could be objectively learned?

LMFAO!

Downloadable content to a game is as subjective as a game itself.

[DragonDDark]

Not the same thing. One is single player dlc & the other is multiplayer.

[MetalGearsofWar]

They're making crappier games and selling less, of course they need to say things to win us over.

[DragonDDark]

Watch Dogs 2 aint that bad. Neither is R6S

[MetalGearsofWar]

Yes it is.

[GreenUp]

So we can expect $120 games from Ubisoft in the future?

[yomfweeee]

I think the article is implying that Ubisoft won't have paid DLC content at all, but I think that Ubisoft VP was only talking about the specific scenario of multiplayer maps.

So, don't get your hopes up.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

I'm completely fine with how they've implemented it so far in regards to Rainbow Six. It's too bad I just don't really have a lot of time to play it but what I did play was actually really fun.

Soooooo many great games this generation, so little time.

[zivtheawesome]

saying and doing are very different things Ubi. i just hope you will be on the doing.

[zaherdab]

isnt watch dogs 2 already releasing with a season pass ?

[DragonDDark]

Season Pass for SP

[SlightlyRetarted]

Cosmetic microtransactions that pay the costs of making DLC. This should be the standard on multiplayers these days. You wont split the player base and still make money.

[oof46]

Pay attention, EA and Activision.

[Tzuno]

Here you go, a lie in your face dear consumer :)))

[GoldPunch-TR]

Sounds lie.

[Goldby]

so does that mean That the extra sports in the DLC for Steep are going to be free now?

[Espangerish]

DLC along with gigantic day one patches needed for physical games are 2 of my biggest bugbears with modern gaming.

when I buy a game, I want the whole game in it's entirely on the disk I just bought without paywalled content I can't access without reaching for my wallet again or having to download several gigs of patches.

[quent]

Ubisoft pandering BS, new super hyped game to be announced in 3,2,1...

How is not wanting to be ripped off a revelation to them ?, is what I would ask

[BKz_HiiTmAn]

A great way to keep a games longevity, especially supporting free multiplayer maps. Would be nice to see other companies also take this approach.
A marketing strategy Witcher 3, GTA and CSGO have all implement in there own way, in recent years. Just got to hope its not all smoke and mirrors.

[conanlifts]

I have no issue with clothing and skins providing it is cosmetic only. I will never understand why people buy clothing for characters anyway, but each to their own

[plmkoh]

Easy for them to say on a game like Rainbow Six. They charge full $60 and yet you only get a multiplayer game with a limited map selection and features.

Try applying the same thing on a game like Watchdogs 2, Ubisoft would not have the same opinion.

[C-H-E-F]

So watch dogs 2 DLC is??? or is this Post Watch Dogs 2?

[formanbradley]

New model: sell 1/2 - 3/4 of a game and give away the rest as "FREE DLC" and hope people are too stupid to realize everything should have been there from the start.
Edit: I find it very funny how they specifically mention Halo 5 having this model... we all know how that turned out. Same with Street Fighter V, only SFV is a game with good mechanics whereas Halo 5 plays nothing like Halo (1-3, before they were hell-bent on winning over the CoD player base)

[vork77]

just make all dlc free ok

[Chocoburger]

Took you this long to figure it out, Ubisoft? Remember having to pay extra for Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia (2008) story content? Yeah, don't do that anymore.

[zodiac909]

Sadly the industry has strayed too far into this business model for it to be avoided in the future. I do have a new found respect for Ubisoft for trying to make a change like this though.

[Derceto]

No more? So they obviously admit to having done it. In any case, I won't hold my breath on this. lol It's friggen Ubisoft. Gimme a break.

[RosweeSon]

Assassins creed and it's missing sequences

[brewin]

They should start by making the Gold Editions of their games sell for $60 at launch. If they want to have "base" versions, sell them for $40 and the games with season passes and extra dlc should be the full $60 rather than $80 to $100 theyre trying to get now.

I refuse to buy Ubi games anymore until I can get the gold edition for $50 or less. Watch Dogs 2 looks great, but I want all the content and I refuse to pay 100 freakin dollars to play the complete version of one game. I didnt bother with The Division for the same reason. I tried and liked it too, but I cant support that $100 gold version BS. Give me the full game if you want me to pay full price, and in my book, full price is not more than $60.

Special editions with art books and statues and all that jazz obviously have their own market, and some people likie having that stuff so Im ok with that. But as far as the game content goes, stop gouging us for content that should be included in the $60 version. This season pass crap is outta control and companies like Ubi need to take notice. We need to trend away from that because its just pissing off more people than not.

[Mr Marvel]

I miss the days where you'd buy a game & get the FULL game.

I've never bought a season pass & I no longer buy DLC as I refuse to support this bullsh*t money grabbing practice.
I pay once for a game, then move on.

[DafunkyRebel]

in DLC's place we will include microtransaction instead

[juliotheman21]

bet they will pull this one: instead of hiding content within the game they will make game install sizes bigger by lazy optimizing, then hold the DLC thats part of the main game and call it an extension of the main story.

[Jon_Targaryen]

DLCs probably didnt sell like they wanted it to. So expect shorter games in the future thanks to this.. no more GOTY editions from this dev anytime soon.

[MasterCornholio]

Glad there's a nice discussion on this article. While I don't believe Ubisoft can't do this the real question is will they do this. It would be fantastic if they went all the way with this.

P.S

Incase anyone is wondering I'm Rookies idol on N4G. He admires me so much that he even created an account using my name. Plus he's doing a sweet job of reporting himself which is what I always do to him.

[sdcard4gb]

Won't believe that for a second.
First they tell you everything is good, second they're gonna rip you off to the point of your grandchildren having to pay your debt.

[slavish0]

So ubi is finally tired of f@$king us? Um.....Thanks..i guess? 😑

[MetroidFREAK21]

Good

[rocketpanda]

What stopping them from saying the dlc was never part of the main game but actually is? Just saying, as major publishers know they can make lots of money from dlc these days.

If they actually do what they are saying then credit to them.

[Maxor]

I'm going to read between the lines.

Our expansion DLCs don't sell well. So we're going to sell you cosmetics.

[Muzikguy]

Are they seriously talking this way? I don't believe that she believes a single word she's saying. They've been asking for money for wrong reasons for years now. Bunch of PR bs if you ask me