Downloadable Content: Ye or Ne?
May 17, 2008 / 04:32 PM EDT / (@)

Alright, so you’ve just purchased this awesome game you’ve been waiting for, for quite a long time. You’re playing it, and you’re having the time of your life (or it seems like). After a while, you decide to take a break. You go check out what’s new on the PLAYSTATION Store, and you see something that strikes you a bit “weird”. There’s already Downloadable Content for the game that just that you were recently enjoying. Now, one can’t help but wonder, why would there be Downloadable Content for a game that just came out?

The simple answer is to add more playable content to the game. The more realistic answer, however, is these companies are finding ways to get more money out of you. Sometimes, although, these are new things to add to your game by saving it onto your hard drive that weren’t available with the game’s release. Most of the time though when you see Downloadable Content released so close to the release date of the game, it means they’re charging you to unlock things that are usually already on the game disc. While I could argue that games aren’t at a high enough price to take care of the costs of production, games that do well cover those costs and more.

Publishers today love Downloadable Content, it’s the chance to bring out more of a game that is already released, which means they can keep making money on these games. Some Downloadable Content is worth buying, such as new songs for Rock Band or actual expansion packs for games such as PixelJunk Monsters Encore. But things like, “Very Hard Missions” for Sonic the Hedgehog, or The Eye of Judgment: Set 2, which are things that are already in the game, or are put into the game via Update, then having to pay to unlock it.

When Downloadable Content is actual worth it such as new songs, new maps, new modes, it is worth it. But when it’s just adding stuff that’s already in the game itself, it’s not alright. One of the biggest bones I had to pick with was Evolution Studios’ Motorstorm. While they’ve bettered it now since it’s been awhile, but when they started rolling out Downloadable Content they were selling Vehicles by themselves for a buck each. They still have a few on there, but most of the vehicles have now been bundled into packs with a new track and such. So they learned what to do, but when they sold single vehicles, it enraged me that this stuff wasn’t already in the actual game. I was basically getting charged a lot for seemingly worthless stuff, and it made me sell the game.

So you decide, would you rather have this stuff in your game when it’s released and have it already included in the game, or rather get new stuff via download content?

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  • Boberman

    For the most part I don’t have a prob with any DLC. Since DLC isn’t required to play the game, so if you don’t want new maps, or different characters you don’t have to get them.

    But if you like a game and want to have more of it then its not hard for one to jutify spending $1-$5 to add onto a game.

    But I don’t agree with them unlocking DLC that is already on the disk. If its on the disk it should be free.

  • http://kaddas.org/ Kaddas

    Shibbs what have you just written up there , it’s totaly right!, one day I ago I wa thinking the same way, I was thinking about why wouldn’t I have that content already when I purchese the game.
    I think Dve’s still want to make money out of it.

    from my side I was thinking the same way about PAIN, the game is full of fun, but still I have to unluck all of those characters which you’ll end up spending more many, right?

  • Eric

    DLC is a fine line. Some things add on later like you said and add playability, but some things arent really worth it. The whole Battlefield Bad Company when they were going to charge for guns, was just absurd. Glad they changed that.

    To be honest, I’ve never heard of including the content already on the disc and then charging later? Some things should be included and not added later like in games like Pain. Extra characters, come on now. Its not that exciting.