DLC= Excuse to Rip Gamers Off?
The recent info coming out about Resident Evil 5 adding a versus mode at the price tag of 400 microsoft points or $4 on the Playstation Network got me thinking. Thinking about a time back before downloadable content ran rampant on our gaming platforms. What did we do? How did we ever justify a purchase!?
We were FINE. We had our game and we played the heck out of it. We got our moneys worth out of it. What the developer burned onto the disc is what we got. When they had new stuff, it came in the form of the sequel to the previous game. But since DLC has been added into our gaming lives, we let developers and publishers walk all over us because they know our appetite. I understand the need for game companies to make profit off of their work, but charging us every time they can does not show good faith.
Do I have a problem with devs releasing new content for their games? No. I think DLC is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. But what I do think is wrong is them charging us for every single little thing that they come out with. Whatever happened to a good ole’ thank you from publishers? ‘Thanks for buying our product, here is a free game mode.’ Are we that money hungry that we can’t show some appreciation? They rip us off by using our appetite for content.
I don’t really know which is worse, the fact that they come out with DLC at premium rates all the time, or that we actually buy it. Especially when they say they are going to release a new game mode which could have easily been added to the game before hand. The truth is that RE5 is going to sell a bazillion copies. So why can’t they say ‘hey, we had this game mode close to the launch of the game but needed a little more time with it, so here it is for free. Thanks for buying RE5.’
I do realize that Micro$oft makes some companies charge for DLC. They are probably more to blame than anyone else here. All I’m saying in this rant is that its ridiculous that we are being ripped off so badly by these companies just because they know how much we want what they are giving us. We all should just be a little more cautious before immediately forking over the dough for some DLC. It’s not just Capcom doing this. Its pretty much become an industry standard. That’s why I applaud Valve and other companies that actually thank their community for being so loyal by distributing free content every so often.
Think before you buy folks.
16 Responses to “DLC= Excuse to Rip Gamers Off?”
Leave a Reply using the box below
|
|
Our Friends & Affiliates
Yeah Dan I agree with you here. I hate that i have to pay for the new halo maps when they come out with it when with halo 2 i could just wait a couple months and get it free, of course i wasnt as good at the maps when i finally got them but i was just glad i saved a few bucks.
Agreed. M$ is notorious for nickel and diming its customers to death, especially its gamers. That’s why I refused to buy a 360 and got a PS3.
As for DLC itself, I agree. If it’s obvious I won’t be able to enjoy a game without buying a ton of DLC for it, I’ll just get a different game. I’m not even interested in GTA games, so I wouldn’t buy that anyway. I’ll get Street Fighter 4 eventually, but I won’t be buying any of the costumes or anything.
I know people out there love DLC and pay for it. More power to them. I can do without. Unless I’m getting roughly 1 hour of new gameplay per $1 spent, I won’t even consider buying DLC.
I ask you this, sir:
Will you be buying the RE5 content?
I wrote an article for this site a couple months back about the botching of DLC. Capcom is the worst offender by miles. I won’t by purchasing Resident Evil 5.
Since Microsoft handles all the content and handles it’s own network service unlike the PC and PSN they have every right to charge. Also to the poster above about the 1 hour of gameplay for every dollar. That doesn’t even make any sense. How do you dictate the hours of online multiplayer maps for instance? How do you separate the hours of content in games like Bioshock which are obviously not 60 hours in gameplay? Or Heavenly Sword or Uncharted?
I agree some of this premium DLC is getting out of hand and Namco is one of the worst offenders, same as many EA games. However some of it is truly great so it’s all up to the consumer to decide.
I will not be buying RE5. Mainly because the controls suck. You can say that’s just how RE5 is, but they suck. No way around it.
Nightelfmohawk the problem of ripping off consumers is not limited to Microsoft, $ony are just as guilty of this.
On the subject of DLC I dont mind paying for it, if it is a genuine expansion or something they could not include to begin with.
But costume packs, cheats (EA are especially bad for this), a couple of new characters/vehicles I think unless there is a very good reason or ALOT of them should be free. Similarly paying for modes that should be in with the game to begin with is not on either.
Sooner or later someone is going to go too far and get a backlash worse than Bethesda did for the horse armour.
The way i look at it…..if you pay £40 for a game you should get the WHOLE game. Not buy what you think is the whole game and then end up having to pay more money for some extras.
If a game company wants to make DLC as a service to the fans who ALREADY gave them their money – then make it free. If they don’t then don’t make DLC and just concentrate on the sequel.
I believe that this particular DLC should be free, but some DLC should be paid for. Like the Fallout DLC. Stuff like this and garbage EA pulled for Skate 2 makes me angry. I NEVER by multiplayer DLC unless a good number of my friends are makin the purchase too. So, I doubt I will be buying the RE5 stuff. Short answer: “This is stupid.”
Please excuse the errors, I had to hurry.^^^
I don’t have a problem with companies charging for DLC. The only thing I don’t like is when it comes out after I beat the game and moved on to something else.
If you want devs to stop charging for DLC, then stop buying used games. Developers and publishers make absolutely no money off of used game sales, and because used games sales make up such a substantial percentage of video game sales, they’re losing a good chunk of money. I’m pretty sure rentals has a negative effect on their profit as well.
So by losing money off of used game sales, developers and publishers need to find ways to make up for this loss, and one way they are able to make up for this is Downloadable content, which you cannot trade-in or buy used.
Now I am not against used game sales. I wouldn’t be a gamer if it weren’t for that cheaper option. I’m all for it. But I understand and accept that paying for DLC is the result of that option.
Also, to add a little something, I think the reason Valve is so willing to provide DLC for free is because of Steam. Their download service again is not affected by used game sales so they aren’t losing money. Yet still I must give hats off to them for fighting M$ trying to get their DLC out there for free (L4D.)
But as far as games coming out incomplete and being patched later, such as with the versus mode in RE5, yes it is bogas. But it things like this are the fault of M$ and $ony. They know that when games get delayed it makes gamers angry. They also want to aim for certain release dates in order to optimize sales (Christmas time or a time with no other games coming out like now.) So they push devs to get games out for a specific date so much that they have to release the product unfinished and decide to patch in the rest later. They’d like to patch it for free, but M$ and $ony complain that the work to provide that patch will cost them money which forces there to be a charge for the additional content that should’ve shipped.
Ok I’m done…
I agree. It sucks how they make so much money off of such little content in the DLC.
I have no problem with most paid DLC, it’s the paid DLC that should have been included in the first place that bothers me. I’m really curious at how big the download will be. If it’s very small then I’d say it’s just a key to unlock what is already on the disc, which in my opinion, is one of the worst type of DLC there is.
I will not be buying the RE5 DLC, but it’s a shame because it looks like it could be a lot of fun, I will be boycotting it though.
I have an idea to get the game with content for $59.00. I’m going to wait for a used copy,and use the $6.00 I save to buy the extra mode.