Downloadable Content

[Althea]

DLC has become a huge part of the gaming industry with the current generation, particularly with the PS3 and the 360, with anything from full blown expansions to just minor tweaks being added on the stores after the game's release (or just prior to it in some cases) for players to buy...or not, as it suits them. So, what are your thoughts on this? Do you mind paying extra money on top of what you've already paid for the game for additional content, or do you feel that this should be included as a part of the price? Is it good to give these companies a little extra cash, or do you resent lining their already overflowing pockets for things that you should already have with the game when you purchase it?

I think having expansions put up as DLC is a great idea - buying the discs and keeping them separate is a real nuisance, it's much better to just get them via the internet and have them stored on your console's memory...if you've got a console with a large memory, anyway. There is the problem of the connection timing out halfway through, but otherwise it's a pretty good way of getting things.

Things that contribute significantly to the game, such as Dragon Age's Awakening expansion, or Borderlands' numerous expansions, is good DLC, in my opinion. It's a bit annoying that it isn't already available on the disc, but its worth the money you pay for it...and these days, with DLC like that you can be sure there will be a Game of the Year edition when its all been released which, whilst frustrating if you've already bought the game and much of the DLC, is good to know if you haven't. Plus it keeps games going after their initial lifespan; length of story modes in games being a huge problem with them these days.

But when its just random stuff like additional costumes, status boosts for characters, weapons etc, it really annoys me. These things should already be in the game. You shouldn't have to pay for such mundane things: they might only cost around 79p a time, but it adds up. You have only to look at the Disgaea 3 DLC to see what I mean: buying everything separately will cost you about £50, and there is even a pack of all of it for £40. That is as much as the game costs at RRP! It really adds up and, ultimately, you could end up paying for the game twice or even thrice over, as it were.

I remember the days when additional content such as costumes and whatnot were already on the disc, when there was a definite line between the internet and consoles. If the DLC is worthwhile, then paying for it doesn't sting quite as much, but when it's things that are already on the disc and just aren't accessible, it becomes extremely annoying...

 

[Captain Fabio]

The idea of expansion packs and map add-ons and such, I like the concept of. It makes me think that the developers haven't just simply released a game and gone 'right, that is done with, what shall we do now?'

In most cases, it shows that they actually care about the game and a good amount of the DLC is decent stuff that I don't mind downloading. I feel that sometimes, the DLC that is available for some games should really have been included and I would have liked to have seen it not held back, so that gamers have to spend an extra couple of pounds getting features they really, really want.

Overall, I think that eventually, buying games will move to being completely downloadable, but I don't think it will happen till the 10th - 11th generation.​

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[Legobricks]

As expansion — I prefer when these things are on disks. I hold nothing against them as DLC but I would not download them same as how I wouldn't generally download a game that must be purchased. I'm only really keen on expansions for RTS games, personally.

As misc items — Could've been included in the initial release, and in most cases should've. I have no sympathy for such blatant moneygrabbing. I don't mind such 'pointless DLC' in a free-to-play game though, as the existence of such items form the reason it's free.

As map packs — These really bother me; maps are things that modding communities have been making for almost every game by the dozens to hundreds in their own free time, often better than the developers do, since about the time of Quake. Selling maps is as baseless as trying to sell seed codes for Minecraft, IMO.

As free — The best DLC is free DLC, I'm sure we all agree, so it's uninteresting to rip on.

 

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

I prefer the DLC being on another disc to be installed like with Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition for example as it's not so easy getting DLC when you don't have XBL or PSN at the time :/

 

[Oryx]

I haaaate DLC. I hate that I have to be connected to the internet to get it, I hate that I could spend 60 bucks on a game and still not have the entire thing, I hate that I know it could've been finished at the same time as the game, but instead it was released a month later so people would pay more money for it.

I wish this trend towards everything being paid DLC would stop. But tbh, I wouldn't mind SO much if they had a lot of the game in DLC to promote people buying games instead of pirating.

 

[Jarred0809]

I do like how it USUALLY adds something useful to the game, not just a few maps or a new gun.

I don't like how DLC is sometimes released at the same time as the game it's for.

 

[Zet]

I like DLC for the bonus stuff it adds to the game(and the extra hours of gameplay it adds so I don't get bored after I finish the game, assuming I've already finished it) and I don't mind the wait for it to be released.

 

[Shining Raichu]

I haaaate DLC. I hate that I have to be connected to the internet to get it, I hate that I could spend 60 bucks on a game and still not have the entire thing, I hate that I know it could've been finished at the same time as the game, but instead it was released a month later so people would pay more money for it.

I wish this trend towards everything being paid DLC would stop. But tbh, I wouldn't mind SO much if they had a lot of the game in DLC to promote people buying games instead of pirating.

I could seriously not have said it better than this. I can't stand the idea of DLC because it's quite intrusive. I miss the days where you could buy a game and play it on the Nintendo without having to worry about updates and extra stuff that you have to go online to get. I don't like going online on a console - why should I have to? Just do it right the first time. The gaming trend toward the internet in general is disturbing me.

It's just like in Pokemon. I don't want to use the internet to get to the Dream World before I can finish the game. I hate that it's slowly becoming a requirement to go online to complete games. I play Pokemon - and video games in general - so that I don't have to involve other people or the internet. Just make it stop.

 

[Late]

I can't see myself paying for DLC until it is stages or characters for SSB series. That I would consider but otherwise no.
If I can get something for free then it's: "Why not?"

 

[kohei]

I know it generates niiice income for the devs/pubs, and as long as it adds meaty content to a single-player game, I'm fine.

Hate DLC map packs for console FPS games though.
Too used to how maps are distributed for PC FPS (like CS, not the PC version of MW2 etc.)

 

[Shining Raichu]

I can't see myself paying for DLC until it is stages or characters for SSB series. That I would consider but otherwise no.

NONONONO. Please, don't even say that! It puts it out there in the universe and then it can't be taken back! It would break my heart if they started doing downloadable content for Smash Bros. I love that series and to not be able to have the complete thing because half of it has to be downloaded later would just be crushing for me.

 

[Ciax]

Expansion packs are the right way to go with DLC, something like the GTA IV ones. On the other hand stupid things like a new map or costume that in most cases could easily be included in the normal just annoys the heck out of me and everyone else. Why should we buy a game and then have to pay another 10 bucks for the full experience though. I dislike DLC but if we have to have it then we might as well have good DLC like the red dead redemption Undead Nightmare download or the previously mentioned GTA IV ones

 

[Harpalyce]

I more or less agree with you. I like DLC packs that add actual content, not just 'stuff'.

With that said, I am a total and complete sucker for DLC. Many people begrudge shelling out more money, but I really don't. Most of the time when I play a game, it's one that has been out for months if not years: I have a list of Steam alerts and when something drops to 20-15 dollars or less, then I'll get it, but not before.

With good RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or Fallout 3, by the time I reach the end of the game I've gotten pretty familiar with my character. I like 'em, and I want to keep playing them. In fact, I've never finished DA:O for that very reason: I didn't want the game to be over! So when I actually play a game, DLC is fantastic. It gives me a reason to continue the fun - and to play a game over to see how doing DLC along the way fits in. I'm thinking specifically of ME2 and Fallout 3 here. Both feature DLC that's a continuation of the main storyline (Arrival, Broken Steel)... and both feature DLC that merely opens up a different aspect of the 'same ol' game play, but gives it a unique twist. Kasumi's DLC for ME2 is one of my absolute favourites, for instance.

And honestly, I don't mind the cost. Steam tells me that I'm nearing 200 hours on ME2 alone. Since I got the game itself for ten dollars, and perhaps spent another ten on DLC, that's some pretty cheap entertainment - and I like the fact that DLC money goes mostly to the developers themselves, not to paying overhead.

 

[sherreamethyst]

i like the thought of DLC, it makes the game much more funner(is that a word?) than it already is. I like that the creators are still thinking about ways to improve a game even after it comes out. It sometimes even makes me start playing a game again if I hadnt played it in awhile.