Article: What do you think of paid DLC in the games?

[colours]

so, i was one of those people that, at some point in the past, was adamant that Game Freak wouldn't include DLC in their games. to be fair, at the time, that largely held true (emphasis on "at the time").

it's interesting, really. over the years i've gotten accustomed to third games (and in the case of b2w2, a sequel) being the norm. i think most people did, too! i think a lot of people were expecting kind of the same thing, here: Game Freak would release Super Sword and Super Shield or something, and people who skipped out on the originals can get the updated versions and save not only time but money doing that. back in the day, DLC wasn't as prominent of a thing and was mostly in its infancy during the days that Game Freak started doing all of this. i guess most people only really questioned the necessity of third games and whether they provided anything when USUM was released given how many saw it as essentially DLC to USUM and therefore not necessary at all for a separate release. people started to really catch onto this and, as expected, USUM sold about as well as every other third game has. which is to say that it sold...okay, but far fewer numbers than the main titles. i honestly think it just wasn't beginning to make any sort of practical sense anymore for Game Freak to continue doing third games after USUM, and i thought as much. while it would still sell, it'd piss off a lot of people to have to re-purchase content for $60, not to mention the more important factor that Game Freak is not the only big player around in the Switch market. they'd have to justify their $60 re-sell to every other game that costs $60. it's definitely not like how it was back in the handheld days where people would buy their handhelds just for Pokemon, that's for sure.

i mean, personally, this seemed like the most logical route for Game Freak to go in. yes, ideally, in a perfect world, Game Freak would include all of their content in the base game and we wouldn't have to worry about expansion passes at all (debatable, expansion passes are additional content so it becomes a circular argument of whether a game is truly ever "complete" if a developer constantly releases expansions for it), but that's not the timeline we're currently in. presumably they're going to continue the DLC route for the foreseeable future as it increases the shelf life of their games, because it keeps people talking about it. the release windows for Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra seem to indicate as such, too. it's meant to keep people playing SwSh and talking about it and buying it well into the next year. at that point, when people did everything they could do, it'd already be time to be excited (for some people, anyway) for the next game.

anyway, all of that said, im happy that at the very least, i get to keep all of my progress so far so i can have fun raiding in the new areas and whatnot, which im definitely looking forward to. ^^

 

[Kala.illu]

I think it's really smart, I'm always sad when I finish a Pokemon game because I loved it and I don't want to replay it right way, so the DLC are really something I'm looking forward too, like keeping my Pokemon team I love while going on new adventures! :D

 

[Leafsfan]

I really like it. I love the fact that once I complete all there is to do in the game now, there will still be more to do in June. And once I complete that, there will be more stuff to do in the fall. I always felt that adding a second iteration of a game so soon after the first (ie. Sun and Ultra Sun), devalued the original game far too much.

 

[Benermerut]

I very rarely buy DLC for the same reason I don't buy games digitally.
I want to actually own the thing I'm paying for.

But on top of that, buying half a game for full price then paying even more for the rest of it is not a deal.

If, down the line, they release "definitive editions" of SwSh that include all the DLC on the cartridge and it's the price of a regular Switch game, I might consider buying it. I guess that would be the equivalent of skipping the first games and buying the third version when it came out.

I don't know if they'd actually do that, but they might. Squeeze a few more drops outta the miltank with very little effort. Actually, when I put it that way it sounds exactly like something they might do.

 

[bobandbill]

Article has been written based on your input! Thanks, guys! Check the link at the top of the thread.

ping

Yes, I even used some of your post. =p

 

[Ziko577]

I love it and absolutely prefer it to a third version.

I always felt they made the first pair of games, and then they'd make the third game and shift all competitions, giveaways and content to it, leave those with a first pair game behind and the first pair of games itself lacking and undesirable. I think this annoys and inconveniences most players with a first pair version, since most people won't pay a lot of money just to restart and go through essentially the same game again but with some cool new gimmicks. That's both wasteful and tedious. Pokémon is not that kind of game to most people.

This new regime extends the games' lifespan and keeps them relevant and accessible to a wider audience than a third version has. I'm happy with that.

Do consider that the image on the official website shows the Expansion Pass in the bottom row of the options screen, far on the right, with room for about 4 such labels in total. The Expansion Pass is said to be the first DLC pack - will there be more afterwards?

Most likely as they can support the games for longer and maybe through the rest of the Switch's lifespan if possible as soon we're going into the fourth year which according to something I heard a week or so ago, the Switch it halfway through it's lifespan. Generally, generations last 3 years so that means they could make DLC's to support the game during this period and then begin production of generation IX toward the end of this period. The bad news is that gen IX may not happen on the Switch if the system is too old by that point if that above statement is true.

 

[pkmin3033]

I'd like to point out a few things about Xenoblade 2's Expansion Pass, for any who aren't aware, and as a gentle reminder to those who think SnS' DLC is fairly priced: firstly, it actually got a separate physical release - you don't need Xenoblade 2 to play it. It also completely revamps the battle system, has a standalone narrative that you can experience without knowledge of the base game (considering how awful XC2 is, you might actually enjoy this more if you DON'T play it first) and, for all intents and purposes, it's a separate game if you purchase it this way. It's only 25 hours or so in length, but that's pretty standard fare for a lot of JRPGs these days, and with the lower price point, it's pretty justifiable. I'd say it isn't really an apt comparison to any of the others listed in the article because of this, because depending on how you buy it, it isn't DLC at all, and whilst it has continuity with the first game in a narrative sense, it isn't dependant on Xenoblade 2 in the manner of typical DLC.

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but...the SnS DLC is as expensive as this. When it's more comparable to the other DLC lsited in this article. If that's not corporate greed at work, I don't know what is.

 

[tcorbett]

I liked the idea of a smaller Dex creating a more balanced metagame and allowing certain Pokemon to shine. Bringing back all these guys including heavy hitters like Garchomp defeats that purpose.

 

[Pokeminer20]

Like anything GF has done with the games recently I'm looking at you national dex it's a double edged sword. Galar was quite linear, and 3 thinks that really irk me about it were the ladders freezing all animation, the 3 cutscenes after Opal's gym, and the fact we couldn't fight alongside Leon when Dynamax pokemon were going rampant. a third game would have allowed the devs to alter these but since they're going with the expansion pass route it seems like these irks will remain.

I can say I'll get the pass if the content within the expansion is interesting enough looking at you G-Max starters.

 

[supershadow64ds]

I already didn't buy SwSh because of how lazy they were. Now this gives me even less incentive to actually buy their product.

That's 90$ for, essentially what is still less than a full Pokemon game.

 

[ElectricMafia]

I love the idea of DLC for Pokemon and cutting out the third game of each generation. With the way that things work these days I see no reason why they can't keep adding to one base game and pushing back how often they release the core games.

 

[Lysander]

Only thing I'm concerned about with the DLC is the amount of storage space it will take up on the Switch, as well as how long it'll take to download.

Regardless of that, having a new story in the form of DLC is probably better than having another USUM-like game. The expansion pass is cheaper than USUM was when it was released, and the differences between the DLC stories and the SwSh story are certain to be greater than the differences between SM and USUM.

 

[Venonat in Space]

Hey guys, remember when I was obsessed with Klara and had total DLC hype? HAHAHA Those were odd times.

In all seriousness, this will be... different...in a good way. Ya gotta spice up the formula ya know. I am concerned of the storage space myself though.

 

[jfuze174]

My only fear with this dlc is that I hope The dlc areas are huge. Hate for us to be paying for extra wild area and two or three dungeons max