Home Gaming The great DLC gaming scourge continues

The great DLC gaming scourge continues

3 min read
54

Is gaming currently being ruined by the seemingly never ending expansion of DLC options and season passes that are being thrust upon us?

Remember in the good old days when you went to the shop and bought a game and that was that. You played the entire game, had a great time and then moved on or became addicted for eternity. Then consoles and PC started becoming more connected and we were treated to free additions and mods to some of our favourite games. It was around this time that the bean counters at the publishers sat up and took notice.

Soon instead of getting free, or cheap, additional missions they decided to rather ship entirely new games for nearly full price. This model became massively successful and is still going strong today with Battlefield, FIFA and Call of Duty to name a few titles that change slightly annually and sell for full price.

But they publishers still knew they were missing out on the dedicated Call of Duty fans who only paid out once a year for a new game and so the magical DLC made its mark. Now 6 months after you paid full price for a game they would release 4 extra maps and a new weapon for half the price of a full title and the dedicated fans would lap it up. This cycle was then shortened to every 3 months and we got three map packs a year adding up to over the original price of the game.

But there was a problem, most people who purchase Battlefield and the like don’t end up playing for the entire year so how do the publishers get their money?

And as such the season pass was revealed. With the season pass you could save money by purchasing all three map packs up front for a cheaper price. Many many people now picked up these season passes and yet probably never actually played all the map packs. So once again the great accounting minds put their heads together to find out how to grab more of our hard earned money and we’ve now ended up at a fork in the road.

Watch Dog Milking

Watch Dogs is the first up with their season pass announcement that if you throw more money at them now you can not only get fancy new clothes but you are also given an extra single player campaign played as a different character, a new game mode with zombies androids along with some extra main story content.

To be absolutely clear, Ubisoft has developed a lot of the game, a game which had been delayed, that will only be shown to people who pay more for the game. You are not paying for extra stuff to be developed in the future. You are paying extra for something that is entirely completed.

Destiny

The other version of the current DLC nightmare is Destiny. Instead of paying for extra upcoming content or for extra levels in the game you are paying to make the game easier. The new GameStop pre-order bonus for Destiny is an exclusive upgraded red sparrow which has a higher top speed and a faster acceleration than your competitors.

So if you want to be the best in your team you are going to want to pre-order so you can get to places quicker and win races easier.

Last Updated: April 30, 2014

54 Comments

  1. Sk3tz0

    April 30, 2014 at 12:35

    Problem with DLC is that.. Its DLC..

    Reply

  2. Matthew Holliday

    April 30, 2014 at 12:35

    so much for “Destiny is the future of FPS”

    Reply

    • KingKappie

      April 30, 2014 at 12:50

      Destiny will be game of the year mark my words

      Reply

      • Unavengedavo

        April 30, 2014 at 12:51

        But this just seems like Destiny has now turned into Pay-To-Win

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          April 30, 2014 at 12:52

          Maybe they should get on Youtube & pay-to-win-game-of-the-year?

          Reply

      • Kromas

        April 30, 2014 at 12:51

        I don’t think so.

        Reply

      • Matthew Holliday

        April 30, 2014 at 12:58

        alot of competition this year.
        pretty game, but I think GOTY is a bit much.

        Reply

  3. Ultimo_Cleric N7

    April 30, 2014 at 12:36

    I suppose this is the future……wonderful….

    Reply

  4. Kromas

    April 30, 2014 at 12:42

    I believe DLC has a place in gaming. Unfortunately DLC currently involves cutting out a part of the complete product and selling it to make a quick extra buck or clothing DLC that really sucks.For a good dlc please refer to Mass Effect 3:Citadel.

    Reply

    • Kensei Seraph

      April 30, 2014 at 12:42

      For a great DLC please refer to FTL: Advanced Edition.

      Reply

      • Kromas

        April 30, 2014 at 12:44

        I agree with you there.

        Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      April 30, 2014 at 12:44

      Or the enhanced edition updates to Witcher 1 & 2. Oh wait, those were free.

      Reply

      • Kromas

        April 30, 2014 at 12:45

        I don’t mind paying as long as it is new content. If I have to pay for a makeover DLC I would rather not pay.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          April 30, 2014 at 12:49

          You never know what you’re getting with it though. Borderlands 2 campaign DLC was great, Sleeping Dogs campaign DLC was crap.

          Reply

          • Kromas

            April 30, 2014 at 12:51

            Well that does not only apply to DLC. Mass Effect was great. Aliens:Colonial Marines was not. 😛

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            April 30, 2014 at 12:51

            You get previews for games. Not so much season passes 😛

          • Kromas

            April 30, 2014 at 12:53

            Well then I believe LAGZ should start doing DLC reviews 😛

    • Hammersteyn

      April 30, 2014 at 12:45

      Or Borderlands 2

      Reply

      • Kromas

        April 30, 2014 at 12:47

        Indeed. Some of the new content is well worth it.However the Storage/levelcap increase DLC is a rippoff.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          April 30, 2014 at 12:55

          I love the additional characters, The replay value goes through the roof.

          Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          April 30, 2014 at 13:30

          That level cap DLC was the last straw for me.

          Reply

  5. Kensei Seraph

    April 30, 2014 at 12:42

    And I just lost all interest in Watchdogs and Destiny.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 30, 2014 at 12:45

      It’s like someone spit in my porridge.

      Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      April 30, 2014 at 13:08

      Why? You don’t need to play T-Bone in Watchdogs, and the game will probably still be a 20-30 hour game. And who gives a shit that you will be second to the meeting point to kill the “insert what ever thing it is you are going to”!! The idiot who gets there first will probably die because his backup is riding on my little ponies instead of Hidalgo?!?!?!

      Reply

      • Kensei Seraph

        April 30, 2014 at 13:15

        If they’re doing things like this already it doesn’t bode well for the future.

        I’d rather just wait and get the version that comes with 90% of the DLC in a years time and is half the price.

        Reply

  6. Alien Emperor Trevor

    April 30, 2014 at 12:43

    There’s a simple solution. It’s called waiting.

    I’ve picked up on a sneaky new sale tactic on Steam. They put a newish game on sale a few months after release, then a couple of weeks later there’s new DLC for the game you just bought on special.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 30, 2014 at 12:45

      Clever

      Reply

  7. Hammersteyn

    April 30, 2014 at 12:45

    Never have and never will buy a season pass or premium pass. To those that do I say thanks for supporting this bullshit practice the gaming industry uses to fuck us over.
    http://24.media.tumblr.com/8c26e0b0c6cd778cf4593dbbeba258c6/tumblr_n3sm5cTdyJ1rbc9h1o1_500.gif

    Reply

    • Norm the Horrible

      April 30, 2014 at 12:53

      BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Reply

    • Unavengedavo

      April 30, 2014 at 12:56

      Add an extra eye and you almost have @disqus_DoEH3TsffU:disqus’s avatar O_o

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        April 30, 2014 at 12:57

        XD

        Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        April 30, 2014 at 13:29

        lulz

        Reply

  8. Mossel

    April 30, 2014 at 12:47

    I have played 2 DLCs for games. The one was Minerva’s Den for Bioshock and the other Burial at Sea for Bioshock Infinite. They were both were pretty cool and probably worth the extra R200, but in both instances it felt like an extra part of the game that probably should never have been released.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      April 30, 2014 at 13:28

      I got Minerva’s Den for free when they removed the GfWL integration on Steam.

      Reply

      • Mossel

        April 30, 2014 at 13:36

        hehe so did I! But it would’ve been worth something if I didn’t.

        Reply

  9. oVg Errorist

    April 30, 2014 at 12:53

  10. oVg Errorist

    April 30, 2014 at 12:56

    Ubisoft you #*#**##@$%&

    Reply

  11. Norm the Horrible

    April 30, 2014 at 12:58

    As a person who has no internet at home, DLC is quite the douche.

    Reply

    • CAE9872

      April 30, 2014 at 13:29

      Well if you live in ancient times alongside Hagar…then you right! In truth though you probably not missing out on a lot…there are cases of great DLC, but a lot of it is, so I read, is “whatever…”.

      Reply

  12. MakeItLegal

    April 30, 2014 at 12:58

    Not much to add to the article , pretty much nailed it

    Reply

  13. KingKappie

    April 30, 2014 at 12:59

    DLC’s is not ideal but i can still handle it, however Micro transactions can go fuck it self

    Reply

  14. Jonah Cash

    April 30, 2014 at 13:04

    Oh but I am still buying games and just playing them till the story ends. And then it enters my collection or goes back to BT for trade on a new game!! Have never bought a season pass or a DLC. I am happy if a game takes me 14-20 hours to complete, I don’t need new missions to add another 4 hours of play. As long as the story has a start and an end and a not too dodgy middle I am happy!!

    Reply

  15. Rags

    April 30, 2014 at 13:05

    Perhaps Epic should come back and set the trend again.

    Remember the 4 UT99 Bonus Packs? With new models, maps, mutators, game modes, powerups. All for free. Because they love their game and their fans.

    I get expansion packs, but paying for this Day 1 DLC is bullshit.
    What they are really doing is just adding an additional $15 on top of the original price with no extra effort on their part.

    Reply

  16. Drizzt

    April 30, 2014 at 13:07

    Well in my opinion it seems to me that these business models work and no matter how much we disagree with them or complain, there are still enough people buying it to warrant it. Candy crush creator King is valued at something like $7 Billion, I doubt they care that we dislike their micro transactions.

    More and more games are made to appeal to mass market wallets. This is the future of things. You can either live with it or you’ll have to live without it, because you sure as hell ain’t gonna change it.
    I’m even guilty of it, I bought the Assassins Creed 4 season pass and that was shit. I’ve bought the season pass for battlefield 4 and that game is still broken. But then again I bought Rockstars DLC if GTA V and Red Dead and those were amazing (DLC done right I’d say).
    DLC has it’s place. If for example the new wave of CoD micro transactions doesn’t appeal to you then don’t buy it, if you want your dog to look like a panda then buy it if you have the cash. But us saying it’s a shameless grab for money is falling on deaf ears.

    We are going to have to move with the times. The days of paying for a 40 hour game that didn’t require a credit card are sadly gone. It is now the 3 hour game with pay $_ _ _ _ _ _ _ for the rest.
    Well that’s my 5c worth 🙂

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      April 30, 2014 at 13:26

      Can we get another opinion for 2c? 😉

      I buy DLC too, excl any MP stuff. I’m just happy to wait until everything’s released & so I get to buy & play it all at once, usually as a discount.

      Reply

  17. Axon1988

    April 30, 2014 at 13:17

    DLC is a great idea. But not at the current price. Many time the price does not justify the package. Four maps plus a new gun for $9.99? That’s being greedy. I can never justify paying that. Specially not on my salary.

    Reply

  18. Skyblue

    April 30, 2014 at 13:21

    One thing to say about all the proposed DLC on these new titles which I will not be purchasing on debut because I am a patient man so “Fuck that!”

    Reply

  19. Alien Emperor Trevor

    April 30, 2014 at 13:22

    Now that I see that header again it makes more sense. Watch Dogs is trying to escape from the DLC trap, while Destiny has just given up.

    Reply

  20. CypherGate

    April 30, 2014 at 13:25

    I think DLC is a good thing, but it hasn’t been implemented properly. If they made a full new long campaign of around 5 to 10 hours long as a new DLC and charged at a decent price R50 – R100 or something which included new clothes and maybe 4 new weapons then I would consider it, but DLC for new clothing and weapons alone is just milking people and especially for the prices you pay for them. There has to be a proper structure for this sort of thing.

    Reply

  21. Isfn2006

    April 30, 2014 at 15:02

    This is the future!

    Reply

  22. Devourer of Small Bunnies

    April 30, 2014 at 15:19

    Then get rid of the base price for the software? i mean if you are going to purchase games in a modular fashion then each set of criteria has to be set a value according to market.

    I never understood the point. If yuo buy a car and then you buy a a trailer for it, the two prices arent analogous? No. In general the vehicle is a few times more than the trailer. And rightly so. You dont need the trailer for the car to be a car, but the trailer is only a box on a wheels, without a vehicle, for its purpose, its essentially useless.

    Now lets move over to games and DLC. We dont really have “full” games these days. Scant on content at initial launch point etc, lots of “promises” of new maps modes and other odd digital paraphernalia. Now, if you are already promising all the new content, why not just save the sake of a release date and deliver a FINISHED PRODUCT. If how ever, its a long life title, borderlands for instance, has a more sound platform for DLC. Their pricing is still way off, but not half as bad as others. There you have a full game, and the DLC content is actually meaningful, adding either brand new gameplay mechanics through new characters, or brand new mission content with audio and video done at the same quality as the original title. To me the borderlands franchise has made something so abused as DLC an attractive option and provides gamers with a little more security due to their track record

    Unfortunately, as for the rest of these pricks that charge R70 for a touch up skin pack on an FPS or a track with different lighting conditions, I dont see responsible/ethical practices from the developers. The issue is, how exactly do you quantify a software product to a specific monetary value? How do you say what a skin pack costs vs a expandable chapter on a main story? I cant imagine it would be that hard? Development on textures etc I know for a fact is less work than stringing up audio and timed events in something like a story chapter is going to offer.

    Im sure there are plenty categories to mention, but I still firmly believed that their should be a regulation setup for these money hungry fucks, because as per usual, its only the consumer that gets shafted at the end of the day.

    Reply

    • iAmWeasel

      April 30, 2014 at 16:31

      Most of the games which have DLC which people bitch and moan about actually are really big complete games as the base unit. Battlefield, COD, Watch dogs, Assassin’s Creed, Skyrim.. all of them are games that you could easily rack up 100 hours plus playing, and you would never feel like the game was “incomplete”. Maybe the real problem here is that a lot gamers are whiny little self-entitled brats.

      Reply

      • Brady miaau

        May 2, 2014 at 08:48

        Or look at Mass Effect. DLC there added extras to the game in large and meaningful ways and it was cool to get them. (I know, I know, pre-order DLC was a problem for many,not for me cause I pre-ordered

        Reply

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