DLC has become, like death and taxes and Darryn’s lack of taste, an unavoidable fact of life. Game are subject to a wealth of new content, worthwhile and otherwise, after release. It’s how the industry is staying profitable, in these days of ridiculous development budgets. Different publishers tackle DLC and microtransactions in different ways. Some prefer to only monetise cosmetic things, while other will sell you things that should have been in the game to begin with. Some do both!
According to Take Two Boss Strauss Zelnick, DLC isn’t about nickel-and-diming consumers though. It’s not about pure profit. It’s about over-delivering. Yes, really.
“I think with DLC, the focus of this company is over-delivering to our consumers. With Mafia III for example there will be free content updates coming. Rockstar Games has launched a lot of free content for GTA Online,” Zelnick said in the company’s investor call.
“Our focus here is not trying to extract the last nickel from our customers. To the contrary, our focus is to deliver vastly more value than what we charge for. We think that creates extraordinary loyalty for our brands, our labels and for our company’s products. And ultimately, over-delivering for our consumers equilibrates with over-delivering for shareholders.”
While the words are admirable, I can’t say I believe them.
GTA Online almost exists solely as a way to nickel and dime consumers, and other 2K games have been notoriously bad with their implantation of Microtransactions. Take Evolve, a game that was lambasted for its superfluous paid content. WWE 2K and NBA 2K are also minefields for paid, nickel-and-diming content.
Last Updated: November 3, 2016
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:33
You know how to “over deliver” with DLC?
Ask CDPR.
Raptor Rants
November 3, 2016 at 11:36
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Original Heretic
November 3, 2016 at 11:37
You mean the gods of DLC?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:38
O/
Dungeon of JJ
November 3, 2016 at 11:39
Yea, 2K has no idea.
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 15:56
They had a pretty good idea when they released the DLC for borderlands and borderlands 2.
they sorta forgot with presequel though, and evolve, well, butthurt devs.
Dungeon of JJ
November 4, 2016 at 09:31
Yea. Agreed. Borderlands was the peak for 2K in terms of that kind of game.
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:13
YES
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:00
the DLC was top notch, heart of stones story and blood and wines visuals>>
but I still get angry by how they boxed you into making bad decisions at the end of Blood and Wine… make what I judged to be the correct decision and have to be rescued by fracking dandelion, nearly alt+f4’d that cutscene.
also, spoilers from the last book that still has to be translated…
They were doing so well on that topic aswell…
I, mad.
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 16:07
Lol. I never have, nor will ever play The Witcher 3. I don’t like The Witcher at all.
However, you cannot dispute the solid DLC policy it had. Truly more companies should do it like that.
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:08
2 DLC packages.
the rest doesnt even count as DLC, its just “extra”
I liked that.
no 3.99$ for alternative yeneffer looks.
No dozens of extra outfits, just one alternative for a few characters “the characters were meant to look this way, we’re not going to screw with the content”
I gotcha
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:36
http://i.memeful.com/media/post/oMJ28xM_700wa_0.gif
Deceased
November 3, 2016 at 14:43
posted the same XD
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:36
But seriously. Expansion packs with tens of hours or more of content at DLC prices. That would be over delivering. R80 for a skin, R300 for an hour of new content or one more quest? That’s nickel & diming.
Nikola
November 3, 2016 at 14:24
100% agree. Give me a whole story DLC a mini campaign like Witcher 3 did even if it’s 5 hours and u charge me R150 that’s fine.
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:04
surprisingly, EA have been doing well with that kind of stuff recently, the DLC from Dragon Age Inquisition was pretty solid.
Although “expensive” doesnt really do it justice.
Its cheaper to rebuy the games GotY edition than to buy the main DLC packs… Alot cheaper.
Raptor Rants
November 3, 2016 at 11:36
I’d believe it if games were released as full, standalone, require nothing extra.
As it is games are often lacking key features that get released as DLC.
So yeah. Bull
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:37
http://i.memeful.com/media/post/BRkejw2_700wa_0.gif
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:37
HAHA!!!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:37
http://i.memeful.com/media/post/lMzjleM_700wa_0.gif
BakedBagel
November 3, 2016 at 12:05
<3 best comedy show of my childhood
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:39
You know what else is Bull?
Season passes before any of the content is announced. Borderlands TPS, I’m looking at you!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:40
Preorder now for um…. this moldy sponge. It’s a collectors item
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:41
No, not a moldy sponge. A moldy sponge skin for this rock that we totally didn’t pick up from our back yard.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:42
LOOOL!
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:06
was a crap seasons pass aswell.
seasons pass was increased to 30$ and got fokol content.
never even got to use the 3rd playthrough levels, since I couldnt even get through my second one…
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:40
Oh my, that was good for a laugh.
Dungeon of JJ
November 3, 2016 at 11:42
With many modern games you have this though: You make a game, EXCLUDE content that should’ve been there from the start (like it used to be) then sell it as DLC. That’s not over delivering.
DLC shouldn’t be about over delivering or feeling like you owe it to the customers either. It should be to breathe new life into a game.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:44
DLC isn’t about squeezing money from consumers, it’s about “over-delivering”……. to our stockholders
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:44
Oh I see you speak corporate… Fluently?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:49
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:49
Let’s look at their games
NBA – Nope
WWE – Yearly cash grab
XCOM2 – Waiting for sale
Mafia 3 – Waiting for sale
Carnival Games VR – lol wut
Evolve – BWAHAHAHAHA
Borderlands – Quite good actually
Bioshock – Me love long time
Civilization 6 – PC, maybe one day
Battleborn – Battlewhat?
So that’s two games I will buy and two that I loved dearly but has no sequels planned.
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 11:52
Borderlands The Pre Sequel was nothing but a cash grab. Borderlands 3 however is in development, by the actual studio who made the first 2.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:53
YES!
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2016 at 12:12
As happy as I am for B3, that’s another wait for the shoe to drop on DLC & season passes & whatever new stuff they dream up.
B2 pissed me off with its milking. (You can knock off about R500 for duplications, to be fair)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a9ba4d81a88b0833c3fb7e01c079cf65f8c9349da4fcc2e7f3e1e86c8d4057f6.jpg
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:14
I bet the new Gwent game comes with paid content… Tehehe
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2016 at 12:30
Gwent is a F2P game… tehehe. 😛
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:32
oh no you didn’t!
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 12:14
Yeah that milking was excessive. The initial Season Pass DLC’s were value for money, but then they got greedy releasing skins and those short and waste of money headhunter packs…
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:15
2.50$ for those headhunter packs though.
was peanuts for an excuse to dive into borderlands 2 years after its release.
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:13
skin packs were meh, but its not like theyr essential to the game.
headhunter packs pushed my tolerance for milking a bit, although 2.50$ gets them some leniency.
Otherwise the seasons pass got you the rest of the content for 20$, minus the level 72 addon and I think one story.
It was pretty great value.
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:11
Such excite, cannot into waiting.
Andre Fourie
November 3, 2016 at 11:50
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/df34fdd74a4f46054bbdcabda5da6cf56f28455689559048833ce3ae01b2d775.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/22fdf11640afc34b810a53432cf51acbda0da6145ba76e62598c023d8850bf21.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/355503f91bd17c7c7b9c8cb4f66fcd697b7f9b2cced7bee3ac6d8ec4843ed5a5.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/340b99cb70c8f1c6ccca772d97954112f46987d65bf1c8f4f35805d32a6e5640.jpg
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:51
Seriously though, the less publishers say the better. Unless you’re Hello Games… oh and if you’re EA ignoring emails about exorbitant price hikes
Ottokie
November 3, 2016 at 11:55
Wot the fook are you smoking 2K?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 11:57
2Kg of weed I think
HvR
November 3, 2016 at 12:03
You can get some as well, $10 per hit or $35 for the whole banky
HvR
November 3, 2016 at 12:01
Yet their games that have the most loyal following are the games that are not riddled with DLC and allows for community participation and uses the expansion model.
Xcom and Civ
Dungeon of JJ
November 3, 2016 at 12:04
Very true.
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 12:16
Odd that…
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2016 at 12:06
“Darryn’s lack of taste” or… DLT. Coincidence?
Matthew Holliday
November 3, 2016 at 16:16
Could go for a BLT right about now.
BakedBagel
November 3, 2016 at 12:10
Imagine, if you will, if this was 2005.
How screwed would we all be if companies pulled the shit they did now?
LOL half a game on a disk.
Paying more for content that should have been on the disk
10gig day 1 patches.
Lol. Would be near impossible.
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:13
Oh man, HAHAHA!
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2016 at 12:14
To be fair, he never specified what “regular delivery” was.
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:15
It’s when you eat fiber on a daily basis. Don’t ask Gavin about that, he doesn’t get fiber tehehehe!
Ottokie
November 3, 2016 at 12:18
*Admiral mode engage!
*fibre
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 12:18
Um…
Dietary fiber or roughage is the indigestible portion of food derived from plants. It has two main components: Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and can be prebiotic and viscous.
Ottokie
November 3, 2016 at 12:19
Mostly aiming the “Don’t ask Gavin about that, he doesn’t get fiber tehehehe!”
😛
Pariah ???
November 3, 2016 at 12:20
If he spelled it the technology way, then it wouldn’t have made for a good, but subtle, pun.
Ottokie
November 3, 2016 at 12:20
I legit thought that’s what he was going for xD
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:35
I was, not all of us are as anal as @ToshZA:disqus when it comes to copy checking in forums, see what I did there!?
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2016 at 12:36
Your FACE is all the fiber I need.
RinceThis
November 3, 2016 at 12:38
0_O
Dane
November 3, 2016 at 12:22
Strauss Zelnick you silly little man. What a cheek.
Marek Nourse
November 3, 2016 at 12:22
https://youtu.be/TL7xrE9EYd4
Sean Carbutt
November 3, 2016 at 13:51
Does this dude eat with that mouth because there is a lot of shit coming out of it
Deceased
November 3, 2016 at 14:42
https://media.tenor.co/images/749378b1690286ae43aa1ad4ce174386/raw
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 3, 2016 at 14:54
hehe
Brandon van Reenen
November 4, 2016 at 12:38
WWE 2K17 DLC is ridiculous. There are clearly some Superstars who could have just been added to the disc (Nakamura for instance), but they know that he is a massive draw. Sorry, 2K, I’m not paying for 6 sets of DLC this year.
Then what’s worse, is that 6 months after release a PC version comes out and gets DLC free. F*** off, 2K.