When $60 Isn't Enough

It's a sad trend but it's got an obvious solution. 1. Don't buy DLC. 2. Game primarily through Steam. 3. Combine steps 1 and 2 for best results.

I'm glad I'm not much of a multiplayer man. Even though single player focused games have their share of DLC cash grabs, it's undeniably more rampant with the multiplayer focused titles. What ever happened to an MP mode that comes shipped with a crap ton of maps and modes? Now you just get 3 maps with 2 MP modes and they try to sucker you into buying a 20 dollar map pack 1 month down the line.

This is one of the best articles on gaming I have ever read and if it were up to me I would sticky this at the top of every gaming website. I also thought that things like the online pass and the free items for people buying new was fair and a great way to help discourage used game sales. I have also felt that as long as the game you bought was of comparable length to previous games that DLC was a great Idea. But I can't afford to spend all these fees services for games and even if I could it seems like this is only going to further push out smaller developers and niche games because money spent on one thing can't be spent on another. I understand that technically we are getting the same experience we always have but by that logic what is the reason to buy a new game. If the only new features on Modern Warfare 3 are going to be fee based then shouldn't I just keep playing previous ones unless I am going to subscribe?

The Next generation of Gaming, The nickel and dime era.

@robfield you're absolutely correct but that fact is that is difficult for the average gamer to not buy into these schemes when they are forced upon us. if you want a full gaming experience then you have to buy at least some DLC's (in most cases anyways). I mean once you beat a great game aren't you often left wanting more? And I know what you're thinking .. a great game shouldn't leave you with that feeling but, that being said, after beating a game that you really love it's hard to not want to keep playing isn't it? I guess the strategy would be to buy into valuable DLC's (like Undead Nightmare for example) while shunning the others to teach devs a lesson. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to get a wide audience to support this idea especially when a large portion of gamers are pre-teens that don't actually pay for any of this sh*t! it's a really tough situation as the gaming publishers aren't giving us a choice really .. well, not the big publishers anyways.

I hope this is all an experiment that they eventually master. Is it really any different than Hollywood figuring out how to merchandise huge blockbusters into fast food cups, action figures, and made-for-tv specials? Its all an attempt to squeeze some extra bucks out of the hits so they can afford to make even bigger triple-A games. We could slam these people all day, but have you seen their stock prices and their profit margins? Not a pretty sight. No wonder they're desperate. And yes, some publishers go way too far with this garbage and we shouldn't buy it.

THIS was the straw that broke the camel's back, huh? The "downloadable content that shipped on the disc but needed to be purchased separately" should have raised red flags for everyone whose ever bought a retail game, but as others have said, consumers have bought into these price models and will likely continue to do so. They continue to nickel and dime us, yet they consider me the bad guy because I buy used? Second hand users aren't the problem here: dishonest and greedy businessmen are. Because at the end of the day, no one can justify to me why I should have to pay to access content I have already purchased (DLC or "disc-locked" content). The thing is: we're not getting the same game for full retail anymore. They can say they are trying to combat the used game market all they like, but it's clear that a number of companies are now simply chopping that 100% back to 70% and simply making us pay a premium for that last 30%. It's one thing for Rockband to sell you addition songs to cater to your personal tastes, but it's an entirety different thing for Capcom to sell you something purely aesthetic at a high premium (alternate costumes at $5 a pop).

The sad story here, Brendan, is that consumers buy into these price models. What incentive do publishers and developers have to change if they try these new business models and they WORK. I don't buy games at $60 when I don't think they're worth $60. I don't buy DLC or buy into limited editions. However, millions of other people will buy games at that price and more. I don't support the $60 or more business model, but I am not gonna argue against results. They're successful. People like me and you who do not like it will just have to continue to cast our vote by not supporting it, as insignificant as our vote may seem, at least we keep our dignity.

$60. Games are released at $99 here, and we're even more crippled in terms of DLC delays. You guys will be fine. Try coping with overseas prices of games first.

@ssj2los I also feel extremely bad for you actually paying 1200 for your PC Tower. 1200? Did you just look at which part(s) had the bigger price tag? I could have built you an awesome machine for 800$.

I agree and I'll say this..... if companies keep doing this kind of exploitive business they will find their customers walk away completely. Activision has already burned me enough with their crap and so has EA and Take 2 and pretty much any company calling themselves a publisher, the thing is all of the other publishers aren't nearly as evil as Activision except maybe EA but at least they try to be the good guys......some of the time, I just don't like how they do plan games around DLC as if they are selling DLC and not games.......

This actually kinda proves more people should purchase games used. I mean the developers are Expecting it now, so the people that buy the new ones get screwed the most. So, support the dev, the dev screws you, you get mad, you buy used. In all honesty, GameStop is actually probably making MORE money now. Because people can buy more games if used prices drop. They still have the same $30 markup they would if the game came with the online pass, or all the features, they just give less and charge less for it. They don't have any problem keeping games in stock in my area, so people know what their value of the game is.

@marceleleco Wow, you obviously know nothing about PC Gaming, like at all. You probably had a decent pre built tower from a Store, but you know nothing about it.

@ssj2los dude pc is not as good as consoles.im not being a fan boy,you can be sure of that. to begin with if you want to run a game on ultra settings you have to upgrade your pc every two or three years,while on consoles you can have the very same console for an entire generation,like the ps3 from 2006 to 2011.i know its not very expensive to buy a good pc these days but in the long run you would spend enough to buy 2 or 3 consoles or a bunch of new games.also the pc games are released after the consoles versions for a reason,the piracy.if you have a console and a pc and a very good game like assassins creed is released on both at the same time you say "i will download the game for pc and if i like it i will buy".the problem is when you get done playing it you wont bother pay 60 bucks for a game you already finished just to get a nice box.so yeah pc isnt as good as consoles and i dont know anything about pc graphics be WAAAAAAAAY better than consoles,it depends from game to game.of course strategy games and mmos are better in pc than in consoles but i dont think i have to explain that right?

Which is exactly why, if developers don't want us buying used, they should stop screwing us over with all these other little cash grabs.

I prefer the older model in which they provided the whole game on day one, with the patches in time, yet slowly increased the day one price over the years to adapt to inflation, rising costs, etc. I would rather pay $65 for a game than ever pay for a DLC. They are rip offs, as in the end you pay $100 for the game if you want everything. We consumers are suckers.

gaming is addictive for a lot of people and like any addiction people will do anything to get more and there are psychology experts within the industry these days who know how to get inside the head of a gamer and really target them for maximum effect. the financial side of gaming(as with the financial side of all companies) has become very predatory but at the end of the day it's up to the individual to choose where their line is.

ahahahaha thats why i dont buy games, i download them! take that suckaaas

The subtitle basically sums it all up, and the pattern is not good, especially for the consumer.

Funny how he sounds as if he JUST figured out paying for the ability to play online multiplayer was a total rip off. As soon as I found that out in later 2005 with xbox live, I knew that PC gaming was the way to go for that no game (except for most MMO-RPGs) were free to play online. 6 years later I hear the same outrage that I once had. *applauds sarcastically*

Ever since this "DLC" started to take on legitimate expansions (not that those were always worth the money), I've had a complete aversion to the stuff. The weak content we receive through "DLC" is frequently the kind we used to get in patches. When it comes to things like Knoxx's Armory (Borderlands), it would be apt just to call it a downloadable expansion, as it offers much more (and higher quality) than most.

"Until recently, I was just fine with...", "I didn't mind...", "I didn't mind...", "And despite some misgivings, I didn't even mind..." This is why you fail. This is why so many of you fail. You voted with your wallets and you said "It's Ok!". "I approve of what you're doing.". "Here, take as many of my dolla's as you want!". "I'm a good corporate citizen!". "I'm just one of the sheeple!". Of course the greedy corporate big-wigs are going to charge whatever they like when you say "I gotta have this, NO MATTER THE COST!". The gaming community needs self-discipline. Discipline to say "I won't buy this game even though I want it", because of the politics of pricing or DRM or in-game advertising or expensive DLC or atrocious privacy policies or ... whatever.

@KaotiK_un_basic Not shopping at all is just as bad as shopping wrongly. There have been good things in the marketplace to buy. Worth the money. Limbo, Braid, Outland, Bastion, Trenched, and others. There have been well made extra contents: Look @ Borderlands. By not supporting that which was done well you didn't help at all. Make your voice heard. Hiding in the closet is no way to be heard. 2 cents.

@Voltron9000 plz quote any bashing or negative comment I've made towards consoles. I've only pointed out FACTUAL improvements I notice playing on pc. Which at the end of the day is still just my own opinion. And I really dont have any hostility in what im typing so I'm a little confused on why you would think I'm mad for purchasing something I want and prefer.. My pc cost $1200 when i built a year and a half ago. You really think I miss that money over my pc a year and a half later? I don't quite get it. If you care to elaborate please do and btw im a dead sexy 27 year old computer programmer living in sunny orlando florida in my own house.. thanks for taking notice tho..lol.. Ass all day in the downtown orlando clubs... easy man..

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I mean do people really think BF3 is going to look the way it does in the gameplay videos on their ps3 or xbox360? People who are expecting that will be in for a rude awakening. I know PC's are more expensive but when I was 15 years old I worked at Disney World for \$6.35 an hour and I built my first gaming PC buying piece by piece when I had the money. It took me a whole year to get a complete system but I got it. I immediately learned afterwards that its better to save up for however long it takes to buy all the pieces at the same time or very close to it. just saying... seems like the newer gen of gamers are just lazy.. with no real mod packs released with any games theres no need to try and create something and no real tweaking to be done with consoles... lazy people will settle for a watered down version of anything as long as its a complete package and they dont have to do anything but hold a controller.

Companies (especially the large greedy ones - like activision) will always try to push and milk the customer. If enough people pay for the overpriced garbage they throw out they will see it as a success and have an urge to release even more garbage. So as long as you keep buying their crap, the crap will just keep growing and actual content decreasing.

My brother is strictly a console gamer... and im not exactly strictly PC but majority of the games I play I prefer my PC. Whenever I make the attempt to show my brother any game on my PC he gets very ADD on me as if he doesnt really care. Especially if its a game he is playing or just played on one of his consoles. Becuz he knows and sees the difference in the quality of gaming on pc versus console and doesnt want to admit it. I see a lot of console gamers (people that just started gaming within the last 10 years or so) show signs of envy towards PC gamers or anyone talking up PC gaming. Dont be afraid of something you dont understand, just try to understand it. Here comes the thumbs down.. which will only prove my case... Although I'd really like to read someone arugments rather than seeing a thumbs down... I guess there isnt really an argument to be had..just envious thumbs down..lol

I loved the idea of DLC when I first heard about it, because I ignorantly thought that devs would treat their customers fairly, instead of taking advantage of the system. I thought that, if the game was good enough, I'd love being able to play more of it But the more I saw of it, the more cynical I got about it. DLC that was on the disks already, DLC that was announced months before release, or released shortly after the game itself were examples that they were starting to take advantage of it. And of course there are other examples which I could list. This article mentions the argument that the disks have the full experience that you would have anyway. Try telling that to Assassin's Creed 2. I love that game, but the devs did say that they cut memory blocks 12 and 13 because they ran out of time to put it in the game. OK, you could argue that that happens all the time, and without the invention of DLC, we just wouldn't have had the chance to experience those memory blocks at all. But I say that's bull. Either postpone the game to get the full game to customers, or give them for free. They were going to be in the game originally after all. I've started to wait for games with a lot of DLC to get GOTY Editions. That way, I can get the main game and its DLC for a reasonable price. But if they don't come out with a GOTY Edition, I can get the game for a cheap price. Then I can use the money that I saved for the DLC, or something more useful.

Why would ppl thumb down this comment? "Why even own a console? They make just about (other than exclusives of course) every game for pc and the pc versions you can turn on AA and play at a constent 60 frames. So it not only looks better but runs smoother... and you can DEFINITELY notice the difference... play nba2k11 on a console than jump on PC with max out everything... even with everything maxed and AA on (which consoles dont support or just cant handle) it runs twices as smooth. AAAAAAANNDDD I use a ps3 controller to play on PC.. all games. Why settle for less with a console?... Stop buying DLCs and save ur money to build a PC." maybe console fanboys that dont really understand where gaming started and where it will always be better.... PC

@SolidSizzle, Greedy Businessmen and Half A**ED games happened

made your game good enough that nobody will want to trade it in (for at least a year or two). Free dlc (or good cheap dlc) will probably be a big start.

As a consumer I just wait a little to see if the game reaally worth my money.LBP and LBP2, Fallout 3, Burnout Paradise, Naruto Shippuden, God Of war3 and Mortal Kombat were all very good purchase. Very long game and some of them had good DLC. Some other games have really bad DLC like many game by Capcom and Activision ( I don't have any of their game ).

Once you've paid for a game its yours & you can do whatever you want with it, if I buy a car or tv or dvd or whatever then decide to sell it after a while the makers of those don't expect to get some money from that sale. Why? Because its MINE, not theirs anymore. The same rule applies to greedy game developers & considering the fact that gaming makes more money yearly than movies they have no reason to cry out poverty, their just greedy yet no doubt brainless douchebags will support these money hungry actions & gaming as a whole will continue to turn into a cash grab.

@ziproy exactly. Imagine if we had to pay ford/toyota an extra fee to drive a used car on the highway, no way that would work. Instead of buying used I'll just pirate.

@ggregd oh they do... thats why COD gets re-released every year.

So true. I don't buy a game to give the publisher an excuse to sell me 25 other things. It doesn't happen in any other entertainment medium. If you want more money, game publishers, how about you publish more games.

I feel like going and buying a USED copy of every activision game, laying them all in the street, cases open and laying a fat crap on every disk letting it bake in the sun. Thats what I think of your greed! Everyone should just buy EVERY single game used and if online isnt available just consider that not part of the original game. Devs are throwing online multiplayer in games that dont need it and doesnt really fit... like Assassins creed... they only added it so they can control sales to some extent. Ubisoft and their online passes will start soon too if it hasnt already..

I agree with ziproy, these companies forget, its the gamestops of the world that allow them to sell these games full price because people always have the chance to recoup some of what they paid. I guarantee you if people had to pay 60 dollars a game and could not sell them, especially when they turn out bad, game sells would fall even faster than they are. I also want to point out I disagree on the music thing, even with all the tracks they release, there are still only 5-10 songs on average that I would like to play. Until you can import the songs you want, I dont care.

agree 100% i'm glad some are finally coming around.. for years i warned of the downhill slope DLC will bring us gamers. shame it's too late. but eat it up.. you all brought it on by supporting it. heck, some even got right defensive when i tried to warn y'all against supporting paying for overpriced/undervalued microtransactions. proud to say after 6 years on xbox, i've still never bought 1 item off the marketplace. (*i wonder if i'll still get called cheap and other stuff now, like i did years back when i first spoke out against supporting this stuff) there will be no change, they'll keep figuring out new ways to charge you for stuff.. and they'll get what they want. gamers i've discovered are very spineless or have no willpower. (and that's not to diss anyone. just my observation; something comes out and even if you're against how they did it, you'll still break down and get it.. eventually (how many vowed not to buy map packs after the price increase.. yet still did)

Thank you for bringing up the Gamestop deal. Ive ranted about that before in every article i hear about combating used game sells. Publishers and Developers cater to it but complain the consumers are short-changing them when we follow their own marketing and incentives. Gamestop has to be kicking back a cut otherwise they would not openly send gamers to them. Its all very shady.

People sell used cars all the freaking time. No one complains about Ford or Toyota. But poor EA and Activision are not making as much money. The Gamespot article released just yesterday said they made BILLIONS, they have no right to complain

@bizuit Care to elaborate?

@ssj2los Exactly! It total crap. I will not support this. Not to mention that I CANNOT support this... I'd be skint from buying all of their nonsense DLC! God how I miss those days when I'd buy a game, put it in a console and hours of good, complete, honest, GLITCH FREE fun would ensue. What the hell happened!? :-(

@endorbr Well that depends on the game. Not all DLC should have been in the original game. For example, The Elder Scrolls 4: Shivering Isles Expansion and Dragon Age Origins: Awakening. They were two great DLCs that I don't think anyone would say should have been in the game in the first place. I'm a fan of the really well thought out DLC expansions, rather than the short add-ons. But I don't buy add-ons I don't think are worth buying. And I think only a few studios actually take something out of the game to charge for it later. Most studios don't do that. Now there is a time between a game going gold and getting it shipped, and developers have time to spare. Some developers just release it for free - like a lot of the early add-ons for Mass Effect 2.

that's why i rarely buy DLC. Only those that are real improvements, and into which the publisher spent a lot of work. I'll also avoid buying games that are not "special", bundled, gold, Goty editions anymore!

Who's to blame more for this, the consumer or the company?

These reasons are exactly why I haven't been buying as many new games as I used to anymore. Heck, my PS3 has been broken for about 5 months right now and I don't have any plans of purchasing a new one until, the earliest, this holiday season (I'm looking at you Dark Souls). If I do buy a game, I either wait for it to be $30 or less, or I wait for the inevitable "Complete" edition. Suck it videogame publishers.

Activision is set to make four billion dollars this year. That is more then many companies will ever make! WHY do they have to have a subscription fee for a bungie net knockoff? Is billions of dollars not enough?

wow, this guy is ranting about cod elite for real. it is totally optional and there is a free version with less stuff. its not even required to play the multiplayer. this was confirmed a long time ago.