Paying for content already on retail disc? Your Thoughts?

With DLC becoming more of marketing tool to lure customers, one thing that has appeared a few times is devs placing extra content on the retail copy. This content while full and functional is locked in one way or another, with the catch being you have to 'buy' it to unlock it or wait for a patch/update that unlocks it at a later date. A few great examples of this are Bioshock 2 (Multiplayer DLC), BFBC2 (Vip map packs are already on the disc), and MW2 (there are extra games modes on the disc that have yet to be released). I am sure there are other examples and I am sure there are instances where the content was never finalize and was just crammed on there for the hell of it - maybe at a later date the devs would finish it or what not.

DLC has proven to be financially beneficial (COD WAW grossed over $80 million from DLC alone) and with game budgets soaring into 8 figure terroritory it makes complete sense for devs to use set assests to create new content. What I am really getting at here is what do you think about locked content that is ALREADY on the disc at launch? Forget whether or not the content is working/functional/finalized, assume it is. Do you think it is fair for devs to charge extra for that if they do not advertise it as being apart of the product you are purchasing? Do you think that you should has access to any content that is placed on the disc when you buy it (sans the code)?

Clearly I have my own opinions, and I would like to know yours. There are +/- to both sides. For example is a law was passed stating that software developers could no longer hide extra content on disc and each disc can only contain the advertised portions, it would be fair to say that some developers would start to skimp on the content available at launch in order to work on DLC (heck its fair to say that this IS happening now). It might also work the other way, some devs might decided to power through and toss in that extra smidgen of game in order to get a better response at launch.

How is BFBC2 a "Great example" of this, when the VIP maps for it are free? :|kieranb2000

I'm against paying for content that is already on the disc, but i think most of it isn't.

I have a bigger issue with super DLC haters who say that you should presume that all of it was disc content, and it should be free.

[QUOTE="kieranb2000"]How is BFBC2 a "Great example" of this, when the VIP maps for it are free? :|spank_thru101

While I dont buy DLC, if a company makes a game and then a month later decides to work on a new mission set and some new features and sell it I'm fine. But when a company makes something and then decides to remove it from the game to make an extra buck then that pisses me off.

[QUOTE="spank_thru101"][QUOTE="kieranb2000"]How is BFBC2 a "Great example" of this, when the VIP maps for it are free? :|kieranb2000

While this thread is as good as dead, I figured I would chime in with some of my thoughts.

I think it is legally fair for a developer to charge for locked content that is on the retail copy so long as they do not advertise it as being available. Yes, this is a crappy position for me to take. I hate myself. Now to contradict myself, I absolutely loathe the idea because its more than fair to say that developers are less likely to toss in unfinished assests onto the retail disc with the idea of finalizing them later than they are to finalize the assests and bide thier time until they can bilk you out of more.

I have yet to find DLC that's worth the money, for example I bought the Fallout 3 GOTY, not separate DLCs and I don't consider EFLC as DLC, those are the only "DLCs" I got, I'd never pay for DLC that has little content for an insane price or DLC with content that is already on the disc.

Your DICE example is bad because they released an unfinished product releasing all the missing content as free map packs creating the illusion like they somehow care and they want to support the game (like a patch that was delayed a month...now map packs that take forever to be released), the content is not on the disc, it's missing completely.

If the extra content is released at the same time as the original game - then it should be part of the original game.

Expansion packs or "DLC", used to be content that the devs created after (long after) the original game was released.

This new fad of releasing part of a game, and then charging extra for the rest of it - is just as morally wrong as piracy, and I won't have anything to do with either one of them.

Tbh its a scam in my eyes. And i hate DLC with my entire heart. It should go and burn in the depths of hell where it came from.

No i have never bougth a DLC i have friends that do... And every time i warn them. And every time they get disapointed... Yet they continue to buy it. I will never understand...

I think it's okay if the DLC adds new content, maps, or lengthens a game. It also has to be at a reasonable price, and not half - or even a quarter of a full game's price. ...And it should add to the game, not fix it, or slightly improves it. That's what updates are for.

The only time I've ever bought a DLC (or three of them) was for Borderlands. For $20, it included the full game, plus all the DLC's, which I thought was a good deal. Two of them did add to the game, I haven't tried the third.

As for content on retail discs, I think it's ridiculous if one would have to pay. I expect all contents on the disc to be available me as that is how I paid for it. If they want extra money for extra content, then they should put it in a deluxe version or collector's edition where they can add a premium to the price.

I believe that small pieces of DLC, such as BioWare adding new weapons and armor to ME2 should be free. Now, I can pay $1 or whatever it costs, but really, I'm paying for weapons and armor, that stuff should be free! If it was a significant amount of content like the Fallout 3 DLC, charge at a reasonable price, no more than $5 to $10. However, if developers want to do DLC right, follow Rockstar's example with the EFLC pack.spiderman120988

Already on the disc as being in the disc by the moment you buy the game with no updates and having to pay for it, will be trully stupid. However have not encountered a game that was like that. Personally i think its pointless on the pc platform because someone will hack it so people wont have to pay to unlock it. Developers know that so they dont pull crap like that. Or i am missing something?dakan45

Need For Speed Carbon did just this back in 2006.

On PC people looked into the files that were installed and found several other cars that installed as part of a regular install but were not accessible through the game. They were available if you purchased one of the DLC packs - can't recall if it was the Collector's edition unlock or another one, but the thing that gave it away was the download was only a few KB - nowhere near large enough to actually contain the data necessary for additional cars.

The DLC unlock was a similar size on the console versions, so again the content had to be on the retail disk, and the DLC was merely a key to unlock the content.

Personally I am strongly opposed to this. If you have bought a game you should have access to everything that has come on that disk.

The whole point of DLC, in my mind atleast, is that it is meant to be additional content to enhance or extend the experience. It should not be used as a money making way of holding back content or as a way of charging for parts of the game that should be standard

I never really support games with DLC coming out later on unless the DLC is free of charge, well except for Mass Effect 2 but that was because they had the Collector's Edition and I really wanted to get it. I loved the game and the free DLC is reasonable but I never purchased the priced DLC's since because I'd rather have a full payment of the game where everything is included than buying in small bundles of content.

Don't know if what I said has anything related to paying content already on retail disc.

[QUOTE="kieranb2000"]How is BFBC2 a "Great example" of this, when the VIP maps for it are free? :|spank_thru101

[QUOTE="spank_thru101"][QUOTE="kieranb2000"]How is BFBC2 a "Great example" of this, when the VIP maps for it are free? :|Nibroc420

For me this is more of a problem on consoles as I use steam more than disks, but in my experience pc gets more content for free compared to the consoles.