DLC - extending the game or ripping gamers off?

Recently I've been hearing a lot about downloadable content. Games like GTA IV, Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3 are all about to get new and exciting content for gamers to play through, and in theory it sounds like a great idea. But the question that's stuck in the back of my head is "Is it worth it?" Downloadable content ain't cheap. I was surfing Playstation Network a week or so ago and came across the new Jedi Temple DLC for Star Wars: THe Force Unleashed, and thought "A new level and skins? That sounds pretty cool." Then I saw the price. £7.99?!? How in God's name can Sony justify charging that much? I bought the game on release at roughly £32. Does that mean that the amount of content in the DLC will roughly add up to a quarter of the content in the original game? Not even close. With one new level compared to the nine already available and four new costumes to the thirteen already available (not including the dozen or more extra costumes available through cheat codes), this pack seems to be far less than good value for money. Similarly, DLC for Dead Space seems set to rip gamers off in the content area, offering a few new weapons/armour skins and tinkered with stats all for the low low cost of £3.49. These prices are extortionate; I'd be willing to pay £2 or £3 for the Star Wars DLC and around 50p for the Dead Space stuff at most.

Part of me sometimes wonders how Sony can hope to sell such content at these prices, but it seems people are lapping it up. I often hear about people buying DLC, whether it be friends or people on forums, and honestly thinking they'd made a worthwile purchase. It then occurs to me how Sony is operating this scheme: by offering DLC to people, simply by SHOWING it to you, it makes you feel as though your game is lacking, as if it's incomplete somehow. I've felt this nagging feeling in the back of my head myself. In order to feel like they've purchased the full game, people are going to be prepared to pay premium costs to add smaller and smaller extra content and improvements to their games, and this is where the real scam of DLC lies. I hope that sometime in the future Sony and Microsoft will review the cost of their DLC and make it more realistic, but as long as people are happy to pay for it this seems unlikely.

Well here is my opinion on DLC.If it is a reasonable price for good content then yes it is fine.But if it is like Namco charging 5 bucks for ONE character for their game Soul Calibur 4 then no it is not alright.Another bad choice when it comes to DLC comes from Epic studios and Cliffy B.The multiplayer of gears of War 2 needs to be fixed,there have been updates already and nothing has been fixed.

There are glitches and more problems then the first.The game has barely been out for a month and instead of fixing the problems Epic decides to come out with a map pack.....For free you ask?No 3 maps for 10 bucks.So all in all.In my opinion DLC for a good price that actually has good content in it,sure why not.But overpriced junk or something to kiss up for problems with your game and on top of that refuse to actually fix the problems.Then no absolutely not.

Recently I've been hearing a lot about downloadable content. Games like GTA IV, Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3 are all about to get new and exciting content for gamers to play through, and in theory it sounds like a great idea. But the question that's stuck in the back of my head is "Is it worth it?" Downloadable content ain't cheap. I was surfing Playstation Network a week or so ago and came across the new Jedi Temple DLC for Star Wars: THe Force Unleashed, and thought "A new level and skins? That sounds pretty cool." Then I saw the price. £7.99?!? How in God's name can Sony justify charging that much? I bought the game on release at roughly £32. Does that mean that the amount of content in the DLC will roughly add up to a quarter of the content in the original game? Not even close. With one new level compared to the nine already available and four new costumes to the thirteen already available (not including the dozen or more extra costumes available through cheat codes), this pack seems to be far less than good value for money. Similarly, DLC for Dead Space seems set to rip gamers off in the content area, offering a few new weapons/armour skins and tinkered with stats all for the low low cost of £3.49. These prices are extortionate; I'd be willing to pay £2 or £3 for the Star Wars DLC and around 50p for the Dead Space stuff at most.

Part of me sometimes wonders how Sony can hope to sell such content at these prices, but it seems people are lapping it up. I often hear about people buying DLC, whether it be friends or people on forums, and honestly thinking they'd made a worthwile purchase. It then occurs to me how Sony is operating this scheme: by offering DLC to people, simply by SHOWING it to you, it makes you feel as though your game is lacking, as if it's incomplete somehow. I've felt this nagging feeling in the back of my head myself. In order to feel like they've purchased the full game, people are going to be prepared to pay premium costs to add smaller and smaller extra content and improvements to their games, and this is where the real scam of DLC lies. I hope that sometime in the future Sony and Microsoft will review the cost of their DLC and make it more realistic, but as long as people are happy to pay for it this seems unlikely.

Mandalore_15

lol. This post is full of fail. SONY does not make up DLC prices, the developer/publisher does.

DLC about more costumes or characters that play exactly the same way are a rip-off, Dead Space for instance, but other like more tracks for Wipeout HD, if that ever becomes available would be worth it. SWTFU 's new mission is way too expensive at £7. That's ridiculous. It should be £3 and that should provide you with 2 hours of gameplay. Which i doubt it does. I am gonna buy Mirror's Edge' so i am praying that does not cost £7 too!

If people pay for it, they will keep doing it.

I have only ever paid for DLC once, The vast majority reeks of deliberate omission from the final game, with the sole purpose of fleecing gamers.

I say vote with your wallets, and tell devs to shove thier Horse Armour Packs up their.....

One of these days you're gonna have to pay just to press start to pause the game. They'll have some lame marketing scheme calling it a 'tactical pondering moment' or some cheesy wordy rubbish.

Either way I'm sure the word 'dog armor' will be one of those days that will live in infamy.

lol. This post is full of fail. SONY does not make up DLC prices, the developer/publisher does.

I agree that it is both. I've yet to see any expanded product feel as though it is worth its money. However, you're never forced to purchase these and you'd only buy them if you truly enjoy the game itself, making DLC a good thing for hardcore gamers.

The most obvious case of this I feel is with the pricing of Rock Band music. Rock Band 2 has something like 80 tracks and costs about $60 bucks. That works out to roughly 75 cents per song. To buy 80 downloadable and effectively double your games length the songs would likely run $2.00 x 80 = $160.00. .

DLC is a good thing but the content vs cost simply isn't there yet.

I agree that it is both. I've yet to see any expanded product feel as though it is worth its money. However, you're never forced to purchase these and you'd only buy them if you truly enjoy the game itself, making DLC a good thing for hardcore gamers.

The most obvious case of this I feel is with the pricing of Rock Band music. Rock Band 2 has something like 80 tracks and costs about $60 bucks. That works out to roughly 75 cents per song. To buy 80 downloadable and effectively double your games length the songs would likely run $2.00 x 80 = $160.00. .

DLC is a good thing but the content vs cost simply isn't there yet.

Babinro

[QUOTE="Mandalore_15"]

Recently I've been hearing a lot about downloadable content. Games like GTA IV, Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3 are all about to get new and exciting content for gamers to play through, and in theory it sounds like a great idea. But the question that's stuck in the back of my head is "Is it worth it?" Downloadable content ain't cheap. I was surfing Playstation Network a week or so ago and came across the new Jedi Temple DLC for Star Wars: THe Force Unleashed, and thought "A new level and skins? That sounds pretty cool." Then I saw the price. £7.99?!? How in God's name can Sony justify charging that much? I bought the game on release at roughly £32. Does that mean that the amount of content in the DLC will roughly add up to a quarter of the content in the original game? Not even close. With one new level compared to the nine already available and four new costumes to the thirteen already available (not including the dozen or more extra costumes available through cheat codes), this pack seems to be far less than good value for money. Similarly, DLC for Dead Space seems set to rip gamers off in the content area, offering a few new weapons/armour skins and tinkered with stats all for the low low cost of £3.49. These prices are extortionate; I'd be willing to pay £2 or £3 for the Star Wars DLC and around 50p for the Dead Space stuff at most.

Part of me sometimes wonders how Sony can hope to sell such content at these prices, but it seems people are lapping it up. I often hear about people buying DLC, whether it be friends or people on forums, and honestly thinking they'd made a worthwile purchase. It then occurs to me how Sony is operating this scheme: by offering DLC to people, simply by SHOWING it to you, it makes you feel as though your game is lacking, as if it's incomplete somehow. I've felt this nagging feeling in the back of my head myself. In order to feel like they've purchased the full game, people are going to be prepared to pay premium costs to add smaller and smaller extra content and improvements to their games, and this is where the real scam of DLC lies. I hope that sometime in the future Sony and Microsoft will review the cost of their DLC and make it more realistic, but as long as people are happy to pay for it this seems unlikely.

samuraiguns

lol. This post is full of fail. SONY does not make up DLC prices, the developer/publisher does.

ill keep payin 4 the map packs it takes workers to make maps people dont work for freepete420630

I agree with what K1llerR31 said, as long as the content is reasonably priced but you guys gotta remember it's all business. As with any business they have to meet consumer need ''BUT" they can't shoot themselves in the foot either.lolMERC_RECONN

[QUOTE="Mandalore_15"]

Recently I've been hearing a lot about downloadable content. Games like GTA IV, Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3 are all about to get new and exciting content for gamers to play through, and in theory it sounds like a great idea. But the question that's stuck in the back of my head is "Is it worth it?" Downloadable content ain't cheap. I was surfing Playstation Network a week or so ago and came across the new Jedi Temple DLC for Star Wars: THe Force Unleashed, and thought "A new level and skins? That sounds pretty cool." Then I saw the price. £7.99?!? How in God's name can Sony justify charging that much? I bought the game on release at roughly £32. Does that mean that the amount of content in the DLC will roughly add up to a quarter of the content in the original game? Not even close. With one new level compared to the nine already available and four new costumes to the thirteen already available (not including the dozen or more extra costumes available through cheat codes), this pack seems to be far less than good value for money. Similarly, DLC for Dead Space seems set to rip gamers off in the content area, offering a few new weapons/armour skins and tinkered with stats all for the low low cost of £3.49. These prices are extortionate; I'd be willing to pay £2 or £3 for the Star Wars DLC and around 50p for the Dead Space stuff at most.

Part of me sometimes wonders how Sony can hope to sell such content at these prices, but it seems people are lapping it up. I often hear about people buying DLC, whether it be friends or people on forums, and honestly thinking they'd made a worthwile purchase. It then occurs to me how Sony is operating this scheme: by offering DLC to people, simply by SHOWING it to you, it makes you feel as though your game is lacking, as if it's incomplete somehow. I've felt this nagging feeling in the back of my head myself. In order to feel like they've purchased the full game, people are going to be prepared to pay premium costs to add smaller and smaller extra content and improvements to their games, and this is where the real scam of DLC lies. I hope that sometime in the future Sony and Microsoft will review the cost of their DLC and make it more realistic, but as long as people are happy to pay for it this seems unlikely.

samuraiguns

lol. This post is full of fail. SONY does not make up DLC prices, the developer/publisher does.

Actually, developers never set the rrp of their games or content unless they publish it themselves (something I'm unaware of happening since the very early 90's). Also, are you saying that Sony being the distribution medium for the content has no input on costs and pricing?

Actually, developers never set the rrp of their games or content unless they publish it themselves (something I'm unaware of happening since the very early 90's). Also, are you saying that Sony being the distribution medium for the content has no input on costs and pricing?Mandalore_15

[QUOTE="Mandalore_15"]Actually, developers never set the rrp of their games or content unless they publish it themselves (something I'm unaware of happening since the very early 90's). Also, are you saying that Sony being the distribution medium for the content has no input on costs and pricing?emitsu97

Thanks for the clarity on the pricing. However, just because we are not forced to buy it doesn't mean we aren't getting screwed.. Many people will feel compelled to buy DLC out of a feeling of inadequacy if they don't, a feeling that they own an incomplete and inferior game. Publishers and Sony will be able to pray on this desire and increase the prices to unreasonable levels. It's the age-old trick of marketing: convince people that they need something they don't and they'll pay through the nose to get it.

Thanks for the clarity on the pricing. However, just because we are not forced to buy it doesn't mean we aren't getting screwed.. Many people will feel compelled to buy DLC out of a feeling of inadequacy if they don't, a feeling that they own an incomplete and inferior game. Publishers and Sony will be able to pray on this desire and increase the prices to unreasonable levels. It's the age-old trick of marketing: convince people that they need something they don't and they'll pay through the nose to get it.

Mandalore_15

i like dlc thats a new experience like the bioshock dlc, thats nothing like bioshock, and the gta4 dlc's not bad either, but if it plays the same as gta4 it might be balls. Pointless dlc like map packs are a complete rip off, they should give them for free like cod4 sold millions and they charged you for 3 extra maps.Mckenna1845

[QUOTE="Mandalore_15"]Thanks for the clarity on the pricing. However, just because we are not forced to buy it doesn't mean we aren't getting screwed.. Many people will feel compelled to buy DLC out of a feeling of inadequacy if they don't, a feeling that they own an incomplete and inferior game. Publishers and Sony will be able to pray on this desire and increase the prices to unreasonable levels. It's the age-old trick of marketing: convince people that they need something they don't and they'll pay through the nose to get it.

emitsu97

There's no responsibility for companies to remedy anything, but they ARE exploiting it. To take an extreme example, if you had cancer and a pharmaceutical company offered to sell you the drugs you needed to cure it for a billion pounds, you'd do it, but if the drugs only cost 10p a litre to make, you're essentially being screwed. Overpricing DLC is a similar scenario, in that the cost is way more than the value, but people will still feel as though they need to get it so will end up paying anyway. It's subtle exploitation.

There's no responsibility for companies to remedy anything, but they ARE exploiting it. To take an extreme example, if you had cancer and a pharmaceutical company offered to sell you the drugs you needed to cure it for a billion pounds, you'd do it, but if the drugs only cost 10p a litre to make, you're essentially being screwed. Overpricing DLC is a similar scenario, in that the cost is way more than the value, but people will still feel as though they need to get it so will end up paying anyway. It's subtle exploitation.Mandalore_15

Well here is my opinion on DLC.If it is a reasonable price for good content then yes it is fine.But if it is like Namco charging 5 bucks for ONE character for their game Soul Calibur 4 then no it is not alright.Another bad choice when it comes to DLC comes from Epic studios and Cliffy B.The multiplayer of gears of War 2 needs to be fixed,there have been updates already and nothing has been fixed.

There are glitches and more problems then the first.The game has barely been out for a month and instead of fixing the problems Epic decides to come out with a map pack.....For free you ask?No 3 maps for 10 bucks.So all in all.In my opinion DLC for a good price that actually has good content in it,sure why not.But overpriced junk or something to kiss up for problems with your game and on top of that refuse to actually fix the problems.Then no absolutely not.

K1LLR3175

[QUOTE="MERC_RECONN"]I agree with what K1llerR31 said, as long as the content is reasonably priced but you guys gotta remember it's all business. As with any business they have to meet consumer need ''BUT" they can't shoot themselves in the foot either.lolK1LLR3175

DAM K1LLR3175....you hurt my feelings!!!:lol:

Some game developers are obviously abusing the DLC concept, like those developers that have just a downloadable key for $10 for something that's already on the disc, for instance. Or skimping on racing courses / cars / characters / golf courses / whatever deliberately to milk you for a few more bucks. If you don't buy that stuff and, instead, speak out against it, it doesn't happen anymore. Have you seen $3 horse armor since the backlash against Bethesda? Not from THEM you haven't.

It boils down to this: if people pay $3 for one costume in LBP, why not charge $3? It's just good business sense and good common sense. Game developers got to eat too... why not have prime rib? Why not order your liquor from the top shelf? You mean someone will pay me $10 for something worth $3? Yowza, I'm dining on an idiot's dollar tonight, SUPER SIZE ME!!!

DLC can be good, if there is time put into it. Mega Man 9 is pretty much a rip off? Paying for extra difficulties and a protoman costume. That is so lame. gamenerd15