Tired of the DLC-culture!

[siliconmessiah]

I am a gamer soon pushing 30 years. Been a gamer since I was 4-5 years old. It all started off with a NES and all that...=) I won´t consider me a "hardcore" gamer nowadays. But I play on my systems when I have the time and feeling for it.

Lately, there have been one thing disturbing me more than anything, and it´s the DLC-culture, or the microtransaction-culture, and what it´s doing to us gamers. It seems that a lot of the new games being released are not complete. They are just half-assed. I have had this feeling and it feels like paying full price for a frickin´ shareware game! I have been seriously disappointed by Mass Effect 3 and Borderlands in this aspect.

It could be simple that I´m getting too old and stingy here, and I understand that it´s all about the money. But when I buy a game, I want the complete thing. Of course, I admit that there are good things about DLC. Look at Skyrim and Fallout NV for example, they have HUGE playing value in their original state, and the DLC really adds to it in a good way. But look at Fable 3 costumes for example. It´s ridiculous that they just didn´t include them in the original game. There are more examples. What are your thoughts on the matter?

 

[DinohScene]

DLC sometimes is just an excuse for a shitty game.

In 30 years, consoles of this gen won't have internet access anymore.
So if you want to replay a game that has an continued storyline through DLC, you'll be halted mid way into the game.
Since you can't download the DLC anymore.
And placing it on the console would require you to have a hacked console which isn't really possible on 360's (TX's DGX thingy will change that for dashes up to 16202 but after that god knows what MS have up their sleeve to close the system again) and on the PS3, you'll have to be lucky to find firmware files to downgrade/upgrade to a CFW if that is possible.

The worst type of DLC is the On-Disc DLC.
You already paid for it but they nick another 20 quid from your wallet to purchase an unlock code to play the DLC which you already have bought!

 

[Hyro-Sama]

This debate has been had countless of times with no resolution or desired answer. DLC has too many benefits for the publisher and developer alike to be abandoned. Plus, market doesn't hate DLC as much as everyone would like to think.

But anyway...

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Yeah, dear god, fuck Mass Effect. I mean, all that free multiplayer DLC? That free DLC that helped clarify the ending? Like shit man.

People who go "DLC IS JUST SUCH SHIT IT'S JUST THEM LEAVING OUT PARTS OF THE GAME FOR MONEY!" really have no clue how DLC is actually made and the fact that it's existence is A) good for the gamer, devs, and publishers and B) a miracle of modern technology.

 

[Ryupower]

some DLC is GOOD, it adds lots more to do in the game,

but some are
just "unlock stuff"
(it a way to make people you just what to ply the game, and have everything form the start)

and
just extra stuff ,that enhance the game
or
give extra power ups

 

[retKHAAAN]

Sorry, but it's hard to consider Mass Effect 3 or Borderlands as "half-assed" games. If DLC didn't exist, these games, as they were released, would most definitely be seen as full, complete games. The fact that both of those games have effectively doubled their already substantial playtime with NEW content completely invalidates the anti-DLC argument where they are concerned.

Now, nickel and diming for costumes, weapons, cars, etc... is what it is. You're not required to purchase these items. They are just extra things that are available should you be interested. It comes with any hobby. Are you also pissed that you bought a model airplane but the stencil for the decal you liked was sold separately? Does it upset you that bands release EPs? How about when you buy a soldering gun and the tip you need is an extra $5? If DLC was possible in the 70's you can bet your ass that Atari would have been pumping out "Special Paddles" for Pong...

 

[Eerpow]

Yeah, dear god, fuck Mass Effect. I mean, all that free multiplayer DLC? That free DLC that helped clarify the ending? Like shit man.

People who go "DLC IS JUST SUCH SHIT IT'S JUST THEM LEAVING OUT PARTS OF THE GAME FOR MONEY!" really have no clue how DLC is actually made and the fact that it's existence is A) good for the gamer, devs, and publishers and B) a miracle of modern technology.

Not always the case seeing how companies abuse it so there's definitely a flipside. And really, we can't blame no one other than ourselves for wanting games to be released as fast as possible.
But yeah overall the positives overshadows the negatives and with how game development costs and complexity increases it only gets harder to make bugfree games nowadays. So DLC haters... suck it up.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Not always the case seeing how companies abuse it so there's definitely a flipside. And really, we can't blame no one other than ourselves for wanting games to be released as fast as possible.
But yeah overall the positives overshadows the negatives and with how game development costs and complexity increases it only gets harder to make bugfree games nowadays. So DLC haters... suck it up.

I missed the days when we had to rebuy the entire game to get an "expansion pack" and buggy games were permanently bugged with no chance of redemption.

Games were so much more pure back then!

 

[siliconmessiah]

That free DLC that helped clarify the ending

If a game needs DLC to clarify the ending. Someone has not done the job right.
Come on...this is exactly the point of why I made this thread!

 

[emigre]

If a game needs DLC to clarify the ending. Someone has not done the job right.
Come on...this is exactly the point of why I made this thread!

Nah I prefer to say the fanbase are just whiny pussies. Mainly because they are.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

If a game needs DLC to clarify the ending. Someone has not done the job right.
Come on...this is exactly the point of why I made this thread!

The ending was fine, I liked the ending originally, but fans bitched and they said "You know what, with this new technology, we'll improve our game."

Back in the day the response would've been "Fucking deal with it."

The point of this thread is trying to be "DLC has made developers lazy so they can release incomplete and buggy games!" when in reality its use is to fix both of these. Back in the day, if there was a bug, too bad. If a game was shit, too bad. If you didn't like a game's story, too bad. And don't say "Games weren't as buggy/bad back then!" James Rolfe made an entire living off bad, old games.

 

[triassic911]

I agree with you OP, but like someone here said, DLC has too many benefits for the developer and the like for it to simply go away. No one takes a stand on this. You aren't forced to buy DLC, but companies shouldn't abuse DLC either. It is what it is....

 

[Zarcon]

If a game needs DLC to clarify the ending. Someone has not done the job right.
Come on...this is exactly the point of why I made this thread!

In all fairness, you could say the same about lots of games before the DLC-era.
Except they had no way to address the issue.

Mass Effect 3 didn't need to clarify the ending(s), it's just that the fans didn't like the ending they were given so they complained and BioWare caved.
I personally wasn't a fan of the ending(s), but I was fine with what they offered.

I just look at DLC as a way of further supporting a company. If you don't like the way a company handles DLC then don't buy it and maybe for their next game you won't buy it either until you know it's a proper experience.

 

[Gahars]

If a game needs DLC to clarify the ending. Someone has not done the job right.

It didn't need it in the first place, but hey, that's another discussion entirely...

As has been pointed out, the advent of DLC has a wealth of advantages for consumers, developers, and publishers alike. We can get even more content out of already enriching experiences while the people responsible for making the games we love have another opportunity to make some money (money which can be put towards creating even more games).

Sure, some misuse and abuse DLC in brazen attempts to milk cash from their customers, but that doesn't mean DLC is inherently evil or anything. Plus, for every developer doing DLC wrong, so many are doing it right - look at Valve or, as already mentioned, Bioware.

If you want to send a message, don't buy DLC you find objectionable. Vote with your dollar, as the saying goes, and encourage your friends to do the same. This will get the attention of publishers far more effectively than yet another thread pining for days of expansion packs and permanently buggy games.

 

[triassic911]

The ending was fine, I liked the ending originally, but fans bitched and they said "You know what, with this new technology, we'll improve our game."

Back in the day the response would've been "Fucking deal with it."

The point of this thread is trying to be "DLC has made developers lazy so they can release incomplete and buggy games!" when in reality its use is to fix both of these. Back in the day, if there was a bug, too bad. If a game was shit, too bad. If you didn't like a game's story, too bad. And don't say "Games weren't as buggy/bad back then!" James Rolfe made an entire living off bad, old games.

I'm pretty sure that back in the day, developers were more on point with what they did, as they could not go back to fix it with a simple update or add-on. Developers nowadays have shown that they can be lazy knowing they can simply make a patch for whatever they need to fix later.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I'm pretty sure that back in the day, developers were more on point with what they did, as they could not go back to fix it with a simple update or add-on. Developers nowadays have shown that they can be lazy knowing they can simply make a patch for whatever they need to fix later.

Or if there was a glitch they were stuck with it.

I find it funny that some people look back at glitches like those in Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, or even the original Super Mario Bros. and find them "cute" or "funny" or "enduring" but go "DEVS ARE SO LAZY THESE DAYS" when there's a glitch now.

At least if a game is bugged now it's not doomed to be bugged, unlike back in the day.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Or if there was a glitch they were stuck with it.

I find it funny that some people look back at glitches like those in Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, or even the original Super Mario Bros. and find them "cute" or "funny" or "enduring" but go "DEVS ARE SO LAZY THESE DAYS" when there's a glitch now.

At least if a game is bugged now it's not doomed to be bugged, unlike back in the day.

I noticed that all of those games you listed were developed and published by Nintendo. Hint Hint.

 

[siliconmessiah]

Whoa. This was apparently a hot potato.

Of course, I understand that there are positives with DLC out of a bug-fixing view. I´ve had my share of buggy games throughout the years. But as somebody says, there is a risk with the DLC-culture that the developers get more "lazy", and that it´s we gamers that must say it by not buying certain DLC.

But i think that Borderlands 2 was the worst rip-off of them all. It didn´t feel like a complete game when I bought it, so I have not bothered to play it anymore.

 

[DS1]

DLC allows developers to fairly generate revenue from used games, which is like a million times better than them trying to make used game sales illegal.

 

[Gahars]

I'm pretty sure that back in the day, developers were more on point with what they did, as they could not go back to fix it with a simple update or add-on. Developers nowadays have shown that they can be lazy knowing they can simply make a patch for whatever they need to fix later.

And to piggy back off what Guild was saying, games were a whole lot less complex back in the day. As the scope of games has continued to expand, it's become easier and easier for glitches and hiccups to slip through the cracks.

I mean, look at something like Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim. Glitch-ridden? Absolutely. But then again, these are 100+ hour games. You could keep these games in development for years and still likely not find everything. It's unfortunate, sure, but it's the trade off we have to accept for grander, more massive games.