Dead Space 2 DLC for PC: The Story Thus Far

[Andy Chalk]

Dead Space 2 DLC for PC: The Story Thus Far

There's been some confusion regarding Dead Space 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Space-2-Pc/dp/B002I0HJ68/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297484805&sr=8-3] DLC on the PC, with EA claiming that it has no plans to release extra content for the platform despite it being present in the game at release. We dug deeper, and this is what we found.

A bit of background to bring everyone up to speed: when Dead Space 2 launched on January 25, EA EA [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107263-EA-Announces-Dead-Space-2-Severed-UPDATED] rep confirmed with us via email that Severed would not be available for the PC. Fair enough; it's not the first time that PC gamers have found themselves on the short end of the DLC stick.

Shortly thereafter, EA also released unlocked all of them [http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Dead-Space-2/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802454108df] at no charge. We again contacted EA and were told, again, that "EA has no news about PC DLC at this time."

It seemed a bit odd, given that the DLC was already in the wild. PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/02/10/dead-space-2-dlc-on-pc-via-3-4-kb-save-file/] made a point of noting our report that the DLC would not be released for the PC, so we picked up the trail once more to find out once and for all what was going on. And we were, to put it bluntly, stonewalled.

"It was not intentional and we don't have any plans for DLC content on the PC" is all we could get from EA; beyond that, the company refused to comment.

So where does that leave us? It's hard to imagine that EA would include the code for the DLC packs in the PC release without a plan to release them at some point in the future, yet its insistence otherwise suggests that as baffling as the idea is, maybe that was actually the case. Otherwise, EA's plan was simply spoiled by an impatient and industrious gamer, and it is now engaged in the most stunningly ham-fisted damage control possible. Either way, it's nothing short of a debacle.

We'll continue to stay on top of the situation and update if and when EA decides that its protests are futile. In the meantime, unfortunately, there's little else to say except that despite what it may have planned, those DLC packs are out there. Pretending otherwise is not going to make them go away.


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[Zero_ctrl]

Odd, why make an exclusive DLC work for another system.
Seems like they may of had a secret announcement in the works.

Not that it affects me, I don't play Dead Space 2.
HUE HUE HUE FIRST

 

[vxicepickxv]

When has EA every really had a plan other than sports games every year?

 

[Easton Dark]

Not utilizing resources present in the files that are usable as-is to make a profit?

EA?

Are you a business?

 

[MercurySteam]

Either EA really hate pirates or PC gamers. Whichever it is I'm sure EA is thinking "they're smart enough to figure it out for themselves."

 

[Sneaklemming]

I can see the email conversation now.

- Hey we heard that the DLC you said wouldnt be on PC is actually included in the game and has been unlocked.

- No that's not true.

- So is there DLC for the PC?

- There is no DLC, there has been no unlocks and there will be no DLC for the PC.

- But there's a thread that has a savefile which-

- The thread is a myth.

 

[lacktheknack]

Ah, the Chinese Government approach.

Well, if they refuse to release something that's already released, I say go grab what's there. SURELY there must have been a miscommunication with someone somewhere.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Ah yes "Dead Space 2 DLC", the data for which has already been found within the game files.

We have dismissed these claims

 

[Sn1P3r M98]

A bit ironic considering I just got the limited edition off of Amazon today for PC. Sort of EA's loss though, I, as well as many others I'm sure, would have bought the DLC on PC. But oh well...

 

[Throwitawaynow]

Or maybe they just put all the files that the xbox/ps3 had on the pc version, with no intention of releasing DLC because they knew it would be hacked anyway? Or they had the same files because of laziness. Meh, my dead space 2 is on console and I don't intend on buying any DS2 DLC. I love the game I just don't think it's necessary.

 

[Jumwa]

The console makers probably just paid them not to release it for PC, like Microsoft always does for everything, most recently Fallout New Vegas.

But EA bungled and included it anyways.

Though the notion of "DLC" that's already in a game just strikes me as that ridiculous thing we all feared publishers would do years ago: use DLC as an excluse to charge us for things that were already in game from day one.

 

[Kapol]

I think it's stupid that they have the DLC IN THE F***ING GAME at release, and then charge people for it later. Day 1 DLC with a free coupon, maybe, but that's just too stupid. Why buy a suit and a weapon for so much anyways? Not to mention the online pass... But anyways, it seems that EA just feels that it would be smarter to be lazy and miss out on an entire system's worth of players and have the DLC done on disk rather then actually making it a download that they would have to buy too.

 

[Throwitawaynow]

You got the online pass for free though = /. And I can slightly understand the DLC if everyone already had it, it would make the game kind of pointless. Usually when you buy DLC you buy it after you've beaten it several times and want more content. It's extra armor and weapons.

 

[Waaghpowa]

If it's all already in the game, there must be a way to unlock it. I checked the Steam forums and the save file the guy linked is no longer there.

If EA really is doing this because of pirating, they're not helping themselves by being pricks about it. If anything all this is making people reconsider their stance on pirating.

 

[Vanaron]

anc[is]Ah yes "Dead Space 2 DLC", the data for which has already been found within the game files.

We have dismissed these claims

hehe, I actually laughed out loud at that, well played, sir.

Seems silly to me, going through the work of adding the content but not charging to unlock it... Not that I'd pay for it anyways, DS2 is a great game but I'm not a big fan of the DLC scheme that took hold of the game industry of late.

Don't get me wrong, DLC can be great if actually adds to the game experience (Lair of the Shadow Broker was Awesome!) but these appearance packs feel a lot like money for nothing... Not to mention that pre-loaded DLC make me feel taken advantage of.

 

[joshuaayt]

I'm confused... so, was the extra content delivered in a free patch, or something, for PC users? We aren't talking about content that was there from the beginning, right? Because that would be ridiculous, right?

 

[Natdaprat]

Maybe this is a secret kick in the balls to the console gamers. "The DLC for Dead Space 2 is exclusive to owners of the PS3 or Xbox 360. Anyone on the PC that can find them gets them for free"

 

[Link Kadeshi]

I have the PC version, and Downloaded the savegame file, and it works great. If EA offered the DLC, I would NOT do this to unlock them, however, they left the files in the game, and refused to give us the option to buy them. Even if they released them, and they were heavily pirated, one sale would lot them more money than they're getting now. I would bu Severed if it were released for PC, but I guess EA (Visceral?) didn't learn from Bioware, did they? Guess they don't want more of my money, it's a shame.

I'm confused... so, was the extra content delivered in a free patch, or something, for PC users? We aren't talking about content that was there from the beginning, right? Because that would be ridiculous, right?

No, there was no free patch, someone hacked a save file, and added the SP armor that formerly required DLC to literally unlock doors to get. It is not official, but it works.

 

[Abedeus]

So, they put DLC, but don't unlock it.

And they blame piracy for low sales. Ya. Okay.

 

[theriddlen]

anc[is]Ah yes "Dead Space 2 DLC", the data for which has already been found within the game files.

We have dismissed these claims

hehe, I actually laughed out loud at that, well played, sir.

Seems silly to me, going through the work of adding the content but not charging to unlock it... Not that I'd pay for it anyways, DS2 is a great game but I'm not a big fan of the DLC scheme that took hold of the game industry of late.

Don't get me wrong, DLC can be great if actually adds to the game experience (Lair of the Shadow Broker was Awesome!) but these appearance packs feel a lot like money for nothing... Not to mention that pre-loaded DLC make me feel taken advantage of.

You know what adds the most to the game experience? BioWare not releasing Lair of the Shadow Broker in my country, because of "technical problems", and of course, not because they didn't want to pay voice actors or something, eh? Obviously the fact that after i changed info about ME2 language in registry (so that DLC would LET me install itself), copied and renamed some files in ME2 folder (that were already there), and it worked perfectly fine is a not a relevant one.