Bethesda Outlines Its Policy On DLC

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Bethesda Outlines Its Policy On DLC


We're already had two expansions for Fallout 3, but if you're waiting for a full expansion a la Shivering Isles for Oblivion, don't hold your breath.

Costing around $10 and taking a few hours to play through, Fallout 3's downloadable expansions, Operation Anchorage, The Pitt and the upcoming Broken Steel seem to have gotten the formula just right, and part of that winning formula is down to you, the gaming public.

In an interview with Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23154], Bethesda VP Pete Hines spoke about how the company 'experimented' with downloadable content with Oblivion, ranging from the ludicrously overpriced horse armor pack, to the full length expansion Shivering Isles:

"We did the entire spectrum for the most part. We did small things and then we did the really huge thing [with The Shivering Isles for Oblivion]. We did what I think was the first ever full expansion on a console for download. We looked at what we liked and what we didn't, and what the people liked. What we discovered was that we want to be able to do stuff that doesn't take a year to come out... That instantly ruled out doing a big expansion because those things just take so damn long to do."

It was with the Knights of the Nine expansion that Bethesda felt that they had found the perfect length:

"So we started looking at the biggest stuff we'd done that people really liked, but that we could do in smaller, digestible chunks. That's where we came to the Knights of the Nine model -- it's substantive and it adds multiple hours of game play and new items.. But we can do it in a time frame that allows us to get it out without waiting forever. That's what we've gone for with Fallout 3."

Having found the perfect length has not protected Bethesda from a whole host of other issues however. Operation Anchorage and The Pitt have both received mixed reviews, and technical issues [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/90676-Bethesda-Takes-Another-Run-at-The-Pitt] - fast becoming Bethesda's hallmark - still plague the content; raising the question of whether being able to release DLC quickly is really such a good thing.


Source: via Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/11/bethesda-on-dlc-keep-it-small-digestible/]



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kawligia

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Feb 24, 2009
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I prefer waiting longer for a larger expansion.

Why?

Because once I'm done with a game, (couple weeks to a few months depending on the game) little DLCs aren't enough to make me want to get involved again. But a big expansion with a lot of content WOULD get me excited.

Its like eating a meal at a restraunt. Once I'm done, I don't want to sit there all day snacking on small appetizers as they trickle out one by one. I'd rather come back later for a proper meal when I'm hungry again.
 

Royas

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Apr 25, 2008
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PedroSteckecilo said:
Clearly nobody remembers arena or daggerfall, back then Bethesda and Crash were synonymous.
Agreed. Bethesda isn't "becoming" known for technical issues, they've always been known for that. Even Morrowind and Oblivion had their share, though I'll grant that Oblivion wasn't too bad. I used to call Bethesda the makers of the finest RPG's you may never get to play... or work for that matter.
 

Aries_Split

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May 12, 2008
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Royas said:
PedroSteckecilo said:
Clearly nobody remembers arena or daggerfall, back then Bethesda and Crash were synonymous.
Agreed. Bethesda isn't "becoming" known for technical issues, they've always been known for that. Even Morrowind and Oblivion had their share, though I'll grant that Oblivion wasn't too bad. I used to call Bethesda the makers of the finest RPG's you may never get to play... or work for that matter.
Daggerfall always made me nervous. I'd press the quick save button like it was my life support.

Anyway, screw critics, anyone with half a brain should ignore them. Lost Odyssey got very mixed reviews, and apart from some lopsided boss fights, I quite enjoyed it.

As to Fallout, I really felt that the DLC was the perfect length for about 10 bucks. The new items from Anchorage were really great, and I've installed the pitt, just haven't got around to playing it.
 

Vern

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Sep 19, 2008
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I'd much rather wait a year and pay a bit extra for a full expansion that adds at least 15 hours to the game than have mediocre DLC come out 4 months later and add 3 unmemorable hours to it. I haven't bought the Pitt yet, mainly because I bought Operation: Anchorage the night it came out. And it was fun enough, but it felt extremely lacking, it only added 4 hours and it was basically an FPS, no new areas to explore. Once Burning Steel comes out I'll probably buy it, but I think Bethesda is wrong in their assumption that people want more now. Even if they're clamoring for it, it's worth an extra 8 month wait for something that's actually substantial.
 

Svenparty

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It's a shame, I was hoping for full length DLC so that it could be released as a retail disk.
 

SmilingKitsune

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I'm looking forward to Broken steel, I thought Operation anchorage was nice, but too linear.
I have yet to get The Pitt, I will soon though.
 

KaZZaP

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Aug 7, 2008
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I loved Shivering Isles, I thought Anchorage was a bit short and I bought the Pitt played it once and have had no real interest to play it since. Anchorage left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
 

nova18

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Feb 2, 2009
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I have a PS3.
So I will be seeing no DLC from Bethesda.

It makes me sad that I wont get anything more to play on Fallout (at least not right now).
But Fallout was buggy as hell when it first came out on PS3, it actually got unplayable in parts.

I think Knights of the Nine is a good size for DLC though, if they price it right.
 

SmugFrog

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Sep 4, 2008
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kawligia said:
Its like eating a meal at a restraunt. Once I'm done, I don't want to sit there all day snacking on small appetizers as they trickle out one by one. I'd rather come back later for a proper meal when I'm hungry again.
Well said! Give me something that will take me more than a few hours to see what I've bought. That's why I like the mods so much.
 

DaxStrife

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Nov 29, 2007
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They don't really say if they're going to lump the three DLC packs into one biggie, which is what I'm waiting for... I don't want to put money or effort into Games for Windows. If they don't do a big pack, I'm probably going to resort to finding a pirate solution to get the three mini-packs.
 

theultimateend

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Nov 1, 2007
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Vern said:
I'd much rather wait a year and pay a bit extra for a full expansion that adds at least 15 hours to the game than have mediocre DLC come out 4 months later and add 3 unmemorable hours to it. I haven't bought the Pitt yet, mainly because I bought Operation: Anchorage the night it came out. And it was fun enough, but it felt extremely lacking, it only added 4 hours and it was basically an FPS, no new areas to explore. Once Burning Steel comes out I'll probably buy it, but I think Bethesda is wrong in their assumption that people want more now. Even if they're clamoring for it, it's worth an extra 8 month wait for something that's actually substantial.
Yeah. Small DLC doesn't interest me at all.

Why?

Well fake person asking me questions that I lead up to it is simple: If I wanted small improvements I'd just get a mod someone made.

Oblivion already has content that puts Knights to shame but nothing really compares with shivering isles.

However it is cute how they mask the desire for easy money with an actual simulation of concern for the customer.
 

thenumberthirteen

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Dec 19, 2007
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nova18 said:
I have a PS3.
So I will be seeing no DLC from Bethesda.

It makes me sad that I wont get anything more to play on Fallout (at least not right now).
But Fallout was buggy as hell when it first came out on PS3, it actually got unplayable in parts.

I think Knights of the Nine is a good size for DLC though, if they price it right.
I've got a PS3 too and am still waiting for Shivering isles as DLC. Oblivion was (and is) as buggy as hell, and last week i was treated to that anoying bug where the game freezes before you get the grey fox cowl. Considering that The Pitt had to be released 3 times because of bugs I doubt Bethesda are getting better.
 

Najarana

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Aug 16, 2008
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The pitt was way superior to the craptastic generic shooter that was project anchorage. That said, I still think the pitt was too short. There were only the mainquest to play through, with that being done in about 2 hours I have to say I was disappointed. The visual design of the enviorment and weapons were top-notch though. But without a longer expansion I don't see any reason to return to the capital wasteland again.
 

Shapsters

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Dec 16, 2008
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kawligia said:
I prefer waiting longer for a larger expansion.

Why?

Because once I'm done with a game, (couple weeks to a few months depending on the game) little DLCs aren't enough to make me want to get involved again. But a big expansion with a lot of content WOULD get me excited.

Its like eating a meal at a restraunt. Once I'm done, I don't want to sit there all day snacking on small appetizers as they trickle out one by one. I'd rather come back later for a proper meal when I'm hungry again.
Good metaphor! Couldn't agree more, I wanna come back to a juicy steak, not an appetizer!