Disclaimer: In no way shape or form am I hinting, inferring or talking about ME3's upcoming DLC and other things. Except in passing as examples, this is not an ME3 thread so please do yourself a favor and don't rage over it.
Back when I started playing games, both on Atari and various PC's of the era, I would play games over and over, no matter how many times I finished them thinking to myself "Gee I wish there was more."
Then came the day of Expansion Packs released after the original game, and joy filled my heart. But still waiting months sometimes even a year or more was hell. And then sometimes the xpac's weren't developed at all by the original team (Diablo Hellfire xpac, major example) and weren't as fulfilling as the price tag attached. Hell even the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge release was an Xpac for the previous 3 games (and was AWESOME).
Of course there were mods roaming the world at the time (mostly obtained by myself in PC Gamer CD's and a lot of jury-rigging to get them to work). Then the internet grew into a real global force not governed solely by techno-geeks, hackers and AOL users, and mods were more accessible. I saw mods as unofficial xpacs, which was cool in its own right but as any modder knows not every mod is perfect or bug free and some of them remain that way forever, doomed to obscurity and stagnant development. Why? Because they're free and usually a hobby of someone's, not something that could make money.
Lets face it people, when all is said and done in this world money rules and without it things can not get done.
Now here recently DLC has arrived, like its a new thing but really its just xpacs/mods developed by the core dev's and released to the public for consumption. Like extra things cut from the game due to deadlines and what not which usually leads to the hated Day 1 DLC. But this is nothing new, we've been paying for DLC in the form of Xpacs for years beforehand without so much as a blink.
Now its all controversy. Claims that companies are deliberately withholding content to make an extra buck (and in some cases I'd say its true, but not all and certainly not provable 100%). Street Fighter X Tekken is a good example since its DLC pack is contained on disk.
ME3 had a lot of heat for the Prothean, but I still believe it wasn't finished by deadline and was released as Day 1 DLC. Whether or not the $10 price tag is worth it I'm unsure because I've yet to buy it but I'll make that decision for myself, and probably buy it. I almost bought a collectors edition but I needed gas that week so no-go.
But in the end, I've yet to see a game dev that has released DLC that is integral to the game plot/story/gameplay. Most of it is afterthought/additional/ancillary things that don't really affect the game itself. In otherwords no DLC to date has ever kept me from completing a game I like.
So I wonder why all the rage? I remember wishing dev's would release more content even if it was small tidbits here and there like extra ships for Wing Commander or a few new NPC's for KotOR. Then we get real post-game release development in the form of DLC and are expected to shell out some dollars to fund the work done and what what what? You're mad?
Look, with a few notable exceptions, most games on disc minus all DLC are complete games. Most of these DLC packs are ancillary crap like vanity items/character looks or minor weapon changes/new weapons that don't affect the game in the long run. Others are side-story addons (ME2's extra NPC's) or additional content expanding the game exponentially (see Knights of the Nine/Shivering Isles). But still none of those were part of the original game and thus didn't really affect the outcome of the playthrough.
I personally don't mind shelling out some extra cash to get more out of a game I love. And I fully believe the dev's who worked on the extra content post-release are entitled to their pay. We don't pay for game patches that fix bugs and some DLC is free. And free DLC ALWAYS comes out as a loss to companies as the time devoted to programming these things isn't short.
One way or another once I buy a game, I don't feel I'm entitled to the extra content developed post-release.
If its on disc, thats one thing, but if its not then I don't have a problem ever paying extra for it.
In the end, I guess all I have to say is I never saw expansions or DLC as a bad thing, especially since it allows me to play with my game more and with new shit added in so I don't feel like I didn't get enough (well with some games thats not going to happen). But I don't blame dev's for wanting cash for their work.
Like the Extended Cuts of the LotR movies, you had to pay more for those and you were rewarded with some awesome scenes not seen in theaters and the DVD's weren't exactly cheap at the time of release. Games, like movies, are stuck with deadlines, and some of them get rushed out the door before they're ready, some don't get all the content they want put in and thus are missing parts and pieces (see FF7 and the Aerith's death continuity errors and quirks for a good example) some are complete and working as intended (and well) but didn't get everything in the dev's wanted to. That is where xpac's and DLC come in and they're valid.
And no one says you have to buy DLC to enjoy the game.
So in the end (with exceptional cases) DLC has been around already in the form of Xpacs and no one batted an eye to that but now somehow they're evil and wrong and money-grubbing if you have to pay out for them even though they're not preventing you from enjoying the game as it is.
If you don't want to give money to dev's/publishers for the game, why buy it at all? Sure $60 is a lot for a game and the general $10 DLC pack isn't always cheap (and yes I will agree some DLC is overpriced) but no one is requiring you to buy said DLC for the game to be complete. Its just extra/ancillary data to extend/enhance your game experience and you don't have to buy it.
Enjoy and please keep the discussion civil. I didn't call anyone names or say outright (or infer) anything negative towards anyone. Only gave my heartfelt opinion and personal experience over the 26 years I've played and enjoyed games.
Back when I started playing games, both on Atari and various PC's of the era, I would play games over and over, no matter how many times I finished them thinking to myself "Gee I wish there was more."
Then came the day of Expansion Packs released after the original game, and joy filled my heart. But still waiting months sometimes even a year or more was hell. And then sometimes the xpac's weren't developed at all by the original team (Diablo Hellfire xpac, major example) and weren't as fulfilling as the price tag attached. Hell even the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge release was an Xpac for the previous 3 games (and was AWESOME).
Of course there were mods roaming the world at the time (mostly obtained by myself in PC Gamer CD's and a lot of jury-rigging to get them to work). Then the internet grew into a real global force not governed solely by techno-geeks, hackers and AOL users, and mods were more accessible. I saw mods as unofficial xpacs, which was cool in its own right but as any modder knows not every mod is perfect or bug free and some of them remain that way forever, doomed to obscurity and stagnant development. Why? Because they're free and usually a hobby of someone's, not something that could make money.
Lets face it people, when all is said and done in this world money rules and without it things can not get done.
Now here recently DLC has arrived, like its a new thing but really its just xpacs/mods developed by the core dev's and released to the public for consumption. Like extra things cut from the game due to deadlines and what not which usually leads to the hated Day 1 DLC. But this is nothing new, we've been paying for DLC in the form of Xpacs for years beforehand without so much as a blink.
Now its all controversy. Claims that companies are deliberately withholding content to make an extra buck (and in some cases I'd say its true, but not all and certainly not provable 100%). Street Fighter X Tekken is a good example since its DLC pack is contained on disk.
ME3 had a lot of heat for the Prothean, but I still believe it wasn't finished by deadline and was released as Day 1 DLC. Whether or not the $10 price tag is worth it I'm unsure because I've yet to buy it but I'll make that decision for myself, and probably buy it. I almost bought a collectors edition but I needed gas that week so no-go.
But in the end, I've yet to see a game dev that has released DLC that is integral to the game plot/story/gameplay. Most of it is afterthought/additional/ancillary things that don't really affect the game itself. In otherwords no DLC to date has ever kept me from completing a game I like.
So I wonder why all the rage? I remember wishing dev's would release more content even if it was small tidbits here and there like extra ships for Wing Commander or a few new NPC's for KotOR. Then we get real post-game release development in the form of DLC and are expected to shell out some dollars to fund the work done and what what what? You're mad?
Look, with a few notable exceptions, most games on disc minus all DLC are complete games. Most of these DLC packs are ancillary crap like vanity items/character looks or minor weapon changes/new weapons that don't affect the game in the long run. Others are side-story addons (ME2's extra NPC's) or additional content expanding the game exponentially (see Knights of the Nine/Shivering Isles). But still none of those were part of the original game and thus didn't really affect the outcome of the playthrough.
I personally don't mind shelling out some extra cash to get more out of a game I love. And I fully believe the dev's who worked on the extra content post-release are entitled to their pay. We don't pay for game patches that fix bugs and some DLC is free. And free DLC ALWAYS comes out as a loss to companies as the time devoted to programming these things isn't short.
One way or another once I buy a game, I don't feel I'm entitled to the extra content developed post-release.
If its on disc, thats one thing, but if its not then I don't have a problem ever paying extra for it.
In the end, I guess all I have to say is I never saw expansions or DLC as a bad thing, especially since it allows me to play with my game more and with new shit added in so I don't feel like I didn't get enough (well with some games thats not going to happen). But I don't blame dev's for wanting cash for their work.
Like the Extended Cuts of the LotR movies, you had to pay more for those and you were rewarded with some awesome scenes not seen in theaters and the DVD's weren't exactly cheap at the time of release. Games, like movies, are stuck with deadlines, and some of them get rushed out the door before they're ready, some don't get all the content they want put in and thus are missing parts and pieces (see FF7 and the Aerith's death continuity errors and quirks for a good example) some are complete and working as intended (and well) but didn't get everything in the dev's wanted to. That is where xpac's and DLC come in and they're valid.
And no one says you have to buy DLC to enjoy the game.
So in the end (with exceptional cases) DLC has been around already in the form of Xpacs and no one batted an eye to that but now somehow they're evil and wrong and money-grubbing if you have to pay out for them even though they're not preventing you from enjoying the game as it is.
If you don't want to give money to dev's/publishers for the game, why buy it at all? Sure $60 is a lot for a game and the general $10 DLC pack isn't always cheap (and yes I will agree some DLC is overpriced) but no one is requiring you to buy said DLC for the game to be complete. Its just extra/ancillary data to extend/enhance your game experience and you don't have to buy it.
Enjoy and please keep the discussion civil. I didn't call anyone names or say outright (or infer) anything negative towards anyone. Only gave my heartfelt opinion and personal experience over the 26 years I've played and enjoyed games.
