DLC has a bad rap, but in theory and in proper practice, it's an effective way to keep jobs in the market, extend the lifespans of games, and give the fans more content. There's also this misconception that all Day 1 DLC is bad. It's not. Sometimes, a game goes Gold and is ready to be shipped when developers find that they have a little more time on their hands. Since they have more time before the game ships, they begin to work on other features or content that could've been added, but wasn't ready or planned at the moment. They then release this DLC usually as soon as they finish it, close to release date, or the Day of. This is Day 1, or week 1 DLC. It could've been free, but it's an opportunity to make a little extra money for a little extra work that was done when they could've taken a well needed vacation after the development cycle was complete. These are not bad business practices. Some companies like Namco give this DLC out for free. Other companies (CapCom) plan this DLC before release and charge later, both as an attempt to gain additional revenue (sometimes bad), and as an attempt to continue or extend the life cycle of a game that had questionable appeal or low chances for longevity. I
don't necessarily agree or disagree with most of these practices. Instead, I like to say that I understand. Not all companies will be like Namco and give you pre-planned DLC for free. I'm also willing to bet that if the Capcom fiasco hadn't gone so horribly awry, there's a chance that it wouldn't be free, but it is and no one can be sure but the team. Also, not all companies are going to charge you. But most companies do want to extend the lives of their games, even if only by a day more for many factors (extra publicity, fan demand, customer loyalty, etc.), and DLC is a way to do that and get some money for it in the process.
Just my 2 cents.
--- The Colossal King
--- The Gravity Queen
bob-maul wrote:
My problems with DLC. It splits the community into players who bought it and those that did not. Also, it is rare for the DLC to be a reasonable price. I like how Starhawk has free maps. I would love if PSASBR did this. To the guy who said it would be weird for a new developer to have free DLC- Sony decides all pricing and if it should be free. It does not matter if the developer is Naughty Dog or Nihilistic (bleh)
It doesn't have to split the community in 2. Capcom was trying to find a way around this, hence the SFxT incident with on-disc DLC. However, NetherRealm studios seems to be working on a way to give players additional content, while making others update their games to participate with everyone else. The problem is that it'll take up harddrive space which isn't fair to those who don't buy the content. If there was a way to do a server based upload which would allow the non-DLC players to participate, it would pretty awesome. I think with the advent of cloud services, we may see a change in this issue.
@soviet Day 1 paid DLC has no reason to exist. A "gold" game is normally done a month ahead. if you can make worthwhile DLC in 1 month, it should be paid. But this stuff is worked on BEFORE it goes gold. and should be free or much cheaper than average DLC
I support DLCif it isnt ridiculously priced and is actually game extending. I refuse to buy capcom DLc though cuz there ridiculous. I do understand that it can split the community, but both netherrealm and namco have had free update downloads so that you could still play with people who have DLC and you don't. I believe that is the solution to that issue. also free DLC is extremely rare and I see why it is DLC is meant to make a little extra money after the game is released. would you work for lets say a month or two and not get paid just to please someone? I doubt it so thats why it will likely be paid. I see Superbot making worthwhile DLC in the future but I still see pricing as the issue. will still get it but I know it hurt my wallet. O well this game and Superbot have been great so Isupport them.
