Downloadable Content (DLC): A Blessing and a Curse
"View the latest sections of your disc, now available for purchase!"
In our modern age of online-capable gaming consoles, downloadable content (DLC) is becoming increasingly common. There’s no denying this fact. But is this a positive trend? On the outside, it would appear so. DLC allows developers to continually provide their users with new content for games that might otherwise be put back on the shelf quickly after their release. In theory, it’s a wonderful system to potentially add a great deal of longevity to a game over time. Unfortunately, developers don’t always use this concept in a way that’s fair to their users. That’s right. DLC has a dark side.
I remember when Beautiful Katamari came out for Xbox 360, several news sites were reporting that DLC that included entirely new stages were contained in a file too small to be the stages themselves. The files were most likely doing nothing more than unlocking existing content already on the disc. This wasn’t the first time a situation like this occurred, but it received added attention due to the fact that buying all the DLC would move the game from “budget title” status to the normal sixty dollar price tag. It was a game of deception.
Sadly, this kind of practice is becoming commonplace. Games are getting released the same day as their first DLC pack, at times. Things that in days past would be unlocked as a reward for your actions in the game, are now unlocked by how much extra money is in your wallet.
Worse still, DLC is even used sometimes to manipulate our actions. Soul Calibur IV had console “exclusive” characters. The Xbox 360 version had Yoda and the PS3 version had Darth Vader. Despite that there was clearly a space for the absent Star Wars character of your choice on the character selection screen, the game’s director, Katsutoshi Sasaki, states that they had no plans to bring the absent players to their respective versions through the use of DLC. People desperate enough to play as both Yoda and Vader bought both versions of the game. They were in for a surprise. Months later, new Soul Calibur IV DLC was released that contained the absent characters. This just happened to fill the suspicious empty spaces from earlier. Now why would they say they had no plans to do something if they already prepared for it in advance? Hmm.
Another example of this manipulation, though much less severe, is Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Their DLC packs are all free. Truly they must be generous to give us new content for free, right? First off let’s take a look at the content itself. Each new pack contains a new support character to be used in Vs mode. So what’s wrong with that? Well, as you progress through the single player story mode, you will take on the role of several different characters in the battles. In some of these battles, your support characters are people that will later be released as DLC. All the DLC will do is allow you to use these support characters in Vs mode battles instead of the specific story mode battles featuring them.
What is the advantage of holding back this already existing content if no money is even exchanged for it? I wondered that myself, that is, until I read Dave’s article on used games. Think about it. If that content was unlocked through normal progression of the game, somebody could blow through the single player, unlock everything, and exhaust those new multiplayer features in a relatively short amount of time. After this, they might trade in the game for something new, allowing the next guy to pick up the used copy at a reduced price. As Dave pointed out in his article, the developer sees none of this money. If the developer lures the purchaser of their game to hold on to it because free DLC is coming, the amount of used copies on store shelves would be lessened. Now it’s all coming together.
This is not to say that all DLC is bad. The rhythm genre, for example, has legitimately been able to provide its fans with new songs to rock out to as additional copyrights are acquired. Games like Little Big Planet are able to add entirely new gameplay mechanics such as the “paintinator” featured in the Metal Gear Solid pack. DLC can truly be a wonderful thing. But sadly, some developers are going to continue abusing this system of exchange and frankly, I don’t see a light at the end of that tunnel.
Tags: Beautiful Katamari, dlc, downloadable content, Editorials, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Soul Calibur IV
This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:26 am
Jonah "spambot" Gregory says:This wouldn’t even bother me so much if publishers would stop blatantly lying about it.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Shaolinjesus says:I know of at least one RPG that allowed you to pay a few bucks to level up your characters, instead of the usual level gringing. What do you guys think about buying levels in RPG’s?
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:That is just plain bizarre! I know I personally wouldn’t pay for such a thing. Hmmm…. I guess it’s like paying for a game genie or something.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Feast of the panda says:On my way through Tales I never payed for any levels but I do see a good side to it. As much as people complain I would rather shell out $1.50 then grind for 5 hours.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
ChooChooCharlie says:First off, I just want to say that I really enjoy your guys’ posts. You don’t flood your site with every hot news item, instead you post about interesting and entertaining topics and add your own insights. This post is just another example of the quality writing I’ve come to expect here. Seriously, no sarcasm tags added. Good job.
Now, back to the topic. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with DLC too. On the one hand, it may allow me to add extra features or additional content to games that I’ve set aside. But, on the other hand, as was stated above, a good number of developers use it as a quick cash-in opportunity by having DLC packs lined up for release shortly after the game ships. Many of which are merely unlock codes and not true DLC.
I think the cause and solution to the DLC problem lies with the consumer. Before purchasing any DLC, you need to look at a number of things. First, when was it released? In tandem with the release of the retail title or did it come out weeks or months afterward? If you don’t appreciate the fact that developers purposefully held back content that could have been in the retail version - DON’T BUY IT. Second, how large is the download file? If it is at or around 108KB, it is most likely an “unlock code”. If this fact upsets you - DON’T BUY IT. What does the DLC actually add to your experience? Do you really need that new costume pack? If not, then - DON’T BUY IT. How about the price? Is it $5 more than you think it should be? Then DON’T BUY IT.
The best way for a consumer to send feedback to a greedy (or sometimes generous developer, like Criterion) is to vote with his wallet. If nobody buys their overpriced DLC, they will react by either reducing the price of future releases or just packing it in with the retail title. These companies aren’t stupid. They’re only pulling this BS because some sorry sap out there is willing to shell out the cash for it.
And for the record, as tempting as that Vader DLC was, I personally did not purchase it. Would he have been a cool character to use? Probably. But not $5 cool. And certainly not 108KB cool. Since I can’t personally tell Namco to eat my ass for trying to offer me a $5 unlock code, I instead chose to forgo that DLC and save my money. Money speaks louder than internet rage.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:Well said, Charlie… well said.
I almost made this article even longer by getting into how GameStop specifically is making things even worse by having exclusive preorder DLC, but I figured I better stop myself before it got uncomfortably long.
And mucho thanks-o for the positive feedback, BTW
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Shaolinjesus says:I am glad ChooChoo mentioned Criterion because I think that they have been a wonderful example. It seems like every couple of months there is some new downloadable content for Burnout Paradise. It has reached the point now where the total content available dwarfs the initial release.
Jesse your article got me thinking about the idea of episodic games. It seems like publishers are always toying with the idea but haven’t really embraced it. I personally think this would be a great way to try out new ideas and see how people respond. I think people would be more likely to take a chance on a smaller less expensive experience.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:What genres besides Adventure Games have been done episodically before? I’m curious at how well other genres translate into the episodic format.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
Luke "masterlookas" Jahnke says:I hate to disagree with you guys but the extra characters weren’t on the disc. Still not worth $5 though….not even for Vader.
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024e4d07e0/?p=1&of=3&sb=1#offers
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 am
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:I stand corrected. Looks like the Vader/Yoda download was 8 mb rather than the 108 kb one. Still, they had the spot open specifically for it. I stand by that I think they always intended to release him despite what they said.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Dave "shaolinjesus" Corvin says:I think something like Tomb Raider or even Tony Hawk could work episodically I think that you could draw people in with story like an adventure game does or you could draw people in with more levels or content.
What if the next Hawk game was $10 on XBLA and you got 4 levels and it was $5 for each additional level? A lot of people would only buy that first starter pack but I think you would get people who had never tried or had given up the franchise to check it out for $10 and I think that you would get the hardcore fans to shell out money everytime a new level was available.
That is just one example and I am not sure what price points work exactly, but I think more developers should be trying this.
March 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Jonah "spambot" Gregory says:Then they could have a new Tony Hawk every month!
March 6th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Dave "shaolinjesus" Corvin says:Somewhere the president of Activision shudders with delight.
March 24th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Jonah "spambot" Gregory says:I’m surprised Wipeout HD hasn’t been mentioned. Jesse and both want that game to have tons of DLC, yet it has none.
March 24th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:at least i read that they plan on it. They just haven’t confirmed what the what/when/how much. I’m hoping more tracks