How Downloadable Content Becomes A Joke

How would you feel if let's say you purchased a car, and that car happens to not have headlights, then the car dealer is gonna demand additional charge for those headlights? How are you gonna react if the product that you purchased happens to be incomplete and you have to pay additonal charge for features that will make the product complete?

I'm gonna tell a story, though not related, it runs on the same context. We just went to Picnic Grove in Tagaytay last Saturday. My brother and my girlfriend were insisting for us to take a horseback ride. The price was P200 for each horse, but I was hesitant. The horse owner told us that besides the little oval that the other horseback riders were strolling, there is a much wider area on the back where the scenery is much more beautiful. So I was like "ok I guess the price is worth it" and paid for 2 horses. We found out later that there is an entrance fee so we can stroll on the back area. My girlfriend raged when she heard this because we didn't know that we need to give additional fee for a complete experience. She was about to quit and get our money back but the horse owner let us proceed on the back area without the additional fee anymore.

Nowadays, it seems like the business model of video game industry runs like this. With the introduction of faster broadband internet, the popularity of online gaming has exploded and made its way to our consoles. And it seems like the video game publishers have found a new business model and a way to grab more money from us even after we've bought the the full game - through Downloadable Content (DLC).

I raise my eyebrows everytime I see a new map pack DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Sure, the map packs might seem worth the $15 at first, each DLC pack contains 4 new maps and some new modes, but I can buy a complete game for $10-$15 from PSN, and this is not even a game, it's just maps. And I can't believe that Activision has the nerve to continue milking their franchise after earning more than a billion dollars just for selling the game. I just think they're too overpriced.

This is not limited to just FPS games. Even fighting games already ride on the waves of this DLC madness even if it's unnecessary. I don't really care about costumes, nobody gives a rat's ass about them, but offering a new character as priced DLC? Totally ridiculous. Yes I'm talking to you Mortal Kombat. I don't really care much about it because what ends up happening is that DLC characters are banned from tournaments. Way to go NetherRealm Studios. :-P

I don't wanna fully bash the importance of DLC. It has its importance and some video game publishers know what a true DLC is, i.e. something that adds features, content, and experience to the game aimed to prolong its life. Some of them release good quality DLC like the Undead Nightmare pack for Red Dead Redemption, you really get what you pay for. Others are just overpriced pile of garbage like costumes, additional cars, additional guns, etc. that don't really add anything to the experience.

You know what really is infuriating about how DLC is used? It's when publishers release an incomplete game, only to find out a few days later after the release that an important feature or a game element that highly affects gameplay that every other game has for free is offered as priced DLC. It is even more infuriating when the DLC is already included in the game disc, and you buy a 100 KB unlock code in order to have that game feature.

As far as I can see the biggest offender of this absurdity is Capcom - they have a lot of questionable DLC practices just recently. Other notorious offenders include Activision and EA to a lesser extent.

Remember the controversy about Resident Evil 5? Just a day after the game was released, Capcom announced a priced DLC that includes multiplayer modes, something that every other game has for free. Maybe I won't mind that much if they cleverly release this a year later but really, you have a priced DLC ready just before the game is released? Then you should have included it the base product in the first place!

This has outraged gamers of course and Capcom was quick to defend themselves and insisting that the content of the DLC exists with its own budgets that are distinct from the budgets of the base product. The single player alone in Resident Evil 5 is worth every penny of $60. I'm sorry Capcom but this is where I have to call "BS". Metal Gear Solid 4 is also a huge game and I dare say much bigger than your Resident Evil 5, and the single player alone is worth every penny of even $100. Did we have to pay for the multiplayer? Hell no!

And just recently, Capcom presented probably one of the biggest insult to us as fighting game players - the Gem System of Street Fighter X Tekken. I don't totally dislike the Gem System. Though I do think that this feature might be the most abused gameplay mechanic of the game, I also think of the excitement that this system might bring to the table. However, there's a catch - some specialized gems are only available when you pre-order the game, and they might be monetized as DLC. Yoshinori Ono is insisting that the Gem System is vital to SFxT, tournaments won't ban it and there would be no option to turn it off and yet it seems like you have to pay your way to victory with this route. This would cause some serious disadvantage to people not planning or don't have money to buy the priced DLC gems. For crying out loud, this is a vital part of the gameplay, and they are monetizing it? You've gotta be kidding Capcom!

Ideally, a balanced fighting game should give the same options to players and if Capcom is serious in going this route, this would cause some serious problems. This is pretty alarming because if you want a level fighting field in this game, you will be forced to buy all gems, not just the ones included in the pre-order releases but also the gems that they might release in the upcoming days post-release. This will seriously cause a lot of problems as well to the tournament scene and this article sums it all up pretty well. I can't believe how greedy Capcom can be with this kind of BS. This is quite a cunning ploy to keep the bucks coming in post-release, but this is not gonna win them any fans, it will surely be the opposite. It's like they are digging their own grave. I myself have already lost interest in this game.

I totally hope that I won't wake up one day in the year 2030, turn on my Playstation 9, play my favorite game only to be appalled that I need to pay to play the next chapters or acquire individual movesets for my fighting game characters. I might not experience that anymore because when that day comes that stupid DLC practices totally ruins video gaming, it's also the day that I already have left the fantastic world of video games. However, I truly commend game publishers that use DLC the right way. DLC has its place in modern video gaming, but it shouldn't be used as a way to drain gamers of their hard-earned money. It's should be a way to keep the gamers interested with the game and to prolong the game's life.

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Posted in: video games