Tag Archives: DLC

Street Fighter V and a Different(?) Approach to DLC

Image by Flickr user Dan Klimke (CC)
Image by Flickr user Dan Klimke (CC)

Several days back, at the EVO 2015 fighting game tournament, Capcom announced that its newest Street Fighter game, Street Fighter V (SFV), would essentially be released as a “complete” game with free (or mostly free) content becoming available down the road.  So unlike with Street Fighter IV (SFIV) and its “Super” and “Ultra” upgraded versions on disc, Street Fighter V will be the only version of the game on disc, ever. Also unlike with SFIV, new SFV characters will be unlocked FREE, FREE, FREE to players through gameplay. Interestingly, in its statement Capcom noted:

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Good, Not Great

Image by Flickr user: commorancy (cc)

There have been more than a few disappointments out this year haven’t there? Game after game released to tremendous hype only to fall short of our collected expectations. It happened with Lightning Returns, it happened with Alien: Isolation, and especially so with Destiny. They are all good games in their own rights, but none were quite what many of us expected them to be. It’s made me wonder though, does everything I play need to be great? Can a game that’s just good be good enough?

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A Demon In Our Midst

Dlc, if you have dabbled in gaming at all during this generation you know what this is. This is the 40-80 dollars you spend after your initial purchase of a video game. We may hate ourselves for it, but we get excited when it’s announced, froth at the mouth and ready our wallets for it’s beautiful release. A forbidden pleasure.
What is dlc really? In some cases, I’m sure it is probably exactly what they tell us it is, added content to expand our enjoyment of the original game. I don’t believe for a second, though, that this is always the case. In most cases, especially in day one dlc, or dlc released within the first week, It is just a way for game producers to milk us a tad more for a game we just bought. I can’t blame them completely, I know as well as anyone that video games are a business as well as a pastime, but I feel like there should be a limit or a basic set of rules to how they can do this.
I remember the old days, before consoles were connected to the internet. Games back then were complete the day you bought them, they didn’t need dlc. When you bought a game it was either a deep and compelling game that was worthy of your investment, or it was a horrible waste of your time, and you used it for target practice. There was no dlc, you got what you payed for, and you knew what you were buying yourself into. Games back then it seemed like were just made better than the games of today.
Nowadays, I feel like games are released incomplete on purpose. Sure, you can complete the story, save the damsel in distress, whatever. The games, though, don’t always feel complete without the dlc. Honestly, I’d rather just pay an extra amount on my initial purchase and feel like I bought a completed game. Dlc is an infection, and we the consumers (myself included) continue to buy into it. The worst kind of dlc isn’t even the expansion style dlc, which some is totally worth your money, It’s weapon skins and character outfits, this dlc is truly money-grubbing and just plain stupid.
I think the moral to my story here, is that we as gamers should evaluate the content we decide to pay extra money for. If it’s an expansion that you will blow through in 3 hours, don’t buy it, because that’s exactly what they want from us. The only exception to this, is if they offer you a bacon weapon skin, in that case you should buy it because bacon is amazing. Anyways happy nerding, hope to hear back from you guys!

Premium Content in Games

Image by Flickr user JBLivin
Image by Flickr user JBLivin

Day 1 DLC, online access codes, the “PSN Pass”, each of these a different version of “premium” content meant to encourage buying new. Premium content is a tough issue to take a stance on, since there is a valid argument for each side. On one hand we have the developer/ publisher essentially offering a more “complete” game by offering extra content to new game buyers, while on the other hand we have used game consumers, who are seemingly punished by the existence of that same premium content. Neither side is completely in the wrong, since the developer and/or publisher are simply trying to reduce losses due to used games, while used game buyers are simply trying to make their hobby slightly more affordable (a game is an expensive purchase after all).
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