Power Button – Episode 61: To Everything There Is A Season Pass

Downloadable expansions are big business in the video game industry these days, so it's only natural that publishers would find new ways to monetize various forms of content. The big new trend in DLC involves prepaying for new content in bulk ahead of its release. The industry calls it a Season Pass. This week on Power Button, Joey Davidson, Brad Hilderbrand, and Matthew Green discuss the Season Pass phenomenon and how it works to the advantage of players in some situations and against their best interests in others. L.A. Noire, Mortal Kombat, and Gears of War 3 are all held up as various examples. Flowing organically from that conversation, Joey takes everyone into episodic gaming territory and wonders when big budget franchises such as Assassin's Creed will split into regular installments that are purchased under a Season Pass system. Did someone mention weekly episodes of Uncharted? Oh, and they even find the time to shame Capcom for its $3 color packs for Street Fighter I…