The Problem With Xbox Live DLC

TalkXbox writes: "I haven't always hated microtransactions. Prior to some recent experiences which have all but killed them in my eyes, I thought rather highly of them. Perhaps I was a bit naïve in that respect. I used to think that developers would use them to extend the life of their games for several months after their release. Back then, I was mostly right..."

[Mr PS3]

It All Sucks !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anon1974]

Personally, DLC doesn't have much value to me. The most I shelled out for was for the Shivering Isles expansion pack - which is cool but I've played it all of...once. The reason being is there are so many new games coming out, so many excellent titles available across all systems, who has time for DLC? GTA4 DLC sounded good but I'm played GTA4 to death already. I'm onto Fable 2, Gears 2, Little Big Planet and Resistance 2. I finished GTA4, it was great and now I'm moving on. And given the price of games these days it makes sense to trade in towards other purchases, who holds onto their games anymore?
Or, it could just be me. Fallout is another example. The game already has 100 hours or something like that of gameplay. Are extra missions necessary, or even wanted, or are they in reality just PR for MS to say "Look what we bought for the glory of our 360 owners! Sony doesn't have this!" Well that's great, MS, but you're throwing your money away in my opinion.

[Diamondwolf]

"Are extra missions necessary, or even wanted, or are they in reality just PR for MS to say "Look what we bought for the glory of our 360 owners! Sony doesn't have this!" Well that's great, MS, but you're throwing your money away in my opinion."

While DLC and extra missions and whatnot is nice, MS isn't throwing their money away with it. The majority of the mainstream audience don't think. They hear this game is getting this extra and it sways them to purchase on the 360 and not the PS3. That's a very strong move that only sucks for the Sony fanbase.

If people would think then they would require release dates on the DLC that they are using to sway gamers. Look at it like an extended marketing strategy. GTAIV DLC won't do well because people are moving if not long gone from that game already but look at how many people bought it for the 360 because they HEARD that it was coming.

This isn't just a 360 problem but a console problem that developers are putting content in a game but charging you to unlock it, not all devs but most and people will spend the money. If there is money to be made, they will continue doing it until people stop buying and falling for that crap.

I think the only developer who seem to have done DLC right is Criterion. Those people are a godsend to post-release DLC and should set the standard to all developers following.

[JDW]

Not just a problem with Live DLC...but all DLC.

We now have to pay for "extras" that used to be included in the price of the game.

We have to pay for DLC already on the disk to be unlocked.

Why should I pay for extra missions, features and power ups that would previously have been unlocked after completing the game at a certain difficulty level.

Sure, online gaming opened up a whole world of multiplayer fun.....but it also gave developers the excuse to sell us 90% of a game and charge a premium for the extra 10%.

DLC - No Thank You

[ionize]

This is a problem with all download content...not just XBL...besides, I thought the problem with XBL is the size cap.

[Rigmaster]

This is what happens when you have a console that has less storage space than a previous gen.

The PS2 and Xbox had roughly 8.5 gigs per DVD.
The 360 only has about 7 gigs of usable space per DVD.

DLC is going to continue to be more and more of a problem for the 360.

[Dread]

this issue should concern us all as gamers.

this is about money not disk space. It will affect all consoles.

[kingme71]

I wholeheartedly agree with this article. DLC in alot of cases is not an issue...yet. Look at Tales of Vesperia where you could buy your way through the grind levels. Even though that does seem silly, I have no problem with it. No, I wouldn't buy it, but the game is not crippled nor am I getting less of a game because of it. It's there for people who want to fast track.

Now, take Battlefield Bad Company (had EA gone through with it). You pay $5.00 for the privelege of the downloadable content to go into a file somewhere on your console and set a flag that says "enable expensive guns" (Ok, maybe this is a little facetious, but you get the idea).

This type of DLC is just publishers testing the waters to see if they get enough bites to keep on pushing it. Then if it works out for them, they can start crippling games or making DLC almost mandatory for the initially intended gaming experience. This is where DLC crosses the line. The advent and more widespread of digital downloads is going to push the DLC line even further which is why publishers are foaming at the mouth to get digital distribution as the norm in 5-10 years so they can easily peek into our wallets and snip out a 5 spot at the press of a button.

[Yi-Long]

... very simple.

When the developers are already announcing to release more DLC right after the game comes out, I just completely lose interest, cause it feels like you're being ripped off.
Just take a look at the DLC for the recently released Dead Space. It's ridiculous.

Games I was potentially interested in, I am not interested in any longer. Might buy some of them a year or 2 later, when they release the game and all the content in 1 nice little package for 20-30 bucks orso.

Soul Calibur was looking to be a must-buy, but didnt buy it vbecause of the DLC.
Mirror's Edge looks and plays fantastic (demo), and was thinking of buying it fullprice. Not anymore.

I'll just buy other games instead, and wait for the DLC-scamming ones to hit the budgetbins before I even consider buying them.

It works both ways btw. Burnout Paradise WILL get my money, because of the great (free) support by Criterion.

I F-ing hate all the DLC-scamming that's going on. It's a cancer on the whole industry.

[djroberts]

The XBL DLC mostly sux. It's usually just videos, themes and picture packs.

[n9com]

there are a whole wealth of demos

[ace3081]

This is where the big three (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) need to step in and start regulating what developers do with their DLC. Instead of letting them rip off their user base. Though I doubt that will happen as they also make money off of the DLC. Someone should start an online petition. Then maybe we could get their attention.

[Wolverick]

They charge about $8 per add-on which can be a little steep, however they've also added more value to the warhawk game than any other expansion pack I've ever purchased, not to mention for late comers you can get all three for a discounted price. For instance the halo map packs or cod map packs which are the same price give you a few new maps but don't change the gameplay. The Warhawk dlc does both. Well worth it imho

[pain777pas]

I said this so long ago that this would gimp games and nickel and dime us to hell. Why people cheer M$ on when they make their crazy announcements and stuff boggles my mind. At the end of the day you pay for things that should have been in the game from the outset. Criterion is the only company I respect right now because they're fixing their unfinished game for free as of right now.