I see a lot of heat from gamers like me over the whole DLC issue. It seems like so many game companies are releasing their games with the expectation of releasing DLC now. Many are offering DLC at release.
It's easy to see why people are angry. You've just dropped $60 for the latest and greatest game of all time, and you find out that there's "extra content" you have to drop another $20 for. I kinda makes you feel like the publisher held back something that should have been there in the first place.
I've rolled this around in my head for some time now, looking at the positives and negatives on the whole DLC subject, and I have to say that DLC, on the whole, is a good thing.
Let me explain...
One of my favorite games is Skyrim. I've been a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series since Morrowind was released for the Xbox. I'll put more hours into an Elder Scrolls game than I will any other title.
But, eventually, you see it all. No matter how awesome a game is, you'll reach the point where you have to admit that you've done everything the game has to offer. You shelf the game, and start looking for the next conquest (or in my case the next Elder Scroll game).
It's when I get to download newer content that re-invigorates my interest in an older game that my appreciation of DLC is enormous. I get to go back to experience something new in a game that I love! Not only that, if the newer content is spaced out accordingly, I'll find myself playing through older content, as well as the newer, just to gain that feeling of "homecoming" you get from playing an old favorite.
Of course, there is always going to be dumb, or pointless, DLC. I haven't forgotten (and barely forgiven) the Horse Armor DLC for Oblivion. This is one of the things that could have been added to the original game. Why a company would want to charge $5 for something as cosmetic (and honestly, as stupid) as armor for your horse, is beyond me.
Also, the whole "DLC at launch" is a complete cash-grab. The publishers try to defend themselves by claiming that the cost of producing the game makes any profits gained marginal, so to make up the difference, they offer instant DLC.
This is bullshit.
It is due to this we are beginning to see the rise of a new kind of developer, one that is smaller, with less to lose, yet more to gain. They are people who grew up playing video games, so they are making video games that gamers actually want, and very often with funding from the player base itself, through sites like Kickstarter. These are the Brave Knights who are going up against the evil Corporate Dragon, and the only way they can win is with the gamers supporting their projects.
This is the way games should be made. By including and listening to the people who are going to be playing it.
In conclusion, DLC isn't a bad thing. It's just being used in a bad way. If more of the big game publishers would look more closely at the small, up-and-comers, and how they're succeeding, maybe the public image of companies like EA, Capcom, and Activision wouldn't be so dismal.
Fallout London hasn't exactly had an ideal launch—crashing issues have been reported by players—but overall reaction is still posititve.
Console Creatures writes, "The BioShock film at Netflix is still happening but with a reduced budget."
It's 10 years too late for a BioShock film. The world of Rapture would have been perfect for a film. It's actually a good candidate for proper utilization of 3D, for increased depth rather than bullshit popping out of the screen. It could really show off the underwater city that way. But BioShock as a brand is so irrelevant these days that a film just doesn't make sense. Especially considering it would need a big budget and top notch effects to really take advantage of the IP.
i agree on the bigger budget. all the cgi they'd need for the background.
but i think it would work better as a show. a movie would be too short to establish the story
Netflix greenlights anything, so that shows me very little faith in the project. Enough to just crap something out as they're, more and more, known to do.
its where b movies go to live, its run by democrats , dont expect anything good from netflix
I'll laugh if it turns out to be better then the Borderlands movie
The Pokemon Company had retail sales worth of 10.8 billion US Dollars in the year 2023, based on the latest report.
that merch tho.
ridiculous the numbers they pull in, which makes it even worse when i think about the low budget broken games they make. or have made recently
Of course not. That's why I have tem tem because even if it's not the greatest I at least know the indie dev was trying
Great plug for Tem Tem right there. It's not the greatest but at least they tried.... 🤣
@zeek that's right it's as good or better than a pokemon game but they didn't have access to pokemon game money. So it's more of a stain on pokemon company to be in the same ballpark as them
It's time we admit that they were never really that amazing to begin with. The games have never quite reach the same level of awesomeness as the anime. Look at the last few seasons we got to wrap up Ash's adventure, and the new series. 4 lazy Switch games and a remake which was so low effort that you wouldn't be able to tell it's a remake if your weren't told beforehand. The concept of Pokemon will always be awesome, but man the games absolutely suck.
DLC is not a bad thing at all. Cosmetic DLC and expansions are hardly a bad thing to any gamer. It's the way publishers like Capcom and EA have abused the system and made it seem like this horrid plague on the industry.
True. I mean, if all DLC was akin to spank-tacular expansion packs of yester-gen, then no one would complain.
DLC has gotten completely overboard this generation. I think the indie game DLC Quest sums it all. But some DLC is good, I prefer full expansions to the game that extends the life of the game instead of cosmetic items that usually Capcom does.