Sleeping Dogs DLC is the wrong kind of DLC

[Lady Lilith]

http://kotaku.com/59...oadable-content

Like many of my Kotaku brethren and sistren, I really dig United Front's Sleeping Dogs. I'm taking my time playing it, doing a lot of the sidequests, and I can tell that when I do finish, I'll gladly pay for add-on content to expand the game.

And look at that, I'm in luck! The first pieces of downloadable content for the game just came out (so soon!) and… well, wait. They're weird. Only one of them is really "content" at all, and the rest are just .. well, here are the official descriptions:

Top Dog Gold Pack - $2.99

Earn major respect by boosting your Cop, Face and Triad Experience Points and gaining new abilities. Gives you 8,250 Triad, 4,500 Cop and 4,500 extra Face Experience Points. For the ultimate in upgrades combine with the Top Dog Silver Pack.

The Red Envelope Pack - $2.99

Need help buying that fast car, fancy threads or luxury items for your new apartment? For fortune and prosperity download the Red Envelopes Pack. There are 20 envelopes each stuffed with $50k, scattered throughout Hong Kong, find them all and you'll net a cool 1 Million HK dollars to spend on whatever you want.

The High Roller Pack - $2.99

Want that fast track to the in-crowd? Look like the real deal with the super fast, luxury Tuono vehicle and High Roller outfit. Plus, with an extra $200k to burn you can be sure to get ahead and get noticed. Please note this pack gives you early access to the Tuono vehicle and the High Roller outfit, these items can also be earned through the normal game progression.

Top Dog Silver Pack - $1.99

Boost your Cop, Face and Triad Experience Points to earn respect fast and gain new abilities. Gives you 5,500 Triad, 3,000 Cop and 3,000 extra Face Experience Points. For the ultimate upgrade combine with the Top Dog Gold Pack.

Retro Triad Pack - $1.99

Go old school with a killer look and ride straight out of the 80s! New hair, accessories, clothes and boots are combined with an 80s style kung fu van to complete the look. Items come with their own buffs, increasing your damage resistance, Triad and Face experience and striking damage.

So, three of the pieces of DLC quickly unlock things that are already in the game, and one is basically just a scavenger hunt for more money. Only that last one, the retro triad pack, is actual new content.

Something about this hits me wrong. I know we've seen this kind of thing before—paying to get through the game faster, free-to-play microtransactions, etc. And of course, no one is forcing us to buy this stuff—it's optional. And heck, this article at Nightmare Mode puts forth the idea that this kind of thing is perfectly normal, and that really, "Everything should be DLC."

When I pay $60 for a narrative about a Renaissance assassin I expect all the chapters to be included, instead of having the publisher hold 2 of the middle chapters hostage for more cash. But if there were a Final Fantasy game that offered me the option to pay to receive a side quest's reward (let's say it is a sword) instead of grinding through said side quest, I would give out my credit card number in a heartbeat! So yeah, are you hearing, SquareEnix? Want to get out of the financial mess you are in? Then become like Zynga!

I can't get with this line of thinking, not fully, anyway. As I looked at the Sleeping Dogs DLC, I couldn't help but think… "Isn't this what cheat codes are for?"

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games, which provide the open-world template upon whichSleeping Dogs is directly based—have certainly never sold "Pay to progress" DLC. Want a ton of cash, or sweet armor, or all the guns? Here, enter any of these codes.

Imagine if Bethesda released Skyrim DLC that gave you a ton more money. In that game, I canenter any of these console commands to summon myself some gear, or a horse, or hell, anything else in the game.

I mentioned that I thought the DLC was weird to my colleagues, and Stephen challenged my thinking.

Stephen:

You're against people who don't have time paying to get ahead in their single-player game? Why?

Kirk:

I'm wrestling with how I feel about it. I don't mind it for the reasons you say, it's okay for people to pay to move faster, but also, aren't there cheat codes for this kind of thing? Codes that unlock gear in a game? Something about paying a publisher after the fact to unlock goodies in a game seems weird. Something something ownership of a game something tinkering something.

Stephen:

So you're saying that if you pay for a $60 game, you should be able to access all content immediately with zero sweat put into it.

Kirk:

No.

Stephen:

Then what are you saying?

Kirk:

If you want to do stuff like unlock a late-game outfit or raise your prestige, there should be cheat codes for that?

Stephen:

Because there used to be? Or is there another good reason?

Kirk:

Because, on principle, you should be able to access the stuff if you WANT it, but to get the "true" experience you play the game. But paying more for "downloadable content" that is not actually content is weird. It's not new, I realize, it's in a billion games. But sleeping dogs isn't free-to-play, it's a full-priced singleplayer only game.

Stephen:

So in your gamer bill of rights, there would be a cheat code for every game that unlocked everything? Or just in games where the publisher might have considered charging for those unlocks?

Kirk:

There would be cheat codes for everything. Take skyrim. On PC in skyrim, I can just enter console commands and conjure anything I want. I don't, because I like playing the game the way it was intended. But it'd be ridiculous for Bethesda to release a DLC pack that just gives me like, 1,000,000 gold pieces.

Stephen:

What would the cheat code be for getting a fireflower in Mario?

Okay that last part was just Stephen being Stephen. But the question remains—where is the line? When does DLC feel like a cash-in, and where does it feel merited? I think that when it comes down to it, downloadable content should include, well, content.

Square Enix, the publisher of Sleeping Dogs, had a similar setup with Eidos' (great) open-world action game Just Cause 2. That game also got a whole bunch of small, cheap DLC. But all of the DLC for Just Cause 2 involved actual content. Guns, tools, vehicles… heck, I even bought some assault rifle or something once because hey, it was a dollar! I'll pay a dollar for a cool gun in a game I really like.

But if it's just in-game money, or clothes I'd unlock later… something in my video game DNA rebells at the idea of having to pay to unlock that stuff. Video game ownership has become a complex issues in this age of downloadable games, but I don't think it's too much to ask that if I bought a game, I should be allowed to access all of it if I want to. I'll almost always prefer to play the game the way it was intended, but come on, game-makers—leave me some cheat codes.

If I'm messing around in a game world and I want to conjure a tank and some money for myself, I should be reaching for the console commands, not for my wallet.

Tch...on disc DLC. Ugh.

[Orlay_]

I looked at the dlc, and clicked away without a second thought. Despite going slow (for me) I still finished the game in 4 days. I love every second of it.. but I'm not going to fork over 4 dollars so I can put a dark suit on.. especially when that suit is already in the game with no buffs.

Also.. last time I checked.. I HATE collectibles with a passion. Why on earth would I pay to hunt them down? You don't use the money for anything after you buy all the clothes and cars.

[Lady Lilith]

I don't understand this type of DLC, especially in open world games. It's like...if you do all the side missions, you'll have enough money. Besides, you'd be getting more gameplay out of the game by doing all the side missions, so it's really a win win...the DLC is just... counter intuitive

[Kittens Are Awesome]

Yea, this is dumb. I wish hackers would figure a way for all of us to unlock on-disk-DLC. It wouldn't be stealing either. You already bought it. I would love to stick it back to those greedy bastards.

[skidmarkgn]

Why is this only becoming an issue now? There's been a ton of JRPG's in the past that do this (buying in game money through DLC or extra experience and items) not to mention some high profile releases that everyone loved. Take Dead Space 2 for example. You can buy weapon packs in the store to get something that's already in the game early... yet no one made a peep. Is it just conditional or something? Is no one bitching about the Rainbow Moon DLC because it was done by a smaller company instead of an "evil corporation" that's easy (and more popular) to target? Honestly, I don't get it.

[Lady Lilith]

Why is this only becoming an issue now? There's been a ton of JRPG's in the past that do this (buying in game money through DLC or extra experience and items) not to mention some high profile releases that everyone loved. Take Dead Space 2 for example. You can buy weapon packs in the store to get something that's already in the game early... yet no one made a peep. Is it just conditional or something? Is no one bitching about the Rainbow Moon DLC because it was done by a smaller company instead of an "evil corporation" that's easy (and more popular) to target? Honestly, I don't get it.

This. They're probably doing this to pick on Square Enix, just like they did to Capcom, because they're both "more evil" than EA or some other company. I did hear some complaints about the Dead Space 2 thing, but they were nowhere near the magnitude of SE and Capcom.

Also, another factor could be the amount of times they've done this in the past. Didn't SE do this to FFXIII too?

Edited August 26, 2012 by gamerm1337

[RHGSniperFox]

It's not "On Disc DLC" - it's DLC that just makes it easier to get through the game. No different than all that DLC that allows you to unlock Cars/Weapons/Costumes etc. in other games - you could still get [most of it] it all legitimately if you wanted.

Why are the console gamers bitching anyway? "F2P" MMOs have been doing this for YEARS.

Frankly, while I do find it kind of stupid, it really hurts no one, and it's honestly NOT worth complaining about. It doesn't affect your progress through the game in anyway. Nothing is locked out from you. It's just a means to help you out if you get stuck. Give you a slight edge.

It's not like you can't finish the game if you don't buy it.

"Oh no, they gave someone the option of paying for something I got for free!"

Also - there's still a supposed 6 months worth of DLC coming for the game - I highly doubt it'll all be "stuff already available". If it is, THEN it's worth complaining about. Until then - quit worrying.

[skidmarkgn]

The article just sounds like a typical "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH I deserve to get everything for free because I'm me!!" nerd rage. Honestly, being pissed off because you "feel" the DLC should be unlocked through cheat codes instead of money is beyond petty. Online gaming has only recently (when I say recently I mean in gaming's entire lifespan) become a staple of the industry and thinking companies aren't going to try and profit from it is utterly idiotic. If you think you're getting ripped off now-a-days try going back in time 20 or so years. Games like Golden Axe would cost you pretty much the same as you're paying these days and believe me... you were getting a lot less for your money.

[RHGSniperFox]

The article just sounds like a typical "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH I deserve to get everything for free because I'm me!!" nerd rage. Honestly, being pissed off because you "feel" the DLC should be unlocked through cheat codes instead of money is beyond petty. Online gaming has only recently (when I say recently I mean in gaming's entire lifespan) become a staple of the industry and thinking companies aren't going to try and profit from it is utterly idiotic. If you think you're getting ripped off now-a-days try going back in time 20 or so years. Games like Golden Axe would cost you pretty much the same as you're paying these days and believe me... you were getting a lot less for your money.

I still feel the pain of getting games like Shaq-Fu ( Almost $70 ) and Superman 64 ( around $80 ) at full price.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Fox

[silver_pigy]

i dont like it