My disappointment with the current state of the Industry

[Zenpai]

As you are about to see, the following post was inspired by Gotakibono’s own blog posts, namely the one regarding season passes and DLC (go check it out if you haven't yet, it's pretty good). I just felt like giving my own two cents on the matter of the current state of the gaming industry since this is something that I feel very strongly about. I'm also going to take a page out of his book and sprinkle the post with images for easier reading.

 

 

WARNING: LONG-ASS POST WITH HEAVY RANTING AHEAD

 

 

I'm the kind of guy that really likes his stuff new. I've seen how other people treat their own things and how used items on online shopping sites almost always end up coming in a less-than-desirable state, despite having been described as "very good" or even "like new". Honestly, I don't even think I'm that careful with my own stuff - I don't put it in plastic bags for protection or anything - I just use basic common sense to minimize damage to my items. I just sincerely believe the vast majority of people don't really care about having their stuff in as best a condition as possible as long as it's usable - a sentiment I do not partake of at all.

 

Anyway, on with the point. Items already get damaged enough by just regular usage and even the passage of time itself, I don't need them to be further damaged by someone else's carelessness on top of that. So unless it's either ultra expensive or super rare, I try and buy stuff new most of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It does sound like I'm going to have to start making an exception for games, though. At least very recent ones.

 

To explain why I've come to this conclusion, let's go back a few years in time for a bit of video game history.

 

The 6th generation was when I consider gaming finally reached maturity. Aided by more powerful graphics and optical storage media with gigabytes of data, games had become more immersive, more complex, less blocky and there was enough diversity for everyone's tastes. Some games (especially on the original Xbox) even had online gaming capabilities, which allowed you to play with people from all over the world. It's no wonder that, to this day, the best-selling console of all-time is still a 6th generation console. Though it still had a few kinks to iron out to reach full maturity, gaming reached the point where it could be treated more seriously and provide a wide range of experiences to all kinds of different people. It took the lessons learned from the previous generations and its more powerful hardware and combined them with all the good game design strategies that already existed to make a truly unforgettable generation.

 

 

The 7th generation was when I consider gaming reached full maturity. It grabbed everything that was good about the 6th generation and combined it with even more powerful hardware and, in the case of the Playstation 3, an even more powerful optical storage medium to truly ensure that gaming no longer had any limitations. Everything was possible now.

 

Unfortunately, with great power, comes great opportunity to screw up. And that's certainly what happened mid-7th generation.

 

With all consoles now having Internet connection capabilities, new things became possible for gaming. For example, patching a bugged game. Boxed expansions could now also be delivered through online stores, which made it a more secure investment for game developers. After all, digital data doesn't occupy any physical space, so it can just be left there for all eternity and people can buy how many they want, whenever they want. These digital game expansions were eventually given a new name - DLC. Short for  DownLoadable Content.

 

And this is where shit hit the fan.

 

 

There's nothing inherently wrong with DLC. Expansions have long existed and whether they're boxed or digital doesn't really make a difference. The problem is when almost all game companies started looking at DLC in a different light. Not as a way to add to their game, as expansions did, but as a way to just make a few extra bucks out of their product - frequently by taking out content that would normally be in the main game and selling it separately.

 

A perfect example would be a game I just recently finished, LEGO Marvel's Avengers. The first game in the LEGO Marvel series, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes was a really fun game, with tons of collectables and humor sprinkled throughout. One of the things you had to collect in that first game were Minikits. When you collected all ten Minikits inside any given level, you would be given the chance to play an extra, smaller level. Just three years later, when the sequel came out, however, collecting all Minikits just gives you a "comic" - which is really just a classic Marvel comic cover recreated with LEGO visuals.

 

I'm probably not the only one thinking that an extra level is a hell of a lot better than just a plain image. Does that mean that LEGO Marvel's Avengers doesn't have extra levels? No. But, as you guessed it, now, instead of unlocking the extra content through your efforts in-game, now you unlocked them through your hard-earned cash. As DLC.

 

 

 

 

And here's where all that talk about the 6th generation comes into place. Back then, with most consoles having no hard drives and barely any Internet connection, you had the game... and that was it. Everything was on the disc from the start and you just played until you were satisfied. We even frequently got a lot of extra on-disc content to incentivize us to buy the game back in the day. Expansions were limited to PC gaming and were relatively rare. But with the advent of broadband not only on PC but also on consoles, expansions became a much safer investment in every way. Now, developers didn't have to worry about any cost related to physical storage, you just made the expansion, uploaded it online, and it was there for everyone to download whenever they wanted.

 

Again, not that DLC is a bad thing in and of itself - I have nothing against expansion-type DLC. The problem I have is when content is taken from the game to be sold separately when before we just had the whole thing on the disc from the start. A problem that is further heightened by the widespread expansion of this business model to nearly every game made today.

 

Now I hear some people saying - "But JR, DLC isn't taken from the main game, it's an extra! You buy it only if you want, just like an expansion. If you're satisfied with the main game, you can just leave the DLC alone and pretend it never existed!". I have a hard time believing it's merely an extra when DLC is announced months before the launch of the game or even at the same time as the bloody game itself. If you know you're going to make that content that early in advance, then just put it in the main game!

 

The fact that DLC frequently comes with its own trophies just serves to prove my point further. If DLC is just an extra, then why is my trophy list suddenly not at 100%?

 

DLC should be an afterthought, just like expansions used to. A way to give more content to players that really enjoyed a great game and want more. Not a prerequisite of every single game in existence.

 

 

 

 

The thing is, back in the day, we could buy a game and rest easy, knowing that everything we could possibly need was right there on the disc. But now... it's getting harder and harder to enjoy the brand new game you just bought when developers keep trying to force feed you Season Passes and DLC for almost every single game. Or worse yet, pre-order bonuses, the industry's most blatant attempt at fighting the used game market,

 

Speaking of Season Passes. Regarding DLC, this is the part that really grinds my gears. Season Passes, in theory, aren’t exactly a bad thing. If at launch any given developer feels like their game has a lot of potential for upgradeability, they can just give players the option to get the Season Pass, and through it, no matter how many individual DLC packs come out, you’d be all set and be able to get them at no extra cost. Kind of like a gaming insurance, or a “break in case of unexpected expansion”.

 

The thing is, Season Passes never work like that. Ever. Instead, Season Passes are used to make players buy all the DLC the developers had already planned on since the developing stages of the game itself up front, so that they can get their hands on the money earlier – and especially, before the player gets fed up with the game. And if developers do indeed release additional DLC they had not accounted for before launch – you know, the kind of thing Season Passes should exist for in the first place – they’re never included in the Season Pass. We have to fork up extra money.

 

One of the most serious offenders, if not the most serious, is Evolve. Evolve was a game priced at 60$ with the (unfortunately) usual 25$ Season Pass available at launch. The problem is, there ended up being 135$ worth of extra DLC not included in the Season Pass (for whatever reason). Meaning that if you wanted the complete game, even if you got the collector’s edition, which shaved off 5$ off of the Season Pass, Evolve would set you back a whopping two hundred and fifteen dollars.

 

Am I the only one who thinks that is way beyond too much for a single video game? Games were supposed to break even and turn a profit by having lots of people buying them – you know, like movies – not by turning everyone into friggin’ investors!

 

 

 

 

Evolve is just the most serious offender, but there are plenty of other bad examples that also have way too much DLC, like a game I intend to play in the near-to-mid future, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and the new Star Wars: Battlefront. I used to be the kind of guy that really liked his stuff 100% complete, so I just got every single DLC pack available for any given game I purchased, but now… it’s gotten so widespread and excessive that I just… I’m done. I’m going to get just the most relevant packs and that’s it. I’m done being nickel-and-dimed.

 

I do realize that games are getting more and more expensive to make, that gaming is becoming an increasingly riskier venture and that developers have to use different strategies to fight the used games market and ensure that they at least break even, if they can’t turn a profit, but… I don’t think this is the right way to do it. You don’t get very far by treating your customers almost as if they’re the enemy. You get ahead by treating them with respect – and, you know, actually making a game worth buying. CD Projekt Red proved this abundantly with the Witcher III. They just produced a fantastic game and treated their consumer with respect – and it worked splendidly for them.

 

I also do realize that many DLC packs are just minor stuff that I can easily just not buy (which is what I’m doing right now, as per above), but… it’s a bit hard to feel truly content with your brand new game when you know content that could have easily been left in was withheld just to get a few more bucks off of you. Especially when you know all of that “minor content” was indeed included in the base game from the start before the 7^th generation.

 

 

 

I think the problem is that games became way too expensive to produce recently. Before the 7^th generation, you had expensive games, but few ever really got to the astronomical figures we see today, as you can see here. This, and the fact that broadband gave developers a new doorway into our wallet, is how I think we got to this sorry state of affairs.

 

The thing is – graphics don’t really matter – gameplay does. Sure, we all love beautiful games, but there were plenty of gorgeous games back in the day, especially in the 6^th generation – developers just had to be a lot more creative when picking a visual style for their game. But despite the hardware limitations, we still managed to have just as much fun. But now, with high-definition textures and no more excuses for not delivering near-photo-realistic games, the cost of the final product skyrocketed – hard. Maybe all we need to do is go back to the roots - realize that games just need to look reasonably good, not like the CGI in an action movie, and that what's most important is the experience, not how detailed the visuals are.

 

One last thing I also don’t really like about gaming these days is patching. Again, like DLC and Season Passes, patching in itself isn’t bad – it’s actually a very good thing. Who doesn’t like that bugs and glitches in their games get fixed? The problem is that, just like DLC and Season Passes, patching is being severely abused. Instead of being thorough with quality before launch, no matter how long it may take, publishers keep insisting on meeting a deadline just to have their game on sale by a specific time of the year (e.g. the Holidays) so that it’ll sell more. No matter how much crunching may be needed or how broken the game might still be at launch, it "absolutely needs" to come out by then, quality be damned. “We’ll just patch it later”.

 

Okay, we all realize that publishers are in the business to make money, but the problem with this mindset is: games don’t sell better when they come out on a specific date. Games sell better when they’re good. Hell, make a good game and it’ll sell for years to come, regardless of the time of year. Nobody ever likes a game better just because it launched by a certain time, people like games because they were fun and engaging. Think people that were really hyped for something and bought it day one are going to have a good first impression of your game if it comes out broken at launch, or even worse, unplayable? Of course not, they’re just going to lose faith in your company and wait for a few months the next time you release a game so that it’ll be playable (and cheaper) by the time they get it; or worse yet, just stop buying your games altogether if the reviews aren't favorable. Meeting your all-powerful deadline doesn’t sound so good now, does it?

 

There’s also the problem of some people not having good enough Internet connections to download the giant patches that exist these days. Not to mention that if someday the servers go offline… you’re shit out of luck. Even with the physical offline media, you might be stuck with a game that’s either fundamentally broken, or worse yet, fully unplayable.

 

 

 

 

All of these reasons are why I’m going to start waiting for the price to come down before buying new games or just buy them used. As you could see, my major gripe is with the widespread excessive use of DLC and Season Passes. Honestly, if the main reason why it’s become so commonplace is to fight the used games market (if not just to simply get more money just because)… what about the people like me, who always got their games new? What about the people that tried to support the industry? Are we to be punished as well? If I’m being punished along with all the used game buyers, might as well become one myself. At least games will cost around as much as they did back in the day after all the DLC. And – and I know this is something most of you have long known by now, but it took me a while to understand – it’s not like the game will suddenly become worse just because it’s used. As long as the disc works fine, I’ll have just as much fun. And if the box has a bit of wear, I can just easily buy a whole pack of blank cases for next to nothing. Hell, I have a boatload of spare ones just from my physical PSN codes!

 

Whew. Imma stop this rant now. Felt good to get this out my chest. I recommend again that you read the blog post by Gotakibono that inspired my own, it really is that good (not to mention more condensed ). If you still haven't had enough, there are a few good videos on the subject that I'm going to leave for you guys to watch:

 

 

1 - Mass Effect 3 DLC, by Extra Credits.

 

An excellent video by the oh-so-good team over at Extra Credits (hell, all of their videos are great, go check them out!). The light it casts over DLC in general might be a little more positive than I would have wished for, but it's still a pretty good video, and hey, nothing like also hearing a bit of the arguments from the other side of the fence, right?

 

 

 

2 - DLC still sucks, by The Point's Danny O'Dwyer

 

Title kinda speaks for itself. Actually, go also check out all The Point videos, they're pretty educational and always spot-on. Also speaks a little about the whole deal with Evolve's DLC.

 

 

 

3 - Project Ten Dollar, by Extra Credits.

 

Another excellent video by Extra Credits, this time to talk about the Industry's attempts to fight the used games market.

 

 

 

4 - The J.C. Penny's Effect, by Extra Credits.

 

Yet another excellent video by Extra Credits, this time to talk about how something that was originally supposed to be very good turn out to be very, very bad because of the way it made the customers feel. Just apply all of this reasoning to how people might feel by all the excessive use of DLC and Season Passes and you're good to go.

 

 

 

5 - Evolve DLC, by ReviewTechUSA.

 

A video detailing the whole shenanigans that went on with Evolve and its insane amounts of DLC. ReviewTechUSA is also a very good channel, in my opinion, though I admit it might not be to everyone's tastes.

 

 

 

EDIT 29-07-2016

 

6 - 5 Big Gaming Industry Problems I Didn't Deal With As A Kid, By ReviewTechUSA

 

I just saw this video today and it's uncanny how much CinemaBlend's and Rich's opinions match my own. Rich sometimes even echoed my points almost to the letter (more like I echoed him unknowingly, since this is a one-year old video, but you get my point )

 

 

 

See you next time!

Edited November 26, 2017 by jrdemr

[Dragon-Archon]

I just want to say you picked excellent images. I could follow the general flow of the post without actually reading anything but the first paragraph and looking at the images . You deserve a like for that. Still, since you put so much effort into it, I'm going to read it all now.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Dragon-Archon

[ruffedgz]

I think the way you wrote it is what most gamers are thinking but never knew how. I also thank you for a great post on the matter and hope others read it as well.

 

Pics are also very appropriate and help the topic.

 

Im out

 

[Daniel_Shadow170]

A quick question are you fine paying $80-100 dollars for a "complete" game with no season pass or dlc? If not the whole thing you just wrote was meaningless and exactly why they have DLC.

[ab4h4r4k1]

I read only parts of the post. It is really long and I already know what are the main complaints. UNFORTUNATELY, the gaming industry became what it is now because of gamers. People want to pay to have more content in a game, to have exclusive items (Day-1 Edition anyone? Collector's Edition?), to have a longer trophy list and be higher in rankings - because, lets be honest, online trophies are a pain when you have to face a guy who has been playing since the game was released and know a plethora of ways to kill you fast and in a humiliating way.

 

FORTUNATELY, it started to backfire both to gamers (PS plus used to be special, now it is mandatory if you wanna play online in a PS4 if I understand) and developers. CAPCOM already said, after Street Fighter 5, that it is only going to release a new game when it is fully complete, for instance. How long will it take for others to do the same? And how much will it cost?

[Superstarmaste1r]

Long thread where I didn't really read it but the gaming nowadays change where DLC is now part of the industry where either most of it is s good thing to add content or bad to fill up garbage content like Doa 5 last round

[Frog]

I only buy used games because I cant afford to pay $60 for a new game.

[Rollers23]

DLC is announced months before the launch of the game or even at the same time as the bloody game itself. If you know you're going to make that content that early in advance, then just put it in the main game!

 

I soooo agree with this. I don't have anything against DLC as long as it's something devs come up after release of their game. The fact that nowadays DLC is announced before release of the game is just plain disgusting.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Rollers23

[Pyro]

Started to buy new games online rather than my local shops.  pre-ordered FFXV for £35 (new) rather paying £49.99 at my local GAME shop. 

[Dragon-Archon]

Well I finished reading it and I agree with most things. Mass Effect 3 is a very good example of games with cut content. The From Ashes DLC with the prothean squad member was actually part of the plot (which was discovered in the leaked script). But that was changed later and Prothy the Prothean was cut from the game and sold as day 1 DLC (it even came for "free" with the Collector's edition). The Leviathan DLC (that reveals the Reapers' origins) is also a really important aspect that should've been in the game, but it was released as DLC later. The Omega DLC is a continuation of a comic series that was released way before the Mass Effect 3 release. IMO that one should also be in the game. The only thing I truely feel is a DLC is the Citadel DLC.

 

Dragon Fin Soup is a great example of how developers do shady stuff and manage to release a completely broken game riddled with bugs, freezes, and crashes, that will be patched after the release (or so they claimed). Meanwhile we're 9 months further and all I've heard so far is the developer and porting studio pointing fingers at each other and the promise of a re-release, with people who already bought the PS version getting a free Steam version. What makes those people think I want a Steam version? I want them to do their job properly and release a damn patch for the game, so I can finish it, which is something that should've been done from the start.

 

It's things like these that convinced me to wait for the GOTY edition that usually follows. 

[Sofa King]

Your Lego Marvel example sums up perfectly how DLC has been corrupted and taken advantage of by the industry. This was a good read for sure.

[madbuk]

I soooo agree with this. I don't have anything against DLC as long as it's something devs come up after release of their game. The fact that nowadays DLC is announced before release of the game is just plain disgusting.

Why? What's wrong with something like DriveClub where they release the game and then support it for months afterwards at a cost? Would you rather the game be delayed for another year or so for it to all be on disc, and for them to get no extra money for their extra work?

They do need to eat and have somewhere to live and pay bills y'know.

 

In regards to OP... Seriously? You're no longer going to support ANY game just because some companies have questionable DLC practices? You realize if more people thought like that, things would backfire tremendously, right? Thankfully 1 person essentially quitting gaming won't change anything.

Edited July 24, 2016 by madbuk

[kouen2010]

While I understand your position and feelings and to some degree I share those same feelings this was a really long post to simply say "I'm sick of Day 1 DLC so im buying used instead" which is the more TL;DR version.

 

Though in fairness if we skipped the history lesson part it would have helped a lot since I would assume 99% of us here was around for the 6th Gen and id imagine even 5th (im hailing from the Atari 2600 & 8 Bit days) 

 

Still I wish you luck in sticking to your guns on all this and hope it all works out for you

Edited July 24, 2016 by kouen2010

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

nice read but i did not see the other definition  of "dlc" = Disk Locked Content.

 

but i agree for the most part especially when they with hold content just to make a quick buck or worse yet with hold the true ending.

 

Now that said i do not mind REAL Down Load Content, as it is was made AFTER the games release, lets say it was a incomplete idea  and they had some funds left over and decided to finish it. or the game made enough money to warrant an expansion. BUT announcing "dlc" before the game is even released is no different than saying "hey we cut this content out of our game to sell it to you at a premium price"

It's things like these that convinced me to wait for the GOTY edition that usually follows. 

 

I usually do this anyway as quite a few games will get a "GotY/Ultimate/Gold/Definitive" edition

While I understand your position and feelings and to some degree I share those same feelings this was a really long post to simply say "I'm sick of Day 1 DLC so im buying used instead" which is the more TL;DR version.

 

Though in fairness if we skipped the history lesson part it would have helped a lot since I would assume 99% of us here was around for the 6th Gen and id imagine even 5th (im hailing from the Atari 2600 & 8 Bit days) 

 

Still I wish you luck in sticking to your guns on all this and hope it all works out for you

 

same here Atari 2600 and commodore myself, i am just a bit more cautious about what games i buy new or used.

[madbuk]

nice read but i did not see the other definition  of "dlc" = Disk Locked Content.

 

but i agree for the most part especially when they with hold content just to make a quick buck or worse yet with hold the true ending.

 

Now that said i do not mind REAL Down Load Content, as it is was made AFTER the games release, lets say it was a incomplete idea  and they had some funds left over and decided to finish it. or the game made enough money to warrant an expansion. BUT announcing "dlc" before the game is even released is no different than saying "hey we cut this content out of our game to sell it to you at a premium price"

 

I usually do this anyway as quite a few games will get a "GotY/Ultimate/Gold/Definitive" edition

No. This is silly. They're announcing they're going to support the game post-release instead of immediately just forgetting about it and moving on. You can buy the game and really enjoy it, and they'll provide you with extra content at a cost for their extra work. What's wrong with that?

[Zenpai]

While I understand your position and feelings and to some degree I share those same feelings this was a really long post to simply say "I'm sick of Day 1 DLC so im buying used instead" which is the more TL;DR version.

 

Though in fairness if we skipped the history lesson part it would have helped a lot since I would assume 99% of us here was around for the 6th Gen and id imagine even 5th (im hailing from the Atari 2600 & 8 Bit days) 

 

Still I wish you luck in sticking to your guns on all this and hope it all works out for you

 

More like "I'm sick of all this widespread, excessive and needless DLC", but anyway, I see all of your points. Just felt like inserting that bit for better contrast between how we used to be and how we are now.

 

Thanks for the constructive criticism, though. Not many people bother to say what was wrong with what you did in a polite manner.

Edited July 24, 2016 by jrdemr

[kouen2010]

same here Atari 2600 and commodore myself, i am just a bit more cautious about what games i buy new or used.

 

Atari 2600 / 65XE, Speccy 128k +2 and Master System here

 

Though on topic, I guess im blessed in the fact that in my time I have been a game reviewer and am currently a twitch streamer so I get a fair few press keys for streaming and the like

 

Though when its out of my own pocket I do check it out first and if its a typical "You know its gonna be a GOTY / Ultimate / Gold / EX Plus α / Bobs special" then I wait for a bit

[sephiroth4424]

Yeah.That's why i usually buy games one year (or more) after their release date,so i'll get a better price and the whole content.For example, i bought GOTY Dragon Age Inquisition for 20 euros this year just 14 months after its release date.And you also have the luxury to play the games with the patches that fix all the bugs they have when they come out.Last time i bought a new game (day one release) was on September of 2013 (GTA V) and i'll do the same three years after (FF XV).Also it's interesting to check psn every week for sales.I was against digital games but sometimes it is worth it

[PooPooBlast]

Preach man. But not to burst everybody's bubbe(and im sure you all know this), nothing is going to change....

Also its the reason why I'm always one generation behind as I tend to buy games in bulk,(about 4 or 5 at once) for $40-60 depending on the game and how old/popular it is. Seriously, to think these games were once $80 each and missing content is mind boggling. This is exactly what I'm doing right now and I'm still rocking my ps3. Also I'm lucky to not like MP games that much since most servers are empty with the exception of cod, FIFA and the like. Moreover, with flash sales on psn on complete games or with the base game+ dlc, I'm basically living like a king.

If they went to fork out dlc like this and release games unpatched, etc, let them. I've got plenty of patience and in the end we're both winners here

[kouen2010]

Also it's interesting to check psn every week for sales.I was against digital games but sometimes it is worth it

Especially when some games are digital only

Preach man. But not to burst everybody's bubbe(and im sure you all know this), nothing is going to change....

Also its the reason why I'm always one generation behind as I tend to buy games in bulk,(about 4 or 5 at once) for $40-60 depending on the game and how old/popular it is. Seriously, to think these games were once $80 each and missing content is mind boggling. This is exactly what I'm doing right now and I'm still rocking my ps3. Also I'm lucky to not like MP games that much since most servers are empty with the exception of cod, FIFA and the like. Moreover, with flash sales on psn on complete games or with the base game+ dlc, I'm basically living like a king.

If they went to fork out dlc like this and release games unpatched, etc, let them. I've got plenty of patience and in the end we're both winners here

Similar to you this is why I only last week got a PS3 since its in its winding down part of its life span, plenty of cheap top quality games!

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

Atari 2600 / 65XE, Speccy 128k +2 and Master System here

 

Though on topic, I guess im blessed in the fact that in my time I have been a game reviewer and am currently a twitch streamer so I get a fair few press keys for streaming and the like

 

Though when its out of my own pocket I do check it out first and if its a typical "You know its gonna be a GOTY / Ultimate / Gold / EX Plus α / Bobs special" then I wait for a bit

i mostly gamefly a game unless i know it will be good

 

No. This is silly. They're announcing they're going to support the game post-release instead of immediately just forgetting about it and moving on. You can buy the game and really enjoy it, and they'll provide you with extra content at a cost for their extra work. What's wrong with that?

as i said i have no problem with REAL "dlc" but what they have been doing lately is mostly just cut content. can you honestly said you like getting jipped?

 

when you no longer get in-game rewards and almost everything is sold to you and called "dlc" that is just nickel and diming your customers and if it dose keep up people will stop buying it. At the rate things are going if companies are not careful there will be another crash.

 

Now to reiterate REAL "dlc" can be a good thing when done right.

Preach man. But not to burst everybody's bubbe(and im sure you all know this), nothing is going to change....

Also its the reason why I'm always one generation behind as I tend to buy games in bulk,(about 4 or 5 at once) for $40-60 depending on the game and how old/popular it is. Seriously, to think these games were once $80 each and missing content is mind boggling. This is exactly what I'm doing right now and I'm still rocking my ps3. Also I'm lucky to not like MP games that much since most servers are empty with the exception of cod, FIFA and the like. Moreover, with flash sales on psn on complete games or with the base game+ dlc, I'm basically living like a king.

If they went to fork out dlc like this and release games unpatched, etc, let them. I've got plenty of patience and in the end we're both winners here

on that point i remember when SNES games brand new were 80$ or more.

[PooPooBlast]

Especially when some games are digital only

Similar to you this is why I only last week got a PS3 since its in its winding down part of its life span, plenty of cheap top quality games!

Ikr! You can probably grab nowadays the uncharted series for about $15 total on ps3, or maybe even $9.99 for the last of us. Very great deals IMO. Although, I bought my ps3 in feb 2012 and I was playing at that time ps2 which I bought in about 2006/2007 don't exactly remember. Lol like I said , I'm always way behind. Not going to lie here, I tend to feel lonely sometimes or left out that my friends all moved to current gen, but I've made some friends online which kind of made up for it. There's always a drawback I guess :/

[madbuk]

i mostly gamefly a game unless i know it will be good

 

as i said i have no problem with REAL "dlc" but what they have been doing lately is mostly just cut content. can you honestly said you like getting jipped?

 

when you no longer get in-game rewards and almost everything is sold to you and called "dlc" that is just nickel and diming your customers and if it dose keep up people will stop buying it. At the rate things are going if companies are not careful there will be another crash.

 

Now to reiterate REAL "dlc" can be a good thing when done right.

on that point i remember when SNES games brand new were 80$ or more.

lol. No. Gaming is not just going to crash because some companies lock certain things behind DLC, that notion is absurd. There are literally MILLIONS of gamers, and you expect them all to get tired of these practices and cause a second crash?

Secondly, who are "they"? There are a lot of companies that don't nickle and dime customers. Sure, some AAA games may do it, but the vast majority of indies and even a large majority of AAA devs don't. For every EA or Ubisoft you have an Evolution Studios or Studio Liverpool (R.I.P )

[PooPooBlast]

i mostly gamefly a game unless i know it will be good

 

as i said i have no problem with REAL "dlc" but what they have been doing lately is mostly just cut content. can you honestly said you like getting jipped?

 

when you no longer get in-game rewards and almost everything is sold to you and called "dlc" that is just nickel and diming your customers and if it dose keep up people will stop buying it. At the rate things are going if companies are not careful there will be another crash.

 

Now to reiterate REAL "dlc" can be a good thing when done right.

on that point i remember when SNES games brand new were 80$ or more.

Haha I was actually referring to the Canadian pricing nowadays of new games but whatever. As you know the Canadian dollar is going downhill so games in the US are $60 while in Canada it's $80 and of course the stream of income remained unchanged.

[AlphaTrash]

DLC isn't the problem. Poor DLC is the problem. 

Fallout 3 and new vegas for example had amazing DLC that was actually worth more than what they charged for it, lol. 

You could say the same for witcher 3 too. 

Edited July 24, 2016 by Alpha