When the current generation of gaming started, I think we all had a set of expectations. We expected to see new forms of gameplay. We expected bigger games, bigger stories, grander ideas. We all hoped for stunning HD graphics, beautiful renderings of worlds we could barely imagine. I don’t think any of us anticipated Day 1 DLC.
A hotly contested topic in the world of gaming, Day 1 DLC has had more than its share of negative association. Developers have used this in all kinds of ways, ranging from the downright cruel to the sometimes puzzling. Opinions about this practice seem to fall all over the map, even here at GamerSushi. However, Bioware recently addressed the idea of Day 1 DLC at GDC.
Here’s a quote from Fernando Melo, director of online development at BioWare:
“Contrary to what you might hear on the internet, fans do want more content. They tend to say, ‘I want it now.’ The problem with day one content and the challenge around it is that the right answer for now is different for every player. There is no single right time, there is no single now. It’s subjective, and it’s unique to every player.”
The idea is that players want their content when they want it. Some want it the day the game is released, and others won’t want it until they’ve finished or are about to finish the game. Seeing as how most players don’t finish video games (a shocking 42% of players finished Mass Effect 3, which practically warrants its own post), this is a good incentive to keep players coming back for more.
Personally, Day 1 DLC only bothers me in certain instances. For the most part, I know that Day 1 DLC tends to be what developers do when they have shipped a disc, and then would like to include even more content that they can work on between the game going gold and the release date. It’s when developers include this content on the disc that I’m really annoyed.
What about you guys? How do you feel about Day 1 DLC? Go!
Source – IGN
I’m in the same boat in terms of it only bothering me sometimes. For example, Expendables 2: The Video Game just released on Steam (No, I’m not kidding). It’s 14.99 which is cute. Then, there is day 1 DLC. for $0.99 each you can max out the stats of 3 chracters… WTF?
Obviously I’m poking fun here. This isn’t the “players want content when they want it” kind of point Melo was making. But still.
What I don’t like more is DLC that gives an edge to players willing to get it, or automatically receiving for pre-ordering. I got the Caravan pack for pre-ordering Fallout: New Vegas. Maybe I don’t want to start out with armour and a bad ass shot gun. I’m sure I can turn it off somewhere before I load the game, but I always forget until I start. It almost feels like cheating. Doesn’t matter in the long run being a single player game, but none the less it’s kind of strange.
I’m totally fine with it, personally, as long as it is not on disk. Unlike the majority of the people on the internet that constantly bitch about it, I understand the game development process quite well. And for triple A games, they are often sent to certification months in advance. According to the internet, the dev team isn’t supposed to touch the game again until they get their own grubby hands on it. However DLC plans are made far into advance and have to be worked on immediately to release in a timely manner. Do you think anyone would have ever used Javik or considered him part of the ME3 story if he came out months after the game, like Kasumi did? Speaking of Javik, the internet called Bioware liars when dialogue and other assets of Javik’s were found in the base game’s files. You know why? Because he was initially cut due to time constraints! Casey Hudson said so in an interview with Geoff Keighley for Keighley’s Final Hours of Mass Effect, an interview which took place before the game’s launch. And rather than give up on the character, Bioware worked on finishing him and his loyalty mission while the game was off at certification. We got an awesome character that added to the game’s story (on our first playthrough no less, the one that really matters) and Bioware and EA made a good profit. Everyone wins.
What really bothers me about all of these day 1 DLC controversies is the fact that the internet feels entitled to know every detail about the dev process and decision making that went into the DLC to determine whether or not it’s justified. Unless it’s Valve, who is free from any and all scrutiny.
I have no problem with day one DLC 1 if, the DLC is something that is from the special edition like From Ashes. Because it gives people with the regular editions the option to get the extra content right away instead of waiting weeks for it to be available. I also have no problem if,if the DLC is on the disk and is given to paying customers via code in the box because it gives people who buy a new copy from a store a rewared/bonus best example is Mass Effect 2 with the Cerbures Network,FireWalker and Zaeed’s Revenge. Other than that I really don’t care about Day One DLC I mean I can wait for a game to put the extra content on a disk like Fable 2 did with the GoTY edition.