Do you buy DLC?

[Orius]

EA suuuuucks. In spite of what I said last time in this thread, I succumbed to buying the Game of the Year edition of Dragon Age: Inquisition (which came along with all the DLCs). I ended up not even bothering to complete that stupid game. What a waste of money.

[Teru]

EA suuuuucks. In spite of what I said last time in this thread, I succumbed to buying the Game of the Year edition of Dragon Age: Inquisition (which came along with all the DLCs). I ended up not even bothering to complete that stupid game. What a waste of money.

I know how you feel, I had some games that ended up like that. EA was awful in the past and they're still not great but Ubisoft has been taking the spotlight lately for the worst company out there.

[Spectra]

I buy more DLC than I should. I absolutely refuse to pay for cosmetics that I should be in the game from the get-go (although I am embarrassed to admit that I WILL buy ultimate weapons if they're not overpriced, because I'm phenomenally lazy sometimes, haha) and season passes are an immediate pass - I will not pay for promises - but if there are expansions planned I will usually get them if I enjoyed the game enough. I don't buy into the has/has-not psychology that drives a lot of DLC purchases (especially in multiplayer titles) but...honestly, it depends on the pricing, and whether or not I think it will make a difference to the experience.

 

But this "games as a service" model that a lot of AAA publishers have taken as a vain attempt to justify their DLC schedules, season passes, and pre-order bonus DLC is something that really irritates me, though. It's been completely normalised with this generation to the point that even NINTENDO are doing it (the fact that Fire Emblem Echoes' season pass costs more than the actual game is pretty disgusting) and it's very worrying for the future. A lot of what is included in DLC is things that you could have expected to have in the game in the sixth generation. I understand that developers have to make a profit, and I wouldn't want to see games cost any more than they already do in exchange for having pieces of the game cut out and sold back to me at outrageous prices - which IS what would happen, if DLC was done away with at this point - but even so...some developers have no clue how to provide value for money with DLC. Thank god its optional.

[zoop]

But this "games as a service" model that a lot of AAA publishers have taken as a vain attempt to justify their DLC schedules, season passes, and pre-order bonus DLC is something that really irritates me, though.

 

Yeah... the whole concept of games as a service only really makes sense - in my eye, at least - for MMORPGs, where you're constantly getting a stream of content updates, and free to play games, where there's no significant up-front costs.

[Spectra]

Yeah... the whole concept of games as a service only really makes sense - in my eye, at least - for MMORPGs, where you're constantly getting a stream of content updates, and free to play games, where there's no significant up-front costs.

I think that might be where they got the idea from, but the problem is that MMOs are, in the vast majority of cases, digital-only and subscription-based. They're a completely different experience, and they NEED constant updates and additions in order to keep their player base interested and justify the subscription cost. They're an ongoing, incomplete experience.

 

Most video games outside of MMOs and maybe the F2P titles with microtransactions are designed as complete experiences; you buy a video game to play it and (hopefully) finish it, not to play part of it and then wait for the rest of it to come out later...which you then have to pay for on top of the hefty price tag. Genuine expansion packs that are unplanned or take a long time to develop, in response to fan interest, I would consider as worthwhile DLC, which follows the spirit of the concept of games as a service - it's making a game better going forward.

 

But with developers like KT (who are notoriously bad with this), NISA (sorry, but I still haven't forgiven their outrageous Disgaea D2 DLC packs which even had trophies tied to them!) and EA (where do I even start) just taking things you should get in the game out of it and selling it back to you...yeah, that isn't really a service. Developers abuse it by locking the more attractive/useful stuff behind paid DLC, people buy it, nobody complains, and the cycle continues. It's...frustrating.

 

...and £39.99 for a season pass, come on Nintendo.

[brycec]

In the past, I bought quite of DLC for Sims 3, and a few things for Sims 4, but not as much now.

 

Only DLC I got, other than game OSTs off Steam, in the Season Pass for Narcissu Tenth anniversary, so that I would get all the games in the collection (got the OST for free because of it too).

[Florida Fool]

Ha! Nope. I never buy DLC anymore. I used to, but when they started coming out with Complete Editions I felt ripped off. Wait a little while and you can get a full game instead of buying at launch and buying little pieces later. I don't even remember the last time I bought DLC.

[Sidney B. Gone]

Yes I have bought DLC for a few of my games. I.E. Neptunia Rebirth 3, Dead or Alive 5 Plus.

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F Second, Persona 4: Dancing All Night.

 

It can become quite hard on good ol mister wallet. So I only do it on occasion.

[Bernkastel]

No, I don't. Not only do I have issues with how DLC is handled and fears about somehow losing such content, but I'm effectively offline back home. So, downloading any DLC would be quite a challenge.

[valtterixddd]

HELL NO! i hate DLC.