Thursday, October 22, 2009

Downloadable Content, a glass half empty or half full?

There were a lot of debate about Downloadable Content (DLC) going on in gamers community. DLC is a content that can be download usually with a price to add an extension of the existing game. Usually it can be added story chapters, additional characters, and other bonus such as costumes, weapons, etc.
Half empty:
Games are not cheap. Having spent around $60 for it, it is expected that the game should provide full package.
Instead with DLC, it feels that the masterpiece is not yet complete. Plus some people see it as a way for developers to "milk" the current game and an effort to take some money from gamers. And how about offline players that don't have access to internet? They will be secluded from the content, means that they will never enjoy the experience even if they want it to.
Half Full:
At the other hand, it is true that games is expensive, but so does the development cost. Development cost of a game nowadays is a lot more than used to be. If fact, it is couple millions of dollars more. So developer needs the game to sell well and having good return. One of the strategy is to release DLC to make additional income and to extend life to its game and minimize used game resale.
So if you are looking a glass half full. It is better to have DLC than not at all. At least the choice is yours whether to buy it or not.

Some people might like DLC, but developer needs to be aware to what DLC to offer. It doesn't make sense if the story doesn't sum up at the end of the game. DLC should serve as a bonus for additional experience, not to cut whatever that should have been in there.

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