PixlBit

sometimes DLC is worth it, sometimes not

The novelty of DLC has worn off.  It's always been a debatable trend in the modern HD era, a love it or hate it experiment in supplemental revenue.  If the content was good, a great overal package worth its cost (I'm looking at you Fallout 3 DLC) then I never had the a problem with the trend.  Until DLC started becoming too common, sometimes being released for games with a limited lifespan, only 10-20 hours of game play before moving onto the next challenge.

Beyond DLC's original purpose of extra cash, it was also meant to prolong the shelf-life of a game, but that doesn't seem to be working so well right now, mostly because DLC keeps getting delayed, or is released too late.  Or at least too late for my attention span, which is probably even less than that of the average tween and screenager when it comes to video games.  I've played them all, and it takes a lot to impress me and DLC hasn't done that, yet.

Other than a few of the early GOTY releases and expansions, Fallout 3 and GTA IV, and a little bit of Uncharted 2 multiplayer DLC, which got a timely release in Japan, I haven't since purchased a single DLC or expansion from any major release either digitally or in old-school disc format.  And not for a lack of interest or a bias towards DLC, I'm not that hardcore or old-school.  It's just because it takes so damned long to get my hands on it, or isn't even available in my region at all, which is Japan.

sometimes DLC is better than the actual game

Boderlands supposedly had some of the best DLC episodes but were never released individually in Japan, only in another GOTY edition about one year after the original release.  And, of course, I had moved on.  I wasn't about to own two differnt versions of the same game all over again like I did with Fallout 3 and Fallout 3: GOTY.  Apparently Red Dead Redemption has the highest rated DLC of all time, Undead Nightmare, but by the time it was released, I was on to the next challenge.  Also, I thought Redemption was the least successful sandbox game to date.  Basically Grand Theft Auto with horses, or GTA: Equestrian.  Just not the same as cruising around town looking for insane stunt jumps.  It's pretty hard to do barrel rolls on a horse.

As for Batman: Arkham Asylum.  I played the original version and moved on by the time the DLC and GOTY was released.  Modern Warfare 2?...didn't think 15 bucks was worth it for 5 extra maps.  Dragon's Age?...too many iddy biddy pieces released over a wide length of time, especially in Japan which always seems to get DLC much later than NA, where as the original release dates are much closer together.  Mass Effect 2?...PS3 was basically a GOTY edition, and I enjoyed it.  Assassin's Creed 2?...did that have any worthwhile DLC?  Portal 2?...DLC yet to be released, and since it was only a ten hour game, I've moved on.  New Vegas?...only Dead Money released in Japan, and Honest Hearts set for release at the end of August, and Old World Blues nowhere to be found, and Lonesome Road delayed in NA...and I've already frickin' moved on!!!

I'm only mentioning DLC for games that I'm actually interested in.  But in most cases, I'm not about to blow the dust off the covers and re-install them onto my PS3.  It's too late.  Too many delays, and poor release dates, espeically in Japan, and the added complication that sometimes I have the NA version of the game, and sometimes I have the Japanese version, which still has English content but is nonetheless incompatible with the NA version of the DLC.  Fuck!!!  And I am anti-credit card so I rely only on Playstation Network cards and/or Paypal for electronic payments.  Perhaps DLC should be region free, or to be more specific, available in all regions simaltaneously.   But that's easier said than done.

sometimes DLC is awesome, but usually not

So, to sum it all up, DLC is completely useless to me.  It's become too compartmentalized and untimely.  Japan has all but abandoned it, with few major releases getting a DLC release overseas, even if it was developed in North America.  They just don't seem to have the time to hire a localization team five times over to get the DLC released on the Japanese Playstation Network.  Oh yeah, and the Japanese PSN was out for several months longer than NA after the security breach and ID theft fiasco.  I think everyone over here just forgot about DLC.

I can't account for others or whether or not DLC has been a success.  But some of the greatest games and my favourite experiences lately didn't even have DLC, Demon's Souls...Portal 2 (at lest not yet.)

So, this is just a debate starter, not an argument for anything.  Is DLC a success?  Or just a cheap novelty where devs and publishers actually physically cut chunks out from the game, only to release them three months later, when half the audience has already traded in the title and moved on?

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I look forward to New Vegas: GOTY.  To be released in Japan...sometime in 2037.