DLC never going down in price

[itsofrustratin]

Anybody else find it annoyin that a huge chunk of DLC never ever goes down in price? At most itll go on sale. I picked up black ops 2 the other day for all of 3 dollars but but the extra map packs are still $15 each and with no physical release of these ill just have to live without playing them. The greed shown by Sony and microsoft is really hurting their online sales.

 

[ki_atsushi]

itsofrustratin, eh

 

[Tripredacus]

It does on Steam, for sales.

 

[Lemony Vengeance]

Anybody else find it annoyin that a huge chunk of DLC never ever goes down in price? At most itll go on sale. I picked up black ops 2 the other day for all of 3 dollars but but the extra map packs are still $15 each and with no physical release of these ill just have to live without playing them. The greed shown by Sony and microsoft is really hurting their online sales.

Lol BLOPS.

That's the sound shit makes when it hits the water.

 

[Dr Shroom]

Filthy console peasants.

 

[GohanX]

Lol BLOPS.

That's the sound shit makes when it hits the water.

STFU Black Ops 2 rules. I never buy the DLC though since I just play the campaign once in a blue moon.

 

[cdamm]

That's what goty editions are for.

 

[neojedi]

Something I'm starting to do is hold off on games completely until the final edition comes out (what I like to think of as the "We're done fucking with you" edition). Some PS4 examples:

Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
The Last of Us Remastered
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition
Bloodborne GOTY Edition (import from UK)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience (upcoming)

At this point, the only 2 times it makes sense to get a game are as a pre-order to get the extras or after the final edition is released. Or maybe snag the first release for chump change after the final release comes out if you don't care about the DLC.

 

[Taiso]

DLC won't go down in price on consoles because that's where the industry makes most of its money. The costs of AAA games are rising dramatically with every passing year and the entry price for consumers isn't rising along with it, so they have to make up the difference to justify the budgets and production costs somehow. It's probably even more stringent for titles that don't sell as well but have a hardcore, dedicated niche audience that will spend any dollar amount to get all the things for the game.

Also, with the indy scene pricing a lot of highly replayable games at affordable prices that cater to the tastes and needs of those with disposable income, people are choosing to purchase 'new' games over buying DLC for existing games that they've already shelled out considerable cash for.

Although I'm more likely to spend 10 bucks on DLC for a game that cost me 20-30 than I am to buy a season pass for a game that cost me 60.

Personally, I'm at the point where I'd rather just pay $80 for a complete game that has all the content unlockable through community challenges and progression than to keep going on with the $60 'foot in the door' price point and $30 for 'the rest of the game.' I think the industry needs to go in that direction, personally. I think it'll be healthier for the industry as a whole, from conception to development cycle to going gold. It's not a popular opinion because people don't want to spend their ducats, but I care about the enjoyment a game gives me, and if 80 bucks gets me a complete game that I can get legit satisfaction out of, then I'm all for it.

 

[famicommander]

Anybody who buys DLC deserves to get fucked over on it. You people ruined vidya games

/getoffmylawn

 

[Taiso]

Anybody who buys DLC deserves to get fucked over on it. You people ruined vidya games

/getoffmylawn

I'm curious to hear what you think the answer is, given the way the industry has evolved. Not an attack. I'm legit curious.

How would you propose to solve the industry's problem, given that we are now in an age where video games are the highest grossing form of consumer entertainment in the world (except maybe porn, I haven't checked that) and capitalism naturally dictates that as a product's demand rises, competition between the content providers will also heighten and, thus, the costs will rise.

 

[HeavyMachineGoob]

I'm curious to hear what you think the answer is, given the way the industry has evolved. Not an attack. I'm legit curious.

How would you propose to solve the industry's problem, given that we are now in an age where video games are the highest grossing form of consumer entertainment in the world (except maybe porn, I haven't checked that) and capitalism naturally dictates that as a product's demand rises, competition between the content providers will also heighten and, thus, the costs will rise.

I have an answer, maybe stop stigmatizing lower budget games as a bad thing. When I see the TV commercial for Gears of War 4, I don't see a game worth playing. It looks like the same HD garbage everyone has been tricked into liking for the past 10 years. Indie games have the right idea, but the severe lack of professionalism ruins many of them. If the big companies would be willing to take the Indie route with the corporate level of polish, that would be a massive improvement in modern gaming.

Or, you know, just mimic what made our favorite games from 20 years ago so great in the first place.

 

[famicommander]

I'm curious to hear what you think the answer is, given the way the industry has evolved. Not an attack. I'm legit curious.

How would you propose to solve the industry's problem, given that we are now in an age where video games are the highest grossing form of consumer entertainment in the world (except maybe porn, I haven't checked that) and capitalism naturally dictates that as a product's demand rises, competition between the content providers will also heighten and, thus, the costs will rise.

Any industry built on intellectual property law is inherently anti-capitalistic because intellectual property itself is inherently a fascistic concept.

In a true capitalistic environment it's impossible to say what the video game industry would look like.

But I do know that if people would have told game publishers to eat shit when they first started selling DLC, the practice would have died out. We as consumers changed the incentive structure in the industry from selling whole games to selling a base package and then nickel-and-diming you for the rest of it.

 

[Taiso]

Any industry built on intellectual property law is inherently anti-capitalistic because intellectual property itself is inherently a fascistic concept.

In a true capitalistic environment it's impossible to say what the video game industry would look like.

But I do know that if people would have told game publishers to eat shit when they first started selling DLC, the practice would have died out. We as consumers changed the incentive structure in the industry from selling whole games to selling a base package and then nickel-and-diming you for the rest of it.

Okay, but we're past that point.

So how do we fix it?

 

[Taiso]

I have an answer, maybe stop stigmatizing lower budget games as a bad thing. When I see the TV commercial for Gears of War 4, I don't see a game worth playing. It looks like the same HD garbage everyone has been tricked into liking for the past 10 years. Indie games have the right idea, but the severe lack of professionalism ruins many of them. If the big companies would be willing to take the Indie route with the corporate level of polish, that would be a massive improvement in modern gaming.

Or, you know, just mimic what made our favorite games from 20 years ago so great in the first place.

I agree that in idealistic principle, that would be the desired outcome.

But with the change in technology and tools available to developers these days, they're experimenting with new ways to play video games.

Would you at least agree that if the industry doesn't evolve, it can't grow and if it can't grow it stays in the niche?

And do you think that staying in the niche, as an industry, is good?

Again, none of these are attacks or even challenges.

I'm just interested in the dialogue to see if we can come to a real consensus on how to fix the problem being discussed in this thread.

 

[famicommander]

Okay, but we're past that point.

So how do we fix it?

I've mostly been bitching on the internet and playing SEGA Master System.

Doesn't seem to be helping.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Realism is boring, and completely contradictory to what videogames should be about.

If companies wouldn't waste so much of their budget/time on making ever-increasingly photorealistic graphics and focused on story, gameplay mechanics and *gasp* actually playtesting and bug fixing... we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now.

My level of care for new games hit a sharp decline at the last generation of consoles. Fuck all this shit, I'm going back to my 8 and 16-bit stuff now.

 

[Taiso]

Realism is boring, and completely contradictory to what videogames should be about.

If companies wouldn't waste so much of their budget/time on making ever-increasingly photorealistic graphics and focused on story, gameplay mechanics and *gasp* actually playtesting and bug fixing... we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now.

My level of care for new games hit a sharp decline at the last generation of consoles. Fuck all this shit, I'm going back to my 8 and 16-bit stuff now.

The industry is WELL past the point of considering 'us' the target audience. They're not even looking in our direction anymore. Partly because we like things the way we like them and don't want to go along for the ride.

And that is perfectly cool.

But the industry, naturally, wanted to grow, expand their markets and make more money.

Also, I'd say that I like a lot of the new games and franchises we're seeing now. Things we couldn't have seen had the technology not evolved. But obviously, that's a matter of personal preference.

I like old stuff AND new stuff. And I recognize that BOTH have their gems and their turds. And neither is perfect. Level of engagement is what I care about. Some new games do that and some old games do that for me.

 

[smokehouse]

Realism is boring, and completely contradictory to what videogames should be about.

If companies wouldn't waste so much of their budget/time on making ever-increasingly photorealistic graphics and focused on story, gameplay mechanics and *gasp* actually playtesting and bug fixing... we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now.

My level of care for new games hit a sharp decline at the last generation of consoles. Fuck all this shit, I'm going back to my 8 and 16-bit stuff now.

Yeah, this is pretty much my finding as well.

Industry drives the costs of making games, the result of this being buggy games, rushed games, incomplete games. They then come out with DLC content to help offset the bloated costs of not only making incomplete games, but constantly trying to fix them because they're buggy (you know, until they finally give up and the game owners just get broken shit). Finally, they come out with my favorite, pay to win. Oh, don't forget about Microsoft...who are kind enough to make you pay for a Live account so you could then pay for DLC...wow, how generous (that last part may be dated info, I know it was that way with the 360...the XBone may be different now).

Expensive, buggy consoles and expensive, buggy games with near forced DLC or pay to win drove me away from console game years ago. At this point, I have zero plans to buy any console even remotely close to current generation.

The gaming industry is a bloated shit fest that mostly produces a ton of garbage. There may be gems in there on occasion, but I no longer care enough to find them (or pay for them).

 

[Taiso]

I'd certainly agree with that sentiment, Smoke.

The industry is like Tetsuo in Akira. Drugged up on its own excess and spilling out of itself like a raging stream of liquid flesh, a cyst on the skin of the market that keeps jetting puss and filth no matter what you try to do to staunch the flow.

I don't even believe a solution offered will be taken because somebody has to make a sacrifice for it to take effect and no one's going to do that. Well, other than the consumer, and they already ARE taking it on the chin because the quality control is bad (partly due to the marketing strategy and the rat race).

 

[BIG BEAR]

I co-sign with what everybody has stated with today's games. Today's gaming industry is the reason for the retro explosion (prices).
BB

 

[norton9478]

Pretty Simple:

If it's not on disc, I don't buy it.

 

[cdamm]

Pretty Simple:

If it's not on disc, I don't buy it.

What if it's on disc dlc?

 

[Lemony Vengeance]

Want to know how to kill the DLC craze? Kill used game sales. How do you do that? Go digital. I have owned an Xbox one since summer of 2014 and have bought Zero physical games. Feels good.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

I co-sign with what everybody has stated with today's games. Today's gaming industry is the reason for the retro explosion (prices).
BB

I always attributed it to those generations getting older and having careers giving them more disposable income. Never thought of it in the sense that people aren't getting their fix from new games and want the older ones again, certainly seems to be some truth to it.