The front of this blog was, until I posted this, a very pleasant post. It was an enthusiastic post by a long-time gamer about one of her very favorite games ever. It heartens me when someone enthuses so about something they love, doubly so when it’s in a medium I cherish.
And that is why it hurts so much to post this, because there are ugly, ugly things afoot and I’m just not able to stand them anymore.
Let me begin with a small sample of events:
That’s enough by itself really, and I’ll write at length about why it does matter that they’re using the X-Com name for something that is entire not X-Com at another point, but suffice it to say, FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU-
I’m not opposed to online/casual games in principle, but on the other hand, you can pay a full $19.99 USD for a single civilization pack. OR you can pay $99.99 (Yes, one shiny cent shy of a Ben Franklin) for everything. Oh no wait, I’m sorry – everything for now. That’s just the “season 1 pass”. It lasts for the next six months. Ninety nine dollars for six months of a game. And they say MMOs are bad value!
Brian Reynolds now works for Zynga – founded by a man who wanted to be able to buy victory because he sucks at games – and defends the most excruciatingly casual, pay-to-win games imaginable.
Many companies (I’m looking at Namco real close right now because of their SCIV shenanigans) put DLC on the damn disc. Even Paradox is making DLC now, though at least that’s all genuinely optional stuff. How long until their graphical DLC stomps on player-made graphics mods though?
DLC in itself can be okay. Look at what Rockstar make: The Ballad of Gay Tony, The Lost and Damned, and Undead Nightmare are all absolutely superb. But they’re all pretty much expansion packs in their own right. The increasing nickel-and-diming of players for stuff that is either on the disc, should have been in in the first place, or would once have come free in a patch (Remember those? When patches had stuff in them?) is just disgusting. I get going where the money is, but there’s still plenty of money to be made on those of us who actually play videogames; We’re the ones who still buy tons of games in the recession, we’re the ones who still buy Nintendo consoles even after they made the GameCube, and we’re the ones who are going to invest serious time and money into gaming.
In short,
This is why I’m okay with things like what RIOT does with League of Legends – everything gameplay-impacting can be bought with Influence Points that you get by, you know… playing the game. BUT, you can also buy them with Riot Points – points you pay for with cash, basically – if you want something fast (like a new champ, or some runes, or whatever).
The only things that are Riot Points only are cosmetic skins, and I find that to be entirely fine – it actually shows that you love a specific champion enough to drop some real dough on them.
Like me with Tristana and Poppy. <3
So I get to buy a game to get the opportunity to pay to download the rights to activate the game I bought in the first place?
If only all gamers were very discerning with their money so capitalism would work in this situation- the best deal wins, instead of…….companies being able to get away with highway robbery because people will buy anything they churn out.
If you look for reamke of X-Com check this.
http://www.xenonauts.com/
It looks like update version of X-Com with the same atmosfere.
DLC. Wat can I say.
Blame internet and greed. Internet because it make all this DLC stuff easly acessible for most people. Do you imagine anyone paying for DLC on CD?
Greed. Pretty obvius. I dont have nothing against selling product for right price but this sort of policy look more like a scamming.
“Buy our awesome game!”
Then
“Buy our DLC because without them our ‘awesome’ game isnt even half that awesome what we promise”
Can I sue them for my moral loss?
DLC is a tricky one. In general, the same rules apply as buying a game. This DLC is overpriced for what you get, this DLC just plain sucks, this other DLC is completely awesome. However, I think the backlash against DLC has gotten almost as ridiculous as the DLC itself. “Um.. Here’s a new DLC mission pack a year and a half after the game has shipped.” “WTF!?! WHY WASN’T THIS INCLUDED AT LAUNCH?!” or “Hey, the guys in the art department whipped up some alternate costumes for your characters. $2 for a couple of neat new outfits!” “OMGWTF?!!? You expect us to pay $2 for THIS?! That’s as much as a soda!! It should be free!”
In the end, DLC is a gamble the same as buying a game. You can get screwed, you can overpay for less than expected, or it could be an amazing addition. I’m kinda happy you can actually find reviews for DLC just like games now. Helped me to decide buying the Traitor’s Keep for Fable 3 and NOT Understone.