BioShock 2's First DLC Already On Disc

An anonymous reader writes with this quote from 1Up: "Trouble is brewing in Rapture. The recently released Sinclair Solutions multiplayer pack for BioShock 2 is facing upset players over the revelation that the content is already on the disc, and the $5 premium is an unlock code. It started when users on the 2K Forums noticed that the content is incredibly small: 24KB on the PC, 103KB on the PlayStation 3, and 108KB on the Xbox 360. 2K Games responded with a post explaining that the decision was made in order to keep the player base intact, without splitting it between the haves and have-nots."

Re:5 dollar patch

[Anonymous Coward]

On-Disc DLC is often stuff that was cut from the core game for financial reasons, then bankrolled by rolling it out into a DLC Pack - the levels were 3/4 done, but the money wasn't there to finish them? Sell 'em to the publisher as on disk/day 1 DLC so they'll give us the money to finish them. Most of the time, the option isn't 'We have 15 levels done on the disc, let's make 5 of them DLC' it's 'We have 15 levels mostly done, and only enough money to pay people to finish 10 of 'em - make 'em DLC, the publisher will fund them that way'

Re:2k

[spire3661]

It is integral now. Halo 3 multiplayer is a joke unless you continuously pony up money for new maps. Right now they are still selling $30 worth of maps for it.

Re:2k

[snowraver1]

Not true. About a month ago they changed the map rotation. Most gametypes now only need the original Halo 3 disc without any DLC. It appears that if the game detects that all players have additional maps available, that they will be included in the rotation though.

I think that they are trying to make people really bored of Halo 3 so that when Halo: Reach comes out, people will be so sick of Halo 3 that they will hop on the new version right away.

Re:I will never pay for DLC

[Totenglocke]

That's the prime reason that developers feel the need to protect their software.

You must be new here, because it's well known that developers don't use DRM to stop piracy, they use DRM to stop second-hand game sales and to force games to become unplayable by turning off activation servers, thus forcing people to buy new games.

I don't feel entitled to it in the slightest. However, I'm not buying it due to the DRM - the company has already lost my sale. They lose NOTHING, not even one cent, by me pirating it, so what reason is there not to? Because someone like you who defends DRM says that it's wrong?

Re:Nothing new here. Move along.

[Lemming Mark]

The reason it seems so irksome in this case whereas people are OK with the Windows situation is that you know upfront that you're buying one version of windows that has a certain number of features, from a list the company offered you. When the company drip feeds extra features to you at extra charge it interferes with the normal way people judge value, so they feel swindled, hence a general dislike of DLC. But DLC isn't as bad as it could be - at least you're getting extra content that wasn't available before. When it turns out that the "new" content isn't actually new development work, it feels like you're being exploited.

Re:5 dollar patch

[jollyreaper]

What bothers me is the possibility that content is cut from the game specifically to sell, rather than being developed in addition to the game. It's important to bear in mind though that extra content can still be developed before the game is totally finished, programmers don't create most of the game content.

Feeling cheated is kind of subjective. The whole thing with the new Starcraft games sounds like a cheat. It's not just Starcraft 2 but a trilogy of games, one game per race rather than one game with three races and three campaigns. And each game will go for $50 or $60. That feels like a cheat. It's supposed to be three full games worth of material but it doesn't feel right.

Lord of the Rings was shot like one big movie and released in installments. It didn't feel like such a cheat since the second one was in no way complete when the first hit theaters, likewise for the third when the second was released. And when released on DVD we knew the schedule in advance, movie versions first with expanded editions later. The whole set was expensive but well worth the money. But technically this is no different from Starcraft 2. Feels different, though.

It seems like the only way to handle this for games is to just get the game of the year or collected edition a year or three after release when all the DLC is shipped on CD. God knows nobody has enough hard drive space on the consoles to keep all the DLC handy.

Re:I will never pay for DLC

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's an idea, rather than resorting to an unethical practice why don't you just not play the game? Or is being annoyed a license to do whatever you want?

I agree. Consumers should do the ethical thing and buy a law that allows them to reverse engineer the key. Wait, what, consumers cannot afford the politicians to buy laws like this? Only big money like game companies and the MMPA can?
Boy, I think it is time for consumers to learn their place and just shut up and take it.

As this is the internet and I'm not clarifying, you can make up your own mind about whether "shut up and take it" is suggesting piracy as a fair countermeasure or whether it is sarcasm suggesting that consumers learn to live like domestic abuse victims or prison b1tches.

PS: hey look this DVD I just bought has an unskippable "you're a thief" add and warnings. I'm so glad I can't return it, due to the DMCA.

Re:I will never pay for DLC

[Idiomatick]

You are supposed to break laws you don't agree with to move forwards and cause change. If it became illegal to gather in public. Even though you havent really done much gathering in past you should do it then. Just to show it is wrong.

OP could simply be taking the stance that giving out part of a product then selling you the rest is wrong. It is illegal to sell what is advertised as a car; when you get it is has no muffler on it. I don't personally think this case is so obvious but the position isn't completely rediculous.

Also, there is no reason this would extend to other software, thats just silly.

Re:5 dollar patch

[Aphoxema]

I suppose no more so than it installs a cup holder with a lock on it.

Ouch. I got served.

Re:5 dollar patch

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

You're wrong. They've confirmed that you only have to buy one of the games to have all 3 races for multiplayer.

The Terran Legacy pack contains the same units, upgrades, and whatever else you need for multiplay. The only thing that it won't have is the campaign for Protoss and Zerg.

The rumor is that each game will have a campaign the length of the original SC, and if that's true, I'll be willing to pay for it.

Also, your assumption of a $60 price is insane. PC games aren't $60 when they come out, they're closer to $49.

Re:5 dollar patch

[SCPRedMage]

Having DLC ready in time for the game's release isn't the same as having DLC ready in time to be included on the disc. The is a significant period of time between when the game is "done" and when it's "released"; would you rather they spend that time sitting on their thumbs, or working on something?

Re:Sidestep

[Amarantine]

I'm not sure if they would be able to keep such a deceit up. Word would get out eventually, and i think it would do more harm than good, it clearly would show that there is something to hide, and it would even more look like a scam to separate the punters from their cash.