BioShock 2's First DLC Already On Disc 466
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."
Fragment the player base (Score:2, Interesting)
In other words, the real value here is the other people on the network, and not the game.
Sadly, this is not new practice in the print... (Score:3, Interesting)
industry. I work with equipment whose speed and certain other capabilities are determined by the license codes you pay for. To me, this seems dishonest.
I'm sad to see software publishers embrace this model, but not terribly surprised.
How long until... (Score:2, Interesting)
5 dollar game (Score:5, Interesting)
Heh, seems like only indy game companies get it right. About a year back I bought Defense Grid (TD) on Steam. Played through it - definitely worth the $5 I paid. A few days ago I fired it up again, and what do I find? More levels, and more game modes. The company just keeps on giving!
I guess what it comes down to is, indy game companies want to do a good job and provide a fun game, while building up their name. Big game studios want your money, and want to figure out ways to get your money. Both sorts of companies seem to be reaching their goals.
Re:probably cut features to make the deadline (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I will never pay for DLC (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm sorry, what? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:5 dollar patch (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:5 dollar patch (Score:3, Interesting)
Seems like a cheap way to nickel and dime us which is becoming the defining definition of this generation of gaming development and consoles.
DLC is a great concept but has turned into such a cash cow that companies are now developing the game and DLC at the same time so to increase their revenue pipeline in a shorter span of time. Its smart from a revenue perspective but the $5 here and the $5 there is starting to add up and to a customer perspective we feel like were getting screwed.
On a side note though:
What I am worried about is Blizzard who is taking it to a whole new level. They will release the first part of SC2 which is the Terran campaign. So far they say its going to contain all the content need for Multiplayer. I guarantee when they release the second campaign (lets say Protoss) which right now is going to cost the same prices as the Terran ($60), so now were up to ($120) for both and without the Protoss campaign installed you can only play multiplayer with those that only own the Terran campaign thus eliminating a huge portion of the multiplayer population cause you cant play with those that own both the Terran and Protoss. Same concept as with regular SC and Broodwar, except this is will cost more than a $30 expansion. By the end of the series you are out $180. Pure speculation but it seems like a good revenue pipeline.
Re:I will never pay for DLC (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:5 dollar patch (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, I'll bite.
I have an XBL membership. Every once in a while, I download a demo of an XBL Arcade game. The other day I decided I liked the game enough to pay for it, and did so. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the only thing that was actually being downloaded was the activation key - all the code and resources needed to play were already on my hard drive!
So which is worse - me paying top dollar for a game, then another five bucks for a small amount of extra content already on my HD, or paying a few bucks for a smaller game, the entirety of which was already on my HD?
Well... I hate to tell you this, but that sounds like your mistake, not theirs.
Re:5 dollar patch (Score:3, Interesting)
I think I'd go with this for a car analogy.
Lets say you buy a nice sporty car, lets say a BMW at around 350HP. You've been using it for a while, and then your dealer tells you you can get an extra 50HP by applying a software patch, but it will cost you 2000$.
Well, they've been doing such a thing for a while, and people are actually quite happy with this .. because they got the car as it was advertised in the first case, and those extra HP are well worth the price of the patch and the engine warranty reduction (or whatever..)
5 dollar Pokemon. (Score:1, Interesting)
"DLC is a great concept but has turned into such a cash cow that companies are now developing the game and DLC at the same time so to increase their revenue pipeline in a shorter span of time. Its smart from a revenue perspective but the $5 here and the $5 there is starting to add up and to a customer perspective we feel like were getting screwed. "
The only people who feel they're being screwed are those who believe they have to have it all. Those who have the fortitude to pick and choose will not suffer so much from the "they're nickle and diming me". Also the idea of having extra content locked onto the disc is actually quite old. I have VB6 software discs like that.
Re:5 dollar patch (Score:2, Interesting)
Do you feel the same way about CPUs that are artificially limited to run at less than their capacity? Now in that case they aren't offering to sell you an unlock key to make it run at full speed, but I'm sure that's just because it's technically prohibitive to do so in a secure way. (or to be slightly less cynical, because of the bad PR it would generate)
On another but related topic, I wonder if there is a crack for the game that unlocks the DLC?