A Poem - When DLC's used to be FREE...

Jcaugustine

Jcaugustine

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A short poem by a CAG

Remember beating Metroid on the original 8-bit NES for the very first time?
You get a suit and a code to play as Samus Aran in a pink bathing suit so fine.
"Justin Bailey" - a simple code that did so much, and I didn't even have to spend a dime.

Remember when you played Castlevania Symphony of the Night on PS1?
After beating it with Alucard, you get to play as Richter - Julian Belmont's grandson.
Complete with a whole new level, an upside down Dracula's Castle once your done.

Remember the accomplishment of unlocking all 231 cars in Forza Motorsport on the Xbox?
Especially the moment you finally got that Audi Infenion that Level 50 unlocks?
That rewarding stisfaction you feel after a 100% game completion just absolutely rocks!

But now...

A simple costume or skin change in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has to cost me $3 and change.
The 5 new levels to extend my Fallout 3 will cost me practically another game around the $50 range.
And a 100% completion in Forza 3 means purchasing all extra tracks and future car packs til I'm deranged.

Oh memory lane...

How I've missed those times when you simply gave these "rewards" to me.
How you rewarded me for that hard earned money I spent, for my time playing, and for my loyalty.
But now I have to pay for these rewards, because they're now called market store DLC's.
I guess that's the price we pay for loyalty in today's big business video game industry.
 
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I met a man online today, he spoke in prose and rhyme,
I expected poems of love and life, but instead I just got "whine".

My eyes were fixed as I read on, as if they were in traction,
I said "oh great, here's someone else, demanding satisfaction"

So as I sit with scotch in hand, and recollect the day,
I think about that post I read, that post was oh so gay.
 
Yeah, I remember all that. I also remember when games straight up ended and we had to wait till the next game in that series came out so we could get more.

I like that they add stuff to games so we don't have to wait a year or more to see what else is in the story. I also like supporting the devs by paying for the DLC.
 
It's his post and poem. To be honest I liked it and I don't mind reading them. One thing was awkward to me; I've never seen so many words in 1 line of a poem, but it was great to read. All the people who read your poem was obviously interested in reading it. (They clicked into the post themselves) It's just they don't want to show their affection, they'd rather troll =D Props on the poem. Keep them coming!:cool:
 
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Time has changed... DLC pains me too, but at least it's optional. I'm alright with the concept as long as they remain OPTIONAL and they DON'T push it.

Kicking out of a "found" match because you don't have the required DLC is a new low though.
 
I just think it's weird that this has become such a rallying point for current-gen-complainers. It's just more stuff for the games you supposedly love; and if it's not worth the money for you, you do actually have the option to not buy it.

[quote name='seanr1221']You're comparing the 5 fallout expansion to alternate costumes. Awesome.[/QUOTE]


This is exactly what's wrong with a lot of people in the anti-DLC crusade - to them, DLC is just DLC. It doesn't matter if it's hours of new content or just an expensive hat. Hell, it doesn't even matter if it was developed before or after the game's release. It's just DLC, and it's always a ripoff.

The Fallout expansions (at full price, which at this point you'd be insane to pay anyway - GOTY edition, sales, etc.) are all together longer and more content-rich than most retail games. How is this something you can possibly complain about? Sure there's lots of crappy DLC (costumes, yes) but why paint your opinions in such broad strokes?
 
I rode across the dewy plain, and came upon a farmer,
he said "good sir, you are a champ. I'm diggin' that horse armor"

"Thanks, I bought the DLC, while others piss and moan",
and as I spoke and looked badass, the armor brightly shone

"Some would say it is a gouge" the farmer coyly said,
I replied "that's some bs old man" and then I killed him dead.

Then I carried onwards, on my journey to Kvatch,
and if you don't like DLC, well... it rhymes with Kvatch.
 
[quote name='Serpentor']Time has changed... DLC pains me too, but at least it's optional. I'm alright with the concept as long as they remain OPTIONAL and they DON'T push it.

Kicking out of a "found" match because you don't have the required DLC is a new low though.[/QUOTE]

Its not always so optional really. Granted I dont have to buy it if I dont want to but take alan wake for instance. If I want to find out what happens I have to buy it.

I liked alan wake. I loved the characters, the story was nice, the voice acting was really good, I love the detiled environments, I loved the pacing. I like just about everything about alan wake aside from some minor control issues and occasionally buggy background graphic effects.

I had a lot of fun playing it. That is until it ended. I get to the end with the worlds stupidest final fight, the game ends after 17 seconds and I have no freaking clue as to what all has happened and it ends with remedy pulling the fucking "to be continued". I paid 70 bucks for the collectors edition and they couldnt even give me any kind of real ending to the game. With the CE I got the first DLC for free and I played it in about 30 minutes and guess what? At the end of it it said "to be continued". Thats horseshit to have people buy your game and then force them to buy multiple DLC if they want to have any sembilance of a ending.
 
[quote name='eastshore4']I met a man online today, he spoke in prose and rhyme,
I expected poems of love and life, but instead I just got "whine".

My eyes were fixed as I read on, as if they were in traction,
I said "oh great, here's someone else, demanding satisfaction"

So as I sit with scotch in hand, and recollect the day,
I think about that post I read, that post was oh so gay.[/QUOTE]
Don't know... this poem sounded oh so gay. :booty:
 
[quote name='eastshore4']I rode across the dewy plain, and came upon a farmer,
he said "good sir, you are a champ. I'm diggin' that horse armor"

"Thanks, I bought the DLC, while others piss and moan",
and as I spoke and looked badass, the armor brightly shone

"Some would say it is a gouge" the farmer coyly said,
I replied "that's some bs old man" and then I killed him dead.

Then I carried onwards, on my journey to Kvatch,
and if you don't like DLC, well... it rhymes with Kvatch.[/QUOTE]
Hmm... it's not like Kvitch is it? :)
 
hmm...seems people are confusing unlockables for DLC. Since DLC just started on consoles in this generation, I'll leave it at that.

Criterion are the best for both DLC and unlockables ;)
 
[quote name='xinoart']hmm...seems people are confusing unlockables for DLC. Since DLC just started on consoles in this generation, I'll leave it at that.

Criterion are the best for both DLC and unlockables ;)[/QUOTE]
But at the same time, most unlockables are turning into DLC's.

Tekken 5 gave us an unlocking Costume system for just playing the game. But Street Fighter IV is offering Costumes for $5 a pack.

Castlevania SOTN gave you a completely different character in Richter Belmont for free. But you have to pay 200 MS Points to play as Proto Man in Mega Man 9.

Dracula X Chronicles unlocks the FULL game of Castlevania SOTN for free just for beating the game; a full game hidden inside another full game. Yet people had to spend $30 just to play 3 new levels on Star Wars The Force Unleashed.

Mercenaries 2 DLC "Blow It Up Again" was offered to be downloaded for FREE. But now EA is charging 180 MS Points to get it.



Seems like developers are fine with just rewarding the players with "endings" these days, and not much else until you open your wallet.
 
[quote name='Ratchet & CAG']But at the same time, most unlockables are turning into DLC's.

Tekken 5 gave us an unlocking Costume system for just playing the game. But SFIV is offering Costumes for $5 each pack.

Castlevania SOTN gave you a completely different character in Richter Belmont for free. But you have to pay 200 MS Points to play as Proto Man in Mega Man 9.

Dracula X Chronicles unlocks the FULL game of Castlevania SOTN for free just for beating the game. Yet people had to spend $30 just to play 3 new levels on Star Wars The Force Unleashed.

Seems like developers are fine with just rewarding the players with "endings" these days, and not much else until you open your wallet.[/QUOTE]

Capcom loves to nickel and dime people.
 
[quote name='Ratchet & CAG']But at the same time, most unlockables are turning into DLC's.

Tekken 5 gave us an unlocking Costume system for just playing the game. But Street Fighter IV is offering Costumes for $5 a pack.

Castlevania SOTN gave you a completely different character in Richter Belmont for free. But you have to pay 200 MS Points to play as Proto Man in Mega Man 9.

Dracula X Chronicles unlocks the FULL game of Castlevania SOTN for free just for beating the game; a full game hidden inside another full game. Yet people had to spend $30 just to play 3 new levels on Star Wars The Force Unleashed.

Mercenaries 2 DLC "Blow It Up Again" was offered to be downloaded for FREE. But now EA is charging 180 MS Points to get it.

Seems like developers are fine with just rewarding the players with "endings" these days, and not much else until you open your wallet.[/QUOTE]
Another issue narrowing (but blurring) the gap between "Unlockables" and "DLC" is that most of the DLC you pay for are just "Unlock Codes".

Some examples:

Bio Shock 2
http://www.pcworld.com/article/191669/bioshock_2s_discfree_dlc_has_gamers_peeved.html

Just Cause 2
http://www.pressthebuttons.com/2010/04/complete-list-of-just-cause-2-dlc-revealed.html

Meaning, the Video Game Disc you bought already has the "Bonus New Character / New Weapons / New Vehicles / Costume / Skin" that you wanted included inside the Disc waiting to be unlocked.

Unfortunately, you now have to buy a code from the publishers to unlock these items inside the Disc, otherwise you couldn't play them.

In other words, we are paying for what should've been "Unlockables" to begin with.
 
I have a poem entitled: The Reality and Irony of Today

Oh woe is the peril of the modern game producer
They deliver better value than ever and take it in the gooser
Going out of business is more likely than making a hit
All the while they must deal with an insane US consumer that is absolutely batshit
The US doesn't even feel the impact of their worthless money
They're so overpaid in the global economy it's not even funny
Much of the wealth of the Caucasian world was built by the exploitation of others
But the past is the past and they ignore the sins of their mothers
They have expectations of what they are owed and just want to play
Without any concept of the historical cost of the lives they live today
Removing expectations is a proven path to greater happiness
But learning and changing is blocked by their laziness
Uninformed consumers try to enforce their opinions on the majority
Without any concept of how to make their desires a reality
These same consumers have more power than ever to spend
Information is power and free information is now without end
Time and resources used on fruitless complaints, the power is wasted
When the end result they wanted was so close it could be tasted

It's a little heavy on the pretentiousness. I blame that on the Muse concert I went to last weekend. It's my equivalent of Matt Bellamy playing The Star-Spangled Banner.
 
....

Alot of what you claimed were examples of DLC were actually paid preorder codes. Companies paid a set amount to the publisher to get the rights to have those codes for a limited time. It's not the same at all. It's exclusivity windows. Blame amazon, gamestop, best buy, etc. if you want to but they're the ones who set that up in the first place. Contrary to popular opinion in some forums (not saying this one) MS is also to blame for most of this since there is a set amount of content a publisher/dev can release for free and even then the game company foots the bill.

Still, you don't have to buy any of it and most of it is purely cosmetic. Whether it's on the disc or not, it doesn't matter alot. Real DLC will always be downloadable and be substantial.

Still this poem acts like DLC has been around forever and it was always free. It's something new with this generation of consoles. I personally place the blame on people who buy avatars and clothes for their fake persona on the 360 since that's where it all has stemmed from.

When people stop paying for cosmetic changes, those changes will start to be free. Vote with your wallet.
 
Buy Valve Games on PC OR Mac.
Wait for Game of the Year Editions. (Fallout 3, Borderlands, GTA IV, Uncharted 2, Midnight Club, Little Big Planet, etc.)
Only morons would pay 2 dollars for a costume or weapon in a game.
 
[quote name='xinoart']....

Alot of what you claimed were examples of DLC were actually paid preorder codes. Companies paid a set amount to the publisher to get the rights to have those codes for a limited time. It's not the same at all. It's exclusivity windows. Blame amazon, gamestop, best buy, etc. if you want to but they're the ones who set that up in the first place. Contrary to popular opinion in some forums (not saying this one) MS is also to blame for most of this since there is a set amount of content a publisher/dev can release for free and even then the game company foots the bill.[/QUOTE]
Guessing you're talking about the "Just Cause 2" example, since the others I mentioned were never pre-order items.

But those same pre-order codes are now being sold as DLC for $2 each, when they were already built into the game. What you're basically paying your $2 for is an unlock code.

Buying DLC codes evolved over time, and it evolved into retailers paying publishers to give them exclusive DLC content for their respective stores.

Paying more, evolves into ending up paying even more. Next thing you know... games will only come as episodes. It's starting out that way on a lot of online Arcade games. Expansion packs may be joined by Episode packs in the future, who knows?

Going back to the topic of "Unlcokable" and "DLC":

Like the Just Cause 2 example - those are the type of items that you once could get for free as an "Unlockable" after beating the game, etc. Just like those old GTA games on PS2 before.

Now it seems everything must be purchased to unlock, rather than play to unlock.
 
But you keep acting like they completely did away with unlockables when that's false. In fact, I would go as far to say that more games now have unlockables than ever before.

Take for instance Dead Rising 2. There are upcoming DLC costume packs. There are also unlockable items in the game. It's both worlds working together. Team Fortress 2 as well. You can buy DLC or you can unlock it. Nothing has changed. Now you have an option of paying for extra content or not. Most of the time, the same paid content can be unlocked (albeit much harder to do) or there is already an item in the game that is the same or even sometimes better.
 
[quote name='xinoart']But you keep acting like they completely did away with unlockables when that's false. In fact, I would go as far to say that more games now have unlockables than ever before.
[/QUOTE]
I never said that companies are doing away with unlockables.

Some publishers still give fans a good dose of both. Just like "Resident Evil 5", people get the infinite ammo Gatling Gun for beating the game (maybe cause they're at least carrying over all those past RE infinite ammo game rewards from all the earlier games). But then... you wonder why you have to spend 400 MS Points so you can UNLOCK the already built-in-the-disc Versus mode just so that you can play against other players online.

There's no fine line how publishers consider which in-game item would be considered an "Unlockable" or just straight "DLC".

But... some of today's current games "Unlockables" are not quite as good as the games of yesterday's unlockables. What was a FREE unlockable for a game 4-5 years ago, has to be purchased now for $$$ as a DLC today.

I remember when you could unlock saber Zero in Mega Man X# for free, but now have to pay $$$ just to unlock Proto Man in Mega Man 9.

Most unlockables in today's games are basically in the form of "galleries", like production artworks, sketches, etc.

Today's "unlockables" are nowhere quite the same quality and value as they were before, because they're now being turned into DLC.
 
That's your opinion. I doubt any amount of facts or other things will change your opinion so I'll leave it at that.
 
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