Do you ever buy DLC content?

[Fragony]

As I never do, it feels like cheating the consumer to me, and it feels out of place. I don't like this trend, make a fully realised product ffs. Especially having the content allready on disc should be punishable with tentacle rape imho

[Arjos]

Yeah, it's annoying, but alas an integral part of the new digital consumerism...

I look for the cheapest price for the "vanilla" game (even waiting a couple of years from release, unless it's something I know I'll enjoy it a lot) and then I'll consider buying DLCs, only with discounts and if they are worth it...
All in all, I still pay less than I used to for a PS1-2 game way back...

[TinCow]

Yes, regularly. Day 1 DLC is , but I can tolerate it when it's used to fight used game sales (i.e. Arkham City) or to reward pre-orders (i.e. XCOM). For other DLC, I don't purchase all of it, but I don't mind it at all. DLC has taken the place of expansion packs. You don't see those much anymore because DLC is now available. Instead of large and expensive expansions once or twice for a game, we get smaller and less expensive expansions more frequently. Some DLC is, of course, crap. Other stuff is very good though. So, I just read reviews and figure out whether the DLC is something worth buying before I purchase it. In that way, it's not that different from any other aspect of a game.

[Monk]

Depends on the content in question and the company I am buying from.

Extra mission packs, story dlc, or mini-expansion (in line of Crusader Kings 2) all usually get bought as it's more content to play and a reason to revisit a game that I particularly enjoy, so long as there's enough content offered to justify the asking price. The only difference i see here between buying this and the typical expansion pack is that DLC usually is a smaller package, with a proportionally smaller price tag.

Cosmetic stuff like extra art assets or new outfits for characters depends highly on the company itself and the method of delivery. New art assets made post launch are much easier to justify than extra costumes already on the disk that I bought but are locked out. And I have to enjoy the game heavily to even consider it. I have to be constantly coming back to it to want new art assets. Paradox games are probably the only thing I ever buy art stuff for because I spend typically hundreds of hours in them, so I may as well get the most out of the experience with new sprites, flags and character portraits.

[Visor]

I've done it before, though quite rarely. Depends on the content, how much I enjoy the game, whether I will enjoy the DLC or whatever.

I'll probably pick up the BioShock DLC sometime, because I really enjoyed that game. I've got all the Skyrim DLCs minus Dragonborn (on PC which I uh, got illegitimately which I justify by the fact I bought the bastard on PS3 and it is only now getting DLC). But I'll pick them all up for PS3 anyway. Other then that I can't remember any DLC I have bought. My brother has bought the Fallout NV DLC, haven't tried it yet.

Bought plenty of expansion packs though.

[Fisherking]

I often buy DLC. It is just like buying a special edition to a game or buying the expansions to some of the older games.

DLC is usually a better deal than the add-ons to older games as it comes at a lower price.

I don’t see it as a ripoff and it usually makes the companies support the games a bit longer.

[Mailman653]

Sometimes I buy DLC's but if a game has several DLC's, I pick and choose what I know I'll enjoy. For instance in Skyrim, they have that own your own house DLC, skipped that cause I have the PC version and can d/l tons of mods for free. They also have that expanded vampire role and what not DLC, skipped that too cause it's not my play style. The new DLC coming out for PC soon, that expands the story, and that's the kind of DLC's that interest me.

[easytarget]

I own every DLC CA made for Shogun 2, and I've enjoyed every last one of them. And most of them I purchased during a sale, in which case even the expensive ones cost me a happy meal.

[easytarget]

Definitely agree on Xcom, there are an endless supply of ideas for that game. I just hope that what they come out expands the depth of the game, like fleshing out the strategy layer, right now it basically equates to build satellites, or do a better job with interception, or allow more bases, and base invasion, or co-op. I mean seriously, it's just ridiculous how much they could do with it.

[Nelson]

If I like a game, yeah. I'm the kind of gamer who doesn't like short throw-away games, so the kinds of games I tend to buy are Strategy, RPGs, Simulators, Sports, etc. I'm always happy to spend a few extra dollars if it extends the life of a game I really enjoy playing. Case-in-point lately would be Xcom: Enemy Unknown. I'm eagerly awaiting more DLC for that one.

Me, too. If I play the game a lot, I get the DLC. The income keeps the devs on the job, enhancing the product. For niche games like the WWI flight sim Rise of Flight, a lot of new content (in this case aircraft) would not be available were it not for the DLC income stream.

[spankythehippo]

Some DLC are worth the money. I bought almost every Saint's Row the Third DLC. The Trouble With Clones DLC gave me about 30 minutes of content. Definitely not worth the money I spent for it. However, the Borderlands 2 DLC are all worth it. It adds a completely new aspect to the game, which the SR3 did not achieve.

[Beskar]

Some DLC are worth the money. I bought almost every Saint's Row the Third DLC. The Trouble With Clones DLC gave me about 30 minutes of content. Definitely not worth the money I spent for it. However, the Borderlands 2 DLC are all worth it. It adds a completely new aspect to the game, which the SR3 did not achieve.

Borderlands 2 DLC is worth it? $1 for a new custom head, and there are like 20 of them. More unfortunately is how once you buy one, you download a small 10mb file which contains all of them, and future purchases simply is a text line saying "bought = yes".
Torque DLC was pretty crud too.

[Lemur]

Yes.

[spankythehippo]

Borderlands 2 DLC is worth it? $1 for a new custom head, and there are like 20 of them. More unfortunately is how once you buy one, you download a small 10mb file which contains all of them, and future purchases simply is a text line saying "bought = yes".
Torque DLC was pretty crud too.

Oh yeah. I forgot about that custom head DLC. Yeah, I didn't buy that.

I liked the Torgue DLC. Mr Torgue is also the voice of Hercule Satan in Dragon Ball Z, so it brought back memories.

[Beskar]

Oh yeah. I forgot about that custom head DLC. Yeah, I didn't buy that.

I liked the Torgue DLC. Mr Torgue is also the voice of Hercule Satan in Dragon Ball Z, so it brought back memories.

I was with some one who really disliked the voice, and their negativity probably make it far worse experience. But I found it lacklustre and that end boss was just... a sponge. I went bankrupt trying to kill it from the deaths but mostly from buying ammo.

Cannot remember the price of the DLC, but I spent a few hours on it, so if it was a few quid, I will put in it in the "acceptable" category.

[Beskar]

From the sidenote in the above, I have adopted a system for when it comes to DLC/Games and the kin.

I argue that "good value entertainment" should be able to occupy my needs for $1/per hour as the 'acceptable' bar. So if I went and bought a game for £10, I expect to get roughly 10 hours worth of entertainment from the product to be worth the purchase.

You could easily argue "This/that and the other is cheaper" and you are right, there are activities where you can get better than $1 per hour, but unfortunately, there are far more activities which cost well over this amount but I feel that $1 means "Money's worth" from these kind of products.

(Though, it ends up skewed if you added a game like World of Warcraft into the mix, as that is $10 per month, and average player plays 100 hours per month, so $0.10 ph)

[Fragony]

I agree with you guys that when done right DLC is ok, but some game company's are rather predatory. Especially when the content is already on the disc you are just not getting the full game. Also when in-game purchases give you the edge over other players it's a cash trap.

[easytarget]

The further we move away from the publisher model of funding the more likely I suspect the DLC we do see will be driven by demand by the player community expressing their desire to play more of the game on the devs forums.

I view most of what I consider predatory DLC as being driven by publishers and suspect there's a close correlation between how much it looks to the community like a cash grab and how much it was driven by the publisher rather than the dev team.

[Caratacus]

It depends what kind of game the DLC is on. For example, I prefer to buy DLC for games like Fallout or Skyrim because they tend to provide me with a few more hours of entertainment. However, on games like Halo or some other such shooter, the DLC content is usually very limited, adding maybe one or two new maps to the game, most of which are similar to the preexisting ones, not really worth their money. I would hope to see more DLC that adds more fresh and interesting gameplay to the game, rather than pumping out map packs once a month.

[Monk]

Speaking of DLC, when is that stuff coming out for Skyrim on the PS3? Been waiting forever.

Oh nevermind I'm an idiot.

[TinCow]

Speaking of DLC, when is that stuff coming out for Skyrim on the PS3? Been waiting forever.

February 5th.

[edit] Er, sorry, that's Dragonborn for the PC. The PS3 stuff is also February, but apparently with no firm date.

[Beskar]

I admittedly pre-ordered Dragonborn. Fingers crossed for it.

[Monk]

I admittedly pre-ordered Dragonborn. Fingers crossed for it.

Starspawn in Elder Scrolls. How could this be bad?

[Secura]

I tend to buy DLC for games I've really liked so I can extend the life cycle of the game for myself. Games like Skyrim or New Vegas, I bought everything for because the content was generally great and it added significant material for me to feel it was worth getting. There's other games I've liked that I just look at the DLC and it doesn't draw my interest; Assassin's Creed Brotherhood/Revelations spring to mind, particularly as I don't play the multiplayer.

I was with some one who really disliked the voice, and their negativity probably make it far worse experience. But I found it lacklustre and that end boss was just... a sponge. I went bankrupt trying to kill it from the deaths but mostly from buying ammo.

It wasn't the voice of Torgue that I disliked, it was the puerile jokes that would only really appeal to an age range that's not even old enough to play the game. One example is where Moxxi comes out with her usual innuendo, and then Torgue says "I can do that too, here's the Vault Hunter versus <insert lame guy we wiped the floor with>... BLOWJOBS!". I just didn't find that to be remotely funny as I did Scarlett's bitchy sarcasm or Hammerlock's self-deprecating Britishness.

To me, the Badassasaurus was poor boss design; we destroyed all the critical hit points but the boss still had 50% of his health left and reflected the majority of attacks. He was Phaselock immune (fair though, as most bosses are, poor Maya) and destroyed Deathtrap quite quickly too, who wouldn't use any attacks but his shock-beam either. It took me to give my legendary rocket launcher (that I only kept for the ability to heal, since I'd had it since Lvl26 and it's damage fell short in TVHM) to Tiaexz after he built up 150 Anarchy stacks, while healing/ressing him to beat the darn thing. Worst part, we did that DLC around 46 or so, the boss wasn't even "full power".

I love challenging bosses, but that was an utter pisstake. :/

Cannot remember the price of the DLC, but I spent a few hours on it, so if it was a few quid, I will put in it in the "acceptable" category.

It was 800 MS Points, so around £6.85. I feel that there was enough content to merit that price, I just didn't have the motivation to trawl through it all unlike Scarlett/Hammerlock.

[TinCow]

I admittedly pre-ordered Dragonborn. Fingers crossed for it.

I'm going to buy it, but won't pre-order. I have issues with pre-ordering a digital product that gives me no benefits for pre-ordering.

[Fragony]

Good example of predatory micro-transactions, Dead Space 3 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...o-transactions

Call of Duty games have the annoying habit in repeatedly throwing you into servers with maps you don't have, very pushy. But at least you know that you get your money's worth. EA wants you to pay to skip grinding in a game that will go over the counter for 60 euro's, that's just ugly. Loved Dead Space and it's sequal (ipad version is also kinda cool but no blood, it's a horror game ffs) but no buy this time

[Fisherking]

You know if EA publishes it, I never even look at it.

As far as I am concerned, these guys are the lowest of the low.

I don’t mind a company trying to make money. That is what it is all about but their practices are just wrong and the user has to put up with their tripe if they buy their games, so I don’t.

[Beskar]

But Madden!

Hasn't evolved in like 10 years! Like Fifa.

[Husar]

Fifa has evolved as well from what I read. It's still about football of course, so if that is the only factor then no, it hasn't evolved.

[Secura]

I think Capcom's terrible approach to DLC has EA beat, really. Making people pay for stuff that's on the disc that they've paid for already? "Thanks for buying 95% of our game, please pay an additional £10 to get the rest!"

Hasn't evolved in like 10 years! Like Fifa.

For a game whose core principle will never change (twenty-two men kicking a ball), the Fifa games have evolved quite significantly, though I think it would be far more noticeable if the games weren't released annually, but that could be said for the likes of Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty too. I remember playing Revelations and wondering exactly how adding a hook blade was a significant step for the series...