Digital Distractions: The XCPUS Electronics and Gaming Blog

Bioshock 2: DLC Stupidity Woes

on 03-17-2010 at 07:43 PM (275 Views)

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 in tact, without splitting it between the haves and have-nots...

BioShock 2 DLC is Already On the Disc

Pardon me if my brain doesn't remember every fact and figure in the world (the fact me screwing up IPS and PVA today would so firmly illustrate) but wasn't the point of DLC supposed to be content which could be downloaded to compliment the game that you paid an already astounding amount of dosh for? The content provided being a way to encourage gamers to stay with the franchise between sequels and expansion packs and as a reward for continued playing? All in all, simply I don't think this was ever the way DLC was meant to be ($5 to NVIDIA...). This has gone from simple extra content to full on scamming the customer.

Downloadable content my foot...

For those of you that haven't read the link in full (shame on you) let me briefly explain the situation. Some gamers have noticed that on the Bioshock 2 retail game disc, the kind you'd get from Gamestop for instance, the DLC content is already located on disc. I've already had some issues with Day Zero DLC, but that's a debate worth having and actually can be filed under something with a bit of nuance. This, unfortunately, is a scam. Plain and simple. If you can't see the obviousness of it, let thou simplify it for your brain. You are paying full price for the game. $60. Now to be able to use content that is on the very game disc that you have paid for you have to pay some more money. If that doesn't sound bad to you then obviously you've been blighted by a few blood clots in your noggin and have lost all ability to reason insightfully. Imagine buying a game at current market value, that being anywhere from shy under $50 to just over $60. Now you get home and pop it in your preferred gaming device (PC you clotty ignorant peasant!) and the install screen requires that you pony up $5 for an unlock code to be able to use the content on the game. This, shall not pass. You'd be understandably livid over such chicanery, and this is what 2K is to be doing.

Pictured: 2K Studios

I'm all for DLC. After all, you have like 3 months to polish your game, and during those months quite a few employees don't have much to do, so you put them to work. I get that. I can even understand Day Zero DLC, since there is obviously a bit of time from the actual game completion to the day a game is published. But this? Just un-flipping-believable. Anyone who says, " well just don't buy it" has missed the point so, so, so badly. The data is already there! They expect you to essentially re-buy stuff you already payed for! Capcom did the same thing with Resident Evil 5 if I remember correctly. Apparently there weren't enough people calling them on it to make it clear that this **** does not fly. People paid FULL PRICE for the disc, by any average person's viewpoint, what's on it is theirs. You have game developers basically putting in extra effort into locking out customers from features that ARE ON THE BLOODY DISC.

The problem is though that it's becoming very hard to let some particular infringing offenders (I'm looking dead at you Bobby Kotick and Activision) know that these shenanigans won't be tolerated. The common line from publishers being, "well it's our game, and if you don't like what we do, screw off" regarding anything that resembles criticism (Hi Ubisoft you cheesy bastards) and God forbid the game doesn't sell well when people catch on to these attempts at customer rapeage then you get the usual bleating of "shrinking market, PC dying, rampant piracy, etc".

We'd gone from being valued customers, to walking wallets to just some sucker off the street.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Tags: 2k games, bioshock, dlc, gaming

Categories: Gaming

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Comments

Viperabyss - 03-17-2010 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by DaSickNinja

What are your throughts on the matter?

I think...you're weird.
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DaSickNinja - 03-17-2010 08:47 PM

We all know that. I mean about the game you numpty.
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Viperabyss - 03-18-2010 12:29 AM

It seems to me that the gaming industry is slowly taking the approach of the movie industry, where the sale of the game does not actually mean selling you the game as a whole, but rather the right to play under their term. Under that term, the company that release the game can easily argue that the $60 you paid for the game only covered the basic part of the game, while the "advanced contents" are meant for those willing to pony up an additional 5 bucks. Of course, labeling them as DLC is quite dumb, since DLC implies additional contents that's developed after the sale of the game to keep gamers interested.

Personally I don't necessarily agree with them on that subject, but seeing that this may be where the industry is taking it, I don't think gamers have a choice. After all, for goods that do not involve the actual sale of a physical thing (e.g. cars, toys, consoles), its difficult to judge how much ownership a buyer really have.
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DaSickNinja - 03-18-2010 05:05 AM

And that's my point. Where does this needless bilking over of the customer stop? DLC for player optioned save points in the next Mass Effect? DLC for widescreen support in the next COD? DLC for an expanded inventory in Borderlands?
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Viperabyss - 03-18-2010 08:07 AM

It probably wouldn't take it to that extreme, but if this trend does continue (which I think it will), we will likely see a new generation of games heavily based on optionals and extras. However, this can probably work to a middle ground if the companies releasing these games can reduce the price, and just charge extra for those extra contents. If a game would cost $25~$30 as opposed to the $60 bend over price, it would probably prompt more people to actually spend money on the game. Of course, for those that want more complete experience and additional content, they may have to pay more for unlock codes.

For instance, I have absolutely no interest in playing C&C4 beyond its story line content. So if the game is actually $25 for Single Player ONLY, then I will be more likely to pay that price to get the game, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one in this boat.
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DaSickNinja - 03-18-2010 03:01 PM

I can see Activision pulling this sort of crap. Not to mention they've already said that games should be $70, so this is the logical progression of an illogical thought.
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Mandrake - 03-18-2010 11:55 PM

This is outrageous, you pay good money for a game and then get asked to pay MORE to play the content already on the disc?! That's bull****, plain and simple. I do think that the concept of DLC itself is great and I don't mind paying a bit of cash for more content if the original game was good. Saints Row 2 is a great example; I was most distraught when the actual game was over. I was thinking 'This game can't end! It was too ****ing awesome!'. The solution was to jump on the Playstation Store and grab the DLC packs and all of a sudden I had new ways to customise my character, new vehicles to operate and some new missions to play. It was worth every cent.

As for the Americans paying $70 USD for games? That sounds fine to me. That way they could rightfully reduce prices here from $100 -> $120 AUD to $90 -> $110 AUD to make things somewhat more even.

For the record, if any American complains about paying $60 USD while we Aussies pay about the equivilant of 90 -> 110 USD then I reserve the right to smack them over the head with a shovel repeatedly.
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DaSickNinja - 03-19-2010 07:47 PM

Well, you have better beaches, so it balances out.
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Viperabyss - 03-19-2010 08:31 PM

Actually, I think this will very likely be the business model future game developers use to recuperate money from the so called "piracy". By segmenting the games into different components, developers can charge more for the entire content, while the average users may pay less to just get the thing they wanted. However, given the greedy attitude of the companies, I'm sure the base price will very likely start at the current level (~$60), and slowly go upward as more "extra" contents are added.

Or, like most game companies are doing, transforming all games into MMOs, which IMHO a really bad move.
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