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Are Game Consoles Ruining DLC?
A round-table discussion at Gametopius looks into the state of downloadable content for games as it has evolved over the past several years, going from an occasional, welcome supplement to being a common marketing strategy for most of the industry, frequently causing irritation over pricing and availability.
"All of the map packs so far released for the Call of Duty games have been $10 each to download on consoles through closed networks, while PC gamers could download those same packs for free off of FileShack or somewhere else. Valve's own Team Fortress 2 has received a significant amount of DLC that's been completely free on the PC. Xbox owners of the same game, however, have only received perhaps half of that content, and they have had to pay for it in $5 packs. Why is this? The idea of this kind of content delivery was scarcely heard of on consoles, so console gamers see no reason not to pay for it. But on the PC, these amounts of content are usually just considered parts of patches. Furthermore, why pay for a few extra maps and costumes when modders are making and offering new ones for free all the time?"
And when you play a game on a pc, you're using a tool as a toy. You could even argue that something like "WiiFit" is using a toy as a tool.
I think that, primarily, the difference is convenience. I love the PC, but playing games on it is never hassle-free. You're never certain ANYTHING will work until you actually try it. You never know when a random update or new installation will break something else. Part of a console's convenience is the idea of living in a gated community. It's sometimes very nice (things actually work!), sometimes very irritating ($5 for new textures).
Most of my gaming is done on the console, mainly because of convenience. I'll reserve my PC gaming for small independent games, and games with significant modding communities... the PC's two strong points. Ok, and emulation. And abandonware. The PC's four strong points.
, they tend to know that $10 is way overpriced for 3 maps
What should a map cost? Do you know how long it takes to make a good one? One sunny afternoon I bet, right? Jesus.
The reason they are free on PC's is because preventing piracy would be nearly impossible. This is why for the most part, you only have free third party content, done by hobbyists.
For all they know, it takes a team of 50 people a month to make a map.
WOW, that is what it would take for you to pay $10? 50 people working for a month, and you'd pay a measly $10. So what, you get to decide where the publisher's break even point is now? You decide how many units must be shipped before someone is allowed to make a profit? What the fuck makes you feel so privileged?
We pay a dollar for a few cents worth of soda, but paying $10 for something that took a handful of designers a few months is outrageous, it should be free?
. They might not have ever even played a game on a computer other than solitaire,
So you belittle people who use consoles, and feel entitled to free content for PC games.. just because.
Console players tend not to be as well versed as PC gamers in anything relating to electronics.
You know jack shit about designing game content. Mind explaining how that's related to electronics? No, don't, you're fucking retarded and you don't have an explanation.
Where do people like you come from? Have you had a lobotomy?
So, your four graphics cards count as all PCs, ever? If you want to play an anecdote game, my 8500GT has no connectors in common with my TV. And they're in different rooms anyway. And my PC doesn't have bluetooth controllers, and I don't want games being interrupted by general PC error messages or dialogue boxes when I'm playing a game.
You'll find that most sports games on the PC are really shitty ports.
Twenty in the latest Fifa.