Do you do DLC's?

Games
1

Do you do DLC’s?

When you get a game and DLC’s come out do you instantly add them or do you wait for reviews? Or, do you refuse to add them because they should have been part of the game in the first place and they are, as my grandma used to say, “a money game”?

Myself, I rarely do DLC’s. Although if I happen to buy a version that has DLC’s I definitely play them, as in the Fallout 3 version I bought. I find with most games after 40-100 hours I have probably had enough of the game.

But it seems strange to hear people bitching about the cost of games and then running out and buying DLC’s.

2

Depends. If I intend to keep the game long term (Call of Duty Black Ops), then yes, but if it’s something that I don’t see having a lot of longevity (Brink), then most likely not.

3

I usually only do DLC if I buy a game of the year edition (which usually include most/all DLC).

The only DLC I have ever retroactively bought was for Valkyria Chronicles. Though that was producd after the fact and was not on the disc…

4

Sometimes. If I haven’t played the game yet (or have but haven’t finished it), I might add DLC if it’s on sale, usually not if it isn’t on sale. If I’ve finished the game, I probably will not get any DLC for it after that point unless it’s a full on expansion. I won’t get purely cosmetic DLC (but am not offended by it), won’t get map packs for multiplayer, and am more skeptical the higher the price. Ideally I would get it as a bundle along with the game in a rerelease GOTY edition. Since I tend to buy the PC version of most games, I not infrequently get screwed out of the option to buy the DLC at all. Thanks, guys!

5

I do quality expansions. I’ll also do game+dlc bundle bargains, but typically I avoid all dlc (and games that require it in order for players to be competitive). Usually I find that DLC, especially cosmetic crap like horse armor, is for chumps.

6

Usually I just wait for the GOTY, or whatever they end up calling the reissue with all the DLC already integrated (and less buggy).

Welcome to the psychology of nickel-and-dime economics.

7

No problem with it. Doesn’t mean I’ll buy indiscriminately though.

8

I’ll buy DLC if it sounds really great in reviews and forum posts. The base game has to be really good already.

I’ll tell you what I haven’t done yet: Season Pass DLC. Paying for DLC in the future is kind of nutty. I know there’s a discount for buying it all that way, but I just can’t bring myself to hand over $30 up front for the promise of some DLC packs someday.

9

Oh, also, I own the Horse Armor. Yeah baby. Love me some Elder Scrolls.

10

I buy dlc with significant additions to a game. Hats, units or cosmetic stuff no. For instance, I’ll be buying the Rise of the Samurai dlc for Shogun 2, but I did not buy the other dlcs for the game.

For games I don’t consider essential and do include dlc, I wait for the dlc combined pack or a heavy discount on the main game. Civ5 is another example; I bought it at 12$ but am unwilling to spring for the dlc as I don’t view it as interesting or expansive.

Vicky 2, is a different kind of example. I bought it at a slight discount and played it a ton and it has a number of graphical dlcs. I’m not willing to pay for those, but I will be buying the upcoming House Divided dlc expansion.

I’m sure a ton of people do buy the graphical dlcs, but I wish more were skewed to the interesting campaign with novel game mechanisms side of things.

11

Extra single-player content? Sure, if I liked the game enough.
Costumes or avatar items? Nah, I don’t see the value.
Multiplayer maps? Almost never unless the kids ask for them.

12

The term (DLC, expansion, episode, sequal, mappack, etc) doesn’t matter to me. Saying “I don’t buy DLC” makes as much sense to me as saying “I don’t buy expansions”.

It’s just about the value for the dollar. If it’s worth it, I buy. Additional Defense Grid maps, love it. Additional decks for Duels of the Planeswalkers, love it. Foil versions of my Duels of the Planeswalkers deck, no way.

13

I buy DLC in Steam sales and GOTYs if it adds to the game (missions, factions, weapons or vehicles), but not otherwise. I rarely buy cosmetic DLC like hats and outfits.

14

Does it add a substantive amount of content?
Do I like/respect the developer?
Is it reasonably priced?
Do I currently play the game or have plans to invest a decent amount of time into it in the future?

If I answer “yes” to three or more of the above, then I’ll almost certainly buy it. Otherwise, it’ll take more thought and will be subject to individual considerations (CoD is permanently blacklisted from DLC purchases by me regardless of the above, for example). Purely cosmetic items will definitely make me think twice, as well.

I also am glad to throw a little money toward developers I respect, just because. Paradox is an example. I don’t even use sprites in their games most of the time, but I still fork out money for the sprite packs whenever they come out to support them. It’s like a deal with the devil, where continuing to lob money at them after highly questionable releases like Hearts of Iron 3 will eventually yield a game worth playing (like the game is now, two years later).

15

I will buy most DLC for games that I have played heavily, as I generally want more of the same. I bought the first 100-150 songs that came out for Rock Band, even if I did not like all of them, because I wanted to support the company. To be fair though, I had a lot more abundant money then.

16

I totally “do” DLCs so long as they are additional single player/co-op components. I don’t buy multiplayer map packs.

17

I don’t buy DLC to support companies, but rather to enhance my gaming experience. I’m a selfish arse that way, I guess. I rarely play MP aside from LAN and I couldn’t give a whit about what color my hat is, so I never bother with that stuff (including MP maps - if they were also usable for SP, I’d be much more interested). If it’s a game I really like and the DLC does something good for my SP experience, I’ll buy it unless the cost is prohibitive.

18

I commonly bought expansion packs “back in the day,” because hey, a new campaign, a new race, ten new maps, ten new units, another full “main quest,” a couple of new pre-rendered plot movies, some new multiplayer modes, and a new gun to boot sounded like a pretty damned good deal at $20-30.

Civilization V, on the other hand, is a ridiculous rip-off. $5 for a single new race with one new unit (variation of existing) and one new building (variation of existing), plus about 30 seconds of leader animation? In a game where there are dozens of units and buildings and races already for $50 (as I did buy it day-and-date)? This is nothing more than pure nickel-and-diming of the worst sort, and I cannot imagine supporting it.

Now, if they release all the new DLC civs and scenario packs together in a “pack” (that expands, one could say) for $20? Sure, I’d at least begin to consider it. But think of how much you got when you bought Civ 4 x-packs like Warlords or, especially, Beyond the Sword, and how much that cost. Value per dollar has plummeted ever since easily purchasable microtransactions (and be a pedant if you want, but I don’t see a lot of difference between a $2 skin in a FTP MMO and a $5 civ in Civ 5) came to the fore.

So yeah, I guess I can say that I agree with several other posters insofar as “if it adds significant value to the game, I’ll buy it at the right price,” with the notation that my threshold for value is much higher and my limit on price is much lower.

Want to see “DLC” done right? If Starcraft 2’s “Heart of the Swarm” launches at $30, that’s a value, assuming the facts remain that it will still include a new (and lengthy) campaign complete with new advancement mechanics, animations, characters, voice acting, movies, units, and missions, as well as a healthy stock of engine improvements, mapmaker enhancements, Battle.net features, and multiplayer units and maps.

19

Does anyone really think Heart of the Swarm will launch at $30?

20

$35 would be pushing it, $40 would be my value cut-off. As I almost entirely watch pro SC2 rather than play it, I’d be extremely unlikely to buy at $40. Not sure how many casuals would countenance a $40 x-pack, but then again, it’s Blizzard, so it will sell almost no matter what.