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Is It Fair To Charge For DLC That’s Already On Disc?

reader discussion
by Ben Reeves on November 05, 2011 at 06:07 PM
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Earlier this week, Epic released The Horde Command Pack DLC for Gears of War 3, but it turns out that much of that content was already on the disc, and players just needed to download an unlocked. Is that fair? Epic thinks so.

"We're not saying that everything on the disc is the product," Gears 3 executive producer Rod Fergusson told Kotaku in a recent interview. "The disc is another delivery mechanism."

According to Fergusson, in an attempt to unify a game’s online community, game developers want all players to have access to new DLC content whether they pay for it or not. This makes DLC a trick proposition. The solution is that many developers provide new DLC to all players, but only allow those who paid for it to use the DLC weapon skins or host a new DLC map.

"One of the concerns was we would have to have people download compatibility packs,” explains Fergusson. However, since Gears of War was delayed from its original released date, earlier this Spring, Epic felt it had the option to include it’s first DLC pack on the disc, so that everyone wouldn’t have to download the new content. "We felt it was a win/win, because no one is going to have to download anything huge when the DLC comes out."

Fergusson also said that he thought that there was so much on the original Gears of War 3 disc that he didn’t feel like Epic was shorting players who didn’t want to buy the DLC. You can read more about Kotaku’s interview with Fergusson here.

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Comments
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  • by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:10 PM
    It's silly. Developers don't need to do that. It's like they're taunting players by saying "Yep, it's on here, but you need to pay more for it lololololol." No, it just doesn't roll that way for me.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:11 PM
    Yes. From my perspective at least. But what the DLC is and how expansive is should also be taken into consideration. People saying it should have come with the disc are correct up to a point. I like getting extra content in the months to come because that's usually what makes me keep a game. Like New Vegas. There are DLC's that are fair and correct and there are others that are just plain wrong and you can easily see they just wanted a quick buck from it, but that's not always the case. I'm trying to say people should think and reason more about this topic, because this is strictly a business relationship between the company and the consumer. And in the end, you are the one that ends up deciding if you buy it or not. It's either "your fault or theirs", and generally it's the former's.
    *UPDATE* It was NO. Not "yes". I know, I know, I was just hurried I wanted to be 2nd comment.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:12 PM
    "download an unlocked" What is up with your grammar, Ben?
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:16 PM
    I can't really say whether it's fair but it does seem to be a rather shady and dishonest practice.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:16 PM
    Why would they delay the game if they were working on DLC before the game is out? That means it could have been released earlier.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:16 PM

    If it's pre-order, then I think it's not fair. If it's a used GOTY edition or something like that, I think it should be worth a couple bucks extra.

  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:17 PM
    No, you pay for the full content on the disk therefore it should be yours at the start rather than just a little bit of its full potential missing that you have to pay extra for
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:17 PM
    DLC is not a way for developers to to squeeze more money out of the games they've sold. It is a way for them to support games after they have been released; payment just covers that extra work. If the content was created before the game shipped, It should be included on the disk free of charge.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:18 PM
    Sounds just like the Verses Mode for Resident Evil 5, it was already on the disc, and they made you pay extra to unlock it.

    So no, this is not fair, it's dishonest and greedy.

    Guess what, games like Dead Rising 2, Fable 2 and others have released free versions of DLC. That way you could still play with someone who bought the DLC, even if you haven't. Epic could have easily done this as well, but they didn't because they wanted more money.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:19 PM

    No, Isnt that what we payed for when we BOUGHT the Disc?? This is Stupid

  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:19 PM
    ...that is definitely lame! thsts like giving someone an ice cream container, after getting paid for only to find that now you need to pay for a key to actually unlock the ice cream... so yeah thats unfair and just dirty, and i say this because if more and more people think that this is ok eventually we will be paying 60 dollars for the game only to find that the last few chapters of the game need to be unlocked. So obviously my opinion is that this needs to nipped in the bud.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:19 PM
    This is a terrible example of the further monetization of the industry, and trying to appeal to the shareholders. The shareholders demand more money, and the developer has no choice but to nickel and dime its customers to death. Several months ago, we heard that the shareholders were pressuring Activision to charge its customers to play Black Ops Multiplayer. Luckily, that didn't happen, but I believe that Call of Duty: Elite is a compromise, giving shareholders the additional income on the IP that they were looking for. This is all around bad news for gamers and developers alike. When shareholders get involved in the production of games, bad things happen. Thanks Epic for reminding me why I don't play your games.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:20 PM
    thats bs IMO. if its finished and ready to play when the game releases, then it should be part of the game. this is just more money-grabbing.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:20 PM

    That is ridiculous. I feel like I'm 8 again and playing an arcade game, and every time I die I have to give the machine another dollar to try again. I almost expect the next big game to have a screen saying "Congratulations! You have beaten LEVEL 1! To play the next level, download the unlock code for only $5.99 on Xbox Live." And they still expect you to pay full price for the disc itself.

  • by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:21 PM

    It seems kind of silly to have the content on the disc the entire time. I see their argument, but I don't think it's entirely fair. DLC and download codes and locked content on disc are getting so strange... I just wanna play my game, man.

  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:21 PM
    This is a raw deal and I'm pretty disgusted at Epic. When you pay money for a product you expect to get everything on it not just 3/4ths of the pie.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:22 PM
    I tried to explain this to my friends over Xbox the other day. Their response,"But its good DLC." I died a little inside.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:24 PM
    The thing about DLC, even terrible horse-armor DLC, is that it can be used to add content and extend the game post-release. Even day 1 DLC can be created after the game goes gold and beings printing. But if you're able to actually put the content on the retail disc, it means you're purposefully withholding something that could've shipped with the full game - there is quite literally *no reason* to charge for that kind of stuff other than to garner extra money, which, to me, is an offensively transparent and cynical cash grab.
  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:25 PM

    ah, ya i see there point, still dont like it. but at least they arn't charging a ton for it like the maps  for call of duty, not that it will stop me from buying them.

  •
    by Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 06:26 PM
    I eat,drink,and sleep games and this business model doesn't bother me at all. I make $1,500 every two weeks. I don't have any kids but I live on my own with a roommate. I felt it necessary to tell you this, so you know I'm not rich. I'm far from it, but I downloaded the Nightwing DLC and I'm still enjoying the *** out of it. I guess what I'm saying is that if you love the game and everything about it, I don't think you should give 2 *** about what's on and off the disc. I'm stoked about anything that's going to expand my experience. Everyone needs to stop b*tching and pony up.

    P.s. it was a joke. read my response to earthbound. i respect my fellow man.
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