The lights are on
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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I don't think it fair, since technically you already bought it since it's on the disc. I won't be paying for that's for sure.
Don't like it. Even if it is fair I feel like it's taking advantage of the customer. You don't develop DLC before the game releases...that's pretty counter intuitive. Isn't the studios main goal to make a great game? They should be trying to put everything they've got into their project, not saying, "Well this is the part of the game that we're going to ship and get a rating on, but we'll hold out and not publish this part of the game and wait a little while so we can charge everyone." That's not right and just shows a lack of commitment to the final product.
Completely ridiculous. This is one reason I am selling my copy to a friend. I figure since they're kind of ripping me off, I can still get at least $45.00 out of it to put toward another game. Like Skyrim, of course. I feel like Epic really screwed me on this one. Campaign was worth the $15.00 I'm NOT getting back when I sell it though... Take that, Epic!
after mw3, ill have spent 240$ on dlc and special editions on blops and mw3 alone...
what a round about excuse. i loved gears but i dont agree with ferguson on this subject. pretty much all games are going to be doing this and for some games (Halo, Battlefield, and Rainbow 6) i will buy this content no problem because these are the games i play the most. Gears was a great game but for me there was no longevity to it. i admit i played it for the campaign, horde a little bit and i felt beast was a tacked on addition. i wont pay for the download content for gears but i will pay for the dwnld stuff i need.
And on the plus i am so excited about a new Rainbow 6 game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a tip devs: Don't tell anyone about it because you know you're just going to get tons of people that are going to cry about it
Stupid game developers... always using DLC for evil, instead of good.
It is not fair. Quite absurd actually that the content is available but they simply choose to charge for it.
I always thought it was sketchy....
kinda of like the game trials on Xbox Live and PSN....
if you were to download the demo and try it out... you download the whole game... and if you actually like it and purchase it... you only then download like a 16kb file that unlocks it from demo status to full game status...
Nope, that just wrong to charge for whats already on the disk.
It's like buying a game, and charging to progress though it.
Whoops, you need to pay 5 bucks to face this boss.
Whoops, you need to pay 10 dollars to enter this town for the first time.
Whoops, You need to pay 8 dollars to obtain this character in your party.
and to think i bought this game... Used, hahahahaha who has the last laugh now
no
I like the aspect of other players being able to see the weapon or character skins I've purchased rather than everyone downloading a compatibility pack. But it still doesn't sit right with me that the developers are charging for content they still had enough time to ship on disc.
It's common for developers to have some DLC finished before launch and I don't see a problem with them having it already on the disc. Is it so different if the Horde Command Pack was finished before launch but left off the disc just to be sold at a later date? If it bothers you, just don't pay for it.
Do I think its right to withhold content that's already on the disc? No I don't. I paid for the disc, the content is on the disc, I want what I paid for.
That being said I understand what he meant by compatibility packs. Take Dead Rising 2 with the ninja, sports, psycho, etc. outfits and weapons. Those things didn't come on the disc and if someone you were playing with wanted to wear them, you would have to leave the game to download the compatibility pack so that your game can render their outfit. It isn't that big a hassle but it is annoying. With the dlc already on the disc, if someone wants to use a weapon or skin that you didn't buy, they can without having to interrupt the game.
Long story short, they have a valid reason for doing it, but I still think they shouldn't.
If it's on the disc at press time, give us the ability to play it without extra pay. Seriously, I don't want to spend an extra $10-$20 for something I could have had from day one. The only time I think extra payment is acceptable is if the DLC is a patch that ADDS content to the original game. No more of this PAY TO UNLOCK bullcrap!!