The good, the bad and the internet

Below this somewhat vague topic I wanted to discuss the trend of downloadable content, DLC, in games. The fact that permanent high speed internet connections are now more and more readily available for the standard consumer presents perhaps both a blessing and a curse for one interested in games. Of course better connections provide many, many benefits but as a negative consequence of I think of the current trend of paid DLC.

Commercialism is a reality in this business as in all others. Some producers, hopefully most, do make games because of love for the art and the creative process. But making money is of course an important factor and I think it’s the maximizing of profits that sprung the DLC trend now that internet connections allow it. Just a few years ago the standard was for a successful game to receive an expansion pack six to twelve months after release, to revigorate a gameplay that by then maybe began to get stale. The new internet development gives the option to supply additional content with much more ease, no actual physical copies need to be made or shipped so distribution costs are minimal.

Is $15 an acceptable price for five more maps?

This makes it easier for producers to supply additional content for their games, and gives them the possibility to supply extra content even for less successful games where an expansion shipped as a physical copy wouldn’t be economically sound. Free DLC packs can also easily be distributed as a token of appreciation for the community. A backside to this is that with the ease to supply extra content more and more questionable DLC packs that carry a price tag are released; packs that include minimal amount of content but still costs one or a few dollars, pounds or euros depending on where you happen to live. Often several such smaller DLC packs are released in succession and thereby roughly matching the content amount you would expect from a more classical expansion pack but with a total price that is quite high in comparison. In my experience DLC tend to be priced a bit steeply in relation to the amount of content they bring. As a very current example Activision and Treyarch has recently announced that a DLC pack for the highly successful Call of Duty: Black Ops is to be expected in February 2011. The pack will cost $15 and consist of five maps… this is a very high price for such limited content in my opinion.

Sometimes paid DLC is even available at game launch, which gives me the impression that a part of the complete game has been chipped off to be sold separately, making the consumer pay more to get the actual full game.  

I think that the trend of DLC packs is here to stay, and this is not necessarily bad as it brings several advantages, but not only advantages unfortunately. Maybe is the trend of steeply priced DLC with little content only a new market being plagued by initial overzealous monetizing, but maybe it will only get worse. I guess that the only real influence we can have as consumers is actually refusing to buy overpriced DLC… but I’ll be the first to  admit that it’s freakishly difficult not to get that pack of extra content for a game I love.

All the best