Your view on DLC?

I don't mind it. It allows developers to make a profit, eliminate piracy and get under the 10MB download limit. However, pricing has to be right. The big release today is Skies of Glory.

There are a few things I see wrong with that one. If the planes are priced according to benefits they offer in multiplayer mode then I want no part of it. I don't want to be forced into paying more for plane X vs plane Y because of stats. If there is no advantage, then just make them all 99 cents. I would probably buy them all at that price anyways.

I also don't like that they look to be charging for the multiplayer portion after the trial. Once again, leave it free, offer me the planes for 99 cents, and you made $8 off me right there. Under the current pricing I will be deleting the app off my phone when the free multiplayer expires if not sooner. I have a few other gripes about that release but this isn't about that game.

My point, Seed 1 - Rise of Darkness went to a in-app purchase model this morning and I will be keeping it on my phone and spending a few bucks on it. Skies of Glory will be coming off of my phone because IMO the content is over priced and frankly it will have no value for me to leave it on my phone once the multiplayer trial is over. Once deleted from my phone it will be like any other demo I have tried and didn't purchase. Forgotten.

 

I just woke up and read stuff about Skies of Glory and decided not to take 10mb from my monthly usage limit. Regarding the multiplayer I'd be fine to pay for it as long as you could justify the price and the amount of use it's going to get. Being only local it won't get much use from me so I wouldn't buy. If you and your friends will play a lot you should consider getting it.

The different prices for different planes isn't on, probably paying for planes altogether. On Ace Combat you get around 6 free planes all with dodgy stats. If you want to get a plane with good stats you have to pay for it. This is just a money guzzlng technique.

So is Homerun Race 3D. You can buy pieces of clothing to wear... For anywhere between like $0.99 and $29.99! This is just stupid but I guess if your dumb enough to buy something that costs more than a shirt in real life then go ahead. Afterall you did pay $1 for the game.

There is good DLC though. Eliminate and TPD are now what I would consider good DLC games. At the start they were pay to play basically with a five minute free trial every day. Now they are just pay if you want to play some more which I'm happier about (even though TPD isn't really the type of game that works with buying DLC food).
Other good ones are music games like GRT2, TTR3 and Rock Band. Songs at about $0.50 each and repeated use is a good deal. I have 15 song packs between TTR3 and Rock Band.
Other games are ones that have a full game and conten which isn't needed to play th game or add-ons to the game with a fair price. The Sims 3 offers clothing and furniture PACKS. these being packs makes the purchase worthwhile getting 10 items instead of 1 for $0.99. SEED 1 is now free which may anger some people who bought it earlier, but they are the RPG lovers and will probably pay to get more extra content.

In the end it's whether you just justify purchasing the DLC and whether it is not just a way to guzzle money from you by forcing you to pay more than you intended to to get the 'core' game.

 

Idk, Eliminate did it right. Allow people to EARN their equipment, and have the option to purchase more opportunity to earn said equipment. Skies of Glory, imo, abused it. They gave you 1 mission, 1 dogfight, and 1 plane, then charge $5 for the single player campaign, antoher 4 for the dogfight mode, and charge for each plane SEPARATELY (no bundles) and there's no way to unlock more in single player missions from what I've heard. It sounded like it'd be a full game with an option to buy more stuff to enhance the experience, like Eliminate. I think I'd rather buy the game like with FAST than have to buy everything separately like in SoG. Plus, if you buy the full single player experience and local multiplayer (yes, they charge for LOCAL multiplayer but not online...) you've just spent $11 right there, and still only have 1 plane.

 

I don't really have much of an issue with DLC. If you don't like DLC, don't buy it. I have a hard time siding with people that bitch constantly about $.99 games, and reading this thread hearing people say things like 'DLC is a ripoff' makes me shake my head. Grow up. If you think it's a ripoff then don't buy it. You won't get any new games if the Dev's all starve.

People bitch about Eliminate way too much. You can still play for free all you want, nobody is forcing you to spend money on credits. If you are so compelled to give in to the pressure, buy additional credits, become an ultra, uber terrorist overnight dominating the ranks, and ever-prolonging your own virginity- then that is your own personal problem.

Rolando 2 does DLC right. (free first level, buy the rest if you want, when you want. If you don't like the first couple levels, don't buy the rest. If you don't like it at all, you just saved yourself 10 bucks)
Pandorum does DLC right. (gives you stuff like all weapons, extra ammo, big head mode, etc.- nothing critical or essential to gameplay and you just as easily pass on DLC and have just as much fun)

Pacman Championship edition- this one made me scratch my head a bit but at the end of the day, the entire game is about 7 or 8 bucks which sounds right to me. If you disagree, pass it up and get something else.

Skies of Glory- the DLC on this one does not seem worth it to me, so I won't be buying the game. Don't need to bitch about it, just am not going to buy it.

Is that really so hard?

 

I like DLC.

DLC should be - to me - something between "expansion pack" (like it was on PC some time ago, so new content which was to expensive to develop to just give it as an ordinary update/upgrade) and "fun bonus" (something more than "normal update" but still worth buying). Also it should be optional - if one don't want to buy DLC, he/she shouldn't be forced to do so by any shortcomings.

For example Private Beach in Flick Fishing is IMO a perfect example of good DLC. You are not forced to buy it, you can perfectly play without it just like game was designed before DLC, yet buying it is worth the price (new location, fishes, tournament mode, plus+ points etc.). [edit] Oh, also Santa in Minigore was fun... however it was supposed to be free, not as DLC... [/edit]

All in all I do want to pay for DLC if it means that all those add-ons/features I am paying for will be better (or will be released at all) than this, which will be released as a free update (if it will be ever released). Also more interest (people buying DLC) will for example mean more work on fixing existing bugs, which devs are not so keen to do if sales already stalled.

DLC is a great opportunity for devs, as profits are then twofold: normal profits from selling the game and additional profits from anyone having game *already*.

But one thing...

Devs: make DLC worth the price, don't release as DLC something which should be in a game in the first place or force to buy DLC.

 

DLC is great. What we pay for games on this playform is really, really low, and this not only makes the demo-to-full transition easier for players, it gives devs a new way to actually PAY for new content, which would otherwise not get made at all. And none of us are forced to buy anything we don’t want.

But of course it can be abused or done in annoying ways, so I chose option #3.

In the end nothing has changed, though: you still have to look at what you get, what it costs, and decide if a given product is a good buy for you or not. Reviews help. If a company pretends to give you something they don’t (50 levels for $2! but you only get 5!) then obviously that’s where the abuse comes in. But I haven’t seen that happen, and if it did, it could be done prior to DLC anyway.

 

Yeah, what I meant by my Skies of Glory thing was that they made it sound like a full game with some DLC features, but it comes off as a demo. 1 campaign, 1 dogfight, 1 plane, and limited missions, and if you buy all the necessary stuff for a full experience, you will have spent well over $10. I don't mind paying a few bucks to get the whole experience, but the prices are way too high. FAST is your better option.

 

Hi,

I have not been a big fan of DLC.

The main reasons are my son who uses my Touch and the possibility of it being abused by some developers.

Overall, this can be a great thing for both consumer and developer.

The mentality of the appstore right now makes it a tough sell for customers who want the whole game for a dollar.

I worry that any updates for games will come out as DLC and not a free update.

There just needs to be a balance.

David

 

I don't understand the notion that DLC can be "abused" by developers. You as the customer have the right to purchase or not purchase content. And it's in the best interst of a developer to provide content worth buying.

Every consumer has a threshold that they use to place "value" on an item. The key is for developers to guage that threshold and provide enough content in the initial relase to meet or exceed that value mark. If they do it for enough people... bingo. Sales.

Sounds like some devs have been more successful at guaging that threshold than others. If Skies had sold the game for a buck and provided a few additional planes and dogfight modes... but kept all of the other DLC the same would it be a better value?

 

Hi,

For me, abuse by a developer would be to have me buy a game or app and the only way for me to get a complete experience or functionality, is to buy DLC.

Definitely a subjective view but I do think it can be gaged.

I would hope most developers doing DLC would look at it and see themselves as the customer, then decide what is fair.

David

 

I think most people can agree that it's basically a matter of degrees. For my part, I think by FAR the worst case so far has been ngmoco. Particularly with touch pets, where the denial of food to your pet unless you keep paying money basically equates to emotional blackmail.

Skies is a different kettle of fish. In this case I simply believe they have gone too far. What would have been reasonable in my view? $3-$6 initial purchase price. Free local and online multiplayer. Half the total missions and dogfights included in the game, with the other half as optional purchase. At least 3 planes included, with the rest costing 99c each, plus option to buy packs at reduced cost. See, the difference to me, would be that I woul feel like I am getting a somewhat complete game at the start. Which I am happy to pay for and then see if I'm inclined to spend more. As it is, though I think the game is great, I won't spend a cent on it until I know how much unlimited online MP will cost, as if it is excessive, the app will come right off my Touch, regardless of other factors.