I've pissed and moaned about Capcoms downloadable content shenanigans a lot recently and with good reason but I've done little to say how I think DLC can be done right. This is an attempt to outline what I consider makes quality content and why Capcom is failing at every turn with their policy.
Firstly, I'm going to need an example of a company that is managing its DLC output well and seeing as they're one of my all time favorite game makers I'm focusing my attention on Bioware, and by association EA. Breaking it down further, I'm going to use Dragon Age 2 as the specific game to focus on seeing as it's current and I'm actually in the process of unlocking a huge amount of free content for the game through a variety of sources.
As I've mentioned previously in my most anticipated games of the year list, Dragon Age 2 was offering a lot in terms of free content long before it was released. EA seem rather savvy when it comes to incentivising their pre-orders of late and the selection of offers put out ahead of the games release was impressive, not least of all the free upgrade to the signature edition of the game.
The signature edition includes an entire extra team member plus the related missions for him under the title The Exiled Prince. On top of that the package contains the soundtrack as well as five unique in game items.
Even if one were to have missed this initial pre-order incentive, as I did, there was more to come in the form of two more items exclusive to pre-orders as well as another piece of content seemingly similar to Mass Effect 2s Cerberus Network called The Black Emporium and an extra in game ability allowing the summoning of a trusty war dog to lend a helping paw. That's a hell of a lot of free content.
Noticed anything missing from this equasion so far? Prices perhaps? Contrary to Capcoms insistance at consumers forking out cash for minor changes to their games EA and Bioware have sought to reward those who show faith in the company and make pre-orders well ahead of a games release.
Comparratively, the only pre-order bonuses I've heard of Capcom offering have been a variety of Marvel Vs Capcom 3 t-shirts available from a number of different retailers and whilst that's nice and all it's not quite the same as extending the playability of the game you've bought. And let's face it, most people don't want a t-shirt that basically screams "I am an uber geek" either.
So, what if I decided to buy the vanilla version of Dragon Age 2 but wanted some of that content. Well, for a start that Black Emporium stuff is in the case when you pick the game up brand new, a nice little pat on the back from EA for not having bought it second hand and jipped them out of money.
Sure it could be argued that the content was made and ought to be on the disc but given the money lost on second hand sales for publishers and developers it's fair that they lock some of it away to ensure consumers are buying the game in a way they benefit from. Offering the content at a price is simply a way of recovering the lost income from the lost sale, not a money grabbing opportunity.
Next up is the Exiled Prince content, priced at a mere 560ms points (£4.80). Given the content was meant to be an incentive for spending more on the signature edition that costs around £7-8 more than the basic game this price is incredibly reasonable, hours of gameplay added for very little cost. This seems all the more reasonable, especially considering what Capcom offers for a near equivalent price.
And what does Capcom offer? A quick look back at my previous posts about Capcoms DLC releases will answer that question for you but for the sake of the lazy I'll repeat myself - costumes and characters. The costumes are running at 400ms for five costumes and the characters are 400ms each. I've done my griping about these but let's just take a moment to look at what one of these price points equates to.
Taking into account that there are 36 characters in the game (or 38 if you buy the other two) that's a total cost for future costume packs coming to more than 2800ms. That's £24 for costumes that add no gameplay at all. Full retail games mere months after their release cost £25. Hell, I bought GTAIV for £15 and that's a huge game with a lot of content. The mind boggles that Capcom thinks it's offering anything of value and more so at those who are willing to buy it. The difference in quality DLC offers between these two companies is huge, the relative worth of Capcoms offers being near negligable in comparison.
We're in a new age as far as the business of the games industry goes and DLC is a part of it whether we as consumers like it or not. However, this being business, it's profit that drives companies to offer less than stellar products for less than descerning customers and it's up to us as gamers to put our collective feet down and not buy into deals like the ones Capcom offers for the sake of our own futures lest we end up with companies locking even more content away for the sake of spinning a little more cash.
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