Xbox Live has finally grown so much, that if a game does not include at least
a downloadable content gamers think twice about buying it. Is this a good thing,
or a bad thing? The good news for Xbox gamers is that now most games are enhanced
by online playability, scoreboards, downloadable content, Live awareness, etc.
But when you create a product, you create a demand, and this is what game developers
are here for, to make money when selling their games.

Finally, the new era has arrived, downloadable content is out and gamers are
enjoying more online maps on Rainbow Six 3 and Ghost Recon, new places to go
on Star Wars: KOTOR, new rosters, cars, tracks, etc. But up to a point, we were
being spoiled. Some developers gave us content for free (if not all of them),
at least once; now a new “trend” has emerged… paid Premium Content,
which was something all of us saw coming eventually.

But, is it fair to have to pay for content? I say, it depends; it also depends
what type of content you are getting. Project Gotham Racing 2 has finally released
their first batch of downloadable content, it includes new tracks and cars;
but it took them about 6 months to release it. Some people think they waited
until Rallisport Challenge 2 came out, so not everyone would stop playing PGR2.
I, personally, have already lost most interest for the game and am not willing
to pay $4.99 for extra content for a game I barely play anymore. Obviously,
this is not the case for everyone else, but I believe that they could made a
bigger profit if they had released the content earlier, or at least released
some content for free as a peek for the upcoming Premium Content.

Ubisoft is known for their awesome support, quality of games, and lots of free
downloadable content. It has been announced that 2 new maps for Splinter Cell:
Pandora Tomorrow will be released through the premium content for the same price
of $4.99. I don’t quite agree with this move, if I’ve gotten bunchs of free
maps for Rainbow Six 3 for free, why do I have to pay for only
2 new maps for a game? Ok, maybe I would pay, but
not $5 for only 2 maps. This is another game I will not be downloading content
for, unless I really feel the need to. I was most disappointed as the game was
not as involving as the first one; I haven’t even finished the single-player
campaign.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge is a game that has also shown excellent
support to gamers with new and free maps, gameplay modes and planes. Such thing
also happened with MechAssault. MechAssault offered a good batch of free content
and then starting offering paid content, is this fair? I think so, you are paying
to keep a game alive that has already exceeded its life expectancy.

Links 2004 is another game in which I think we are being overcharged. $4.99
for one new course? I think that’s pushing it a little, at
least gives us a couple of courses; I’m not going to pay the same price I paid
for on other games to download content with more substance… so after
all this, is this a good move? Should we pay?

We obviously need to pay if we want the Premium Content, what is my view on
it? You’ve read it already but I would like to summarize. Premium Content is
a good thing, by paying for content the developers are pressured on trying to
do their best when releasing this content as this is a product they will be
getting revenue for and will create, or not, a sense of reliability and quality
on the developer. Premium Content is a touchy subject though, as you have read
on my opinions above; I believe that if a developer is going to release such
content they really need to watch for these factors: quality, quantity and timing.
If these 3 are combined correctly, developers will get the trust of gamers and
will be assured to receive a more positive view about Paid Premium Content.

I would like to add one last thing, I want to dedicate this editorial to Gameman,
he was our in house editorial writer for a while and with the Elder Rants (see
1, 2,
3) and he’s missed;
he’s taking some time for personal reasons. Wherever you are Derrick, if you
read this or not, thank you! We all hope you are ok and you’ll come back to
the community! ~ Alpha

Please be aware that the opinions above are mine, this is no way reflects other people’s opinions, if you would like to discuss this matter, stop by our forums

Filed under: Editorials

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