BioWare: Day One DLC Is Something Most Gamers Want
See Full ImageSome gamers see day-one downloadable content as a little suspicious; i.e., why am I paying extra for something that seemingly could've been included in the game?
But obviously, day-one DLC still seems to work, and BioWare views this tactic as a perfectly viable way of monetizing players. In speaking at GDC Europe and as summarized at Eurogamer, BioWare online development director Fernando Melo said that in point of fact, gamers want that extra stuff.
"Fans do want more content. From the moment the game launches. They tend to say 'I want it now!' So it needs to be there when it's ready. They choose when to pick it up, day one or later."
Mass Effect 3 launched alongside the From Ashes DLC pack, and the earlier gamers bought that extra content, the more dialogue options and content there was available for each squad member. Melo added that day-one DLC also makes sense from a development standpoint, because writers and concept artists who were finished with their work on the main game can just keep working on more content.
Further, Melo believes the Online Pass is just another iteration of day-one DLC, and says 11% of all revenue earned from Mass Effect 2 came from EA's Online Pass. He also said an "analogue" to the Pass system is free-to-play, which features a premium layer of service. But what's your take on the idea of DLC being available immediately upon a game's launch? And how's about "freemium?"
Tags: dlc, downloadable content, day one dlc, bioware
8/13/2012 8:22:05 PM John Shepard
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Comments (23 posts)
bigrailer19
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 9:52:36 PM
7 up, 0 down
xenris
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 8:51:38 AM
Day one DLC is obviously a slap to the face and a boot to the anus. Especially when a lot of games feel like they cut that stuff out of the game. Day 1 DLC always feels like this. A cheap trick to get an extra 10 bucks from the customer. According to their stats we want this? Its either a lie or gamers everywhere are giving in to this unethical practice.
Likewise CDProjekt was interviewed and they said ALL DLC should be free to the customer. They used sound logic to prove why this is profitable and good for business. Actually they noticed that by releasing free DLC people would buy a full copy of their game, and they were honest in saying that there DLC was not expensive to make.
CDProjekt has taken over Bioware as the kind of WRPGs. I hope The Witcher 2 is released on the PS3 soon because it will show you just how superior it is to almost anything Bioware has put out in the last several years.
4 up, 0 down
Comic Shaman
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 10:32:51 AM
Message boards like this one can be flooded with comments about how much people hate Day 1 DLC, and it won't matter one jot. It's what customers do with their wallets that matters, not what they say with their mouths. That's how the thinking goes, folks.
And who can blame them? These aren't non-profits we're talking about here. It's a business.
Here's what gets me... many of the same people who will shake their fists at a company like Bioware for not listening to fans about Day 1 DLC will be the same ones who cluck their tongues at "entitled gamers" whenever someone tries to organize a boycott.
The thing to understand is this: profits trump outrage. If fans don't translate their disgust at Day 1 DLC into real, measurable changes in the marketplace, then companies like Bioware will (rightfully) assume that all this complaining is just so much hot air.
5 up, 0 down
THEVERDIN
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:00:02 PM
Reply
2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:02:33 PM
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13 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:07:23 PM
Reply
It is a ploy to get people to purchase this stuff and it certainly should be in the game. Anything that is being developed along side the retail version of the same game should atleast be free. Sure I can understand not having time to put it on the disc but don't make me pay for it. That's why some DLC like the from ashes dlc is released same day, because eventhough it's not a crucial part of the story, it does fit in the timeline and can make the story more intriguing and people feel the need to buy that up. I did, Da****!
6 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:23:46 PM
9 up, 0 down
Fane1024
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 2:20:54 PM
edit: I, on the other hand, generally wait to play the game until all the content has been released (as other people have stated below), but we're the minority...the majority still seem to be buying the game at release and they only buy DLC if it's released quickly.
Now if you want to argue against *all* paid DLC....
Last edited by Fane1024 on 8/14/2012 2:28:00 PM
0 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 2:53:31 PM
Fane- well in the case of day one dlc - and I'll use the from ashes dlc again as an example - it was bought up early because it literally could be considered part of the game. Can you beat the game with out it? Sure... But is it any good after you've beaten it? Not really, for the reasons I explained. Like world said consumers want the whole game so of course they will buy it closer to release, if it is released on day one.
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:31:30 PM
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My Spidey senses tell me that if the DLC is available in the same time-frame as the game, then Bioware(and any others) should have been put that inside as part of their main game, and not used as a DLC device for extra sales.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 8/13/2012 10:32:04 PM
3 up, 1 down
EMax
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 10:33:42 PM
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1 up, 0 down
firesoul453
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 12:28:13 AM
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If I feel the dlc is needed to play the full game I have always waited for the GOTY edition or similar.
I havn't even bought other dlc since uncharted 2.
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 1:12:50 AM
Reply
7 up, 0 down
xenris
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 8:52:12 AM
4 up, 0 down
kraygen
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 8:55:06 AM
3 up, 0 down
Ultimadream
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 3:59:23 AM
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3 up, 1 down
___________
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 4:35:14 AM
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whats the point of releasing DLC, especially story based DLC a few months later when everyones moved on, theres a million other games to play, and everyones forgotten the story?
i still havent played the DLC for allot of my favorite games like bioshock 2, fallout 3, fallout new vegas, CLOS or even gravity rush, simply because it came out so late!
if it was to release within a few weeks or so i probably would of, but once ive finished a game its sayonara!
4 up, 6 down
Alienange
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 7:07:31 AM
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2 up, 1 down
oldmike
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 7:14:40 AM
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IF i ever play one i will get it USED
3 up, 2 down
Monkeysnarf
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 9:23:56 AM
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The only truth is that if a game is great, people will buy the DLC. If the game isn't great, people wont.
I couldn't get enough of DA:O. I never even finished DA2.
I'm not interested in F2P games.
2 up, 0 down
DrRockso87
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 @ 9:55:24 AM
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3 up, 0 down
LimitedVertigo
Reply
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 9:34:04 PM