How much DLC is too much?

[lolin]

So I saw a post on reddit about the total cost of Train Simulator's DLC. Train Simulator is exactly that, a train simulation game on Steam with an extreme amount of DLC. This picture illustrates it best:



You can see where the problem here is, correct?

Now, the devs don't expect people to buy every piece of DLC for the game. It's a simulation game, and you buy what you want to play with. Want German trains? Buy German trains. Want old trains? Buy old trains. Etc.

With that said, how much DLC do you think is too much for a game, and how much are you willing to buy for one?

DLC is now standard, and as much as some people may still hate it, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Would you pay $15 max for some decent DLC? Would you pay $5 for a fighting game character? Would you buy a level pack for $20?

What are your opinions on what DLC should cost and how much their should be for a game?

[Basically Deleted]

DLC should all be free xD Any is too much xD (says a guy who buys DLC)
That being said...I need $20 for BotW's DLC xD

[Cruise]

$9000 is absurd.

[UnmeiNoTenshi]

I like going for the season pass option for DLC if it's available.

With some games the season pass ends up being a third of the price of paying for it individually.

[Kairi]

I personally miss the days when you bought a game and got the completed product, no need for DLCs.

Nowadays i'd say 2, 3 at a push expansions is cool. Only if they actually add more proper content and story to the game... I don't DLC that just makes your character look like a rainbow threw up on it. I like practical DLC.

[toshioa]

I understand the concept of DLC and, for the most part, am for it. If it adds additional playable content - that is new levels/quests/storylines or adds new features to the game - then this can be a very valuable add-on to an already fun game. I also like the ability to pick and choose the ones you want. However, what does get me is DLC that has already been announced before a game is already released; the notion of a season pass is just damn right annoying to me. Clearly you've already dreamt up and created the content so don't try and pass it off as 'additional content' - it's basically content you've withheld from the game to make additional money and EA is famous for doing this. This DLC I disagree with completely. That said, most DLC is in this format and I often find myself just buying it MUCH later on when it goes on a sale or something. I'm not really willing to pay more than £5 for DLC that was confirmed BEFORE the release of an actual game but that's just me...

[Nishizono Shinji]

I'm in agreement with [mention=100664]toshioa[/mention] gating content to sell at a premium is a disgusting practice that is only designed to eek as much money out of gamers as possible. These days a decent game can cost upwards pf £50 then on top of that buying all DLC can cost twice as much as the original game, in some cases much more than that.
If the DLC is actually extra content (like reaper of souls expansion for D3 for example) then I'd say paying a little extra for it is worth it, however the vast majority of DLC is content that should be part of a games original release but in order to turn "players into payers" (a quote from a AAA game publisher) they divide full games and sell it to us piece by piece. I still buy a lot of DLC because I'm an avid gamer and want the full experience of a game and that's exactly what the game industry is counting on, people like us who enjoy gaming so much we are willing to pay almost any price for the experience that used to come with a single price tag.

[toshioa]

I'm in agreement with [mention=100664]toshioa[/mention] gating content to sell at a premium is a disgusting practice that is only designed to eek as much money out of gamers as possible. These days a decent game can cost upwards pf £50 then on top of that buying all DLC can cost twice as much as the original game, in some cases much more than that.
If the DLC is actually extra content (like reaper of souls expansion for D3 for example) then I'd say paying a little extra for it is worth it, however the vast majority of DLC is content that should be part of a games original release but in order to turn "players into payers" (a quote from a AAA game publisher) they divide full games and sell it to us piece by piece. I still buy a lot of DLC because I'm an avid gamer and want the full experience of a game and that's exactly what the game industry is counting on, people like us who enjoy gaming so much we are willing to pay almost any price for the experience that used to come with a single price tag.

Agreed; RoS for D3 is a good example of a worthwhile DLC investment and one I have made on both the PC and Xbox One! As much as it annoys me, I too still end up buying most if not all of the DLC for a given game to get the full experience but I try my hardest to only buy it when it is heavily reduced in a sale. I avoid buying season passes as if you wait long enough, often it is cheaper to buy the DLC separately. Granted this means you don't get the full picture from day one but it beats paying £50 for the game and another £100 odd for the DLC

I made the mistake a few years ago of pre-ordering the limited edition of Fall Out 4 for Xbox One (the one that came with a fancy box and the pip-boy accessory) as I believe it would also come with a season pass. Upon receiving said limited edition, I discovered it did NOT come with a season pass and I had spent £100+ on a fancy useless box and plastic pip-boy; since then I have avoided limited editions like the plague too!

[Nishizono Shinji]

Agreed; RoS for D3 is a good example of a worthwhile DLC investment and one I have made on both the PC and Xbox One! As much as it annoys me, I too still end up buying most if not all of the DLC for a given game to get the full experience but I try my hardest to only buy it when it is heavily reduced in a sale. I avoid buying season passes as if you wait long enough, often it is cheaper to buy the DLC separately. Granted this means you don't get the full picture from day one but it beats paying £50 for the game and another £100 odd for the DLC

I made the mistake a few years ago of pre-ordering the limited edition of Fall Out 4 for Xbox One (the one that came with a fancy box and the pip-boy accessory) as I believe it would also come with a season pass. Upon receiving said limited edition, I discovered it did NOT come with a season pass and I had spent £100+ on a fancy useless box and plastic pip-boy; since then I have avoided limited editions like the plague too!

I guess that's another topic for discussion, are special editions worth it. I personally have only two special ed games. Fallout 3 and GoW 3 both came with some cool stuff that I feel is worth the extra money spent but on the whole I think a lot of special editions these days are a waste of money.

[Nishizono Shinji]

it's not so much confusing as it is blatant money grabs from game companies. Though as I stated before as long as there are gamers willing to pay it will only get worse

[lolin]

it's not so much confusing as it is blatant money grabs from game companies. Though as I stated before as long as there are gamers willing to pay it will only get worse

This is the exact reason why DLC isn't going anywhere. People who buy games have already shown that they're willing to grab that extra content, regardless of how minor it is, just for what at the time seems to be only a little bit of money. DLC costs add up fast overall when you look at how much you're spending on it total. I'll admit to loving some of the DLC that comes out for the games I've bought them for, but some of it I straight up didn't need nor should I have purchased. Steam, I feel like is a bit notorious at this and definitely predatory because of it. I pretty much avoid buying games from Steam at this point unless I'm going to play them immediately because when the sales roll around and you see you can get Batman Arkham Restaurant 2: The Burgerler for $20 PLUS the $20 DLC for $10 extra, that little bit of you that says "This is an amazing deal and I need it" flags the game as something you should purchase.

I have heard so many stories about unplayed DLC or just straight up unplayed games from Steam and other services like it. The industry is heavily predatory and will eke out whatever money it can from you. This is one of several reasons I don't like being associated with gaming or the gamer title. That said, I know predatory markets exist in almost every industry and corporations will try to get you to buy anything in such a fashion, but gaming itself is rife with these kinds of purchases and plots and as much as I don't like seeing people abused in such a way, their wallets speak for them and they're doing it themselves.

At least indie games and studios are on the rise, and we don't see as much cockamamie BS from them because they don't have big studio execs breathing down their necks about this sort of thing. /longrant

[Kairi]

One thing i hate is expansions passes with games in bundles on release... Sometimes you will end up paying twice as much for a game, just to aquire the expansion pass which means you get the future DLC....But if it's going to cost that fucking much what the hell is the point in the core game and sometimes all you get with the expansion pass is a load a bullshit in the end that you paid out the arse for. Also some games won't even allow you to buy DLC individually anymore, no you have to pay for all of it...or none of it. Games companies are just becoming to greedy these days.

Is it a crime to just want to full game, because these DLC are already coded into the games on release, you paying to unlock what you already bought.

[Nishizono Shinji]

... these DLC are already coded into the games on release, you paying to unlock what you already bought.

This is the shadiest practice of all imo, i believe Bungie got in trouble for doing this with GoW

[UnmeiNoTenshi]

these DLC are already coded into the games on release, you paying to unlock what you already bought.

One of the things I like about Kingdom Hearts 3 is that they specifically said they they wouldn't work on DLC (even though they said it would have some) until after the game released.

[Kairi]

[mention=113825]Nishizono Shinji[/mention] So many companies have done it..bethesda are bad for it and CoD as well....i hate it.

[mention=20620]Avios Estaria[/mention] I still need to play KH3, but it's good they aren't following the god awful trend of greed.