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Not All DLC is Created Equal

Written by Teresa Ryder

It seems like it has become more expensive to get all the perks for your favorite video game. Once a game comes out, it is only a matter of time before something bigger and newer comes out for it that you can download. It could be extra characters; costumes, maps or even weapons that would add to your game play experience.  How much does this all cost? Some downloadable content, DLC, packs can start at a couple dollars but then go up to 10, 20 or even more depending on what you want.

There are season passes that bundle a lot of the DLC for games but even then, you do not get everything altogether because a few months after that something else new will be coming out that is not included.

Let’s start the math of getting everything that you need with the simple cost of the new game you have had your heart set on. For example, Injustice: Gods Among Us, this game came out in April 2013 and allowed you to also purchase the season pass and get four extra characters and three new skins. That being said, you are now spending 60 dollars for the game and an additional 15 dollars for the season pass DLC bringing your total to now, roughly, 75 dollars right off the bat.

Fast forward a month or so and more characters have been released and more skins and maps. If you purchase all these things you are now looking at roughly over 100 dollars spent on the one game. For a die-hard fan of the game and it’s concept that amount of money is no big deal.

Now we are getting towards the holidays and just recently released on November 12th was the Ultimate Edition. Now you can get the game and all the DLC that has been released with it for the original retail price for 60 dollars according to the games website.

It even includes the option to upgrade with a voucher for the next generation system, PS4, for “just about ten bucks,” according to the Playstation blog.

This situation brings up the question if it is better to pick up the newest game you crave or to wait it out until any expanded editions and DLC packs are released to save the money.

According to a die-hard gamer and manager of a local Gamestop, Joe Aerts, a lot of the revenue from the games immediate release is that, “a lot of gamers want instant gratification.” When the ‘Game of the Year’ edition is released to soon before the price point of the first release is still high, it doesn’t make it worth it..

In his opinion DLC can be worth it if timed correctly with the original release of the game. One example of that is with the game Boarderlands. With Boarderlands, the special edition holds roughly 100 dollars worth of DLC for the same price of the original game of 64 dollars.

One of Aerts’s favorite ‘Ultimate Editions’ with all the DLC is Fallout: New Vegas. Originally released in 2010, this game now includes six DLC’s for the retail price of $20. “Usually those DLC’s would cost five to 10 dollars per item.”

About the author

Teresa Ryder

2 Comments

  • As long as something incredibly important it hidden behind a pay wall, I’m fine. If it’s optional. Unlike Asura’s Wrath ending that was disguised as DLC. That’s just wrong. And dumb. And gross.

  • It just depends on exactly how bad you want that game or DLC. There’s rarely any DLC I buy. If I do, it tends to be more of the almost stand alone DLC. Similar to the new DLC for Bioshock. Characters in sightings games are kinda of a rip-off, my opinion. Something like that seems as if the game was just unfinished.

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