The problem with DLC

Down loadable content has become a mainstay in video games lately.  With single player games adding new levels or accessories and multiplayer games adding new maps to play on and new modes to play with friends.  However, DLC seems to be heading in a different direction.  Instead of bringing new premium content to make a game better, it seems to bring over priced mediocre content.

To start, I'll give a little history into DLC.  Since the start of video games back in the late 80s and all throughout the 90s, gamers always wanted more content from a game.  Whether they beat it and wanted more levels or just wanted any kind of new content instead of having to wait for a sequel.

This idea became plausible after the Sega Dreamcast introduced online play.  In a matter of a few years DLC finally came true after adding new maps to an Xbox game Halo 2.  Gamers were overjoyed with the fact that they could now play new content on a game that has been out for a while and only pay $10 instead of having to get a whole new game.

DLC has made games more enjoyable and has changed the ways in which games are made.  Unfortunately, some of these changes have not been good and in fact have made it unsatisfying in many ways.

The first problem is the mediocrity of the content itself.  The first few games that offered DLC made huge additions to the experience.  Like with Halo 2, it added quite a few maps and balanced the game play.  The last few games to release content have left this ideal behind.

Call of Duty: World at War was released in 2010.  It is part of the popular franchise Call of Duty which has many games and a huge following.  It had it's first DLC come out a month after the game was released.  The content that was added was 3 new multiplayer maps at a price of $15.  The problem with this is it's only 3 new maps with a hefty price tag.  The game itself cost $60 plus tax and it came with a 6 hour single player campaign, cooperative multiplayer mode and 3 different competitive multiplayer modes with 10 maps.  That's quite a bit of content for that price, which begs the question, how is only 3 maps worth the $15?

The second problem with this is now game companies are announcing DLC content that is going to come out a few days after the games release.  Gears of War 3 is one of the most anticipated games coming out this month.  However, Epic games, the company creating the game, has already announced new maps and content to be released as DLC after the launch of the game.  This only makes me wonder why is this content not in the game if it is being released shortly after the game is released.

What this does is make it harder for gamers content wise an in our wallets.  Content speaking, it makes the game different from the get go.  It's also hard to play when half the people get the download and half don't, making it harder to get matches since not everyone is on the same content.  The damage on our wallets isn't good either.  The more content that comes out builds up costing more than $100.

DLC has almost become a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it's great that we as gamers are now rewarded with more things in a game.  On the other hand, what started a big cheap add ons has now evolved into little expensive packs that may not be worth it.  We can always say no to these extensions but if one does, then one is left behind.  There isn't a quick fix to this problem, but it feels that this trend is not going to end soon.