Next Gen Im going Retro

[nakamura]

The whole thing just sickens me. WTF happened to making the best game you could, everything finely balanced, all the content you wanted in there to tell the story that you wrote and having people enjoy it?

****ing hell. If you bought a film and it stopped ten minutes before the end because you hadn't downloaded the "ending pack" you'd go berserk. Why accept it for games?

I agree with both of these.

[QualityChimp]

I've just started Sleeping Dogs and I'm loving it thus far, but I can't believe how much DLC there is for it.

There's a couple of meaty mods, but there's some shocking tat too.

http://m.kotaku.com/5937114/sleeping-dogs-new-add+ons-are-the-wrong-sort-of-downloadable-content

[dataDave]

Microsoft got into the console market. That for me is when things went downhill, they were the ones that "pioneered" online subscriptions, DLC, charging for themes and Avatar items, achievement points etc and if the rumours are true they will be the ones preventing the use of second-hand games.

For me it was when Sony got into the console market. Things went mainstream, garnering the interest of the mega corporations.

Today real games are deemed 'niche', don't sell well (if at all), and studios go under.

[dataDave]

In my inbox from Sony.

There we go. It's all over. It's been fun chaps but mainstream gaming is all over for me. The businesstards have won.

That's ****ing low. Not even Blizzard sell gold for WoW.

Anyway, you don't need to subscribe to mainstream gaming in order to keep playing games. There are plenty of indie releases and games from smaller studios.

[Sketcz]

I remember the first time I discovered DLC.

It was on the Dreamcast and it was ALWAYS free. Companies would release DLC, like new levels, extra bosses, or character skins, to download to VMU, simply to increase your enjoyment of the game post-launch. And presumably to encourage people to keep buying it.

Remember Chu Chu Rocket? Extra levels, extra themes, all free.

Remember Skies of Arcadia? There were DLC bosses, ALL FREE.

Of course no one bought the Dreamcast, besides me and Yakumo, and maybe a couple of others, so it died. And that's why we're now paying for DLC.

Can you imagine that? Today someone like EA will gouge money out of you for essential characters in something like Mass Effect 3, or story chapters, but back in the Dreamcast era they provided free DLC out of kindness. A corporation doing something to be nice and foster goodwill. Can you believe that?! It was literally: here's some free cool stuff, we really want you to like us and our machine. Please keep supporting us.

No wonder Sega went bust.

For me it was when Sony got into the console market. Things went mainstream, garnering the interest of the mega corporations.

I'm pretty sure that based on profit alone, Nintendo would have been considered a mega-corp back when gaming was less mainstream.

I actually think that the description of gaming only recently becoming mainstream is a myth. When arcades first started up, Atari made games to be unisex and family friendly, so that everyone would play them. And pretty much everyone did play them. Sony also first dabbled in hardware with the MSX range.

Gaming was not that niche prior to the PS1. It wasn't exactly something film stars boasted about enjoying, but there were NES units in most American houses, and Spectrums/C64s in British homes. Video and computer games were well integrated, even if the news accused them of pervading moral decay.

I agree with whoever said it started with Microsoft entering the market. They brought with them a new kind of aggressive marketing, in an obsessive pursuit of profit at any cost. That's why the 360 launched early, buggy, and prone to burning itself out.

Most of the problems we have I blame on Microsoft. Windows XP is the best OS I've ever used. Everything else they do? Not so great.

[sj33]

Ironically enough, the DLC for Dreamcast were the precursor of today's unlock keys in that they weren't actually DLC per-say - the VMU only had 128k of storage, after all. They just downloaded little bits of code that unlocked content already on the disc, similar to unlock keys today.

For example, there is a kart racing course (different to the one that already exists in the game) for Sonic Adventure that I now do not know how to access due to being unable to download the 'DLC' that unlocks the data on the disc.

Of course, the difference is that this stuff was free, but the content was almost always on the disc (the exception maybe being custom stuff on Chu Chu Rocket? It's been about a decade since I played the game).

[originalbadboy]

Microsoft got into the console market. That for me is when things went downhill, they were the ones that "pioneered" online subscriptions, DLC, charging for themes and Avatar items, achievement points etc and if the rumours are true they will be the ones preventing the use of second-hand games.

LOL ... Er no ... If M$ hadn't had started it, then Sony would have, and don't even get us started again on the XBL vs PSN debate. You pays for what you get.

I do worry about the people in this thread, I am pushing 40 and probably at some point I will give up on 'modern' gaming, but christ some of you lot are not even 30 yet and you are already thinking like this ... Oh dear!

There will always be games to play, tbh I don;t even play a lot of the new releases at the moment, as in all fairness this generation has run its course, and I am ready for next gen. In the end everyone can choose to vote with their wallets, or not, it's their choice.

This thread should be retitled to grumpy old gits having a moan though.

[nakamura]

Oh please. We are not acting again like the DC is some sort of saviour are we?

DLC was free then because there was no system in place to charge for it. It was all about delivery to consoles and with the DC there was nowhere to really save the data, hence it being on disc. If the machine had not died, Sega would have set up better for the current gen with a full shop and DLC to sell their wares. Heck they have repackaged old games as much as anyone.

[Sketcz]

Repackaging old games isn't a problem - it's actually excellent, since it increases the life of good games (like Comix Zone, Phantasy Star, et al). It's the packaging of important sections of game which is annoying.

Why was the Precursor content in ME3 sold separately? Because it was essential, and something that EVERY fan of the franchise would want to see. What are you going to do, miss out on one of the big reasons you played the games?

[dataDave]

The repackaging of Perfect Dark was the best thing to happen to my life.

Same for Nights, Daytona, and VF2.

[nakamura]

I have no issue with repackaging games at all. Online delivery via their console is something they would have certainly done though. And paid DLC would have been alongside.

[EvilBoris]

Maaaan not the old DLC argument again! I want everything and I want to pay nothing!

[nakamura]

Yes. Clearly that is the case.

[Colin]

Maaaan not the old DLC argument again! I want everything and I want to pay nothing!

Yeah, it's ridiculous that when a game is retailing for ?40-50 anyone should expect it to have, you know, the FULL game. Unreasonable gits.

[EvilBoris]

Why is it that in 1990 I could buy a Mars Bar for 35p and now it costs me 70p?

I suppose they could just sell me half a mars bar and I could pay a Microtransaction to complete it.