"Off-Disc-Content" (ODC)

[Sketcz]

Off-Disc-Content, surely a modern gaming plague?
Well, certainly something I hate passionately.

What are your thoughts?

It always saddens me to read of how Microsoft talks of "great new innovations" thanks to XboxLive, when really you are being forced to pay extra fees in order to download the last few levels that were supposed to be in the game anyway.

I remember way back when, on the DC SoA, you had to go online to get an extra island, weapons and a new boss. WHY?! I still havent tested those features sadly.

Do you know what I miss?
Going to a highstreet/import store, buying a game, reading the manual in the car on the way home, and when I finally got to play it, knowing that the entire gaming world was held in my hands. That everything magical that I would experience was on that cartridge/disc.

That regardless of what happened, what time it was, what country it was, who was there or anything else, I could play and enjoy it fully.

I needed NOTHING else apart from the game, a system to run it on a control pad and in recent years maybe a memory card.
I knew that even in 50 years, I could still whip out the old hardware, pop in the disc and show my gand-children what I used to play. It wont be so easy with some recent games being released, and what of future games?

These Games were dependant on no other factors.
This did not mean they had to be simple, quite the opposite. GTAVC for example contains no ODC. I bought it, I played it, I extracted everything from it, and I loved every moment of it.

Slowly though, gaming is becoming ever more dependant on ODC, and the companies are peddling this filth by lying to the public telling them how "its the future", or what a marvelous new feature it is. They are relentlessly pumping this idea, and the future looks bleak.

"The only way you can complete the final level in Halo 3 is to subscribe to Live, then pay ?5 for each minute that you play in the final level. At 20 minutes of non-stop Covenant action, it promises to be a doozy Master Chief fans!"

Think Im crazy? It might happen.


So, am I the only person not to have been brain washed by such corporate trickery as ODC, or is it too late? Have you all been lured by its empty promises and false charms?
Can any of us still be saved from this plague?!

Answers on a "GBA-Link cable" to my PM box please.


Some vile examples of "ODC"
* Need to go online to access extra levels/patches/updates/new content

* Having to actually pay in order to get these "premium content" updates

* Needing to own other games in order to unlock items/content (metroid prime, take a bow)

* Forced to own additional hardware to access content (GBA link cable, Im looking your way)

* Requiring extra players to play certain modes because there is non AI doing it (Zelda:4S anyone?)

* Anything that requires swipe cards. This should have died with the "barcode battler". (Hello animal crossing)

* Any form of monthly fee (XboxLive, step up to the podium!)

* Real time games like AC or Pokemon Gold. The content is not on disc, but rather in time. I should dictate the life of a game, not the other way around.



All game content should ideally be contained within the box that you purchase.

[saif]

Not all "ODC" is bad. Metal Gear Solid (PS) had a blinding bit!

[Sketcz]

You mean looking on the back of the box to find Meryls codec number?

Not strictly ODC, since it comes with the purchase of the game. You did not have to buy a Konami football game to get it, nor did you have to connect to the net or anything else.
It came with the discs packaging.

When I say ODC I mean in a general way, anything that is not contained wholly within your purchase of that single game.

Maps, booklets, packaged controllers like SB and anything else that comes with a single purchase of said game is not ODC.

[Spatial]

Wasn't the MGS thing more of a copy protection thing ?

I still have a problem with the whole `patching` of console games.

X-box Live for example. When it was introduced they said `it will not be used as a system to patch games` and what happened ?

It was used to patch one of the first games for it (UT2003).

Mark my words, it may take a while but it'll all turn into the same market as the shoddy PC testing we've come to know and hate

Sorry, this may be a bit off topic on my part in hind site

[JammyD]

There isn't any really worthwhile off-disc content available though is there?

I mean, if I actually cared about GBA link-up or downloadable content, I still probably wouldn't mind but I'm really struggling to think of anything that I feel I'm missing out on.

What pisses me off is having to unlock multiplayer. It is relevant, cos I inevitably end up having to borrow a GameShark as I haven't got the time to unlock stuff thankyouverymuch.

[Jakeway]

I think a good example is DDR on the Xbox. It has a edit beat matcher, and the Xbox can play HD music and yet you still have to pay something like ?5 for 5 downloaded songs because it doesn?t use the HD music.

How stupid, I was interested in this game until I herd this.

[Valken]

I don't think there's anything wrong with patches, downloadable content etc...

Yeah, you could argue about it interfering with the game-buying experience but tbh I just see it as progress.

Buying a game and being able to get extras to increase their longevity is fine by me... if game companies want to make some money out of it that's fine too provided the extras are up to scratch.

[Sketcz]

Progress?

If ever there was a reason to pour lemon juice into my eyes it is the idea that ODC is progress.
ODC isnt progress, it is a step backwards.

My main gripe is needing to stealthily shell out more money to get my enjoyment out of the game. With SB, the price tag is on the front. ?150 and you get your full game. With other games, its ?40 the game, then more for online, then more for swipe cards, then more for some cable, it all adds up.

Fair enough, if it genuinely adds new things a year down the line, but it often doesnt.
Most ODC is stuff that should already have been on the game. Or worse, IS ON THE ACTUAL game, but you need to go online and pay a fee to get it unlocked. GamesTM mentioned this, some racing game. hacking had found some things hidden on the disc, and the theory went that you would have to pay premium content prices to unlock it.


JammyD, Id say there is some killer ODC out there right now. The island in AC, summer insects all year round, and the only way to get the WarioWoods NES game.
FF:CC apparently ONLY works with the link cable and GBA, otherwise its unplayable. (any confirmation on this?)
Or the extra suit in MP, sure its no biggie, but I still wanted to use it.

Then theres patches to get a game actually working correctly. If a console game isnt finished, dont release it I say.

Jakeaway mentioned an excellent example with DDR.

This interestingly also ties in well with Ady's topics on PCs and consoles converging and his one on the GBA link cable.


I take it the anti-ODC-league has some potential members then?

[Yoshimoto]

Completely agree with you there Valken.

At the end of the day if the "extra content" is worth having then fine i'm happy to pay for it. If not then i'm happy to do without.

[Valken]

If ever there was a reason to pour lemon juice into my eyes it is the idea that ODC is progress.
ODC isnt progress, it is a step backwards.

I don't see how... I understand where you're coming from, part of gaming is (was) buying the game, having the box and a booklet etc to collect but with high bandwidth networks available and games that have the potential for continual expansion.

Sure, companies will use it as a way of getting more money by "forcing" people to subscribe but that's just business.

Most ODC is stuff that should already have been on the game. Or worse, IS ON THE ACTUAL game, but you need to go online and pay a fee to get it unlocked. GamesTM mentioned this, some racing game. hacking had found some things hidden on the disc, and the theory went that you would have to pay premium content prices to unlock it.

The game in question is PGR2 and it was clearly developed with online gaming in mind... it is feasible that they've got a rollout schedule for extra content but it's also possible that the extra stuff is just leftovers that didn't make it into the game.

Either way I don't get why you're so cut up about it... if you'd actually tried it all out rather than just going bah humbug at it then maybe I'd understand but you seem to resist modern gaming in any form be it downloadable content or online gaming

[hankwangford]

As long as ODC never becomes more than game expansion then I'm happy with it. The last thing I want, however, is for the only way to get game X, Y or Z is to download it. *shudder*

Ubi soft's work is a good example; the games are complete and mostly bug-free on disc, and most of the extra content works in both single and multiplayer mode (and it's free). If content is particually good, then I - of course - have no problem paying for that.

[James Harvey]

Completely agree with you there Valken.

At the end of the day if the "extra content" is worth having then fine i'm happy to pay for it. If not then i'm happy to do without.

But the point is, it's all stuff that would have been included with the game anyway had someone not come up with the bright idea of charging for 'off-disc content'.

It's a lot like those traders who auction Transformers on ebay, but then auction the guns and accessories seperately.

I might hold out for the PAL version of Pikmin 2, just because I know the e-reader isn't released over here and all the features you'd normally have to unlock using the e-reader might actually come with the game (god forbid).

[Yoshimoto]

If you are right and all these extras would have been included in the original game if it wasn't for ODC then i can appreciate your argument. But none of us buy games blindly do we? We pay our money for the product in the box knowing exactly what we are getting. The extras that you can download or unlock are just that...extras. Like i said in my previous post if you feel that benefits outway the expense or hassle of obtaining them then fine, if not then we've got what we've paid for. Its all about choice.

The bottom line is that videogame developers are in the business to make money. If enough people are willing to pay for the extra content then they'd be daft not to charge for it.

Obviously i'd prefer it if everything was included within the box but its not. Its hardly worth getting wound up about is it?

[Brats]

I think someone's going completely over the top with Live. So far there have been over 150 downloads available via Live and the vast, vast, vast majority have been free.

The only games atm with premium (i.e. payable) downloadable content are:

DDR Ultramix
MechAssault
Links 2004
Music Mixer

And at least three of those also have free content to download (not sure about DDR).

I think it's great that developers continue to breath life into new games by creating new levels after the game has been released. How can this not be a good thing? Imagine if after Mario 64's 120 Stars, Miyamoto released another 30 for players a year after the games release.

The only issue is if they hold back on content deliberately and then charge extra for this, but so far there has been no evidence of this whatsoever.

[saif]

Brats, I think the cost he is talking about also includes the XBL sub though, to quote Radiohead, I could be wrong.

I do sometimes think otaku84 is really just a figment of our imaginations as he does seem like such a caricature when there is anything different from the past. I don't know anybody who is so loudly conservative and proud of it.

There are some interesting points about how games are more "temporary" because of the online side - you cannot really relive experiences 5 years down the line now. That is a shame in some respects but it can work in different ways. And some are positive.