Gaming
Downloadable Content is Out of Control
by Andre Sapp
Video game developers need a system of checks and balances, because the use of downloadable content (DLC) is being abused and exploited. This blatant exploitation is ruining the spirit of buying a full game at its initial price.
Today, consumers are paying $60 for a demo and, on average, another $25 to play the full game. The $25 figure stems from the cost of a season pass to have full access to future downloadable content. On a very basic level, it seems like the buyer is only paying extra money to get extra features for a game. Like most things, it’s not that simple.
The major problem with DLC, especially season passes, is that it divides the consumer base of the game. First person shooters are notorious for this. Some people cannot afford a season pass for every game, or even just one game, that they purchase. Other people refuse to buy any DLC because they feel like a game should only be priced as advertised. Then there are individuals who only purchase a portion of the DLC that a game offers. This forces customers to match-make with other customers who have the same amount of content, leaving large groups of customers alienated in the process. This is especially concerning because games with DLC tend to cater only to those who purchased every single piece of DLC.
For example, in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (COD:AW), a season pass or a monetary fee is required to play Exo Zombies mode. In order to get Exo Zombies, you must purchase the Havoc DLC for three new maps. Of course Call of Duty has other instances of alienating its base-game-only players, but this is the most egregious. $60 is good enough to purchase thirteen maps, a six-hour story mode, and three playable game modes. In order to get the zombie expansion pack, it costs $15, a fourth of the original price. This fee can be “avoided” by paying the extra $50 for the season pass, totaling $110 for the intended full game. A large section of COD:AW’s fanbase are broke high school and college kids. Most are not ready to drop that kind of money on just one game. Consequently, a significant amount of customers are stuck with an incomplete game and are unable to enjoy its full capabilities.
It has become a trend recently for games to announce DLC before they’re even available. That sounds wrong and unethical or, even worse, greedy and evil. Why is it acceptable for an unfinished product to be sold, and then to charge the original consumers more to get the full experience? It would not be beyond the scope of developers to divide the finished product into many marketable pieces to create DLC and increase profits. There’s no way to prove that’s a video game company’s intention, but it’s not hard to make that correlation.
Evolve is the biggest, most recent abuser of this business model. Evolve is a disgrace, a game with potential ruined by the promise of complicated DLC plans and DLC pricing. Evolve has three different season passes with three different prices containing more content the more expensive the season pass is. Most people will pay for the most expensive pass to make sure they get as much content possible. Many games follow this model, but Evolve is different. Instead of paying for maps (which is actually good), customers must pay for new characters (which is horrible). The $15 Monster Expansion Pack includes one new monster character and a behemoth skin. Essentially, you pay $15 for one new character. $25 gets you the Hunter expansion pack, which contains four new hunters and three monster skins. According to the Evolve website, purchasing the hunting season pass saves you $5, if you opted to not buy each piece of the DLC individually. Evolve has the nerve to tout this as a favor to the consumer. No customer should be forced to pay more than 25% of the full price to receive the full game. Together, both passes total $40, yet the Evolve digital deluxe pass is twice as much. This entails that more content for individual purchases is in the works. If the game requires that much DLC to be purchased, the game is nowhere near finished, and it shouldn’t be priced at $60.
Unfortunately, it seems like more future releases plan to be just as aggressive with DLC offerings. In order to fix this, consumers have to speak out against overpriced DLC packages, boycott them, and let the industry know it’s not okay. But there is a demand, and video game companies will be happy to supply it as long as we do nothing about it.
Philadelphia, the Tri-State and beyond! Checkout what our locals are hosting, and where to go for video games, trading card games and more. Fighting Games? Sports Games? Board Games?! We have you covered. Email events@maincoursephl.com to have your events featured on our site.
Summer Jam 2023
Date & Time: Friday, September 1st — 3rd, 2023. Tournament start time varies.
Location: 2349 Marlton Pike W, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Entry: Varies
For more information click here
X3-Impact
Date & Time: Sunday, Sep 15th, 2023. Doors open @4pm
Location: 2101 Marlton Pike W, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Entry: Venue $10, SF $10, Guilty Gear Strife $5
For more information click here
Carryout Clash
Date & Time: Sep 15th, 2023. Registration Closes September 15 @12pm
Location: Online
Entry: Free
For more information click here
Dungeons N’ Drafts
Date & Time: Monday September 18th, 2023 from 6pm – 10pm
Location: Second District Brewing, 1939 South Bancroft Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145
Entry: $20
For more information click here
Brotherly Love
Date & Time: Saturday September 23rd, 2023. Doors open @ 11am.
Location: 3 S York Rd, Hatboro, PA 19040
Entry: Venue fee: $20, SSBU/Brawl/Splatoon 3 – $5-$10, Smash 4 – $5, Mario Kart 8 DX – Free
For more information click here
Brawlhalla North America Autumn Championship 2023
Date & Time: Sunday September 24th & October 1st 2023 from 12pm-9pm
Location: Online
Entry: Free
For more information click here
SuperGameDay: TakeoverGame Day
Date & Time: Saturday, October 21st from 11am – 6pm
Location: Cherry St Pier, 121 N Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA
Entry: Free. Tournament entry varies
Click here for more information click here
Philadelphia, the Tri-State and beyond! Checkout what our locals are hosting, and where to go for video games, trading card games and more. Madden, NBA 2K, One Piece and Yugioh? We have you covered. Email events@maincoursephl.com to have your event featured on our site.
SuperGameDay: TakeoverGame Day
Date & Time: Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM
Location: Cherry St Pier, 121 N Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA
Entry: Free
Click here for more information click here
PG April Playstation 5 Tournament
Date & Time: Saturday, April 22. Doors open at 10 am, tournaments starts at 12pm.
Location: 100 N. White Horse Pike, Lindenwold, NJ, United States, New Jersey
Entry: $25 to enter. All entrants will receive your 5 OTS packs WHEN YOU TURN IN YOUR DECKLIST SHEET. All attendees will turn in their decklist the day of the event.
For more information click here
Waffles and Enthusiasm’s Yu-Gi-Oh! 3 vs 3 Tournament
Date & Time: Sunday, April 23rd at 5pm
Location: 500 W Germantown Pike Ste 2270, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
Entry: $75 per team ($25 per player), each player will receive six booster packs for participation.
For more information click here
OKND’s L.I.P. Center NBA 2K23 Tournament
Date & Time: April 22nd, 2023 at 12pm
Location: North 59th Street
Entry: click here
Who Run Phill 2K – What’s the Bet Meetup Pt.3
Date & Time: April 22, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Location: 4101 B Island Ave, Philadelphia, Pa 19153
Entry: $5-$20
For more information click here
One Piece Card Game 1K Tournament – at AU Wilmington
Date & time: Saturday, May 6th. Registration opens at 11 am, tournament starts at Noon
Location: Alternate Universes 3617 Silverside Road Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware 19810 in Talleyville Shopping Center
Entry: $30
For more information click here
Thy Geekdom Con 2023
Date & time: MAY 26 AT 4 PM – MAY 28 AT 7 PM
Location: The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Ave, Oaks, PA 19456
Entry: $20-$40
For more information click here
Born and raised in New York, LeoN currently resides in New Jersey as the #3 ranked player in the state, following Tweek and Jakal respectively. Spending most of his childhood life living in New York, LeoN moved to Jersey when I was around 17 years old, remaining here ever since.
“When I started, I would lose a lot. I started to get a little bit better, but there were players I couldn’t beat. There’s a gentleman in my region I couldn’t beat. I’d look up and he’d just win. It was a steady climb, but slowly and gradually I got to where I am now.” – LeoN
- What are your thoughts on the Smash Community?
I think for the most part, the smash community is a wholesome one, although not without its flaws. It’s not perfect and probably never will be, although I think the community as a whole are generally nice and accepting people. I’ve met some of my closest friends from attending events, so I can confidently say that overall, the good outweighs the bad.
- Do you see room to enhance or make things better in the Smash Community?
There’s always room to improve when it comes to this. I think people learning to be more respectful/understanding of each other can go a long way. Not just in the community but outside of it as well. I also think that when it comes to minors, parents should take a more proactive role in understanding their kids’ Smash Bros endeavors. This way, younger people can be more protected and supported as they attend these events.
- Back in November at Smash World Tour, I had the chance to watch your explosive match against Rivers using Chrom and Diddy Kong. Were you at a disadvantage during the match? How did you manage to come out with the W?
Rivers and I go back and forth. I believe the match highlighted our history. At certain points I was at a disadvantage, even him catching me with a zero to death. During this match I caught myself talking out loud, and caught up in the moment to win. I rolled with the punches, even though I’m behind. I looked at Bowser’s advantage: his weight and ability to live. Mentality wise, I believe I can win when I’m behind. In this match he got me to 200 percent. But, with a well placed move, I won.
- Describe the feeling of using Bowser against nimble characters? How do you deal with the disadvantages?
You have to accept that when you play against small and fast characters, they’re going to combo you early game. Once your damage climbs, they’re combos fall apart and that’s when you can take advantage. These kinds of characters struggle to K.O. super heavies.
- What about your main? Why Bowser?
I started playing him in Smash 4 after seeing someone else use him. To use characters in Smash, I have to really like them. I like the Mario games and Bowser was around all my life, so it just clicked with me.
- Being a competitive gamer is about introspection, control of your emotions and mental state. What have you learned about yourself from gaming?
I find that in the game when I begin to get impatient and rush things, I fall apart. Gaming taught me that patience goes a long way. If you pick your spots instead of randomly swinging, you’ll go a long way. In Smash, the better player is the one who waits.
- Have you applied any of what you learned in-game to outside experiences?
The game has taught me patience. I find that I’m more patient with ppl in the world. It’s made me more confident, being able to say that I’m the best at something. Patience and confidence are the two things this game has given me the most.
- Were you able to gain anything from the forced year off from in person gaming?
I would say my biggest gain from the forced year off was the start of my Twitch channel. Streaming on Twitch has given me more confidence, introduced me to some great people, and opened up a new source of income I had never previously even considered.
- What are you up to now? What are you doing when you’re not gaming?
When I’m not gaming, I’m in the gym, spending time with friends, working on videos, or helping around the house. I feel good when I stay busy, so I try to make sure everyday is productive in some way.
- What’s in store for 2022? Any improvements or projects?
Yes, I’m working on a couple things. I’ve been going to the gym lately and I think integrating health and gaming would be cool. Growing my brand and presence would be super sick. My YouTube channel, health and pushing Bowser to be the best are my moves for 2022.
- Any shout outs?
Shout outs to Spacestation Gaming for being an incredible sponsor! Outside of that, I would like to plug my Twitch and YouTube channels. I make content on these consistently so it would be great to get my name out there a bit more.
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