Remember cheat codes, hidden characters and alternate costumes? How about when they were FREE? Do you know how much they cost you now?
I remember playing video games before the internet, back when there were these things called “magazines” that would print (on paper of all things) strategies, cheat codes, and how to obtain secret characters and unlockables, and when I say unlockables, I don’t mean a 108kb download that you have to pay for…
That’s right folks; you used to be able to get “extra” content out of nearly each and every game, FOR FREE! Some prime examples, which come to mind, are Metal Gear Solid series, with its multiple costumes, camo, and infinite ammo; the Resident Evil series, with extra costumes, characters, and weapons; the Mortal Kombat series, having unlockable characters; heck, the original Super Mario Bros. even has an unlockable harder mode upon finishing the game.
Now THAT is a character select screen
Then along came the internet, and downloadable content, achievements/trophies and killed the cheat code and the unlockable with a swift blow. No longer can you DULLARD, no longer do you have a reason to finish the game besides the ending, and no longer will the Konami code net you tons of lives! With the invention of achievements/trophies, the cheat code has gone the way of (most) of the Golden Girls, because if you use a cheat code… well that would be CHEATING to get achievements, and we can’t have that now can we…CAN WE!?!? If that were to happen, it would be complete flipping chaos, 12 year olds would be ruling the world with an iron fist full of trophies/achievements, communism would make a resurgence due to video games and achievements being too easy, and it would surely invoke the apocalypse AS WE KNOW IT! … or something like that.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, some video games still have cheat codes, but the majority of those games suck, and their cheat codes are nearly pointless… I remember when cheat codes meant something, when you needed them. Contra, for example, is a very hard game, and without the Konami code, and a friend, was nearly impossible to finish. Then you also had the cheat codes, which gave you unlockables. The prime example in my mind is the Cadillac in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for Nintendo 64. I don’t think anyone even knew about that code till nearly a year after the games release. Mortal Kombat 2’s code gave you a cheat menu with tons of options, including a blood mode.
A flying car!?!?
Speaking of unlockables, let’s take a look at unlockables today. Recently, Resident Evil 5 gave you a few costumes, inf. ammo, and a new mode, which is pretty good for a newer game, though three weeks (or so) after release it dumps a downloadable mode on us, weighing in at a couple MBs… Street Fighter IV has plenty of unlockable characters, and a few alternate costumes (read different colors), but now there is a lot of downloadable costumes that could have easily been included in the game. Burnout Paradise has plenty of cars, and free updates, but then there are a ton of awesome cars that only available for download. Don’t all these things sound great? Wait until you see how much they end up costing you…
Cool Costumes = Extra Cash
Then you have the worst of the worst, paying for what is essentially a cheat code. EA has done this in many of their sports games. In recent memory they’ve let you pay to have a custom golfer with full stats in the Tiger Woods series and pay to unlock cars (which can be unlocked by playing the game) in the Need for Speed series. That’s right, just pay $25 and you don’t have to even play the game, it’s essentially played for you! EA has done this with nearly every Need for Speed game. When Skate 2 was released there was a “Time is Money” DLC that unlocked everything in the game for $5, but since then has been taken down. This is just over the line. First you take cheat codes away, and then you take unlockable content away, and THEN YOU MAKE US PAY FOR CHEAT CODES!?!? W T F!
Still today, some games do get it right, or at least partially. Take Dead or Alive 4, for example, which had a Spartan character and a Halo 3 themed level that was unlockable, which sold me, and a lot of other people on the game. The Soul Calibur series has pulled this a few times (Spawn/Link/Darth Vader/Yoda), but then shot itself in the foot by making you pay an extra $5 for whichever Star Wars character your version didn’t feature.
Spartans, Energy Shields...Dead or Alive 4!?!?
There is one company that has, mostly, stayed away from this, Nintendo. Of course, as most of you know, Nintendo has also stayed away from nearly any online functionality. Did you take the time to get all the stars in Super Mario Galaxy? Congrats, you get a whole “new” quest with Luigi! All the Kirby games have been big on unlockables, and any Mario related Wii/DS games.
The thing that really sucks, in my opinion, about download content is the milking of loyal fans money. Say for example you love, love, love the game series Street Fighter, so you picked up Street Fighter IV. Well, a few weeks later, some costumes are released online as paid downloadable content, and then you feel guilty. As a fan, if you don’t buy the downloadable content you’ll wonder what you are missing out on. The nickel and diming is becoming too much, especially when it’s effecting the long time series fans most of all.
Here is another thing to think about: this generation games have climbed from the usual $49.99 price tag, to a $59.99 price tag, and then on top of that they now have download content. So let’s take a look at some popular titles and see how much they would REALLY cost you to own the complete game.
So think about that the next time you think about buying an AAA title (or D title in some of these games cases). Also, the download content price never seems to drop. Unlike retail games, products on the Xbox Live Marketplace tend to stay the same price. Sometimes things will go on a reduced price for a week or so, but usually whatever is on sale is so far in its life span, that you either have it, or don’t want it.
So you are probably wondering, “JednDrea, is there ANY downloadable content that you guys do like?” The answer, Yes! Some games have great downloadable content, such as Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV, and the Halo and Gears of Wars series has had some great maps come out for some time, plus we own nearly 100 Xbox Live Arcade games.
I have a few theories why the nickel and diming is happening, such as too many developers focusing too much on graphics, and not enough on game play, or maybe just greed. I understand that the cost of making games has gone up, but I think that is, in large, due to developers wanting the best graphics, which, in most cases, makes gameplay suffer. Indy developers and the Wii have shown us graphics aren’t everything but some developers (and gamers) seem to think so these days.
The bottom line, though, is that games are costing ten dollars more, have less content , and we are getting nickel and dimed for content that used to be included free.
Note: The views in this article are that of the author, not necessarily GEN. The game prices listed are current as of this article being posted, not as of release date.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:49 am
Haha, Idolmaster… I guarantee you there is at least a handful of very lonely Japanese gamers who own all of that DLC.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:07 am
That’s what totally gets my goat. I remember getting Nintendo Power and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world when I got to do all of the extra things none of my friends could do. Now I have to fork out nearly $60 if I want nifty things in Fable II? Bite me, Peter Molyneux =/ I loved the first game enough to buy the second, but that’s all the revenue you’ll get from me.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I definitely agree—we’re paying too much and getting less than we used to in terms of gameplay. While I think DLC has its place, more often it’s just being abused to leech gamers of their money.
And I used to think Nintendo was a black hole for your money.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
You know when you start writing rants like these you are getting too old for video games.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Honestly I don’t see DLC necessary in anyway.
Believe me I will live without having a few extra costumes.