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You can view the page at http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/con...ht-DLC-in-2011
DLC is a good way for companies to extend the life of a game with content they either couldn't fit into the game in time for launch or just happened to think of a little later. And the content ranges from extremely well done to never-shoulda-happened. If you really enjoyed a game and wanted a little more out of it, then that new map or playable character might be the best news you've heard all week. If your only interest in the game is to maybe go back to it one day and play it for an hour when you're feeling nostolgic, chances are the game still works fine without the new DLC. So as always, it comes down to the choice of whether you liked it enough to pay more to play more, and usually the DLC is not that expensive (as far as the original game was concerned). At the same time, when I hear a company talking about their planned DLC for a game before they've even released yet, I get really mixed feelings. My first thought is almost always "why isn't it in the game already?" Most DLC that I can think of doesn't require a new disc, usually just a download that's a couple of MBs that my brain says should be able to fit on the retail disc. Then I usually follow that thought up with "well it's nice to see they are really supporting their game post launch". Now what's this about an avatar shirt? $5?! My Xbox guy needs a new shirt...
DLC is a great concept all around; it's too bad a lot of that stuff is straight-up on the disc still.
I don't condone piracy so I don't really follow it. With all the modding and crap that people have done, has anyone made a program that will unlock dlc on the disc?
Now that Microsoft has relaxed its policies about limiting DLC download size, you don't really see as many companies putting DLC on the disc. You still see it with like Valve hats and what-not, but it's generally frivolous stuff like that that you'd never buy anyway.
I've been pretty impressed with how high quality a lot of DLC has gotten. I don't buy it often because I usually move on from games pretty fast after I beat them and don't look back, but when I have gotten DLC episodes, I usually have a good time.