Official Wii U Thread

[Compass]

That's why I never bought any VC games. It's a ridiculously backwards system.

Yep.

Yes, let's pay more taxes to enforce this bullshit too instead of just voting with our dollars by not supporting shit we don't like. As with everything else, people don't care enough to actually take the initiative themselves.

Problem is the general public is far too stupid to reject even the most outlandishly predatory bullshit (e.g. "DLC" on the disc). The majority surely don't even understand it. The retards and the fanboys foster an environment that screws us all. That's where regulation would help.

[Yoshi]

For that to work, everyone has to believe as you do. Problem is, there's very little "us" and a whole load of "me" out there. Example- buying stuff from a company that rapes a river because hey, it's not like the river is near me and I didn't hear about it anyway. (I remember what the Androscoggin river was like in the 70s, and regulations to prevent things like that happening are a good thing.) Regulations, while obviously not the optimal solution, wouldn't be a bad idea in order to clarify in a legal context exactly what the consumer's rights are in regards to downloaded content. Of course, there's the possibility it would end up being ruled that the content is licensed from the company and they can do whatever you like to you, with or without lube, but it's not a guarantee and at least everyone would know where they stand.

Your last part is key. It's the "be careful what you ask for" situation. I believe we'd be more likely to be told we don't own what's on the disc than that we do own what we downloaded.

[Uriel]

I have heard a plausible explanation for on-disc DLC (however often (if ever) this is true is up in the air):

Basically, there comes a time when the budget is cut off, and no additional work can be "billed" to the original game's budget. If the team wants to create additional content, even if there's time to put in on the disc, they have to find another way to pay for the work.

The suits are saying "Based on what this is costing us, you want to make $70 worth of game. We're only charging $60 for the disc, so this part has to be DLC".

If true, it makes sense. I'm sure a lot of the time the company is just thinking that a certain portion can pass as being worth $60, so they have an opportunity to nickel and dime us on the rest.

[Frogacuda]

I hate the screen on the controller thing. It was largely a silly useless gimmick on the DC and in this case I'm sure it'll be a higher quality screen that will drive up the already way too high cost of controllers.

[Compass]

I have heard a plausible explanation for on-disc DLC (however often (if ever) this is true is up in the air):

Basically, there comes a time when the budget is cut off, and no additional work can be "billed" to the original game's budget. If the team wants to create additional content, even if there's time to put in on the disc, they have to find another way to pay for the work.

The suits are saying "Based on what this is costing us, you want to make $70 worth of game. We're only charging $60 for the disc, so this part has to be DLC".

If true, it makes sense. I'm sure a lot of the time the company is just thinking that a certain portion can pass as being worth $60, so they have an opportunity to nickel and dime us on the rest.

I'm sure that's been true once or twice, or will be at some theoretical time in the future.

I know I'm the one who brought it up, but whether the DLC is actually on the disc isn't really the point (although it's definitely a more pronounced slap in the face when it is). It's more the overall perversion of "DLC" -- what was supposed to be a means to extend the life of a game now being used to simply nickel and dime for content that was obviously created long before the main game was finished.

Kind of getting even further off topic, though, as this isn't even something that could practically be regulated. In this case, the retards and fanboys have won. They've bent over and given the "all clear" sign, and now it's just up to how much respect each individual company has for its fanbase whether they're going to take such duplicitous routes to money-making.

[Yoshi]

And the first developer with a Project Cafe dev kit is (allegedly)... Rockstar.

[Diff-chan]

It's more the overall perversion of "DLC" -- what was supposed to be a means to extend the life of a game now being used to simply nickel and dime for content that was obviously created long before the main game was finished.

Worse than that, it's being used to punish players who don't consume the product in the way the publisher wants. Don't preorder? Sorry, you don't get this content. Buy used? Sorry, you can't play online, or you can't play this content.

Kind of getting even further off topic, though, as this isn't even something that could practically be regulated. In this case, the retards and fanboys have won. They've bent over and given the "all clear" sign, and now it's just up to how much respect each individual company has for its fanbase whether they're going to take such duplicitous routes to money-making.

Us normals laughed at horse armor, but when Betheseda announced it actually sold really well, it was all over. It's kind of crazy to think that was only five years ago.

[Yoshi]

The current rumor is that this thing will launch in summer, 2012. If this is true, that would give it roughly a two year window before its competition (assuming the PS3 isn't competition) hits. That's quite an advantage if Nintendo doesn't fuck it up, unless the PS4/Xbox3 are so much more powerful that we re-enter a Wii situation when they launch.

[Diff-chan]

They wouldn't enter a Wii situation because the jump between the "Wii 2" and Xbox3 won't be as much as the jump between the Xbox 1 and 360. We're all in HD now.

Microsoft must really believe in the Kinect.

[Yoshi]

You're right, and that gamble is going to make them obsolete. Sony has all the current global momentum, and Nintendo will have new hardware with more horsepower. The 360's going to be wrinkly and droopy by 2014. If I were Microsoft, I'd be doing everything I could to beat Sony to market and to shrink that window of Nintendo's. Bungie's gone, so we're talking about Gears of War being the only important exclusive they have, and even that is rumored to be hitched to Kinect for its next game after 3. Not being the lead development platform is going to start becoming more obvious too you would think.