Downloadable Content

I've been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto IV's expansion The Lost and Damned lately. I really enjoy it and I've been trying to put my finger on the reason for this. After I got my hands on it, Saint's Row 2 basically ended my time with Rockstar's newest sandbox. Where the former is light, colorful and self-aware, the latter takes itself a bit too seriously and comes off a little stifled. Not to mention Saint's Row is all about the good feeling you get when you destroy a school bus with a rocket launcher while diving out of a flaming car while GTA IV is more about about first world guilt.

Like the kind you get writing blog entries about video games.

It's not just the fact that I can better relate to the characters in The Lost and Damned compared to those in the main story, but also that I have the option to play one or the other. It is an excellent use of the online functionality of the current generation consoles. The city is already there on your game disc. They can conceivably tell lots of stories each with their own cast of characters. I had originally criticized the game for abandoning a lot of the humor and freedom that always characterized the series in favor of a strong narrative, but now I think it was the right decision.

Way back when I first read about the XBox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console and the like, I was skeptical. I assumed Nintendo would use it to re-package all their old titles to gamers not smart enough to emulate them on their personal computers for free a decade ago. While it turns out I was right on the money about that, the function is used well with the XBox and PS3 (or so the internet tells me, I don't have that much first world guilt) by providing ports of hard-to-find older titles and original works by small developers. It is also nice to be able to download free demos of major releases before spending sixty dollars to discover whether or not the developer in question has been lying to you.

When I envisioned the market for downloadable content for games you already have, I wasn't skeptical at all. I didn't think it would be anything more than a money pit and an excuse for publishers to put off bug testing, balancing, and generally finishing the game and instead giving us the promise to do so if we give them four months and twenty dollars.

I admit I was only half right about that. I forgot that there are developers who can use these expanded functions for good and not for evil. The first Fallout 3 expansion was good, and I expect good things from the next two. Games like Halo 3 which are played mostly online can remain fresh for years by adding maps and removing glitches.

I will not, however, pay for the Fable 2 expansion. I think it needs to be made clear that the DLC function is not a mulligan for Peter Molyneux. If a game is flawed and the system can fix it for free, that is good use for it. If a game is excellent and I can pay a few bucks to keep the good times rolling, that is also acceptable. If you didn't bother to finish your game, but sold it at full price anyway and now you want me to pay you even more in case it doesn't still suck, you can go to hell.

The good thing about console gaming is that it's self-contained. No compatibility issues or minimum system requirements, just game + console = fun. The addition of online functionality hasn't changed the way most games are made so far, but it could. Lack of internet service or adequate funds may eventually result in you as a gamer receiving a half-formed product because they know you're not on the line for as much future payment as others.

It's a mighty decadent society that can produce something like the electronic gaming industry. Unsurprisingly, that same society is going through a bit of a rough patch right now. From an artistic standpoint, there are some really good things coming out of it, but the problem, as usual, is that between us and the artists are the moneymen. I suspect that as the economic environment gets worse, these services are going to find we have less patience for overpriced content and cleverly-portioned game currency we have to buy if we want the privilege of giving them our money. The gaming world needs to tighten its belt as well, because when it falls, it will be sudden and an entire artistic medium will go with it.