DLC vs loot boxes: make it worth buying

On the one hand, we have a practice that single-handedly demolished a gaming brand’s goodwill (loot boxes), and on the other, we have expansions and DLC which, when practiced correctly, offer a way to get extra revenue for making actual, valuable content that extends a game’s value proposition in a pro-consumer way.

We all hate when gamers are nickel-and-dimed into buying content that should have been in the base purchase of a full-retail-price game. Not only this, more nefarious practices have become more commonplace in the last year; loot boxes totally ruined Battlefront 2 and Shadow of War and led to a controversy that left waves rocking the industry for potentially years to come. Utilizing the ethically-questionable methods of gambling, loot boxes inherently represent greed and cynicism in its worst form. Unlike DLC, there is no redemption for the loot box.

On the other hand, with DLC there is a very clear distinction between the wrong and the right way to go about business. Gamers undoubtedly have a love-hate relationship with DLC, as since its widespread adoption in the 360/PS3 generation it has led to some good and a lot of bad, potentially even paving the slippery slope that landed us into the dubious territory of the loot box. There are good DLCs and bad DLCs, and the distinction needs to be made.

The wrong way to go about offering videogame DLC is clear and obvious; stripping content already expected of the game to sell back as an ‘expansion’, holding DLC hostage as a pre-order bonus, or the method most popular in mainstream gaming today which is to sell a ‘season pass’ that is often costed at more than the initial outlay of the game itself. The list goes on of every example of DLC gone anti-consumer. A dishonourable mention goes to the selling of pointless extraneous content such as costumes that would otherwise have been present in the game as a reward for player activities. The much-maligned ‘horse armour’, as seen in Oblivion, is a famous example of how costume DLC can go badly, badly wrong.

However, the important distinction between the practice of DLC and loot boxes or microtransactions is that as a method of keeping player engagement and maintaining a profitable player base is that there is a way to do DLC in the right way. For example, most gamers would agree that The Witcher 3’s DLC is a shining example of how to behave in an otherwise cynical industry.

The best examples of DLC are those that expand the game’s playtime and replay value. Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption excelled in their own DLC offerings, with the content being so meaty that they were later sold as full games (Undead Nightmare, Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned). The content described was great simply because it offered a valuable expansion that was tangible to players.

A more modern example of DLC done right can be seen in Resident Evil 7. Capcom already earned my goodwill in this case because they delivered a stellar mainstream horror experience, and possibly the best AAA game to come out in years. Not only this, but the deal was sweetened with the initial offering of the free ‘Not a Hero’ DLC. While it suffered from its own issues, there is no denying that there is a good sign in giving an expansion for free that most unscrupulous publishers would eagerly strip out and monetize.

While yes, the concept of the dreaded ‘season pass’ reared its ugly head with Resident Evil 7, the sheer excellence of the content proved to be worth downloading. The banned footage, which gave us an actual expansion and elaboration on the game, used the mechanics to a great effect that changed the whole tone of the product. Simply through delivering something worth buying, Capcom made DLC that I am willing to buy.

It feels so painfully stupid to say this, but 90% of doing DLC right is not rocket science; it’s just to deliver a good package that is worth the price. Resident Evil 7’s DLC was fun to play and offered something different and new to the main experience. If this, and the other good examples of game DLC are anything to go by, it’s that there is plenty of gamer goodwill out there, if you treat gamers right. It may come as a shock to EA games, but the way to sell a product is not to manipulate the customer, or to engage in anti-consumer practices, it’s simply to make something worth buying.