A great way to increase game longevity, but there’s always a potential for abuse Trevor Tan trevor@mediacorp.com.sg “ERROR. A problem has occurred with this request. Please try again later.” . This message greeted me for the zillionth time as I tried to download Fallout 3’s latest downloadable content (DLC), Operation Anchorage, since its release in late January. As I stared at the monitor and cursed, I wondered how many out there share my frustrations. . Welcome to the world of DLC — it can range from new themes for your console to flashy costumes for your in-game characters, new multiplayer maps and full-version games. . The now defunct Dreamcast was the first console to have online capability and thus DLC. But its DLC was limited due to narrow bandwidth then. With the proliferation of broadband networks and the increase in storage capacity, Microsoft was the first to successfully implement DLC with its Xbox Live and also the first to charge for DLC. Since then, other online distribution and delivery services have emerged, such as Sony’s PlayStation Network and Valve’s Steam. . Today, DLC is a ballooning cash cow for developers. The start of this year saw a flurry of activities on the DLC front, with games such as Fable 2 and Fallout 3 (FO3) delivering DLC that contains new game content, quests and items. . DLC is a good way to increase the longevity of the games they already own. However, there is always the potential of abuse by developers. For example, immediately after the Xbox 360 game Beautiful Katamari was released in 2007, four bonus levels went on sale at the Xbox Live Marketplace for 200 Microsoft (MS) Points each. It was discovered that each bonus level was only 384KB in size, meaning the levels could have been contained within the disc in the first place. . In addition, most DLC available for purchase consists of new armours, avatar picture packs, game themes and other cosmetic updates, which, in my view, should be free. . There are developers that offer free DLC. Valve, for example, will be releasing its best-selling game Left 4 Dead (L4D) DLC for free. And the L4D DLC is not about new uniforms or weapons; it consists of a new multiplayer map and two full campaigns for Versus Mode! . One problem with DLC lies with its distributors that make you buy gaming currency like MS Points or Wii Points. These points do not directly correlate with real currency. . For example, 2,000 MS Points costs $44 and the new Grand Theft Auto IV DLC, The Lost and Damned, costs 1,600 MS Points. If you do your math, the DLC is nearly half the price of the original game. Plus, you cannot buy 1,600 MS Points; you have to purchase 2,000 MS Points. Why not charge the purchases to your credit card? You pay exactly for what you get. . Nevertheless, DLC is here to stay and I believe it will thrive and become mainstream one day. Already, Xbox Live Marketplace allows you to buy full versions of legacy Xbox games. You can also buy full-version PC games from Steam. . If you think the notion of DLC becoming mainstream is crazy, look again at Apple’s iTunes Store. For years, music companies have resisted the digital platform as a distribution channel, but Apple has shown that as long as you can create a user-friendly interface and an easy payment mode, people will pay for songs. . In the case of gaming, gamers will pay for downloadable full-version games and not download them illegally. In addition, this lowers costs for developers that need to package games in different regions or languages, which, hopefully, will be passed onto the consumers. Consumers can also select the version or language they prefer when they download a game, regardless of the country they reside in. . Of course, there will be nostalgic consumers who prefer the packaged nature of discs but these people might join the realm of vinyl record collectors. . With broadband Internet becoming as ubiquitous as telephone lines, DLC may no longer be the “extra income” developers want to harness. It just might become the way to go, as long as the online distributors do it the right way. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/308515.asp