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Bastion Getting Free DLC Everywhere But Xbox 360

Stranger's Dream add-on includes two game modes, and a new "Who Knows Where."

No Caption Provided

When you think about some of 2011’s best downloadable games, Bastion immediately comes to mind, and if you’ve been hoping to scratch that itch again, Supergiant Games has what you need.

On December 14, Supergiant Games is launching the Stranger’s Dream downloadable content, which includes a new “Who Knows Where” section, complete with new voice overs, and two new modes. Score Attack Mode starts players at level one with all spirits and idols unlocked, and No-Sweat Mode is the equivalent of very, very easy--you can continue where you die.

Stranger’s Dream won’t cost a dime on PC, but you’ll have to pay $1 on Xbox Live, as Microsoft has some very strange, inconsistent policies when it comes to offering free content on its service. Supergiant Games alluded to wanting to make the content free in its announcement post.

“The Stranger’s Dream DLC will be available for 80 Microsoft Points ($1) on XBLA, which we can’t make free due to Microsoft policy, so it’s about as close as we could get,” said the company. “Though, since you’ll be getting a good chunk of new content, we think you’ll be satisfied with your purchase.”

That content will also come to the Google Chrome, which may come as a shock if you haven’t heard that Bastion is also fully playable through Google Chrome now. Yes, the browser! It means Mac owners can check out this spectacular action RPG. That version is available right now, and if you want to see how well it does/doesn’t work, you can play the prologue for free.

Patrick Klepek on Google+

171 Comments

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arx724

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Edited By arx724

@AxleFGK said:

@Arx724 said:

@AxleFGK said:

lol, serves everyone right for not getting it on pc, master race.

Yeah, serves me right for wanting to support them sooner. I sure did a horrible thing.

I could easily acquire it on PC as well if I was interested in the DLC, so what's your point?

it was a joke. no need to get butthurt buddy.

Go back to /v/.

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AxleBro

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Edited By AxleBro

@Arx724 said:

@AxleFGK said:

lol, serves everyone right for not getting it on pc, master race.

Yeah, serves me right for wanting to support them sooner. I sure did a horrible thing.

I could easily acquire it on PC as well if I was interested in the DLC, so what's your point?

it was a joke. no need to get butthurt buddy.

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Deleth

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Edited By Deleth

Bah, new Achievments. :(

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soupbones

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Edited By soupbones

Can't wait - best XBLA game this year.

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FunExplosions

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Edited By FunExplosions
@aseddon130 said:

@FunExplosions:

tell that to Joe Danger, you could argue they got around it with the 'Special Edition' bit but it was still on PS3 first.

There was talk of it being really dated, and every developer is clueless as to why the hell they haven't gotten rid of it. The most likely answer, is because they can get away with it: they have the best tools available for indie devs, and they have the user base to back them up. Somehow there have indeed been instances where this rule seemed to be disregarded my Mircrosoft, like with Arkham Asylum's Joker release-day content for the PS3, where that technically should prevent the game from its Microsoft release. Probably the high sales expectations made Microsoft reconsider. As for Joe Danger and other anomalies, I have no idea how that happened.
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aseddon130

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Edited By aseddon130

@FunExplosions:

tell that to Joe Danger, you could argue they got around it with the 'Special Edition' bit but it was still on PS3 first.

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Jonnyflash80

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Edited By Jonnyflash80

That's a pretty shitty policy that Microsoft has. I'm not too up in arms about it though. $1 is almost free anyway.

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Skald

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Edited By Skald

Bastion is now the best browser game ever.

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FunExplosions

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Edited By FunExplosions

The 360 also does a weird thing that is typically unknown to most gamers, where if a developer releases a game on any other platform before they release it on the 360, they cannot ever release it on the 360. Sounds like I made it up, I know. If I cared more, I'd look it up and show it here. There have been some very few almost-exceptions to this rule, where dlc had been put out on other platforms before on the 360, but I'm sure there was some weird skirting-the-boundary kinda stuff happening in those instances. So if you have indeed released a game on the PS3 in hopes of also releasing it on the 360 some day, your dreams have already been crushed.

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arx724

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Edited By arx724

@AxleFGK said:

lol, serves everyone right for not getting it on pc, master race.

Yeah, serves me right for wanting to support them sooner. I sure did a horrible thing.

I could easily acquire it on PC as well if I was interested in the DLC, so what's your point?

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ABritishNerd

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Edited By ABritishNerd
@Zero_Dude

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Your avatar is extremely relevant to this news post.
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MysteriousBob

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Edited By MysteriousBob

DLC for one of my favourite gams of the year? Sure!

WAIT, 80MS POINTS JESUS CHRIST I'M NOT MADE OF MONEY

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AxleBro

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Edited By AxleBro

lol, serves everyone right for not getting it on pc, master race.

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UsbCable

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Edited By UsbCable

I've had 100 something points sitting in my account for months so I'm good but that sucks for people that don't. At least SuperSexy will get some change out of it.

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phampire

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Edited By phampire

free pc updates is win! running bastion on chrome is pretty nifty.

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kennybaese

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Edited By kennybaese

I need to go download this thing in Chrome.

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Donos

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Edited By Donos

Huh, haven't seen a good internet rage over nothing in a while. To the DLC... I don't think I'm going to get it. Company policies come down to wallet votes, and I'd feel gross voting for this one.

I have a feeling the xbox DLC will see very, very few purchases (indy game = small hardcore fanbase ~= willing to go to other platforms), maybe it'll set a useful precedent.

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HKZ

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Edited By HKZ
@Grimluck343 said: 

1. No one's forcing SGG to put up this content. If they were as angry about it as you are, then they would have made it PC exclusive DLC. But they didn't. So I guess now we can argue about the integrity of SGG allowing Microsoft to charge $1 for DLC?


Problem is, Microsoft is stepping on their dick. They either don't release the DLC on Xbox on principle and screw thousands of fans out of DLC, or they cowtow to the ridiculous policies of Microsoft and release the DLC for a dollar, almost none of which they will see.
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HKZ

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Edited By HKZ
@Grimluck343: You just don't get it. The price isn't the issue. I'm sure everyone here would be more than happy to pay $10 for DLC for a game as good as Bastion. It's the fact that Supergiant Games wanted to give their content for nothing to owners of the game and Microsoft, unlike every other gaming platform in existence said "fuck you, you're charging for it and most of that money is going to us." Yeah, they are getting money, but they didn't want it because they wanted to give it to you for free and do you really think the majority of that is going to Supergiant? Hardly. Supergiant is being bullied into Microsoft charging for something they didn't want to. I would gladly pay $10 like you would. But if they want to give it to me for free I'll take that too. But I AM NOT going to basically pay Microsoft $1 for something they don't deserve to get and I'm sure as hell not buying into their asinine "points" system that never works out to be what I want to buy, but rather what they want me to overbuy and never be able to use the exact amount I need. They make oodles of money of this dumbass system and I'm not going to buy into it. After the bullshit advertisement update to the UI on the Xbox without ANY benefits, this content bullshit makes that system less and less attractive every day. No other platform does this shit with DLC releases except Microsoft and they aren't doing anything to make the DLC. Distribution costs aside, they charge for access to media like Hulu, Netflix and ESPN3 despite having absolutely nothing to do with that content being produced, distributed, or advertised. They aren't losing out by allowing free DLC, they want to make more money of content they don't produce. How you can't get that through your thick skull is the question of the century. It's literally black and white.
 
Assuming what you say is true, a gaming website ToS and one from the likes of Sony and Microsoft are in no way the same. Giantbomb and Whiskey don't require anything like what Sony and Microsoft do to use their services. An account here is completely free, and Whiskey will never check to see if you are anything more than a valid email address. Want to use Xbox Live? Credit card info. Want to have your hardware warranty honored on either system? Name and address please. I expect Sony and Microsoft to keep the data they require safe and they've basically told everyone that if we fuck your shit up, you have to go up against our lawyers on your own. In other words, "try and fuck with us over losing your information because of our lackadaisical attitudes towards security and we'll fucking bury you in court." So yeah, there's that MASSIVE difference between the two.
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BisonHero

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Edited By BisonHero

@SparkleMotion said:

Couldn't they have just added all of this stuff in a patch, avoid calling it DLC and avoid having to make people pay for it?

As far as Microsoft is concerned, patches on the 360 are supposed to be for balance fixes, or bug fixes. Generally, most patches are fairly small in size, because they're just some small changes to the code.

If you make a patch that contains a bunch of new levels, new audio, new modes, etc., like this one, it would be large and Microsoft would be able to tell. Apparently, the only time Microsoft allows for free DLC like this is if it's free on a competing console, by which they mean "if it's free on the PS3".

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forkboy

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Edited By forkboy

Fuck you Microsoft.

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w00master

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Edited By w00master

@Grimluck343: I respect your opinion, but for some of us when a company wishes to give their consumers free content and have no way doing so due to an aggregator... it twists some of us the wrong way.

Again... why am I paying $60 per year for XBox Live?

It isn't the $1. It's the fact that nearly every publisher has had the exact same issue with MS on "free DLC." To me, that says something, and it appears you have some kind of "bone to pick" with Patrick. Do I agree with everything that Patrick says? Nope. I just happen to agree with him on this particular issue.

No, it's not the "end all be all issue" that should "rage The Internets (tm)." However, it is pathetic that every other platform is releasing this DLC for free (with the express wishes of the developers), yet MS does not.

This exact issue ties into the fact that paid Gold members *still* have to see ads. (ummm why?) Any free DLC distributed on XBox Live pretty much needs ad support (see GoW first DLC).

Again... what is the purpose for the $60 yearly fee?

Does MS have the right to charge us for this? Yup. I absolutely agree with you that they do. Does that mean that I as a consumer agree or like this? Nope.

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elyk247

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Edited By elyk247

Who wouldn't pay one dollar? Ebenezer Scrooge would for Bastion.

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anthony_field

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Edited By anthony_field

oh no $1 2012 budget for dlc blown!!

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gamma_male

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Edited By gamma_male

@bslayer: Something to do with de-valuing content in the mind of the consumer. That's how they justify it to themselves anyway. I don't think anyone else buys the argument.

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bslayer

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Edited By bslayer

At least it's only a dollar. However, I'm curious as to why Microsoft won't allow it to be free, I've seen free stuff on XBLA on there before, including full XBLA games.

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Karl_Boss

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Edited By Karl_Boss

I'm sure people won't mind throwing them a dollar.

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pixieface

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Edited By pixieface

I love you, SuperGiant Games. You, with your sultry voice overs and pretty art and stunningly reasonable DLC. Please continue to be sexy for us. <3

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chet_rippo

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Edited By chet_rippo

YESSSS MORE BASTION!

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sublime90

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Edited By sublime90

good news. i just copped this game 2 days ago on steam for $5 !!!!

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SparkleMotion

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Edited By SparkleMotion

Couldn't they have just added all of this stuff in a patch, avoid calling it DLC and avoid having to make people pay for it?

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Airickson

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Edited By Airickson

Honestly, I don't see why Supergiant isn't charging for this DLC themselves. The game was well received, so charging for DLC wouldn't hurt their image as long as it's substantial enough.

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MideonNViscera

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Edited By MideonNViscera

In an ironic twist, all this outrage has made me actually wanna try Bastion, at which point I'd almost certainly buy the DLC haha

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TEHMAXXORZ

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Edited By TEHMAXXORZ

When I think of this years best downloadable game, I immediately don't think Bastion.

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PulledaBrad

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Edited By PulledaBrad

I love everything that SuperGiant is about.

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deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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Make either more DLC or make Bastion 2, Supergiant. I'll play it!

Or hey, make whatever game you want. But you got a guaranteed purchase for Bastion 2. I'll pre-order now. I will mail Greg Kasavin 15 dollars.

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John1912

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Edited By John1912

@BisonHero: @Draxyle: Yea, maybe this will set a precedent of the Steam Sale mentality for DLC. "Its so fucking cheap im a moron not to buy it!" Id say Patrick should do a follow up on the sales, income vs other DLC but Im sure MS is taking 80 cent of every sale lol. Still the numbers would be interesting to see compared.

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WinterSnowblind

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Edited By WinterSnowblind

@Draxyle said:

@John1912 said:

Hope it sells REALLY well. I wish more DLC was in this price range. IE costume packs w/e. Most DLC seems overpriced, I have wondered if a lower price point would be off set or even make more money with increased number of buyers..

I have to very much agree. 99% of DLC is really stupidly priced. An Indie developer can put entire game modes and story elements in for free (and forcibly one dollar), while the big time developers are "struggling" and need to charge 2-5 dollars for pallette swaps? 10 dollars for hour long missions in the same game engine? 10 dollars to be allowed online? It's all insane money grubbing. You can do so much better and make a much longer lasting business model by just selling your stuff for what it's worth.

I have bought one DLC ever, the Shadow Broker for ME2. Widely hailed as one of the best examples of DLC.. I still felt ripped off. I payed 20% of the main game price for 5% of the equivalent content. Something does not add up here.

At least Shadow Broker was a well made piece of content. Still overpriced, but I feel I at least got some value from that.

Look at some other examples, like character packs in fighting games. I bought Mortal Kombat for £30 brand new, day of release and it has about 30 playable characters.. but each new DLC character costs 400 MS points, that's £20 for 4 characters. I can't even begin to comprehend how that works or how anyone thought it would be a good idea to buy those packs. With that logic, the main game should have cost me £150.. and how do I calculate how much the stages, voice work, story, unlockables and music should add on to that?

I was a big advocater of DLC when it started, I thought it'd be great for console games, but it very quickly turned into something I despise. I just refuse to buy any of it now, and I wish more people would do the same.

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GhosthH

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Edited By GhosthH

I seriously don't understand how people could be indignant about paying a dollar for this. Personally, I'm happy to give them a dollar, I'd prefer to. A dollar is about as close to jack-sh!t as you can get and really isn't worthy of discussion at all IMO. Anyway, this is a nice surprise and gives me that reason to finally play Game+. Hopefully SuperGiantGames are hard at work on their next game!

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paulunga

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Edited By paulunga

Microsoft is fucking weird. Can someone explain to me why Burnout Paradise got away with a whole year of very substantial free updates but no one else seems to be allowed to do that?

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mscupcakes

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Edited By mscupcakes

I have no problem paying 80 points for it. Even 240 points would be reasonable.

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tactis

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Edited By tactis

FUCK YES TAKE MY $1 NOW!

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Sander

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Edited By Sander

Even though I didn't buy Bastion, this kind of just-about-free-DLC makes me want to become loyal to them.

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Nomin

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Edited By Nomin

SuperGiant seems to really enjoy making games or supporting their fans, or both. It is a fan service like no other, maybe a gift that would keep on giving.

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udabenshen

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Edited By udabenshen

Seeing how I have already given them 20 bucks for a signed soundtrack, I don't have a choice but to given them more money.

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Draxyle

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Edited By Draxyle

@John1912 said:

Hope it sells REALLY well. I wish more DLC was in this price range. IE costume packs w/e. Most DLC seems overpriced, I have wondered if a lower price point would be off set or even make more money with increased number of buyers..

I have to very much agree. 99% of DLC is really stupidly priced. An Indie developer can put entire game modes and story elements in for free (and forcibly one dollar), while the big time developers are "struggling" and need to charge 2-5 dollars for pallette swaps? 10 dollars for hour long missions in the same game engine? 10 dollars to be allowed online? It's all insane money grubbing. You can do so much better and make a much longer lasting business model by just selling your stuff for what it's worth.

I have bought one DLC ever, the Shadow Broker for ME2. Widely hailed as one of the best examples of DLC.. I still felt ripped off. I payed 20% of the main game price for 5% of the equivalent content. Something does not add up here.

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BisonHero

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Edited By BisonHero

@John1912 said:

Hope it sells REALLY well. I wish more DLC was in this price range. IE costume packs w/e. Most DLC seems overpriced, I have wondered if a lower price point would be off set or even make more money with increased number of buyers..

Indeed. Most DLC should cost about $1. The margins on DLC are fucking absurd. They've already done so much of the work in making sure their game is full functioning and fleshed out within the game engine, and the DLC is just a matter of coming up with a handful of new ideas, implementing them, then selling them digitally, where all of the retail middlemen aren't even taking a cut.

Sure, some developers make DLC that is substantive and worth the $5-$15, but too often you see $5 costume packs (looking at you, Capcom), and it is effing ludicrous that they think it's reasonable to charge that when a new retail game costs $60.

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VALVeJunkie

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Edited By VALVeJunkie

YES

HELL YES

HELL FUCKING YES

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The_Big_Rough

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Edited By The_Big_Rough

Too bad i can't file a class action lawsuit for charging me $1 for something that should have been free,,,,,

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Peppers

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Edited By Peppers

I will gladly pay a dollar because a dollar might as well be zero for this great game.