DLC for Consoles, or why I'll be pissed-off in a couple of years
By Skald 4 Comments
Well, this generation has shown us a lot of things about gaming and the internet. For starters, everybody capable of making a closed environment for apps and games, has in fact done so. Naturally, it's hard to begrudge services like Steam or hardware like the DSi or Xbox 360 for being "closed-off," but this trend doesn't seem entirely future-proof to me.
Game systems all get their DLC from one source, be it Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, or Apple. Although it makes piracy difficult for people who don't want to go all out, it will make access to these programs difficult when they stop supporting old systems. As Microsoft shuts down the servers for the original Xbox on the 15th, I will lose access to my DLC for Original Xbox. In other words, those planes I downloaded for Crimson Skies will be gone forever. Not a big deal, but in the far-flung future when they take my Xbox 360 off their network, I'll lose several hundred dollars of games and add-ons.
Maybe this anxiety is due to my obsessive game collecting tendencies. As a person who always buys the physical copy of a game and never trades them in, it's sad to see part of my collection condemned to planned obsolescence. Even if I was never going to play these games again, it would still be nice to have something to show for all the money I spent on Microsoft Points and Sony Fun-Bucks.
Thoughts?
Now for some ramblings. You know most of this stuff, so I'll keep it short.
- Just Cause 2 seems like a decent game. It's a good sandbox title with surprisingly good graphics and surprisingly bad voice acting.
- The second and third Giant Bomb Endurance Runs are awesome. I don't see Deadly Premonition becoming the new Persona 4 any time soon.
- I'm not going to buy Splinter Cell, but I may buy Red Dead Redemption. Kind of tired of Grand Theft Auto so I hope it doesn't feel too similar.
- Interesting fact: Red Dead Redemption developer R* San Diego used to be Angel Studios, the studio that made games like Smuggler's Run and Spy Hunter 2.
- Like I said, Original Xbox is going down in a little over a week. It won't affect me, but it's still sad to see it go.