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EA Talks Day One DLC Success, 2010 Strategy
by Jeff Mattas, Feb 08, 2010 7:00pm PSTIn a conference call Q&A after their earnings report, Electronic Arts executives waxed about recent successes and strategies with downloadable content.
EA CEO John Riccitiello shared the motivation behind their inclusion of paid DLC in all their titles this year. "We sort of initiated our approach here originally with NBA Live with Dynamic DNA almost a year-and-a-half ago. In every case, what we've seen is a very positive response from the consumer and in each case, particularly with Dragon Age, a strong pickup in revenue per user. By and large, they like the extra content and we think it's a strong positive move...we've got similar strong PDLC programs with all of our titles this year."
COO John Schappert embellished on the success of Dragon Age DLC. "We had downloadable content in addition to the pack-in content, if you will, available for purchase on day one. The first week, we did over a million dollars in sales on that title - that's just with DLC, obviously." With numbers like that it's understandable why both Schappert and Riccitiello strongly back paid downloadable content programs in 2010.
"We think that the attach rate or usage [of DLC] is about at 70%, above all units sold," Schappert continued, "so it's obviously much higher for those online registered users."
Paid DLC wasn't the only type being discussed. EA has also recognized the value of rewarding those who purchase new copies of their games with free downloadable incentives. Mass Effect 2's online-enabled Cerberus Network is the most recent and notable example, allowing a gamer with a brand new copy access to downloadable extras. Those who rent or buy the game used have to pay extra for access to the DLC in a clever attempt to encourage more gamers to buy titles new.
EA believes that its DLC plans are a good fit for its current strategy of fewer, higher-quality titles. "Consumers are buying top titles and playing them longer," explained Schappert. "[DLC is] a great incentive when they first buy the title, but it also teaches them and shows them that there's additional content online and gets them used to that whole ecosystem in the marketplace."
Comments
Examples:
Starcraft followed by Starcraft: Broodwars,
Neverwinter Nights followed by its two huge expansions
Supreme Commander then Forged Alliance
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
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I don't have a problem with charging for extra stuff. As long as it really is "extra".
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This is not the case!
A game is often finished MONTHS BEFORE ITS RELEASE and while it goes through testing/finalisation procedures and production, the developers spend their time creating more content for all you snobby tightwads so you can continue having fun with your game long after you have finished playing what was originally on the disk.
Some dlc is better/more worthwhile than others, i dont disagree. but to be so ignorant in your assessment as to not give something a chance becasue of your foolish beliefs that you are paying for something you should already have is bullshit.
The game is reviewed and scored on the content it holds, not what it will have 6months down the line and if it an awesome game out of the box, you have no reason to bitch and moan when more content is released for the people who bought it.
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in all my years of gaming i have still never paid for a single DLC. sometimes i'll buy a GOTY or an expansion that has it all, for much less of course, but never DLC.
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Consider that when you pay for a game (on the PC at least) you're generally paying around 50 bucks for all the textures, models, music, sounds, testing, and effort that went into producing that game, and thats putting it simply. With DLC, much of that material is simply reused and/or built upon. You're paying 10+ bucks and (usually) not getting anywhere near 1/5th of what went into the original game. Some people are okay with that, they're just happy to get more content, but I think the whole DLC system is one big rpoff. There's a reason, Bobby Kotick, aka videogame Satan is apeshit about DLC, and I guarantee you it doesn't have anything to do with wanting to provide quality content to loyal fans at a reasonable price. Just my 2 cents.
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I loved playing Burnout Paradise, but I never bought a single car, even though they were nice. It doesn't feel right, and I don't like the idea of paying even more for a game they can be happy I bought in the first place for a lot of money (Lets be realistic here, games are still fucking expensive, with console games easily being 70 Euro (96 US Dollar) in Europe)
Unless you bring out an expansion pack that I really feel enhances the game, offers alot of new things and all (Yeah, sounds like an Utopia, right? But that used to exist), I will not buy anything. I won't buy a sword, a 1-2 hour mission, a character skin for multiplayer, a car or something like that. No Sir, keep your shit.