A lot of hype revolves around a newly released videogame. However, when the excitement dies down, something is needed to add a little spice to a title. That’s where downloadable content comes in.
DLC is a strategy used by many games to add content and keep audiences interested after initial release of a title. It is available for purchase whenever the game developers let it out on the market, usually within the first few months after a game comes out.
However, sometimes DLC is created and sold long after a game is released.
Call of Duty: Black Ops’ latest DLC is called Rezzurection , and was released on Aug. 23, despite Black Ops having been out more than nine months and Modern Warfare 3 — the latest in the series — being set to release less than three months later.
“I got Rezurrection because it was all maps for the zombie game mode,” Bryce Hart, a sophomore in political science, said. “I have always been a fan of that game mode.”
Hart, however, does not plan on getting Modern Warfare 3.
“The Call of Duty series just doesn’t interest me as much anymore,” Hart said. “The only reason I would get Modern Warfare 3 is for the story, and that I can just read or see online.”
David Kamp , a sophomore in computer science, purchased Rezurrection because of his love for the zombies game mode and the ability to play it with friends.
“Even if Modern Warfare 3 had a zombies game mode, I’d still buy [ Rezurrection for Black Ops],” Kamp said.
Replay value is a very important factor for Kamp when buying DLC , something he found in the zombie maps.
The concept of zombies was also played with in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption. The game has been out since May 2010, and released its Undead Nightmare expansion pack last October.
“It seemed a little bit outdated,” Hart said, “but the DLC made it feel fresh for as long as it lasted, which was nice. It was like playing for the first time again.”
Red Dead Redemption will receive further support with Myths and Mavericks, a new bonus pack, which will release this month, well over a year after the game‘s original release.
Hart said if a game has a sequel with an upcoming release, he would hesitate in buying DLC .
“I think that would make me not want the DLC as much, unless it was appealing to me. Undead Nightmare turned all the enemies of Red Dead into zombies and gave you things like holy water as a weapon. It was silly and unrealistic–almost like a new game,” Hart said.
Matt Needham, a sophomore in computer engineering, purchased DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 nearly a year after the game’s release date.
“It has been one of my favorite games for the Xbox 360 and I wanted to continue playing it,” Needham said, “but the older levels were getting repetitive. So, I got the new ones to revamp the game.”
Needham said the DLC also came with new achievements, which always gives him something to strive for.
Borderlands had four different DLC releases that were spaced out roughly over the course of a year after its release date. Needham purchased the DLC because of his love for the game.
“There were great weapons only obtainable in the DLC that I really wanted to get,” Needham said.
Fallout: New Vegas released last November, and is still receiving support. The Lonesome Road DLC will end the courier storyline that has been going on since the first DLC pack, Dead Money. This demonstrates how DLC can add to an old game by providing a new story and setting for players to explore.
Nathan Johnson, a sophomore in professional golf management, thinks people buy DLC because they become devoted to a franchise.
“A lot of people become fanboys and buy anything the company puts out,” Johnson said.
Alex Beddingfield , a sophomore in English, said that DLC needs to do something different.
“The DLC makes it fresh the same game and same setting,” Beddingfield said. “It’s a way for videogame makers to keep gamers interested.”