The highly anticipated November release of Fallout 4 just got a little more interesting, after Bethesda Game Studios announced the plans for its first DLC pack set for early 2016. The publisher is catching some major flack from the gaming community, looking for justification for the news since the title hasn’t even hit retail shelves yet.
The announcement rightly has gamers upset and has prompted a divide within the community about the nature of the news. On one end you have gamers encouraged by the thought of extra content, which will keep the game fresh down the road, while on the other end gamers are worried that this could lead to an unfinished and unpolished title on launch day. Both sides provide a valid argument and it’s great to see the community rally together for one cause over the other.
The biggest issue I have, however, is that gamers on one side of the argument are simply content with whatever the publisher puts out. With the rise of social media in the current gaming era, gamers have never had more of an opportunity to directly impact the direction games are going. It’s our right as consumers to stand up and cry foul when something seems to off-balance about the products we love.
It’s difficult to not feel a little uneasy about the announcement of Fallout 4 ’s DLC pack, what with the way the industry has been utilizing the option lately. That’s like asking gamers to buy a new controller before the console system is even released. Yes, you’re eventually going to use it, but who knows if you’ll even like it upon release. Shocking that someone might not like the new Fallout game, since they’ve been spot on following the games inception.
However, that’s not the debate I’m trying to lay out here. The overall point is that gamers are putting too much trust into the hands of developers and publishers just because they’ve released a decent title in the past. Yes, logic would lead us to believe that the game should good because they have a solid track record, but that is just something I can’t get on board with – I’ve been burned too many times in the past, from rock solid publishers and developers, to blindly trust them.
Gamers deserve to judge each title equally, regardless of past experience, because it provides them with much more substantial buying power. This, in turn, forces the developers to create outstanding, or at least valuable, DLC in the long run. Not only does this practice essentially force the hand of the developer, but it can also directly affect the rest of the gaming industry.
Take a look at the AAA landscape today – DLC it offered for just about every major AAA game that has been released in the past half-decade. Some gamers may make the argument that this is good for the community because it presents the opportunity to develop new content post launch. However, the harsh reality is that studios have used this model to both release an otherwise unfinished game and a means to further monetize the title.
If you’re a casual gamer that doesn’t mind playing roulette with their $60, then by all means proceed with your original plan and get the Fallout 4 DLC sight unseen. However, if you’re conscious about the gaming community and truly care about the direction this great industry is going, then you deserve the right to be concerned about the latest announcement.
Don’t misconstrue my message as one directed at the Fallout series or Bethesda Game Studios. I definitely have quarrels with other gaming studios that have announced their DLC plans before launch. My main gripe comes in the fact that publishers, and Bethesda in particular with Fallout 4 , are already announcing plans for future updates for a title that hasn’t even been finished yet. In my mind, you’ve got to pour the foundation before you can even think about building the house.