Open world games DLC

[Izuno]

So big MP shooter games (Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.) have paid DLC map packs or bundles under CoD Elite style packages...great. Those are straight up shooters and those kinds of DLC business models are pretty straight forward.

But for open world action/RPG type games, which broadly includes games in the range of Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV, Batman Arkham City, Borderlands, Fallout New Vegas, Saints Row 3 and so forth (yes, that is quite a range) DLC is not quite as simple. Some games have decent though somewhat niche multiplayer, some are pure singleplayer, and thus resulting DLC releases for said games can really vary from new weapons/vehicles for like $2 or significantly sized SP+MP content bundles for $10 (such as RDR: Undead Nightmare).

1) Regardless, for these more open world games, what kind of DLC do you like?

2) Day 1 DLC: do you care? Do you hate if it's not free with purchase? What if not? What if on disk?

Why am I asking? I was in another meeting (joy) where I watched VP #1 and VP #2 get in a heated argument over all this. So as always, curious where mapcorians stand on this as I'm trying to cut through the fanboy vs. fanboy screaming matches you read elsewhere online.

[Jetsetlemming]

The DLC for Fallout 3 / NV utterly failed to capture my attention because they were basically just more quests, in games chock full of more quests than I'll ever finish. Dawnguard for Skyrim looks like it's supposed to be adding new features and shit though, besides just more "content" (at least judging by that really awesome "what we've been experimenting with" youtube video Bethesda put out a couple months ago), and that's definitely more up my alley. I bought the DLC for Saint's Row 3 (just got the season pass during the steam sale) but haven't had a chance to play it yet.

[Bunglo]

1) The only DLC I was interested in, open world or not, was the harley dlc for arkham city. Why? Because I thought the depth and amount of story they managed to fit into AC was awesome, and this dlc continues the story. I bought it for the story, I want to know what happens after the events in AC. It seems a little odd that they would make something like this DLC, rather than wait for the new game or go with an expansion pack (rare these days, I know), but I've yet to play it so maybe dlc was a better option for this.

I should note that I did not want to buy it at the $10 price tag, I waited until it was on sale, 2 hours of additional gameplay isnt worth $10 to me. I should also note that I did purchase the Deus Ex: HR - Missing link dlc for the same reason as the harley dlc. There's that little sliver of extra story I want to experience. But, like the harley dlc, I only bought it because of the Steam summer sale.

2) I pretty much always ignore dlc because 99% of it seems to be entirely irrelevant to gameplay. New weapons? Who cares! I can play dress up with my character? Who cares! Stupid shit like this has to be nothing more than a way to rake in more cash, not something that advances the game, which is what I'm actually interested in.

[Thrik]

I really dislike it when things like single-player weapons and items are purchaseable. It really takes away the allure and mystique when I know the key to earning such treasures is to fork out more money.

I don't mind paying for what is essentially an expansion pack, for example Fable had a few which included whole new areas full of quests, items, etc — that was OK.

[Izuno]

What about day 1 DLC that's free with new purchase? For example, the Catwoman bundle pack for Arkham City was free with new copies but $10 if you bought used or rented. (also that wasn't on disk...just it was available day 1).

[FrieChamp]

What about day 1 DLC that's free with new purchase? For example, the Catwoman bundle pack for Arkham City was free with new copies but $10 if you bought used or rented. (also that wasn't on disk...just it was available day 1).

I'm also wondering...is that DLC reason enough for people to buy the new copy instead of renting or a 2nd hand purchase when they have the choice? Or does it just punish those who bought the full copy and now need to download additional content first before they can play it?

[Bunglo]

What about day 1 DLC that's free with new purchase? For example, the Catwoman bundle pack for Arkham City was free with new copies but $10 if you bought used or rented. (also that wasn't on disk...just it was available day 1).

I wasn't aware that catwoman was a dlc until recently, I thought it was apart of the game from the start. Could you not play catwoman if you didn't have the dlc?

[Izuno]

What about day 1 DLC that's free with new purchase? For example, the Catwoman bundle pack for Arkham City was free with new copies but $10 if you bought used or rented. (also that wasn't on disk...just it was available day 1).

I wasn't aware that catwoman was a dlc until recently, I thought it was apart of the game from the start. Could you not play catwoman if you didn't have the dlc?

I bought Arkham City new and as I look a the package right now there are two slips of paper that say "Game Add-on Download"...one for Catwoman DLC and one for Robin DLC. I had to input the code for Catwoman and if I recall it did download from PSN.

The Catwoman DLC was available for download day 1 (i.e. Oct 18, 2011 in the US) and the Robin DLC, which I have yet to download even after beating the game, was not available until around Nov 22, 2011.

Personally, my reaction to the free Catwoman DLC was ".....ok it's free sounds fine..." though I realize it was meant as an incentive for people to buy the game new and not rent or buy used.

[Bunglo]

From all the interviews I watched prior to it's release, it sounded like catwoman was simply a second playable character within the storyline. Similar to how Call of Duty has you play as US and Russian characters.

I pre-ordered the game though and all that catwoman stuff came with it off the install, I didn't need to download anything.

That type of free day1 dlc is clearly an incentive to purchase the game when it comes out but to me, the game should be good enough that you want to play it as soon as you can. I don't see dlc being a tipping point for anyone who's unsure if they want the game or not.

[Izuno]

Ok maybe I'm forgetting whether it was on the disk or a download or whatever. It was free so anyway....

I guess the bigger question is once you get past the launch and the pre-order bonuses etc...what about later DLC for open world games? I asked this like 2 years ago but I'm more interested in the open world games and not the shooter games like CoD / BF etc.

My bias is that I simply want more story campaign content and it better be good not crap. I thought the Borderlands DLC for the most part was excellent and worth the money. Seems like $10 is the new normal for such DLC in general.