DLCs and "Season Pass"

[jack1974]

I'm going to make Loren 2 with 10 DLCs!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, seriously: I was wondering what people think of DLC and "Season Pass" that right now are very popular (at least it seems to me) in the AAA titles?
Personally for me they have the opposite effect: if I know a game has a Season Pass (so several DLC planned) and those DLC add content in the middle of the game (so not stand-alone expansions) I tend to wait and buy it only when everything is released to be sure to not miss anything.
But that's me I know the N'Mar expansion for Loren was very popular, so I'm wondering if people like that kind of stuff (in my games or also in general)?

edit: sorry I added a "neutral" option

[OhHaiMe]

For me it really all depends on what kind of content it is. If it has continuing story elements I'll usually wait until they are all released before I even buy the game so I can take in the whole story at once. If it just adds more stuff(Like extra characters,weapons or even self contained side stories) then I'll still usually wait until it's all released because it will often get bundled into a cheaper Complete edition. I will buy season passes if it's a game I really like,I know what kind of content will be coming,the content is actually meaningful and it comes at a discounted price.

P.S. Because whenever I describe something as "Meaningful Content" everyone always asks what I mean,I've gotten it down to quite a clear concept.
To me Meaningful Content causes change. Either change in story or in gameplay.
Some examples:
A new sword that give you +3 attack instead of +2,Not meaningful. A new sword that give you a new type of attack,Meaningful.
A new set of levels,Not meaningful. A new set of levels that introduces a new gameplay mechanic,Meaningful.
A quest that rewards you with a +3 sword,not meaningful. A quest that rewards you with a characters backstory,Meaningful.

[Rebly82]

I'm pretty okay on DLC expansions. They add content to a game, which means more fun all around. But, I tend to prefer getting a "packaged" edition that comes with a base game + all DLCs inside, so I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck, and not losing out on playing less.

However, I dislike "Season Pass" game types. Making you wait over a year, where the game is handed out to you in a mere piece by piece at a time? That is quite the rip-off! I mean, imagine if you buy a book and after reading 1/4 of it, the book suddenly closes and tells you, "Sorry, you have to wait another 3-4 months before you can read the next 2/4 of the book!" I bet there'd be an outrage.

Perhaps, I'm of a more "love getting things in a complete Boxed set" sort of a person. Like the way you receive presents nicely wrapped with a ribbon on top!

[Troyen]

I'm okay with DLC that continues the story or expansions or whatever it's called these days. But, I prefer to evaluate each component before buying it. So like with WW games, I use the demo to see if the game interests me and then use the shop page to decide if I want any extra content (expansions and what-not).

I very rarely prepurchase or go for season passes because I don't know fully what I'll be getting. Most of the time when I've preordered something, it hasn't met my expectations and I end up disappointed, so I much prefer buying after the fact - even if I do miss out on the discounts.

[jack1974]

Interesting, so far most people are like me then

[Franka]

I just want my DLC to expand on story/characters in a significant way. Whether it's an after game expansion, an optional area you can enter at any time, or an integrated part of the original story is not important to me.

[canyonaz]

I really prefer games without any DLC to games that have it. That is especially true if the DLC is something a player could want at the beginning or near the middle of a game. It annoys me when I buy a game without DLC and start to play it and then DLC is released that I would have wanted while playing it. If I know that DLC that I'll probably want is coming out, I generally wait until everything is out before playing the game. I do the same if I know that "Directors Cut" versions are coming out. One of the difficulties is knowing when to play the game. Games tend to only get publicity when they first come out or when they win an award. They rarely get very much publicity when the last piece of DLC comes out. So, I just check back with the games occasionally to see if they are ready to be played yet. For games like that, I would never purchase a season pass particularly early. I would just wait for it to go on sale, knowing that I would eventually play it.

[Choklad]

I generally love DLCs. If they add more character depth, story or lore - sign me up. If it's just cooler weapons, new areas or cool battles I'm not very interested. I'd likely buy each DLC as soon as it's released, although that would depend on how many were planned and how far between. If I know there will be 10 DLCs within the next 3 months I'll wait, but if it is a few N'Mar-sized DLCs with some months in between I will buy them immediately.

Episodic games are OK. I prefer whole games, but if buying it in episodes meant I'd get to play Loren 2 sooner I would be all for it. :D I generally buy all episodes at once with a season pass, it's less hassle that way. I think there's a difference between episodes and DLC, though, because in episodic games you buy portions of the game itself and not extra content. I'd call what we're talking about now an expansion or a DLC bundle rather than a season pass.

[jack1974]

Yes, I would never plan a DLC to be just some extra weapon or enemy. Since what most of my fans want is story/characters/romances, a DLC should at least include something related to that then if is a RPG also extra gameplay element could be added too of course.

[Ryocchi]

Although to a collector like me adding new weapons or weapons quest are cool as long as the stats deserve it, I like collecting all the different weapons and armors I can.

Sebastian's dlc was awesome for dragon age 2, new character, new romance, new quests, new weapons, armor.