Well here I have some sympathy with what EA have tried to achieve. It has said that research it has carried out shows 80 percent of the people who play its games would not normally see this content (as they will have given up before getting far enough to achieve the unlocks). As with so much content, there is a lot of development time and effort that goes into producing it, and therefore it wants this content to be seen by as many players as possible. Therefore, for those players who don't have the time, or the ability, to unlock this content in-game, they can now buy it and experience it and I think the idea has merit. Was this much outcry heard when the first premium-rate telephone line for game hints opened? I think not ...
Horse Armor
Of course there is some content that is pretty much seen as a rip-off by everyone. The classic example of this being the Horse Armour for Oblivion. This piece of downloadable content allowed you to buy some armour for your in-game horse. And what effect did this have on your gameplay? Well, your horse looked different, if you count that. Apart from that the effect was zero, zilch, zip. Yet this was something that gamers in their thousands rushed out and paid for. And then complained about. But this brings me on to my next point ...
You don't have to buy it...
And I know that this will come as a shock to some people. You see there are some people that believe that every piece of content is needed to fully experience the game in all its glory. So when the Horse Armour 2 is released, that is the same armour just in a different colour, they'll rush out to buy that as well. And then complain. I think I'm starting to spot a trend forming here.
But really people, you do have a choice. If you don't like the look of something then don't buy it. It's no good buying every piece of downloadable content and then complaining about it. If 1 million people download something and 999,999 complain, do you think the games' companies will listen? Of course they won't as they've already got 1 million peoples' money. Seriously, if you went into your nearest supermarket and the cheese that you wanted to buy was mouldy, would you buy it and then complain?
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