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Dragon Age joins Madden 10 on the nickel and dime them tour
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First NCAA Football 10 allows players to buy cheats for online play, then Madden 10 lets players purchase power ups for players and even individual plays, and now Dragon Age has jumped on the 'nickel and dime them' tour. But Dragon Age's downloadable content (DLC) has a unique twist: it's free if you pre-order or purchase the game. Otherwise, you'll be paying a whopping $15 bucks for one of the most powerful characters in the game.
In other words, EA is using downloadable content to cripple the game for those who buy it used.
I don't think anyone is surprised by EA's tactic. They've long been known as an "anything for the money" company, releasing buggy games and refusing to patch them (as they did with the original NFL Head Coach) or simply refusing to admit the game has bugs (as they did with Grand Slam Tennis).
But do they have to sully Bioware's name?
Bioware is the holy grail of role-playing game companies. Along with Diablo, Bioware's Baldur's Gate resurrected the role-playing genre on the computer. Neverwinter Nights is the best representation of table top Dungeons and Dragons to ever hit the computer, not only allowing players to design their own campaign, but actually DM it. And Bioware's upcoming venture in the MMO world, Star Wars: The Old Republic, is one of the most anticipated MMO's since World of Warcraft.
Dragon Age: Origins is the highly anticipated successor to Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. Set in its own world, Dragon Age: Origins will include a polished toolset, letting players expand the adventure on their own. The Bioware team also has plans to release DLC over the next two years.
And there's nothing wrong with downloadable content. It's a great way for developers to make a little extra money while extending the game's life for players. Who doesn't want new maps for Call of Duty? Or new songs for Rock Band 2? These are great examples of DLC done right. The 'premium modules' for Neverwinter Nights were also great examples.
But when you use downloadable content like cheat codes (as done in NCAA Football 10 and Madden 10) or as bait to get people to buy the game new (as Dragon Age: Origins will do), then you are really stepping over the line from a good way to expand the product to asking for more money for what should already be in the product.
Next up: EA starts charging people for patches.
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