Now this is news that breaks my heart. A lot of our readers felt that we were picking on Capcom and Electronic Arts. But today, this news regarding disc-locked content has nothing to do with EA or Capcom. This time, the culprit behind this anti-consumerist scheme is Deep Silver.
Risen 2: Dark Waters recently released for PC...It's set for release later this summer for the Xbox 360 and PS3. However, something startling was discovered in the game...the paid-for DLC is already accessible just like "From Ashes" for Mass Effect 3 and the entire game's worth of content stored away on Street Fighter X Tekken.
GameFaq user Dexter111 made the discovery and gives out a complete list of instructions for accessing ALL the game's "Day-One" DLC using the in-game console in a lengthy forum discussion post. Thanks to DSO Gaming the whole thing has now gone public and it's about to spread like some freaking wildfire in a dry bush.
The only downside is that just like the "From Ashes" DLC, many of the voice files are missing from "on disc" DLC, which means when you access the DLC campaigns you won't have all the voices, they're stored on servers -- of course, to give the impression that there's an actual, lengthy download.
As of course, most smaller companies see on-disc DLC as a cheaper way to distribute DLC as opposed to, I don't know, working on this stuff after the game releases. Instead, main content from the game is stripped off and re-sold from behind a pay-wall on the game's disc. This enables publishers (not developers) to continue to profit from a game even from second hand sales, as we originally explained in the article detailing how disc-locked content would be used to combat the used game market.
However, Capcom and EA aren't the only ones trying to push the boundary of how much they can get away with when it comes to cutting out content and re-selling it to gamers. I never would have guessed Deep Silver would have dropped to this level because they're usually known for bringing us original games that don't fit within the standard blockbuster Hollywood tropes. A sad day indeed.
The original Risen received some decent scores and was greeted with lukewarm amicability amongst gamers for being an all-around decent action-RPG. But with a bigger budget and a bigger marketing push behind Risen 2: Dark Waters, it looks like Deep Silver wants to cash in on some sweet, sweet disc-locked content monies.
As always, if you're not fond of this kind of thing please be sure to inform your fellow gamers and let them know that it's imperative to Hold The Wallet.
We'll be keeping you updated on what happens from here on, especially regarding the console versions of Risen 2: Dark Waters.
