Even hardcore audiences love DLC – when it's done right | Opinion
Bethesda's $2.50 horse armour DLC for Oblivion turns 18 this year – a realisation which made me feel like I was about to spontaneously crumble to dust and be blown away on a breeze.There's an entire generation of gamers to whom it would be very challenging to explain why the launch of this seemingly innocuous add-on was such a pivotal moment for the industry's development; why for the best part of a decade afterwards, an eye-roll and a snorted exclamation of "horse armour!" was a devastating put-down to almost any DLC plans.Attitudes have undoubtedly softened over time, especially in younger cohorts who have grown up with most major games having paid-for add-ons of various types, but there is still a conventional wisdom which says that more "hardcore" consumers, and older consumers, really don't like paid-for DLC in general. Read more
Bethesda's $2.50 horse armour DLC for Oblivion turns 18 this year – a realisation which made me feel like I was about to spontaneously crumble to dust and be blown away on a breeze.
There's an entire generation of gamers to whom it would be very challenging to explain why the launch of this seemingly innocuous add-on was such a pivotal moment for the industry's development; why for the best part of a decade afterwards, an eye-roll and a snorted exclamation of "horse armour!" was a devastating put-down to almost any DLC plans.
Attitudes have undoubtedly softened over time, especially in younger cohorts who have grown up with most major games having paid-for add-ons of various types, but there is still a conventional wisdom which says that more "hardcore" consumers, and older consumers, really don't like paid-for DLC in general.
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