Posted in: Games, Nintendo, Video Games | Tagged: Breath of the Wild, DLC, nintendo, nintendo switch, The Legend of Zelda, the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, zelda

Nintendo's Zelda DLC Is An Insult To Their Fanbase

Published Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:45:58 -0600

by Gavin Sheehan

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Sometimes, good things are too good to be true. Nintendo is practically set up to make a killing in three weeks with the Nintendo Switch and every game needing to be purchased separately. But as we reported earlier today, apparently they'd like to go the route of DLC to get more money out of you in March, and they're starting right at the top with The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of The Wild.

Skipping the usual diatribe we would usually reserve for DLC content that feels like a cash grab, this seems more like a slap in the face to hardcore Nintendo fans. Think about it. You wait months for this new system to arrive, you get yourself psyched up after all the videos and hype, you now know a new Zelda game is coming at launch, you've saved up all your money to buy the system and games you want immediately out of the gate… And now you're told you'll have an incomplete launch title (with name recognition) and you'll need to pay more money to get the rest. The only way Nintendo could possibly make this worse on a PR front is to suddenly delay the game an extra month.

Nintendo as a whole isn't stupid, but that statement has two sides to it. The first side is obvious: They know they have a winner this Spring and are set to make a killing with no other systems to compete against at a time when everyone else is saving their best stuff for PAX East or E3 at the latest. Why not bilk more money out of people who won't be buying other stuff? The other side of that coin: Nintendo staffers must have been knowledgeable and savvy enough to know the criticism that will follow this decision, and know that there are gamers who despise DLC and won't purchase the game out of spite. Why would you shoot yourself in the foot on a publicity end after having all this great karma come your way for six months?

I personally fall into the camp of not buying it. As painful as it is, I'm going to accept the fact that Nintendo is selling me an incomplete game, and I refuse to give them any more cash than what I paid for at the start. I'm not giving the company the satisfaction of turning a $60 game into a $80 game, especially over so little. Plus, history has taught me that if a game company can't make any more money off DLC, or if the fans rebuke the idea and refuse to buy in, the content will eventually be made free. I'm patient, I can wait. And if it doesn't happen, screw it, it can't be that important to the game if they could easily remove it.

What are your thoughts on the new DLC?

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