6. Downloadable Content Should Include Actual Content
How many times have you looked at a DLC for a game and thought you cant seriously expect me to pay money for this. I bet its more than once. DLC represents a golden opportunity for game Pub/Devs to wring extra profit from their titles while simultaneously providing more content for their loyal fans but often, its used as a sort of cash hoover, designed to yield as much profit for as little effort as possible. I draw your attention to The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and its infamous downloadable horse armour. Users paid $2.50 for their shiny new horse armour before realising that it did nothing, it offered no advantage or function; it just sat there redundantly like a cheap bullet-proof vest made entirely of compressed cotton. There was a backlash of course; the internet, as a singular unit, turned on Bethesda who realised pretty sharpish the validity of this golden rule. Of course its a free market, and companies can sell whatever they can convince us to buy. That said, were not f*cking stupid. If they want to actually sell DLC, they better make damn sure theyve put some effort into making it worth its price tag; if its a turd, the user will smell it a mile off.
Offenders: Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Godfather, Madden 2010