Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

The year was 2006 and it was the dawn of a new era for gaming. No one knew it at the time, but this was the first generation to fully take advantage of DLC, Peripherals, Accessories, and Limited Editions. However with the new technology, development costs soared out of control with the average game costing over $20 million.

This new rise in development costs led to the $60 console game and now, with the launch of Modern Warfare 2, $60 PC game. This spike in game development cost also led to the abuse of the hallmarks of this generation; DLC, Peripherals, Accessories, and Limited Editions.

DLC

The original concept of DLC (Downloadable Content) was to let developers sell new levels and whole expansions online. However with little monitoring there has been major abuse of this system. It is now common for games to lack a certain feature which should be standard, only to sell it later for an outrageous price. A prime example of this is Resident Evil 5's Versus Mode.

The game lacked a multiplayer mode, so what a better way to alleviate the pain than to charge $5 for a feature that should be standard. Another example is the Halo Wars Strategic Options; all that comes in the download is three game modes and for the low price of only $10.

Someone needs to be regulating the price of DLC. Prices are becoming too unbearable to sustain. Who can afford to pay $5 for Darth Vader in Soul Calibur IV? Or what about the barbaric acts of making us pay for expensive cheats?

Yes, those codes you used to get for free online are now sold for real money. EA does this often and continued the trend with Madden NFL 10. Prices range from 800 Microsoft Points to 40 MP for stat boosts and other things that were once given to us free of charge. For $60 cheats should be included!

Another problem with DLC is that PC gamers often get new maps free of charge, as opposed to the console counterparts which must pay for them. This happens often in RTS games. The Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth 2 charged gamers 350 MP for maps that were free to PC users.

To add insult to injury PC gamers have access to countless mods and user made maps, which console gamers aren't allowed access to. Would it be too much to ask for someone to port over user maps and mods on PC to the console?

Why don't developers do this? It extends the longevity of their games giving them better retail value. One might say that they don't because of copyrighted content, but there is a plethora of user created mods that have full original content.

The problem though isn't just that developers are charging consumers high prices, it's that they are requiring it. In order to play certain ranked matches in Halo 3 one must own all the DLC. There should be no requirement for DLC; it should be optional.

In the end, the price to consumers is marginally higher. If someone buys all pieces of Fallout 3 DLC, they are forking over and additional $50 on top of the $60 for the game itself. Had these pieces come out separately, they might have cost less, perhaps around $30-40.

If there was no DLC, developers would be forced to ship the game with all of its content out of the box, or sell a full expansion pack. The latter would be cheaper to consumers than individual pieces of DLC. Wal-Mart shows us that consumers get discounts based on the quantity of what they are buying. Thus buying five separate pieces of DLC is inevitably more expensive than buying it in one bundle.

The game companies use simple psychology to keep the gamer pumping money into their games. Once someone buys one DLC pack, they will want to buy the next because they already spent extra money on it. If they don't buy the additional add-ons then all the money that they originally spent has gone to waste. Once people start, they can't stop.

Peripherals

Remember DDR? It was one of the first games to ship with a peripheral to catch the mainstream, breaking away from its niche. Since the introduction of DDR, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have dominated the market with their plastic guitars and drums. They are amazing games, and great examples of what peripherals could do to gaming, although since their massive success, peripherals have become more common place.

DJ Hero anyone? Tony Hawk Ride? Both of these games require expensive and not so accessible controllers. The main problem with games requiring peripherals is that they are expensive. Who has enough money to buy Rock Band, DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk Ride?

Now these games are no longer costing $60, but $120. This increase alienates a large portion of gamers who don't have that kind of money to spend.

I don't think that music games with peripherals are bad. They greatly expand the immersion; however certain games like Tony Hawk Ride or the infamous Steel Batallion can easily be developed for use with a controller instead. In fact, the previous Tony Hawk games sold much better than Ride because of its poor peripheral.

Even things like the Wii Motion Plus hinder the accessibility because now users have to be more precise with their actions. They can't just flick the Wiimote and have the racket swing; they now have to go through the full motion. While it improves immersion, games must not drop support for the original Wiimote.

In addition, a gamer must make sure the game itself and the new controller are accessible. This also results in the gamer having to pay extra to modify the controller to make it accessible.

Accessories

Simply put, there are too many accessories on the market, and they are too expensive. There will always be a place for a steering wheel or fight stick, but enough is enough. Do we really need a fishing rod accessory for the Wiimote?

Now, I know I'm not going to buy it, but eventually parents will give in to their kid’s demands. Having a selection isn't that bad though, the main problem is price. For the Xbox 360 there's an option for a 60 GB and soon a 250 GB although the 60 GB is tremendously overpriced.

How is Microsoft able to charge $100 for a 60 GB HDD? On top of that though, Microsoft banned all third party memory sticks so that one is forced into buying the overpriced Microsoft product.

Why do we put up with this? $50 for a wireless controller? That's $150 if you want to be able to play Halo with your friends. Want to hook up your console to a monitor? $40! Want a rechargeable battery for the Xbox controller? $20 for batteries that are only compatible with that controller.

For the same price one can get rechargeable AA Batteries for use with all your electronics. While not all of the accessories are overpriced, many of them are. The Bluetooth headset and the 360 wireless headsets are reasonable at $50 and $60 respectively. That's about par for the wireless headset category.

The main problem is incompatibility. I long for the day when I can buy a first party universal HDD for all my game consoles, although at the rate we're going I would be lucky to have a universal wireless headset. This universal age however, would benefit everyone. While the companies do make a tremendous amount on accessories, they could make more by selling universal controllers.

People would be willing to buy three additional controllers if they knew it would work on their PS4 and Xbox 720. Gamers might even buy more controllers because they will be willing to replace old ones when they wear out. People buy more when things are sold for less. So while the universal controller will most likely never happen, it would benefit everyone.

Limited Editions

Limited editions afford the gamer with something special and unique for extra cash. It seems though that every game has a limited edition; Fable 2, Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and the list goes on and on. Most of these games sport fairly standard limited editions including merely a making-of DVD, along with a little extra in-game content.

Most of the time, these limited editions are priced only $10 - 20 more than the standard edition. This entices would be purchasers of the standard edition to plop down another $10 for extra bonuses. Most of the time these bonuses aren't worth it for the average gamer, but occasionally there is a good deal.

Fallout 3 lunchbox? Yes please!

However, there is another breed of limited editions; the ones that cost $50- 100 more. This is the Prestige Edition. The one that comes with working night vision goggles, a Spartan helmet, or replica Beatles instruments. These are the must buys for anyone in the market for something special.

So it is sometimes worthwhile to purchase the uber edition, but there is a major problem with limited editions; they are not limited. Even when Halo 3 Legendary Edition or the Modern Warfare Prestige Edition came out, there was bountiful supply. This was despite the fact that retailers were advertising their rarity.

Everyone was telling us to pre-order the limited edition because they will sell out within a week. Years later, the Halo 3 Legendary Edition could be purchased in stores everywhere.

I also don't like the idea of having to pay extra for in game content. If publishers want to sell limited editions, then great, but give us out of game content. Let us all play the same videogame, but let only some enjoy the art book.

Preorders

The concept of pre-ordering never really made sense for most games. Sure, for a blockbuster like Halo 2, pre-ordering it was the only way to get it on day one, but for Army of Two the 40th Day? There won't be a shortage for that one. The problem is that pre-ordering originally served a purpose and was only for a few games. Now however, gamers can pre-order any game, no matter its popularity.

In addition, companies are trying to entice gamers to pre-order with special in game content, but that's not even the half of it; each retailer has its own pre-order incentive! There are times when Best Buy will have different in game bonuses than GameStop thus making it impossible for anyone to get a truly complete version of the game. Parting with $5 for a game before the reviews are released is often difficult, but occasionally it pays off.

Cui Bono?

While none of these things are so terrible when executed properly, there can be issues when left unmonitored. Game companies have a habit of trying to squeeze every penny out of consumers, and sometimes their methods are harmful. Consumers must be aware of these techniques used to part them from their money. The worst of all however, is that sometimes these hallmarks interfere with accessibility, mainly peripherals.

So, what's the best way to counter these techniques? Research before you buy. The simplest advice to saving money though is waiting. There's no need to rush out on launch day to have a particular game, instead wait a few months or even years to buy. Not only will the game be cheaper, but it will also likely include the expansion packs.

Instead of paying $100 for Fallout 3 and all its DLC, the GOTY edition can be bought for under $50. The same $100 will carry you further, so one must weigh how important it is to own a game immediately, versus more, older games. The one thing this doesn't work for is accessories; to save money with those try buying third party versions. While the quality might be a little below par, they are certainly cheaper.

Hopefully things will improve in the future, and the cost of gaming will decline, although it doesn't seem likely. So sit back, save your pennies, and wait.