An Empty GayGamer Mailbag
I didn't receive a single letter this week. Do you know how sad that made me? I've got to be honest, I cried a little, and I never cry. Rather than letting my emotions get the best of me, I'm going to do a bit of a reversal and ask you guys a question, maybe to prompt a bit of discussion. So send your answers and some awesome questions to thedoctor@gaygamer.net. For this week's discussion:
How important is online gaming in your circle of friends? Do you hold onto games because of future DLC? Would you rather download a game or buy it on a disc?
TheDoctor
Posted to Video Games on 3 November 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: discussion, dlc, downloadible games, gaygamer mailbag, mailbag
Well, I tend to play mostly JRPGs, so online is pretty much a "never," and I've yet to buy any DLC. Because I'm cheap like that. :P
Discs are where I go for big purchases most of the time. But I don't mind downloading the occasional VC or XBLA game (or PSP/PSone game). Heck, my Wii has several old Genesis/SNES games on it, and I have PA:OTRSPOD on my 360. (Although, I recently switched consoles with my brother and took my copy of the game with me, so I need to sign on to XBLA to unlock it, but I need the wireless adaptor for that. :/)
And I'll send you a mailbag question. Promise!
Wow. Sorry to hear you got nada, and pulling at our heartstrings with the emo Yuna pic just hurts. Ow.
Okay, so my take on DLC is completely dependent on what game it is. I skipped the DLC for Dead Space and MM9, but Oblivion had plenty to offer. These, however, are single player and not co-op, but I could see Fable 2 really benefitting from some nice DLC here.
I generally don't play MMO's as easily 95% of my experiences online are with anonymous degenerates who have no idea what a comma or period are for. I do play LotRO, but I usually don't socialize with people unless I know them IRL.
Most of my friends are gamers. Online gaming isn't really a big thing with them, besides WOW.
The answer to your second question is usually no.
And i prefer to own a hard copy of my games. Makes me feel better about spending $50+ on a game to have a physical representation of it in my hands.
I must admit that the guys I play online with are likely the guys I am closest to in life, and thats just because I've been playing with them for about 11 years now...We meet up now and again go to the pub.. But just the length of time we've been playing has made us close. So we generally discuss what the others plan to buy so we can all hook up online. We still maintain our vent server from back when we would actually play competitivly on long forgotten ladders like CAL or TWL long before we knew you could apparently make mountains of cash by playing.
I do not usually hold onto games for DLC mostly because I play PC and so if a game does not show much promise out the door I do not buy it.. because you cant trade 'em back in.. still I've been suckered before (spore). But I still have to read up on what I'm buying or consult my round table of mates to see whats coming down the pipe.
I am torn between downloads and physical games.. on the one hand I prefer downloads because if like me you travel alot.. and forget to pack in a game you want to play.. oops your boned but if you have steam your game are constantly avaliable.. But on the other hand you get to unwrap said game and play the wonderful game of how hard are they trying to keep this from being lifted out of the shop.. the money is no real concern, because they know I'll but it.. those people who released the orangebox knew I'd buy it and therefore have 2 copies of hl2 and episode 1.. they knew...
Online gaming is a funny thing. It's pretty important to my friends, but I don't seem to play online with them very much. Somehow, we're not online at the same time, or not in the same game. Most of my multi-player is with people in the room.
I hold onto all games period. I made some... mistakes, back in the SNES days that I never want to repeat. DLC makes more sense with some games than with others - Portal, CoD4, and Rock Band have great DLC. Oblivion, though? Fable 2? Dunno what they could put in.
I would rather buy a game on disc, but that's mostly because I'm a 360 guy (my computer is ancient and sad). The hard drives for that are prohibitively expensive - maybe if I bought an eSATA adapter or something, then downloaded games would be on equal footing.
Sorry you didn't get any mail this week - I'll send you a letter next week, how 'bout that? :)
@ Andrew:
I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic about DLC for Oblivion. Let's see... This gave players the Shivering Isles expansions (among others), several keeps, new weapons, new areas... Yeah, I just can't see how Oblivion used DLC at all.
As for Fable 2, have you tried co-op play yet? (For that matter, have you played Fable 2?) I could see DLC for several co-op specific areas in the future. It certainly wouldn't be that hard to do, and as it's already inclined to head that direction as there are achievements for playing co-op.