PS3 Poll Police: Which game has the best downloadable content?

by Nick Doerr { Mar 23rd 2008 at 7:00PM }

The Poll Police have noticed a trend on the streets of video gaming lately -- certain titles seem to make their living off of downloadable content. They pass off their retail disc to their customers and inundate them every week with more and more content to keep them coming back for their next fix. It's a problem that doesn't really bother the Poll Police, but it raises an interesting question. We've found three major offenders and want to know which of these culprits you find to have the best and most content available. Since this is a very time-sensitive poll, it'll be interesting to see if the results are different in a few months.
We noticed also that one or two of the above titles have recently opened their doors to a swarm of new stuff, sometimes with their own personal stores with content available for purchase. The key word in this whole generation is "purchase" -- you pay upwards $200 for Rock Band when it comes out, but every week you can spend a couple dollars more on a handful of songs. How much will you spend over the course of a year? When thought about, it's really quite ridiculous. Sort of like the results from last week's poll. Check them out after the jump.

We asked if you thought digital downloads would sweep disc-based media out of existence sooner or later and our responses were pretty surprising. Not so much surprising as a result, but surprising that so many people are level-headed and really think outside of fanboyism when considering a new way to get their content. We're impressed, basically! 32% of you thought that digital downloading will take 3 or more years to take off, but 36% said it will never match the ability of a disc-based media. We agree with the 36% -- there's something about having all those fun menus and being able to stack a physical library on a shelf that digital copies will never replicate. At least, that's our two cents. Thanks for voting!

Tags: poll-police

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Matthew M @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:11PM

None of those, the best is Motorstorm by far in my opinion.

chiki @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:29PM

Motorstorm dlc is great.

But Warhawk is the best :>

Dru @ Mar 24th 2008 1:17AM

Agreed. Folklore content seemed pretty damned good as well. Motorstorm and Folklore had free DLC...me likes free.

DrunkRaba @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:23PM

I went with "These games are over-hyped and mediocre." I didn't care for ddr, and i don't care for it now that its called guitar hero and rock band. But to each their own. I am however addicted to Patapon, so I don't know. Pretending to lead an army is more appealing than pretending to suck at playing instruments and singing, to me.

proog @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:33PM

Matthew M is right, you didn't include some DLC-heavy games. What about MotorStorm, Folklore, or even Warhawk? I know that the 3 titles included in the poll probably have much more downloadable content, but this is supposed to be about quality rather than quantity, right? You know, as in "best".

Liquid Ocelot (call me Liquid) @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:42PM

@Nick

"you pay upwards $200 for Rock Band when it comes out"

Not sure where you buy Rock Band, but mine was $170....

JKPierce @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:24PM

Any company that's willing to continue support of an already phenomenal title is alright with me.

I've never understood the complaints about (the majority) of downloadable content, as it is. If one does not like the service, or the price, one can always not purchase it. It's a concept that is pervasive in every single argument about said content, but fundamentally nonsensical. Unless the content is to 'fix' a poor game for a ridiculous price, as in Stranglehold's case. But that is extremely rare.

That's not even taking into account that the business model works. With the songs available, at least for Rock Band, selling millions upon millions--even with the download-sharing capabilities of the PlayStation Network--it's difficult to say they're not doing something very right.

Varone @ Mar 23rd 2008 9:30PM

Why did you only include games which offer songs as a download?

Before I'd even seen the options Motorstorm was clear in my mind.

ClarkyCat @ Mar 23rd 2008 10:01PM

I went with the final option.
I think it's repugnant that content already developed is witheld from release simply so developers can charge more at a later date. They all seem to be jealous of the self-renewing cheque that is the MMO, so they have to find some way to squeeze a few more bucks I suppose. It's probably going to get to the stage where the retail copy of the game is simply a demo that authorises you to pay and download for the rest of the levels etc.
I applaud however genuine DLC, like that for Wipeout Pure on the PSP. Lots more tracks, music and cars, and not one penny charged for them. Good show.

JKPierce @ Mar 24th 2008 12:13AM

Y'know how you can buy something, right? And when the company that made said product comes up with stuff that makes it better, that 'development time' costs--y'know--time and money.

As of right now, the development process is already long, and the costs are dramatic for the developers. Really, sixty dollars for a brand new game is a steal.

To think that they would stop supporting the product they wanted to create, or simply give away their efforts for free is ludicrous. And there's always that consumer mantra that everyone with this extremely tired argument forgets; vote with your wallet.

ClarkyCat @ Mar 25th 2008 9:42PM

I do vote with my wallet though, I don't buy any of it. I wasn't hypocritically saying "I bought all this stuff and feel robbed!"
There are 2 types of DLC.
1 - Content that was developed before the game was shipped but was left out.
2 - Content that wasn't developed in time for shipping due to extra time/cost requirements.
I have no problems parting with a few bucks for content that the developers put a lot of extra time and resources into, content that actually adds something worthwhile to the game. Rather than a character skin or some other menial content. What I can't stomach is when the game is finished, the developers take a look and say "Cut this, this and this, we can market it as DLC later." That's not "supporting" a product, it's gimping it and then patching it essentially.
I don't expect to get extra content for free, I expect to get the full game I paid for when I went and BOUGHT the game. Not a lot to ask. Yes development costs have gone up, but game sales have gone up more than enough to reciprocate this.

Organic_Shadow @ Mar 23rd 2008 10:20PM

Folklore wasn't listed, so I chose Rock Band.

For those bashing RB because of the price of the game + DLC, keep in mind that they said they are going to make sure all RB DLC you've purchased automatically works in RB2, whenever it comes out.

Haiddasalami @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:53PM

really cause that would be awesome. any link?

aiko.adonia @ Mar 24th 2008 3:10AM

i would've said folklore because it had a good mix of free and pay content that was pretty well timed. for the purposes of the poll i chose singstar as it gives you more choices than just 3 or 4 songs but i just would like to see them do more updates on a reliable 2 per month schedule. also the store is just better from what i've seen of it. then again my opinion may not count for much considering i have neither rock band, singstar, guitar hero 3 (at least on ps3 anyways).

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Of these, which has the best downloadable content?
	Guitar Hero III.
	SingStar.
	Rock Band.
	These games are over-hyped and mediocre.
	I don't think DLC is a good idea in general.

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