After the insane amounts of free Burnout Paradise DLC that Criterion has released, it's hardly surprising that the developer has decided to get paid for its next batch of downloadable treats.
The upcoming Big Surf Island update for the ball-out racer was previously touted as free content, like previous DLC packages, but Criterion has confirmed that it will instead be "premium paid-for content".
It didn't reveal a price, but to be fair the update looks bloody brilliant so we wouldn't mind handing over a few quid.
Along with a few brilliant screenshots, Criterion justifies the charge in saying: "We never expected to create anything this ambitious for the island, but as it progressed we got more and more excited about what it could become."
It added: "Big Surf is the culmination of everything we learned creating Paradise City, and we want it to bring you a truly spectacular new experience - the highlight of a year of incredible premium content.
"We appreciate the support we know you guys will give us for our paid content. We think it's worth it."
New shots of the island are below, and you can read more about the new setting on the official site.
Well, before they had their DLC free because they were trying to get support for their online release, and the Ultimate Box, so I can't blame them for asking us for a bit of money for their biggest update yet.
Whether I will be purchasing it or not really depends on the other releases out at that time.
Is it me, or is the PS store and xbox marketplace conning us?
I mean developers release an incomplete game for £40, then release a load of stuff afterwards which should be in the game from the start. So basically we are payin about £50-£60 for the full experience. Im not saying this about burnout though, they have been very good with their game and the DLC.
Criteron have been brilliant so far with the free DLC I suppose it's not too muc to ask to have to pay to play this one. Then again thinking what stuff was added to the original game which should have been in the original game makes me wonder if they've been praised too much. Yes brilliant support and a wealth of DLC after release, but some of it should have already been in place. I'd hate to see an original Burnout Paradise copy now and see how it pales compared to now.
I've no problem with Criterion charging for this. They've supported BP wonderfully with free content for the best part of a year and all of it has been top quality stuff. I hope more developers take note instead of releasing crappy, overpriced DLC just to add a new weapon/car/skin/etc.
I think *we* can certainly tell developers what we expect by puchasing this from Criterion and making them a s**t-load of money. When a dev goes all out to provide DLC that actually enhances a (year old nearly!) game it may give other devs food for thought.
Unfortunately, this probably means there will be no new race routes that cross from the old area to the new island. cuz some people will have it and others won't. I dont mind payin' for this but I was lookin forward to racing cross the new bridge
Is it me, or is the PS store and xbox marketplace conning us?
I mean developers release an incomplete game for £40, then release a load of stuff afterwards which should be in the game from the start. So basically we are payin about £50-£60 for the full experience. Im not saying this about burnout though, they have been very good with their game and the DLC.
Ding ding, we have a winner. Well, almost. Developers are certainly making more use of XBL and PSN to get more money. A good example is Tomb Raider: Underworld, a very short game, with the promise of more levels TBC via DLC. Even if it were possible to say the data exceeds DVD capacity, PS3 owners would still argue that more content could be supplied on Blu-ray.
FIFA '09 language packs (free) comes to 7-8GB. Whilst you're not paying actual money for those - you're still using HDD space. This sort of stuff should have been on the Blu-ray to begin with - although it is clear it wouldn't all fit on a 360 DVD9 (explaining the 'dumbing down' to a XBL - and so PSN - release). It is just as well the PS3's HDD can be significantly upgraded, though I'm not sure about the 360's 60GB / 120GB drives in the medium term.
On another note - Rosie, to get to the new island on Burnout Paradise, you'll have to cross a bridge...
I really hate the argument that "DLC = you bought an incomplete game".
As if nobody should be allowed to add content to a game that was already released.
DLC, when done properly, is a brilliant thing. It adds longevity to titles I'm already enjoying. I don't feel ripped off, because I'm not being forced at gunpoint to download any of it.
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