This was on the frontpage, but not highlighted:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/as-the-valve-turns/valve-keeps-dlc-free-262573.php
http://kotaku.com/gaming/as-the-valve-turns/valve-keeps-dlc-free-262573.php
Even though a handful of extremists are calling for a boycott of Valve's products since they won't be selling the Black Box version of Episode2 in retail stores, I applaud Valve's stance that we buy games, not individual bits of content (horse armor?)Despite having the perfect backbone in place for charging gamers for extra maps, models, etc., Valve is coming out completely against the idea of charging folks for game enhancements. Speaking with Eurogamer, Team Fortress 2 designer Robin Walker pretty much slams every publisher who ever made folks pay for DLC:
"You buy the product, you get the content," Team Fortress 2 designer Robin Walker told us. "We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers."What a great philosophy! I'd daresay there are games out there that I've long since traded in that I would buy again if new free content came out. DLC should be an incentive to buy a game in the first place, adding value to a title to generate more sales. I would much rather have free extra content that is supported by advertising than a $5 map pack any day of the week.