Insomniac Games seems to be pre-empting some kind of backlash to its first DLC pack for Marvel’s Spider-Man, as when asked to describe the scope of the expansion, creative director Bryan Intihar pondered whether people will ever be satisfied with how much content is included. To be fair, gamers can be a demanding lot, and no matter how much time and effort the Burbank developer has invested into The Heist, the studio probably knows that it’s ultimately going to be judged by how many hours it adds to the core experience.
“Our job is to deliver something of a very high quality that matches what we did in [the main game],” he told Game Informer. “So our focus was to deliver something with a great story that furthers the experience of what you started with [and] adds more activities in the world.”
It sounds like the Black Cat centred story will include "more than four story missions", but there’ll also be new side activities for you to complete within the open world itself. In addition, the company’s incorporating additional suits, as well as some new Photo Mode content which it reckons is pretty “funny”. Our concern is that it winds up being similar to the Tombstone quest line in the main game, which you could beat in about 20 minutes – but Intihar concluded that he’s really pleased with the final product, so we’ll see.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 62
They shouldn't have done DLC in the first place just like God of War and just start working on the new Spider-Man sequel
I'm on board already. And New York is the best, like my friend Word up Son says.
The thing is the season pass is only around £16 which is a lot cheaper then most season passes (Ubisoft and EA would charge double that if they had the licence) and if it offers more of the same with the base game with some cool story moments then I can't see the problem.
New story, new missions, new suits. Sold.
Thanks for speaking on my behalf I guess.
@GKO900 What makes you think they aren't doing that already? It's all well and good saying that "they shouldn't make DLC" but a lot of people will have wanted them to make DLC in the first place. After Horizon came out many were wanting an expansion so they made it. It was similar with GoW with loads wanting an expansion again. As a business it would be silly to not ignore that and Sony obviously knew that people would want Spiderman DLC.
As long as the DLC is longer than the tombstone side missions, I don't see any problem.
That and it adds more side activities and suits.
@GKO900
Depends on how much the DLC actually expands the game. God of War was a satisfying, complete experience and the developers didn't need to do an expansion and it was a bit refreshing to see that approach. That said, Horizon Zero Dawn was also a complete experience right out of the box but The Frozen Wilds was a very well done expansion and it was cool that Guerrilla Games took the time to do that for the fans. If this DLC is done right, it'll be a nice addition to an already great game.
@adf86
It's also 3 expansions, I'm actually expecting each on its own to be relatively short but when added up it'd be around what you expect from something like this. It'll probably be like the two pieces of DLC released for Sunset Overdrive. Not tons of hours but what was there was more than worth it for the asking price.
@gamer83 What was the Sunset Overdrive DLC like?
@adf86
New weapons and other cosmetic items and added extra story missions. Can't remember if it added more side activities, been a while. For me, both took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to complete so about 3-4 hours total. I do tend to play stuff a little slower than others though, I get sidetracked easily.
@gamer83 Sounded pretty reasonable then, I expect it'll be similar here.
I never liked DLCs to begin with.
"Expansion" is one thing "DLC" is another, but I don't really care, I stopped buying games on release date because of this. Spiderman is a game I really want to play, not only he is my favorite hero but I also dream with a game like this since the first Batman Arkham, but I'll only buy this game, when the truly complete experience comes, they usually call it "GOTY version" or whatever, I estimate that will come next year, some months after the three DLCs.
@adf86 I feel like people forgot the point of DLC now, this was planned and not because people ask for it but for businesses purposes and does this game really need it DLC, I know some people are used to get DLC now but they expect more than just a couple items missions etc. because they paid 60 for the game plus the season pass that's why I said they are better off without DLC
@Gamer83 Are you saying Spider-Man is not a satisfying complete experience!?
I thought God of War should have had an expansion. 🤔
Still haven’t played this game yet, crazy right? I’ll get to it eventually.
@GKO900
Haven't beat it yet, but so far so good.
@VRDart same boat as you agree 100%. Then again I do wait for sale too🙈🙊🙉
@get2sammyb
Didn't need one, but I'd have definitely bought it. Still my Game of the Year right now, with only RDR 2 left as a real challenger.
As to the article line, when there is a nice open world built, I don’t understand why they don’t fill it with more story DLC. Breath of the Wild being a top contender for a game that i would have loved to keep playing. I’m always worried if we’ll get another FC5 DLC instead of Witcher 3, though I’ll guess this will lean more towards the latter.
After just getting my platinum yesterday ill dive back in once all DLC is done. If I get to punch Silver Sable just once, it’ll be worth the price tag.
Boo hoo who cares the game sucks I hit bored with it within 30 minutes of playing. There's nothing new that the other spiderman games haven't covered an some were even better (ultimate spiderman?) and even lego marvel you could travel to the statue of liberty. It's just a boring ps4 cash cow cause the world needed another spiderman game like it needed another marvel movie... Bland
@PS_Nation. hahaha definitely playa. new york is the best.represents word up son
I've always thought the issue was that the DLC was announced way ahead of release. Personally, I always feel uneasy when that's the case, but I won't mind if there's a lot of effort put into it.
It's a long wait until sequel. I loved Spider-man, will support the DLC provided the contents expand on the story, not just some challenge missions.
@Bazinga66 dude we don’t deal with blatant,fanboy trolls here so move along
@DerMeister
There's no issue in announcing early. The issue is its released not long after the main game making us believe it could simply have been in the main game to start with. All the more so if its very short.
Edit:
I know this won't be popular but I think If this was EA I'm sure there would have been an outcry long ago.
I don't like this version of black cat. She can probably cut open glass cases containing diamonds with that chin.
"Are People Ever Satisfied with How Much You Give Them?", let's be clear Insomniac isn't "giving" anyone anything, they are SELLING extra content, that was clearly in development before the game went gold mind you, separate from a recent product for more money, hence it is very reasonable for any gamer to judge said separate priced product.
Personally if DLC is being developed before the game goes gold then yes it is cut content from the UNRELEASED and STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT product, period!
The chances are that the vast majority of Dlc developered goes into production before a game is shipped anyway. Also Dlc gets announced before a game releases cos its telling consumers that the game is going to be supported well after launch and you know what? It works cos the majority will buy the game and DLC then wait for a "complete edition".
@get2sammyb I also thought gow should of had an expansion
Maybe the reason that people are so often miffed with DLC is that it's nearly always ridiculously overpriced for what you get. If a game costs £40 and the DLC is £10 then you can't really say "oooooh gamers just expect so much these days!" because they're expecting the content to be roughly a quarter the size of the main game. And it mostly never is. That's just maths.
Will people ever be satisfied with how much content is included?
Uh, yeah, they can be. The Witcher immediately comes to mind.
I thought GoW was a decent length game, I'd rather get the sequel faster and no DLC.
Will people ever be satisfied with how much content is included?
Uh, yeah, they can be. The Witcher immediately comes to mind.
I thought GoW was a decent length game, I'd rather get the sequel faster and no DLC.
People getting mad at Spiderman for offering 3 stories as DLC for £16 just because they may be short regardless of their quality. Yet I've seen plenty on here defending Assassin's Creed which offers you just an xp boost for £10 to help fix the extra bit of grind they put in to accomadate it.
For me I'll always put my money up for some story DLC long before I consider microtransactions and I really enjoyed the story in this one so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes
@dark_knightmare2
They joined today and appears they might of just joined to make this post, which if true is beyond sad and pathetic.
Haven't bought the Season Pass, yet. I'll wait for the reviews on all the expansions first before deciding.
I want to play Spiderman but the talk of DLC before the game even released put me off buying it. I am really struggling to think of a good season pass content to price wise. With most games having season passes that's quite damning. If God of war announced an expansion now I feel that's a great way of doing it the game has been out long enough not to fell cheated. Thought Horizon got it spot on with Frozen wilds.
@bindiana
witcher 3 best season pass ever, its two dlc had more content than most full games, first was around 15 hours of content second easily 30 hours plus.
amazing amount of content for £20
I agree with the sentiment that pre-planned DLC is a bit annoying, as if content is held back from the original release. DLC that comes out after the game proves to be a commercial success, well that feels more genuine.
However, I have come to grips with the fact that DLC and season passes are what is keeping the cost of games down. Games these days have no right to still be $60, so the fact that I have the option to buy a slightly neutered version on release for $60 or wait a year and get the complete game for $40 is fine by me if other people are paying $80-$90 for the complete game via season passes and DLC and thereby this keep the price down for me.
@suikoden I have never played the Witcher but have heard the Season pass was very meaty and well done. There are probably a couple more that have been well done but overall season passes are usually disappointing. My estimation probably less then 5% are good value. I also find I usually have stopped playing the game before all the content is out. Take Ni No Kuni 2 is the first expansion even out yet I sold that game 6 months ago after getting the platinum.
@bindiana
witcher is the rare example of a good season pass, most are not worth the money
I'd be happy if games were finished before they released. Is that too much?
You can never give too much if its great quality, not just filler but you can deliver not enough. I doubt anyone complained about the Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC - more content than some full priced AAA games (look at the Order 1886 as an example) and that wasn't 'filler' either.
You can look at Destiny year 1 DLC - £20 for new MP maps, 3/4hr Story, Co-op (strikes/raid), gear to obtain yet wasn't enough for the money. At the time, most DLC was around £12-15 and you either got a few MP maps or a 1-2hr story so charging £20 was seen as a lot of money for DLC despite having 'more' overall than both an MP and Story pack combined.
I am not saying that any of these DLC's are fair priced, offer enough content etc or not - just that perception is individual and price often determines what is 'acceptable'.
Season Passes, which save gamers money if they intend to buy ALL additional DLC content, is often a point of contention for some. £40 for CoD/BF with 4 (or more) DLC packs that normally cost £12 each isn't excessive for some yet £40 for Destiny was excessive despite having the equivalent of two (or more) DLC content. Batman: Arkham series DLC Season Pass was 'expensive' - especially as some was just cosmetics and the Story modes were around an hour long at most.
I bought AC: Origins Season Pass (part of the Gold Edition) and enjoyed that, I have bought many CoD season passes, The Witcher 3 Season Pass (twice - PS4 and XB1), Destiny Season Passes, Far Cry 5 Season Pass etc and in most cases, I haven't been disappointed.
Pre-planned DLC/Season Passes usually means pre-planned revenue stream; it's not the same as post release support.
There are two main camps I think: those dev's needing to make a deadline but have more content and extra stories that they couldn't complete before release; and dev's in Insomniac's situation slaved to a multi-million dollar franchise tasked to create extra content/exclude content from the main game for the purpose of post release revenue.
Dev's like Guerilla are the best example of post release support I think. They provided incredible post release support for their Killzone games, only some of it requiring extra purchases. Horizon did brilliantly well, so they made some more to sell.
Whether you agree with it or not is something else entirely. Enjoy a game enough that you're willing to buy more beyond your £50 purchase? Great go for it. I'll probably buy the Ace Combat 7 Season Pass myself - am I willing to stump up for Spider-Man? Nope. Not given the breadth and scope of previous Spider-Man games
@carlos82 100% This. Would rather buy DLC post launch having a game that sells booster packs to make the game less of a grind.
@bindiana I can only speak for what I've bought but I'd say Horizon, The Witcher 3, Drive club and Resogun were games that had reasonably priced season passes that I felt more justified it's price point.
@adf86 Horizon wasn't a season pass though was it? The DLC was done well though. One you could throw into the mix is Uncharted 4 as that got you Lost Legacy.
@AyanamiReign Finally someone gets it.
To be honest if I didn't like a game I wouldn't buy the DLC. If I did like the game (Like Spiderman) and played it for 50-100 hours, I don't know if I would want more after spending so long with it.
@Bazinga66 There is always a minorty who screams like a spoiled brat. Most people liked the game so much maybe be a big boy and accept there are some things you like less. Yeah there are more people in the world deal with it.
@carlos82 I know plenty of people who never buy games like AC because of bad decisions like booster packs and other mtx practices. What these companies and game journalist don't understand is people, like myself and many others, who used to buy games from these Triple A companies no longer buy them because of crap like this, only thing is there are no statistics or charts to show this because these companies don't look at those who stopped buying their games at all, after all you can't count a number if that number doesn't exist.
Gamers who buy into MTX in triple A games today are not the same gamers these triple A companies survived and flourished off of to get where they are now, these companies are literally surviving off of a younger generation that have no clue on how bad they have it when compared to the previous generation, notice how the vocal gamers complaining are the ones who grew up with the snes, N64, ps1, ps2 ect.
The ones who constantly defend mtx and pre release dlc make claims that games are more expensive to make, not realizing everything that factors into why they are much more expensive to develop than they were back then. Software and other programming accessories are actually much cheaper now then they were in the past, disc based media and digital content are a thousand times cheaper compared to then, the only thing keeping game development at a high cost is the management of these companies who earn millions a year for doing absolutely nothing to earn their bloated paychecks, excessive unnecessary advertisement, overly paid CEOs and COOs, and greedy investors whom only concern is a return on the investment they put into a game, just look at how so many companies that earn hundreds of millions every year suddenly can't to pay developers and shut down studios, but yet somehow brag about earning millions in the same year while claiming even without MTX games like BFII won't hurt their bottom line.
These companies earn more than enough to thrive off of even a moderately well selling game, the is and has always been the useless weight know as management, investors and overly expensive ads, that's it.
The only CEO who actually took a paycut and responsibility for their failures was Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata, if it were EA, Activision, Blizzard, Ubisoft, WB, Square Enix, Sega, Capcom, Microsoft ect they would shut a studio down and let the crew go before their management ever sacrifices a single cent for their devs. These Triple A companies do not care and they are known to lie at any chance just to make their investors and the management wealthier.
The answer is actually yes mate, yes we can be satisfied; The Witcher 3 DLC...everyone was happy with length, quality and they greatly added to the primary game experience. So if they are ever in doubt they can always look at that example. We are a demanding lot aye, but we are so willing it fork it up when good effort is shown.
The problem is the Black Cat content is very clearly cut from the main game only to be sold to us later. A load of collectibles in game that do nothing but set up content you don't even own yet. That's just scum tactics.
@adf86 You beat me to it I was going to say the same thing it's not like it's an extra £40 ($60) which is the price of another full game.
@malbhet You should go watch Jim Sterling your last part you said is the exact video he's just uploaded about
I only paid 10€ for the three additional DLCs, so I don't count playtime hours when it's that cheap. For me, it will be exactly what I want this DLC to be: a good excuse to get back into the game after getting 100%
@Nakatomi_Uk thanks for letting me know about this guy, I literally just subscribed to his channel after watching a few of his videos just now lol:D
I'm actually surprised and happy I'm not the only one who think the same way tbh.
@JoeBlogs I don't deny that many games today are great, I'm saying I don't bother with greedy publishers who ruin games through their greedy business practices, I'd rather spend my money on games, like Phantom Trigger, Bayonetta, Azure Striker Gunvolt, Octopath Traveler ect rather than waste money and precious time grinding through the crap spewed out by scamming published like EA, 2K, WB, Activision, Bandai Namco or Ubisoft.
I absolutely believe games look and play better today than they have in the past, but that's due to the developers and advancement in technology and design. The point I'm making is these companies are completely lying about microtransactions, loot boxes, and even dlc being a requirement in order to stay in business. If developing games meant there was no money to be made then investors would never even be investing in the game industry to begin with. The only time investors are interested is when a market is already profitable, hence why companies like EA, 2K and Activision have enough money to give management, like Patrick Söderlund, a golden parachute as bait to remain at their company to continue screwing gamers over. As much money as they threw away to entice clowns, like Patrick Söderlund, to stay they could easily spend that amount of money releasing a complete game to ensure better sales and pay their devs a better wage, but no they decided to try bribing a scam artist to remain at their company instead.
@dark_knightmare2 Really fan boy? When I play on both consoles an own both consoles. It's called freedom of speech and having an opinion.. BTW there's a capital D at the beginning of dark.. Try not to be to salty in future
@Flaming_Kaiser..hmmm OK.. Dc fan huh? Lol
@Bazinga66 You just made your account a day ago and proceed to make your first post attention grabbing as possible so don’t come at me acting like you were just trying to share your “opinion”
hahahaha yep i knewww this would happen, I'm taking bets the DLC will last you about 15-20 mins
Tap here to load 62 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...