Dark Souls & DLC Annoucements Before Release

There is two topics I'd like to tackle today. First off I will talk about a sequel to a game that did not receive enough attention from RPG lovers and that they should not pass up now. The second thing is an issue that has been slowly creeping in... DLC... Furthermore, release day DLC. 

Dark Souls (PS3 Exclusive)

Dark Souls is the "sequel" to Demons Souls in the aspects of concepts and execution, but it is set on a similar yet different world. Thus it is not a direct sequel to the story, but instead to the feel and gameplay. Dark Souls still offers the same kind of intense action within the dungeons and encounters with terrifying enemies along with the different type of online system that makes this game very unique. The developers said that this game will have a world that allows for fluid exploration between all locations; I get the feeling that he meant to convey that it would be like oblivion, but without loading screen.


Demon Souls was successful in the long run, but even today it seems easily overshadowed by other JRPG games. The most common turn off of this game is the difficulty level and yes Dark Souls will be just as hard; so if you do not like hard games neither of these is for you. It seems like story and decision making will not be a driving force as in western RPGs, but the combat is definitely very complex and engaging; a little mistake gets you killed easy. Japanese RPGs have been "dying" because of their attempt to westernize according to a lot a gamers, but the mild success of this game and Monster Hunter 3 show how Japanese developers are trying to approach the RPG fight through the gameplay instead of the story. I think the next step would be a game where the elements of complex fighting found here and story line decisions found in western games are blended into one (A game that seems to be approaching this is The Witcher 2).

I just thought it was worth to mention that this game plans to release for 2011 holiday season (Nov/Dec...ish) because any fan of the western RPG style would probably like to give this game a big chunk of their time.

Sources:
Game Trailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dark-souls/13855
IGN: http://ps3.ign.com/objects/086/086623.html

DLC (Down-Loadable Content)

My opinion of DLC is utterly negative. I do not want DLC to become the only way to purchase and sell games. Although it is convenient for both customer and developers in many aspects it will completely cut out the factor of supply and demand as well as destroying a second market option (unless a way to "share" games is created). I feel that people are taking this change far too lightly. If a full scale change to DLC happens people will be saying good bye to being able to share games with friends, re-selling games that you hated or finished, price drops, and possibly collection items. However, you will NOT be saying farewells to piracy! (I'd argue that it could make it easier), but I am sure that hackers and programmers will find a way to pirate games. Now tell me is it worth it to go this way? I don't think so... I may be proven wrong, but I highly doubt that companies will not take advantage of the DLC power to exploit more money from honest customers. In other words, I think that honest customers will lose a lot of flexibility in exchange for convenience by implementing this system, while pirates and hackers would have a much better flexibility and the same convenience. Are you sure about moving in this direction?
(PS: I do not buy or support any kind of DLC products that do not allow for me to literally own the product aside from Netflix because I still consider it a 'rental' system)

Developers are taking advantage of the DLC systems already to get more money. YTF are developers and publishers announcing DLC for a game that has not even been released yet!? I mean they want to sell you "extra" content the first day of release. I am sorry but shouldn't that content be on the disk already? It was created before the release.... people argue that the content was not meant to be on the primary story to begin with to justify the 'extra' and to this I agree. However, I would also agree that the efforts they put into this extra content could have been used in creating a more robust and fulfilling game than the one being sold to me at full price. Of course companies choose the path of making extra instead of more robust in order to make more money.... Overall I would say that developers should emphasize on making each section separately and please do not make DLC for release day unless is free. -.-

Do you support/like DLC? Do you disagree with me? Why?
After you answer that think about this:
What do you do with DLC from a big game after you are done? What can you do? Will your friend who borrowed your game enjoy that DLC as well? Will you be able to get extra cash for trading in/selling you copy of the game?

One example of this that is disappointing:
Dragon Age 2 - Exiled Prince DLC Trailer (from GT)