Downloadable Content: A Good or Bad thing for the Roster?

[Big-Cat]

Alternatively, the character data could be hidden from you, until you've officially purchased the proper character.

This is pretty much the case in most games. The DLC you're buying is actually a key to unlock them. In fact, this is exactly why the size of the DLC isn't very big.

In terms of patches, they'd probably work the same way as Mario Kart 7's update; the patches would only be applied online, but will not affect offline matches.

That would be terrible, especially for Smash. Patches should apply to online AND offline.

What I'm wondering is if DLC characters will be allowed at tourneys and/or will affect the tier list at all. Mortal Kombat 9 banned DLC characters at last year's EVO, but allowed said characters for this year's EVO some months ago, so I really don't know. Then if there are DLC stages, it also comes into question as to whether or not they will be evaluated for competitive legality.

Well, we got to look as to why DLC characters would be banned. Take Tekken Tag 2. If you pre-ordered the game, you get early access to Michelle, Kunimitsu, Ancient Ogre, and Angel. Otherwise, you have to wait for the time release to lift to get them and the other six characters they're promising (they're mostly clones for fanservice BTW). As a result, they're banned at tournaments because not everyone has equal access to them.

The characters would definitely contribute to the tier list. There's no reason why they wouldn't.

Here's where I stand on DLC. DLC characters, stages, etc. should ideally all come together in an update title DLC. Whether it should be free or not is another story. That's up to Nintendo as that DLC is time and resources that could've gone into something else. Characters added should result in them rebalancing the roster with their inclusion in mind. This goes back to the title update. Instead of having them available one by one, sell them in a bundle. Overall, I would like it to be free (who wouldn't?) or at least at a reasonable price. If they insist on doing on disc DLC, make it a time release, not something we have to pay for.

 

[Claire Diviner]

This is pretty much the case in most games. The DLC you're buying is actually a key to unlock them. In fact, this is exactly why the size of the DLC isn't very big.

I was pretty sure Capcom were the only ones that do this. Unless they're the most notorious. I haven't heard or read anything similar from other companies, unless you imply Nintendo would do the Capcom Disk Locked Content idea.

 

[SamBananas]

The only worry I have towards character DLC is the chance of over populating the game. Some games(I'm looking at you Rock Band), IMO, go a bit far with releasing material so frequently. As long as they keep a steady continuity with new content, I'm all for DLC. Seeing some characters they missed or picking up a new stage or two every couple of months would be fine by me. Especially seeing as the release dates between the games are a solid 5-7 years apart. I mean, imagine if Brawl had DLC and picked up on all of the new games/content Nintendo has put out on the Wii and 3/DS.

Balance patches would be a must. It would be cool to see how certain characters managed for the first few days/weeks a new character was released before the next patch came out.

 

[Big-Cat]

I was pretty sure Capcom were the only ones that do this. Unless they're the most notorious. I haven't heard or read anything similar from other companies, unless you imply Nintendo would do the Capcom Disk Locked Content idea.

They do that kind of thing for compatibility reasons. Going back to the Tekken Tag 2 example, those that didn't pre-order the game still have those characters on their disc and can be seen when playing against others online. Those that didn't pre-order can play against those that did with no problems as a result.

If they're doing a patch that includes buyable DLC, they have to include that buyable DLC in their patches. In fact, Capcom did that with the last set of DLC costumes for SF4. You had to download a free patch just to see them. If you didn't download the free patch, the game reverted to the default costumes if the data was not detected on your console.

 

[Ember Reaper]

You worded it fine. My post was actually directed to Ember Reaper.

Yeah I understand for business services. There's nothing I can really say to it because I'm extremely biased against the concept of money. That's just me. It should be about pleasing us, the fans. but a business is a business

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

The only worry I have towards character DLC is the chance of over populating the game. Some games(I'm looking at you Rock Band), IMO, go a bit far with releasing material so frequently. As long as they keep a steady continuity with new content, I'm all for DLC. Seeing some characters they missed or picking up a new stage or two every couple of months would be fine by me. Especially seeing as the release dates between the games are a solid 5-7 years apart. I mean, imagine if Brawl had DLC and picked up on all of the new games/content Nintendo has put out on the Wii and 3/DS.

Balance patches would be a must. It would be cool to see how certain characters managed for the first few days/weeks a new character was released before the next patch came out.

I don't think you have to worry about DLC characters over populating the game. Sakurai indicated that the roster in SSBB was already fairly big. He seems to be against games with large rosters. The general opinion, most agree that we will get between 40-50 characters. If Sakurai decides to release DLC characters, I imagine it will be a one time thing and between 2 and 5 additional characters based on his opinions of SSB rosters.

 

[Pichu4SSB4]

I don't think you have to worry about DLC characters over populating the game. Sakurai indicated that the roster in SSBB was already fairly big. He seems to be against games with large rosters. The general opinion, most agree that we will get between 40-50 characters. If Sakurai decides to release DLC characters, I imagine it will be a one time thing and between 2 and 5 additional characters based on his opinions of SSB rosters.

I really don't understand why Sakurai has such a grudge for bigger rosters, i understand it puts him in a case where balancing is a bigger problem. But it adds more variety to the game, and it won't get so old and repetitive so quickly, kinda like what happened to Brawl.

 

[RomanceDawn]

I really don't understand why Sakurai has such a grudge for bigger rosters, i understand it puts him in a case where balancing is a bigger problem. But it adds more variety to the game, and it won't get so old and repetitive so quickly, kinda like what happened to Brawl.

So did you play Melee less than Brawl and Smash 64 even less than both of them?

 

[Pichu4SSB4]

No, Melee was a much more wast improvement over the previous installment. It added more content and depth rather than what it got rid of, as for Brawl it actually got rid of more than it added if we're speaking depth. Also comparing SSB64 and Melee to Brawl was a bold move, SSB64 was the beginning and was much more innovative. Then Melee came, and expanded it so much more, i just didn't feel Brawl did the same. If you feel otherwise, then i apologize.

 

[Opossum]

Oy vey, don't start a Brawl vs Melee debate here...anything but that...*goes to bomb shelter for incoming war*

 

[Pichu4SSB4]

I'm okay... i'm calm, i do not intend to start anything involving that debate.

 

[Opossum]

Disaster averted. Now on to my opinion on DLC.

I think that if there is any DLC for characters, they'll be free. Just a hunch. I think DLC is more likely for stages and music, however, than for characters.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Disaster averted. Now on to my opinion on DLC.

I think that if there is any DLC for characters, they'll be free. Just a hunch. I think DLC is more likely for stages and music, however, than for characters.

I'd like to think that myself, besides not having characters. If they have characters, their best bet would be either free, or affordably cheap. Not overpriced DLC at like $10. Unless of course its a huge bundle with a stage and 3 character with music

 

[Inawordyes]

I'd rather not see bundles if they're going to not be free. I mean, don't get me wrong, that's a lot of content, and I can see why the price would be justified as something like $10 for all of it, but what if I want the character (assuming there is one), but only have a few dollars? Because I don't have the money to buy everything else in the bundle, I miss out on the character.

I'd much rather that they, if releasing a bundle, also release everything that's in the bundle separately. That way, if I only have enough money to buy the character - which in this example is what I really want compared to everything else in the bundle - I can get the character separately without having to worry about not having enough money to buy the bundle, and with it everything else that I dno't necessarily want as much as I do the character.

 

[8-peacock-8]

3DS version should use QR codes for the DLC.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

This is pretty much the case in most games. The DLC you're buying is actually a key to unlock them. In fact, this is exactly why the size of the DLC isn't very big.

Isn't that only valid with on-disc DLC?

That would be terrible, especially for Smash. Patches should apply to online AND offline.

The problem is, if people want to play offline without the patches, they would most likely have to delete the patches, unless there's an option to disable them.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Isn't that only valid with on-disc DLC?



The problem is, if people want to play offline without the patches, they would most likely have to delete the patches, unless there's an option to disable them.

I think NHL 13 is like that. You can download the updated rosters, but if you wanted to play a game with older versions of the rosters, you simply delete the update, and next time it connects online, you just re-download it.

 

[Ove]

lol Pichu4SSB4. You claim that more characters is equivalent with better replay value. However, Melee is a game with pretty few characters, when you exclude the clones.

Brawl has the most characters, both in numbers and when uniqueness is taking into consideration.

 

[Robert of Normandy]

The problem is, if people want to play offline without the patches, they would most likely have to delete the patches, unless there's an option to disable them.

Sucks to be them. Chances are, if something was patched, it was patched for a reason. Alternativley, there could be an place in the menu where you could select which pathc version you wanted to play with without having to delete it.

 

[Pichu4SSB4]

lol Pichu4SSB4. You claim that more characters is equivalent with better replay value. However, Melee is a game with pretty few characters, when you exclude the clones.

Brawl has the most characters, both in numbers and when uniqueness is taking into consideration.

I just stated my personal view on why Melee lasted longer for me, i'm not going to repeat myself.

 

[Big-Cat]

I'd rather not see bundles if they're going to not be free. I mean, don't get me wrong, that's a lot of content, and I can see why the price would be justified as something like $10 for all of it, but what if I want the character (assuming there is one), but only have a few dollars? Because I don't have the money to buy everything else in the bundle, I miss out on the character.

Sucks to be you then.

 

[Big-Cat]

Isn't that only valid with on-disc DLC?

It also applies to DLC added in via patches, but require you to purchase the unlock code. Again, this is why a number of DLC pieces are really small in memory size. Otherwise, you could be looking at long download times.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

So, random thought I just had.

If they release characters as DLC, what if, after you bought them, there were requirements to unlock them in the game? I mean sure to some people it may be a slap in the face instead of just giving the character to the buyer. It would add extra stuff to do I guess.

For example, Shulk is DLC. You buy him, and then the requirement to actually unlock him is to play on a DLC stage a certain amount of times. Or maybe do a specific task with a certain character.

It sounds dumb when reading it I know, but it could be interesting. At least to me lol

 

[Pichu4SSB4]

So, random thought I just had.

If they release characters as DLC, what if, after you bought them, there were requirements to unlock them in the game? I mean sure to some people it may be a slap in the face instead of just giving the character to the buyer. It would add extra stuff to do I guess.

For example, Shulk is DLC. You buy him, and then the requirement to actually unlock him is to play on a DLC stage a certain amount of times. Or maybe do a specific task with a certain character.

It sounds dumb when reading it I know, but it could be interesting. At least to me lol

That could work, but it wouldn't really be that exciting for the first time because you pretty much know what you're going to get as a result.

I think it would be better if there are requirements you need to accomplish and THEN you can purchase the DLC character. It'd do a big favor in avoiding spoilers.

But that's just what i think, though.

 

[N3ON]

So, random thought I just had.

If they release characters as DLC, what if, after you bought them, there were requirements to unlock them in the game? I mean sure to some people it may be a slap in the face instead of just giving the character to the buyer. It would add extra stuff to do I guess.

For example, Shulk is DLC. You buy him, and then the requirement to actually unlock him is to play on a DLC stage a certain amount of times. Or maybe do a specific task with a certain character.

It sounds dumb when reading it I know, but it could be interesting. At least to me lol

I don't have a problem paying for any and all DLC that might be released for this game, but I think (and I doubt that I'm alone here) that, while I don't have a problem with unlocking stuff in general, I wouldn't want to have to do that for something extra and optional, like DLC.

The only way I wouldn't mind would be, going off your example, if Shulk and a Xenoblade stage came together, and I had to play as Shulk (who didn't have to be unlocked) to unlock the stage or something. I would really not be a fan of buying one piece of DLC and then having to buy another to unlock my first piece. Doing something that came on-disc wouldn't be as bad, but I'd still prefer otherwise.

Also, it would have to be made very clear that the content had to be unlocked beforehand in the DLC shop, or else there would be quite the backlash from people who bought it and didn't immediately see it, as AFAIK it's quite atypical to have to unlock DLC characters.

Overall, I would not be a fan of it.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Unlocking stages through using the DLC characters would probably make more sense. I didn't think about it too much but now that you mention it, unlocking the stages would make more sense.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Hate to double post, but from what i have read, PSASBR will be getting DLC, or at least it is hinted at. So if that game is supported with DLC characters, should Smash Bros. 4 follow suit?

The reason i ask this question, is because PSASBR is a direct competitor with Smash Bros. Of course, Smash Bros. 4 may not need DLC, considering the roster for All-Stars stands at 20 characters without DLC. But I am of the opinion that I welcome more characters no matter the case, even though I still prefer some over others, so for me, the more characters the better.

 

[Aipom]

I feel as though free DLC would be a nice addition to SSB4. As people have been mentioning, it will likely be a long time until there is a 5th installation (if there even will be a 5th). I'm not advocating for a new character every week, but rather, maybe a couple new things every few months. This could be a stage, character, even an event or music. I think it'll keep the game rolling in a nice way

 

[8-peacock-8]

With DLC we could get characters that were cut out.

With DLC we can also get some minor, easier to acquire third parties that are deserving of being in. (Obviously i would suggest limiting this to 2 third party DLC characters. That way the roster isn't flooded) Third Parties like Bomberman and Simon Belmont. (Lul Konami)

Also, PSASBR is doing DLC by making first/second party characters free for the first two weeks. Nintendo could do something similar with their DLC. (Or just do what they did with Mario Tennis Open and make all characters free )

 

[N3ON]

With DLC we could get characters that were cut out.

With DLC we can also get some minor, easier to acquire third parties that are deserving of being in. (Obviously i would suggest limiting this to 2 third party DLC characters. That way the roster isn't flooded) Third Parties like Bomberman and Simon Belmont. (Lul Konami)

Also, PSASBR is doing DLC by making first/second party characters free for the first two weeks. Nintendo could do something similar with their IPs.

Bringing back previous characters, implementing partially programmed characters, or even specifically and deliberately making first/second-party characters DLC (which I personally think is unlikely) is one thing, but I'd say 3rd party DLC, especially from an unrepresented IP, won't be happening, considering all the extra costs, licensing, and paperwork, not to mention Sakurai's view of 3rd party overindulgence and not adding them "willy-nilly".

Plus last time I checked, PSASBR doesn't have any 3rd party DLC yet anyway (not to say that it never will - that game and those developers are obviously more lax about 3rd party inclusion, though most of it seems to be based mostly around advertisement). But yeah, free DLC is always nice, though honestly I haven't even begun to speculate over Smash DLC pricing and promotions, and probably wouldn't unless DLC gets confirmed for SSB4, which won't be happening for a long time anyway.

 

[8-peacock-8]

Bringing back previous characters, implementing partially programmed characters, or even specifically and deliberately making first/second-party characters DLC (which I personally think is unlikely) is one thing, but I'd say 3rd party DLC, especially from an unrepresented IP, won't be happening, considering all the extra costs, licensing, and paperwork, not to mention Sakurai's view of 3rd party overindulgence and not adding them "willy-nilly".

Plus last time I checked, PSASBR doesn't have any 3rd party DLC yet anyway (not to say that it never will - that game and those developers are obviously more lax about 3rd party inclusion, though most of it seems to be based mostly around advertisement). But yeah, free DLC is always nice, though honestly I haven't even begun to speculate over Smash DLC pricing and promotions, and probably wouldn't unless DLC gets confirmed for SSB4, which won't be happening for a long time anyway.

True. Theres a reason why i said that they should limit any possible third party DLC to two characters. So we'd only be stuck with that. (Nothing more. I do think that two more is pushing it though. Even if it's slightly reasonable)

PSASBR will most likely be getting some third party DLC soon actually. (The King of All Cosmos from katamari and Abe from oddworld are the two most likely at the moment)

Anyway, i never said that PSASBR would have third parties as free. I was talking about how the Sony owned characters are free for a limited time. This could work with selling any Nintendo owned DLC. (Not saying it will happen though. It's just an idea)

 

[BKupa666]

At this rate, I think DLC is a good thing, just because this is, in all likelihood, going to be the last Smash made for a looooong time, if not ever.

 

[8-peacock-8]

At this rate, I think DLC is a good thing, just because this is, in all likelihood, going to be the last Smash made for a looooong time, if not ever.

Thats how i see it.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

I somehow think the release rate of the DLC by types might be like this:


- Events (Most easiest to do, no doubt. Hope there's creativity.
- Music (Depends on will the same sound team want to provide more music for long time. Dunno tho)
- Stages (uncommon)
- Characters (Most common, but mostly the "main thing" everyone waits for)

One thing tho: if we'll get DLC characters, what kind of category/importance would be behind the DLC characters? Would Sakurai consider adding fan favorites he couldn't before because he was afraid they'd be not "recognisable" or deemed "unimportant" at the current time?

For example if some character who's from minor or new series (let's say Shulk) but has lots of support. would he/she be given chance to be in Smash 4 by DLC?

 

[8-peacock-8]

I think so. Hell, i see Zael (The Last Story) in that position right now. (I see a lot of support for the guy)

 

[Frostwraith]

I somehow think the release rate of the DLC by types might be like this:


- Events (Most easiest to do, no doubt. Hope there's creativity.
- Music (Depends on will the same sound team want to provide more music for long time. Dunno tho)
- Stages (uncommon)
- Characters (Most common, but mostly the "main thing" everyone waits for)

One thing tho: if we'll get DLC characters, what kind of category/importance would be behind the DLC characters? Would Sakurai consider adding fan favorites he couldn't before because he was afraid they'd be not "recognisable" or deemed "unimportant" at the current time?

For example if some character who's from minor or new series (let's say Shulk) but has lots of support. would he/she be given chance to be in Smash 4 by DLC?

he could put minor (as in, less famous or popular) characters to satisfy certain fans.

Pichu might be a good example. most of the Fire Emblem Lords also fall into this category.

I think the Brawl roster plus Mewtwo and Roy, alongside some newcomers (mostly from previously unrepresented series) is the ideal roster for a start. then, for those interested, there would the DLC characters to try out.

another good idea would be having a preview of the character when browsing the DLC shop.

 

[8-peacock-8]

Nintendo should just release trailers that show off how amazing the characters can be. So that way people can get hyped.

 

[Frostwraith]

Nintendo should just release trailers that show off how amazing the characters can be. So that way people can get hyped.

that way, they could say...

...even more!

 

[8-peacock-8]

that way, they could say...

...even more!

DLM Downloadable Money.



[collapse=Heres some characters i'd want as DLC]Nintendo:
The Forbidden seven (Dr. Mario brought back as a costume)
Vaati
Sylux
Zael (Potential for Xenoblade Vs. The Last Story anyone? )
Muddy Mole
Medusa (Just cause i think she was better than Palutena)
Balloon Fighter (in case he doesn't get in)
Black Shadow
Shulk (If he somehow doesn't get in)
Alexandra Roivas (Represent mature Nintendo games and the Horror genre)

Third Party(NOTE: Limit SHOULD be two)
Bomberman (He's earned it)
Dragon Quest rep (Dragon Quest is just so amazing )[/collapse]

 

[Aipom]

In terms of characters, semi-clones & clones which were removed could be easily added. Download a character, could even come with a small snippet quest in the story mode

Also, maybe an occasional smaller series could be added, or a one-shot cult character from a represented series (many Zelda villains) could work in theory