Ubisoft: "Whatever", to those against it's DLC practices.

[Aielyn]

I said it in regards to the Hyrule Warriors "preorder DLC" costumes, and I'll say it again here.

It's the specifics that make the difference. Giving people an option to pay to unlock something that would otherwise require time and effort to unlock isn't a big deal. It's not like you're being prevented from accessing the content on the disc. You're not missing out on any gameplay because you didn't pay for a "time saver". Assuming the game isn't made in a way to make you feel you NEED to get the "time saver", they're not doing anything to force you to get it.

But it's all about the specifics. If they were to make it so that you either do something that requires such extreme precision that you'd have to spend 20+ hours practicing to do it, or pay for it... then it's going too far, and is a case of a game designed to pressure the player into spending more money. But if it's just something that takes a bit of regular gameplay to unlock, I don't see any issue.

Sure, they could have just had a cheat code. Or they could have had a "Super Guide" type feature, or an "Easy Mode", or what-have-you... but it's their prerogative on that point. It'll probably lose them a few sales, and it'll probably earn them a few dollars from people who are OK with it. In the balance, it probably doesn't benefit or harm them. And it doesn't harm the player who simply ignores the existence of this "time saver" entirely.

It's just like how preorder DLC that is just a little trophy (not necessarily literally) to say "hey, you preordered our game, here's a little gift to say thanks", like an alternate outfit for a character that doesn't change anything except appearance, then that's fine. But if the preorder DLC were to make a noticeable difference to gameplay, then it may be a problem. It's all about the specifics.