The SNES launched in 1991. I had one that Christmas. I was 11, which would have made you what, 2? I'm not trying to be a douche about your age, but simply saying that this generation is the first gen you've experienced as an adult. When we're kids, our view point is a bit different and nostalgia clouds what little we DO get right.

And yes, most developers don't release complete games. They make the game, keep 30% for DLC, and then release the rest for $10.00 more. You're paying 80,90..even $100.00 for experiences you use to pay $50.00 for. As for the whole "they put man hours into it" thing, they use to do that 10 years ago, only it was shipped on the disc and included in the original price.

They have the right to do what they want, but that doesn't change the fact that DLC had been abused an exploited for the purpose of making more for less. If you don't mind, fine. But facts are facts.

Haven't checked this thread in a long time, but regarding game length or content/DLC I have these words to say:

Some games appear to be longer back in the days. Don't get me wrong. Games from the NES and SNES have always been short. But the transition to 3D made games longer. But often with shady methods, mostly backtracking. It was very common back then, but those times changed. Corridor shooters have died out, because they forced you to go through the levels several times to find a new door that can be opened or a key card/other items.
Therefore COD campaigns may only be 5 hours long, but isn't that better than Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Marathon or some of the early Medal of Honor games where you keep fighting the same enemies in the same environments ?

Now about Soul Calibur IV. What makes you so sure forevercloud that Vader and Yoda should've both been in all versions from the start ? Did the Gamecube version of SCII have the Xbox exclusive character Spawn for example ?
I think not. Therefore putting DLC on the disc save the company money. They need to pay Microsoft or Sony for every traffic they cause to their servers.

So what are those 30% you keep talking about ? Certainly not on disc dlc, because those are incredibly tiny compared to the whole product.
And what DLC is 1/3 of the total length of a game ? Must be the longest DLC ever.

Spawn wasn't in the GC version of SCII because Link wasn't going to be in the Xbox version, since he is a Nintendo character. That problem doesn't exist in Soul Calibur IV since Vader and Yoda aren't Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft characters.

But he could've been on the Gamecube version too. Spawn is not owned by Microsoft. Don't you think that nowadays there would be Heihachi and Spawn DLC ?
In Street Fighter X Tekken the PS3 version has 3 exclusive characters, while the 360 version has zero.

Assassin, Berseker and Lizardman would be DLC as well, and probably more characters.

No idea what you're talking about now. You need to explain that post.

Those are characters from Soul Calibur II... now the question is if you want to know why they would be DLC.

XCOM is not an FPS it's the best turnbassed stratergy game in years. The FPS is in development hell, and rumours suggest that it's 3rd person now.  

And also non FP games in just this year. Sleeping Dogs, Darksiders 2, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Mass Effect 3, Soulcalibur V, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Twisted Metal, Binary Domain, Silent Hill: Downpour, Ninja Gaiden 3, Prototype 2, Game of Thrones, Dragon's Dogma, Max Payne 3, Inversion, Dirt: Showdown, Lollipop Chainsaw, Spec Ops: The Line, Risen 2: Dark Waters, Resident Evil 6, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Assassin's Creed III, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Hitman: Absolution an more.

And that isn't even including downloadable PC, and portable games, and also ignoring licensed stuff. There are games for everyone these days.

Okay I only remember Lizardman.

But that doesn't explain why Soul Calibur II has less characters overall and less bonus characters than Soul Calibur IV. Why weren't those DLC ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Soul_characters