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Not every video game publisher is out to milk its consumers through DLC – and Deep Silver says that it’s one of them, telling VideoGamer.com that releasing “multiple DLC packages” for Dead Island: Riptide would feel “over the top”.
“We thought about it for quite some while,” Deep Silver’s creative director Guido Eickmeyer told VideoGamer.com, when asked whether the publisher would be placing a greater focus on post-release content for Dead Island: Riptide following the success 2K saw with DLC for rival title Borderlands.
“There will be DLC for Riptide, but we felt that a heavy dose of micro-downloads for a spin-off would feel like milking our target audience. We li..ke the game, we like its scope, but multiple DLC packages would be over the top.”
Publishers have occasionally been criticised by consumers for their approach to DLC.
Capcom is often cited as the worst offender for its reliance on selling content already provided on the disc but, as Activision did with Skylanders, Disney plans to make a business out of selling on-disc DLC with Disney Infinity.
And yes, Deep Silver is still selling Riptide as a spin-off, despite the game featuring the same four characters and the story continuing directly after the events of the original Dead Island.
“It’s the next instalment in the series and we wanted to develop something that builds on the success and feedback of the first game,” Eickmeyer added, “delivering on our open world premise, but still bringing something new to the table.
“Doing a spin-off is the natural move. A sequel – as far as I am concerned – should be something really new, even rethinking fundamentals of the game, something that is more than continuing a successful path.
“We love games and we are still dedicated. The ‘big guns’ in this industry can rely
on doing the same blockbusters again and again, but we need to be creative and
innovative in our strategy.”
In the same interview, Eickmeyer suggested that a next-generation Dead Island – possibly a sequel – could be announced later this year.
Source: VideoGamer.com Interview
