To DLC or not to DLC

[LancerStaff]

I am extremely opposed to any sort of DLC in the Smash games simply because I feel it'd be a very easy way to make things lopsided or doing stupid things like "Oh you didn't buy -insert stage/character- you don't get to play with people who have!" And considering the way Nintendo's 'account' system works I just don't like buying digital things from them.

The same goes for balance updates. I'm ok with patches to fix glitches and things that simply break like the saving glitch in Pokemon X/Y. But balance updates strictly appeal to the tourny goer fanbase and I've always disliked turning on my game one day and patch goes through and oh suddely Charizard can no longer fly or Kirby and Bower and no longer commit murder-suicides. I HATE picking up the game and a character no longer works the same anymore and guess what You can't play with other people online anymore unless you update!

I don't think you need to worry about overbalancing patches, as Sakurai has talked about it and how he wouldn't let it get to that point. At most we'll have a few combos broken and "techniques" like Wavedashing fixed.

Anyway, I doubt we'll see any kind of DLC with a price tag because of the online complications. Even costumes, because Sakurai would just toss them into his famous checklists. Free DLC? Eh. It kinda goes against the "selling a complete game" thing.

 

[DaDavid]

I mean, other fighting games have done the whole DLC thing, how do they handle online play? I see it brought up sometimes as if it's an insurmountable hump but obviously others have done it.

Another thing people bring up is that it'd only be if they decide down the road that some new series needs representation or something, but if they want to do DLC it's something they have to be working into the game right now. The capability anyway, not the content per say.

 

[AIM0001]

I would love to see a season pass. Maybe call it a SMASH PASS? I picture it being offered it 3 ways...
1. 3DS pass
2. WiiU pass
3. Both WiiU and 3DS pass. Obviously this pass being the most costly but perhaps could save you 5-$10 if you just buy them together.

The content should be simple. It should be just 4 new characters that come out every 2 months or so from each other. Each character will include a couple of themes from their respective games. So over a 6 month span you will have all 4 DLC characters. I know people are going to want alt costumes, stages, stage builder add ons etc. But honestly this is all that needs to be included. I'm sure we will have plenty of stages and content in the game as it is.

 

[dezeray112]

I would love to see a season pass. Maybe call it a SMASH PASS? I picture it being offered it 3 ways...
1. 3DS pass
2. WiiU pass
3. Both WiiU and 3DS pass. Obviously this pass being the most costly but perhaps could save you 5-$10 if you just buy them together.

The content should be simple. It should be just 4 new characters that come out every 2 months or so from each other. Each character will include a couple of themes from their respective games. So over a 6 month span you will have all 4 DLC characters. I know people are going to want alt costumes, stages, stage builder add ons etc. But honestly this is all that needs to be included. I'm sure we will have plenty of stages and content in the game as it is.

Well, Mario Golf World Tour is already doing a seasons pass. But I think it could work if done correctly.

 

[Tornado_Man]

Personally I'd rather no DLC, instead fill up the disk to the brim with as much content as possible, and leave it at that. I just prefer a complete game

 

[Thirdkoopa]

I'll agree with most people above and say that DLC characters would be awesome.

This. DLC Modes and stages would also be awesome - Stages would be even easier. Come on Namco Sora LTD. You know people would pay for all stages returning

Also DLC should be crossbuy.

 

[Trav11111]

I would have liked mini smash games for third party characters. They would have break the target, HR contest and basic battle. When you beat the first two with a character they unlock in the core game.

 

[scoutgsg]

I would love to have DLC in Smash like you said they could have little packs released for ex retro stage pack say with some or all the stages from 64. And same for melee. Or could make brand new stages. And then yeah everyone wants characters so fit in some that people really wanted or were cut during development (keep them balanced with no clones( and yeah. Same for new and retro items and music. I pray for dlc

 

[Deleted member]

I'd pay 1000$ to brick the WiiUs of all Ridley detractors

I just hope DLC doesn't soil Smash4's so-far pristine roster with unimportant, uninspired clones like Roy, Dr. Mario and Pichu...I'd be all over 'Packs' like, not selling you one character, one piece of music, one stage, but for example, Bowser Jr. as a DLC character, and he'd come with a Bowser Land stage and a few BJR-related musical pieces for different Mario stages.

I don't see the problem with Roy's inclusion, let alone as DLC. He was an extremely popular veteran after all, and it's not like he couldn't get significant changes to his move set if he returned. Beside, I wouldn't be surprised if DLC had originally planned characters for this game and I'm almost confident that Roy will at least be planned to return (not saying that means he's in the initial roster).

 

[Ulevo]

Personally I'm not a fan of DLC that much. I think this new age of DLC has kind of ruined the potential of a lot of games to some extent, since it leaves room for sloppy initial development on the premise that it can be fixed at a later date. It also means that people rarely get used to a game or let it develop because anything that falls out of line is treated with haste and fixed faster than the audience for the game can adapt to it. I think light balance patches to fix truly problematic things would be good, but I wouldn't want to see much else.

I like the idea of mastering the same chess board over a decade rather than having that same chess board turned in to a checkers board after a year because the old chess board was 'flawed.'

 

[GamerTimeUS]

I don't want characters in DLC because it would cut down on characters for future games.

 

[Deleted member]

I don't want characters in DLC because it would cut down on characters for future games.

I don't understand this logic at all. Sakurai isn't going to deliberately hold characters back for the next game. He treats each game as if it was the last he makes.

 

[Leafeon523]

I'd like to see a lot of dlc within the new game, considering how long we have to wait for new ierations. It's not like COD where you purchase a new game every year and add DLC to that. Things I would like to see as DLC are:
5 New characters ($5 each, or $20 for all 5)
Any cut veterans ($3 each)
New stages ($1 each)
Stages from the other version of the game ($15 for all of them)
Stage builder add ons (??)
Smash run for Wii U (??)
Patches (Free, duh)

 

[Dark Phazon]

We'd get Goku and Shrek in the "We listened to the fans!" Pack.

And you would need a extra hardrive for memory to download the Ridley pack.

 

[Brickbuild101]

I'd like to see a lot of dlc within the new game, considering how long we have to wait for new ierations. It's not like COD where you purchase a new game every year and add DLC to that. Things I would like to see as DLC are:
5 New characters ($5 each, or $20 for all 5)
Any cut veterans ($3 each)
New stages ($1 each)
Stages from the other version of the game ($15 for all of them)
Stage builder add ons (??)
Smash run for Wii U (??)
Patches (Free, duh)

Nuh-uh. The stage is so big, the camera would need to zoom out really far and make a mess. And split-screen? No thanks. ...Although, if it's necessary, I'm OK with having split-screen.

 

[Morbi]

I'd like to see a lot of dlc within the new game, considering how long we have to wait for new ierations. It's not like COD where you purchase a new game every year and add DLC to that. Things I would like to see as DLC are:
5 New characters ($5 each, or $20 for all 5)
Any cut veterans ($3 each)
New stages ($1 each)
Stages from the other version of the game ($15 for all of them)
Stage builder add ons (??)
Smash run for Wii U (??)
Patches (Free, duh)

Wouldn't the "cut veterans" also be $5 according to your price scheme? If a character is $5, why would a different character be $3? Some arbitrary reason?

New stages for one dollar? I wish.

I would love to see Palutena's Temple on the 3DS!

Is stage builder even confirmed to return?

Smash Run is the exclusive mode for Wii U; I doubt offering DLC for it is plausible. We might get DLC for a different Wii U mode though.

 

[Leafeon523]

Wouldn't the "cut veterans" also be $5 according to your price scheme? If a character is $5, why would a different character be $3? Some arbitrary reason?

New stages for one dollar? I wish.

I would love to see Palutena's Temple on the 3DS!

Is stage builder even confirmed to return?

Smash Run is the exclusive mode for Wii U; I doubt offering DLC for it is plausible. We might get DLC for a different Wii U mode though.

Many veterans that have been cut are semi-clones, such as Dr. Mario and Pichu. Since they are easier to develop, I believe they should be cheaper. As for new stages, not every stage needs to be a flashy Rainbow road or Palutena's Temple. Stages could be designed similarly to like Hyrule Castle: Iconic, a couple of gimmicks, but still feasible for having a competitive match on. I can't imagine stage builder not returning, but I can see it being a wii u exclusive.

 

[TheMiddleVeen]

I honestly wouldnt want new Characters as DLC but that is just me. I would love to see new stages get added as DLC though

 

[DaDavid]

The more I see ideas for DLC the more I feel like... yeah, Nintendo wouldn't go for that.

Most of their DLC offerings in the past have been pretty simple things, with Mario Golf's actually kinda being the most substantial in my opinion. I think packs of like, a character, a stage, and the associated music is the most we could expect them to put out, IF that.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

I had an idea for DLC that could help the WiiU version.

I imagine that in the run-up to the WiiU version's release several dropped characters are hinted at and then, a month or so from release, they announce a Smash from the Past DLC pack that will be launched close to release on the WiiU and come to the 3DS later. Bonus points if Snake is included.

 

[Leafeon523]

I had an idea for DLC that could help the WiiU version.

I imagine that in the run-up to the WiiU version's release several dropped characters are hinted at and then, a month or so from release, they announce a Smash from the Past DLC pack that will be launched close to release on the WiiU and come to the 3DS later. Bonus points if Snake is included.

While I like the idea, I think having entirely new characters would help the wii u much more. Supposedly "deconfirmed" characters that are loved by hardcore smash fans (such as Ridley and Toad) could be included in this form.

 

[dezeray112]

Some things that I think they could use DLC for:

- More Playable Characters (either not finished in development, adding characters from future Nintendo titles, possibly transition some assist trophies or Pokeball characters into playable characters?)
- New stages (again either not finished in development or from future Nintendo titles)
- New Items
- New Music
- New Assist Trophies

 

[Johnny Wellens]

I personally dislike when a character's mechanics are messed with after the game's release. I know most love rebalancing and I guess I'd be down if there was a situation where a character was severely OP or UP. But I am 100% down for DLCs with new characters. As long as the same care is taken into creating them as in the original characters and they've not thrown out there willy nilly. If there's a DLC within the first 3 months of the game with 4 - 5 characters that would be upsetting and cause me to worry that the characters wouldn't be complete, or at least not up to snuff.

 

[DaDavid]

Well the addition of any character would require that the staff mess with the mechanics of all the old characters. Can't just throw a new fighter in there and expect him to be "up to snuff" with the rest of the cast if the cast isn't balanced in response to the new fighter.

 

[soviet prince]

I would not expect a 5 character pack, 1 at a time will be the most I see coming

 

[iFlysmn]

At first I was against the idea of DLC additions, but now that I've given it some thought - I wouldn't mind DLC at all, whether it was adding in new stages, alternate costumes for characters or perhaps new characters entirely. I would only want as long as they didn't push out a bunch of quickies for unreasonable prices just to farm money. I would expect the standards to match that of the game, or even higher.

Though from what others have posted here, I do agree - I wouldn't want the base mechanics to change due to additions (such as 'updates' for existing characters).

 

[Showmethesmash]

I like the idea of rolling out dlc that is already on the disk over the next 6 months. New stage, character, events or costume set a month for the first 6 months. Helps bridge the gap between the wii u release and the 3ds release. All for nothing, just gives the casuals a reason to come back more often. I don't think the developers should add anything extra after release, these games are jam packed from the get go, just stagger the release of some of the content to keep it fresh. In saying that, not against dlc and would pay for it.... I just don't ever want dlc to be expected.... That is dangerous for gaming.

 

[Jerry Applesauce]

I wouldn't mind character and stage DLC. Character DLC would be cool but I could imagine it would take a lot of time on the developer's part. I'd probably be happy seeing just stage DLC. I'd like to see some remastered Brawl, Melee, ad 64 stages.

 

[stan423321]

After some pondering, an expansion pack style DLC seems to suit SSB the most (multiple chars, multiple stages, relatively major price, rerelease possibility). And guess what, that's because of balance.

While a lot of people claim dev team does minor balancing job, they are actually trying (although usually in different environment). Unlike games with "teams" so to speak, even one completely broken individual matchup is a problem to them. This means that incremental character development is a pain. If characters are actually developed in batches, one batch upgrade is actually a good idea (maybe with loads of transactions free edition if you prefer it).

 

[D-idara]

Personally I'd rather no DLC, instead fill up the disk to the brim with as much content as possible, and leave it at that. I just prefer a complete game

DLC doesn't mean the game's not complete, I'd rather have 150% than 100%

 

[Deleted member]

Here's a way we could bring back cut characters in this game:

Let's say that we end up with four unfortunate cuts this game; Snake, Ivysaur, Squirtle, and Wolf (although if you wanted, you could swap this with Ike or Jigglypuff). Obviously, due to third-party issues, Snake won't be able to return in any fashion, but what about the other three? Well, these cuts are initially for the 3DS version and are not permanent cuts. Ivysaur and Squirtle were almost certainly cut due to technical issues surrounding their inclusion and Wolf was almost certainly cut due to not having enough time to finish him. Considering that Sakurai has went on the record to say that he recognizes that every character has its own fan base and will do his best to bring them back, he may have to find alternate routes to including these characters.

So what can he do? Use the time between the 3DS & Wii U release to finish ironing out issues with Squirtle & Ivysaur and to finish up Wolf. That means that they'll be able to include all three of these characters from the start on the Wii U version. At the same time, release all these of these character in a pack together as free DLC on the 3DS version for everyone to download. This would mean that the concept of universal roster Sakurai has spoke about would still remain true, the roster would be better overall, and we only have Snake as a permanent cut. Characters like Roy, Dixie Kong, and Bowser Jr. could also make it into the game in a similar fashion; only real difference would be that they weren't Brawl veterans.

Then here's another idea I could see happening specifically for a 3rd gen rep (Blaziken, Sceptile, maybe Plusle & Minun):

The roster for SSB 3DS & Wii U is already finalized. Assuming that planning for OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire started a year before Pokémon X & Y is released; that would mean that the roster had already been decided and as such, a 3rd gen character cannot get in. However (hypothetically speaking), the Pokémon Company is made aware that Sakurai is doing character DLC in this game. Knowing that a 3rd gen character can't be in the initial roster yet still wanting one in Smash, the Pokémon Company seizes an opportunity to push for a 3rd gen rep. Eventually, Sakurai caves in and begins work on adding 3rd gen character/stage as DLC (let's say they start work on July, 2014).

Then on mid-September, 2014, Sakurai announces a new DLC package for the 3DS version, but does not specify. Despite speculation over cut veterans being added back together or even a very highly requested newcomer that missed out on the initial roster, it is revealed at an early October Nintendo Direct that it is a DLC package packed with 3rd gen content. Blaziken is revealed as a playable character, Sootopolis City is revealed as the 3rd gen stage, and musics from OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire are also present (costing $5 to get initially, although when promotional values runs out, is later made free). It is then highly promoted until the DLC releases in early November, 2014; in time to promote the release of OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire later in the month. Not only that, Blaziken, Sootopolis City and music from OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire are also made available from the start on the Wii U version as they have also been working on putting them on the Wii U version.

I don't think either scenarios are too far-fetched here. These are things, while not guarantee, are things I could see happening with DLC. Everyone (well, almost everyone) wins and they make sense from both a business perspective and Sakurai's perspective.

 

[Shorts]

I don't understand this logic at all. Sakurai isn't going to deliberately hold characters back for the next game. He treats each game as if it was the last he makes.

Probably because he hopes it's the last one he makes

 

[KatKit]

Honestly... Smash never needed DLC in the past, in my opinion. I still play all 3 games to this day. So much work is put into it, and it just never gets old (well, at least when you're playing multiplayer). I'll be more than content with the fourth game as is, too. Even if a certain character isn't playable or there's a lack of alt costumes or something. Don't get me wrong, DLC can be a good thing if done properly (especially if it's free lol)... but it seems like a gimmick that Smash doesn't need (not counting fan-created stuff, though).

 

[kaliskonig]

I am all for DLC. I hope Nintendo is looking into it. I wish they would make constant updates for this game like Street Fighter 4, especially if they want to constantly keep things interesting for the competitive crowd. DLC would be amazing and it will give a lot of characters an actual chance in hitting the smash bros stage. The poster above said it best. Better 150% than 100%. Sakurai has always delivered a full game, however smash is a game that lasts multiple video game cycles without growing stale. DLC, rather it be paid or free is just to great of an idea to pass up for a game like this.

Stages and Music are other definite DLC options I would love.

 

[SadisticPanda]

I'm hoping for more Fire Emblem characters, and DLC should assist in adding more if Sakurai will limit the Fire Emblem franchise to two again. Hopefully not, since there are almost TOO many characters they could add. I believe Chrom is guaranteed to join Smash, and if there are more than two this time around, Micaiah should join since she was the main character of Radiant Dawn, plus leaving the fans and creators with satisfaction with another female. I think everyone wins.

Plus, adding Tharja wouldn't hurt as DLC. Right?

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

Smash - Day 1 DLC

3 separate characters and stages in separate packs

Or buy them all together and get a 4th hidden character

 

[Deleted member]

Probably because he hopes it's the last one he makes

I really do believe that this game will be the last Smash game made by Sakurai. Since DLC is now a potential option (unlike in Brawl), I'm hoping he ends up taking advantage of it.

 

[Starcutter]

I think the DLC content will be the stuff they didn't finish cause they ran out of time.

They could even put it up for free!

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

See I don't think being 3rd party would hold Snake back. PSASBR had DLC, and Isaac Clarke was a character.

 

[eenertv]

I know many fans feel DLC is unnecessary, but I feel it would be a cool addition to the game. I would want a couple of DLC stages with a few DLC characters.