This was a really interesting weekend for DSOG. While we did not have many “News” to share, John, Thomas and I sat down and discussed a number of things that will have an immediate affect on what DSOG will be covering from now on.
But before that, let me tell you that we may partner with another gaming website that covers adventure games. We don’t want to share further details about this possible partnership – as nothing is set on stone yet – but we believe that such a partnership will benefit us. We know that some of you are interested in adventure titles as DSOG is getting bigger each and every month, so this is something that will definitely please you. Or at least that’s what we believe. Hopefully we’ll have more to share next week.
At DSOG, we strongly believe that DLC is the ‘cancer’ of gaming. Therefore, we decided to do something we should have done a long time ago. From now on, DSOG will not be covering DLC news.
We believe that developers and publishers ‘milk’ their franchises with their “Premium” and “Season Pass” packs. Not only that, but a lot of games lack mod tools because publishers want to release as many DLC packs as possible (and free modding tools would ruin such plans).
But why have we been covering DLCs all this time if we were from the very first moment against them? The reason is simple; these articles were bringing hits. There, we said the truth; the truth that no other gaming website will ever publicly acknowledge. However, we’ve already said that we’re doing things differently here at DSOG. There is no reason for us to not be open with our community, which is why we are being honest.
We’re pretty sure that all gaming websites are doing this for the very same reason, and not because they believe that the X DLC or the Y DLC is super cool. Seriously, think about it; a lot of websites suggest you stop pre-ordering games when they promote (with their articles) Season Passes or Premium Packs of triple-A games. It’s hilarious. It’s hypocrisy at its best.
Now since DSOGaming has grown enough (thus we do not rely on the traffic that is being brought by our “DLC” articles), we’re stopping covering DLCs. This is one of the big steps we’re taking in order to make DSOG a better place for all of you. As you may have noticed, we never bothered with GamerGate or political stuff, and we believe that DLCs should be avoided as much as the other aforementioned topics. And to be honest, we believe that most of you will agree with our decision. After all, we think and act as actual PC gamers, and not according to what we should be doing in order get on the good side of publishers.
Do note, however, that we’ll be covering free DLCs because… they are free. For example, The Witcher 3’s DLCs will be free, which is why we have not trouble reporting such news. Developers should be praised for such decisions. We’ll be also covering standalone expansions. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood or Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon are actual… games. While they may be sharing the same engine and mechanics like their predecessors, they are actual games and not additional contents for an already released game.
Moreover, our Editors will be free to talk about DLCs in their Reviews. Our Editors will be free to bring the hammer down on a game that has a lot of DLCs – or a lot of its content has been cut due to Season Pass or DLC plans. Our Editors will also be free to praise DLCs in their Reviews. We’re not limiting our Editors in any way, and we’re not encouraging them towards hating or loving them. As always, we offer them enough freedom to talk about them in any way they see fit.
And that is that. Before closing, here are the results from our Poll. Our next Poll has also gone live, and is focused on our decision to stop covering DLCs. This new poll will run until the 31st of March.
Enjoy and stay tuned for more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email
Great transparency guys, keep up the great work of keeping it real!
This is another reason DSOG is one of the best video games news site. Keep up the good work!
Yep, DSOG is like IGN without bullshit and with actually interesting stuff.
I vote yes but it would be good if DSOG still cover when they are available for download so we can download that sh*t lol
also “GamerGate” is correct not “GamersGate”. GamersGate is a Sweden-based online video game store.
I think u meant to say “think” instead of “thing” in here “Seriously, Thing about it; a lot of websites…”
thing about it?
please correct it to think
the voters only 366 people… is this blog dying ?
those games weren’t that interesting
Nope, traffic keeps increasing 😉 but most folks don’t vote.
To be honest the poll is barely visible , the background is black and the poll is black too. The colors should have a contrast or something so the eye can seperate those 2 sections easily
Personally i saw the poll today by accident because my internet had a heart attack and loaded the page slowly part by part.
I have been here since 2011, i am so glad the site is getting bigger.
Not sure what to think about the DLC thing, after all I come to this site for gaming news ( not the political stuff, ofcourse ), and this includes DLC. Not that I can remember many DLC articles on here but still…
Yeah, this is odd. Seems like a total non issue to me too.
I was never bothered by the reporting about DLC and have to wonder wonder if anyone else has been annoyed by it. I don’t see the harm in critically writing about overpriced DLC releases. I can’t say I’ll miss the coverage as I categorically refuse to buy DLC myself but I do wonder what you aim to accomplish by categorically denying yourself to cover that issue.
If there’s a controversy involving DLC, DSOG should be able to write about that. I’m fine with less articles over standard DLC releases but I don’t think you need to make it a strict rule or anything like that. I see no need for for that.
Damn I am so glad I found out this website. I mean I have been following you guys for only months. You are my daily and number one gaming source! Bookmarked I have you game debate and dual shockers. I have deleted kotaku and the rest nonsense that my eyes were hurting reading their nonsense. And yes gamers must realize that DLCs is the cancer of video games!!!
Yeah the polygon stuff are facepalm worthy but the nonsense i have seen on pc gamer are just sad… it used to be a good site.
pc gamer.. sad indeed. Yeap I remember pc gamer (online and magazine) back in the older days. It used to be a good source for video games but not anymore..
RPS used to be good too in 2010.
No idea man.. I was never a frequent reader of RPS.
F**k DLCs, good for you guys.
no political stuff = less traffic but better website in my opinion. keep up the good work guys
Yeah fair call of the new policy on DLC. Glad you will still be covering Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.
Keep It Up
Well, nickel and dime DLC truly are the biggest cancer, but what about good, old fashioned expansions like Skyrim’s Dragonborn?
Love the new DLC policy. Looking forward to next week’s announcement. Thanks for all your hard work, DSOG!
I avoided talking about the Evolve DLC issues when I reviewed the game for the sake of remaining impartial, but now I can really share what I think about DLC with you guys. For the most part, DLC nowadays is a way for publishers like 2K to nickle and dime gamers and I think that is pure grade A bullshit. There are exceptions that add a lot of content to their games. Fallout and TES have been good about selling DLC that really added content to their games. Aside from things like preorder DLC in Fallout New Vegas, and Horse Armor in Oblivion.
The only thing that i dissagree with this dlc is that i get less news. I mean there is a pax east wolfenstein stream, but it was not posted here. That and some indie games from there and dlc anouncements are news, if i could have all that here i wont need to visit other sites.
So yeah thats my reasoning on that one. DSO needs to cover more game anouncements.
Stay out of the social justice nonsense though.
Great job guys! keep it up!