That was the custom, but this wasn't because there was something just or honorable about only releasing a base game at release. It was because DLC didn't exist yet, and thus they couldn't very well create content for a separate product they had no way to sell. It was the way it was because there was no alternative.
Oh, there would have been alternatives.
It is not as if additional "expansions" would not have existed. I seem to remember that Civ3 and Civ4 had expansion packs. And some of them even contained some new civilizations.
It was possible to sell additional content - it was possible since the invention of the disk, latest since the invention of the CD.
It is just that customs and habits already have changed for some games and now they (2k) are happily jumping onto that train.
An incomplete game would be one in which the tech tree is missing or bugs cause the game to crash after five minutes.
No, that would be a broken, or bugged game.
Civ5 is a complete game (at least I hope it will be
). If you were to play it without knowing about the DLC you wouldn't notice anything wrong with it. You would be perfectly happy with it. So why does that knowledge of additional content somehow ruin the game?
It does not ruin that game yet makes me aware of the fact that the publsher is trying to change the rules while the fans are looking.
Example:
At your favourite restaurant, you've been used to get some fries, some water and a salad (even with a choice of different dressings) to your steak. That was the way you liked your steak, therefore you went there.
Starting tomorrow, they offer you the fries as an extra, for which - of course - you have to pay.
Salad will be an extra, too. (Did I mention you would have to pay for it?)
Order both, and you will get the water for free.
Great deal?
Benefit for you?
You have it entirely wrong. If Civ6 came with only ten civilizations, or--god forbid--only three civilizations I would of course be annoyed at Firaxis, because they had cheaped out on the base game and included less civs than in the previous version of the base game.
We will note this down for a moment, but we will come back to it in a second.
lets say Civ6 comes out with only six civilizations (fitting, no). However, these are the only six civilizations anyone could get; there are no extra civs or DLC of any kind. This would, presumably, satisfy you? After all they are releasing everything available on day one in the base game. You'd be happy with that, right?
No, I would be disappointed for the same reason as you. But you seem as you would applaud them for the clever idea of offering 12 civs via DLC, then.
But you've failed to prove that DLC is in fact bad for the customer. Without DLC, Babylon and those two bonus Civs would not be in the base game.
With DLC, they aren't in the "base" game, either.
The custom of releasing all day 0 content in the base game did not benefit the customer.
It did not?
Did it not benefit you that all 18 civs were available without having to buy them in addition, when you got Civ4?
May I ask in which way it hampered you?
It gave the designer no incentive to create additional content for the game, and the consumer no option to purchase said content.
Now that you mention it, I remember that there haven't been expansion packs and that they have not been bought by anyone...
DLC benefits both designer and customers, because it allows them to engage in more mutually beneficial transactions. All it takes to understand this is a rudimentary knowledge of economics.
The benefit for the user - if at all - may be to avoid the least appealing parts of the content (just under the assumption, that it won't come with something which he may desire).
Yet, even the rudimentary understanding of economics tells us, that these portions in total will become more expansive than compared to the current way of expansion packs.
All I see you do all day is constantly assume the worst about Civ5, Bello. You should lighten up a bit.
Well, I just have learned my lessons. What can go wrong, will go wrong.
And if we as customers do not complain about undesirable decisions at vendor's side, we will just have to swallow them.
Bowing in shock and awe is better?