blame the internet...not steam
dlc is the natural progression after expansion packs. I just hate the price/content ratio these days
It's not that simple. Platforms like Steam are promoting the DLC model. Selling DLCs is a decent source of income for Valve afterall, but it's more than that. Many developers are releasing half-assed products with shallow gameplay as v1.0 because of the the long-term DLC strategy. It' a business standard now. It's all about money, and on platforms like Steam, it's easy to release DLCs. [More on this a bit later.] Sure, you are not forced to buy DLCs, or hell, you are not even forced to buy games either.
However, we all know that if someone is a fan of game X, he/she will buy DLCs for game X in most of the cases, even if it's only a portrait pack. If a given DLC adds a bit more content -like a race for a strategy game- it's an instabuy for a real fan, especially if the vanilla game lacks content...but again!...
It's all about money, but let's think a bit. I read an interesting article a couple of years ago:
BioWare to beat piracy with DLC.
""We're doing a lot of post-release downloadable content on all of our PC titles going forward. We think it's a good thing to encourage players to make them want to buy a PC title," Muzyka told MTV Multiplayer.
"That's ultimately the best, most successful path to prevent piracy."
I am not sure that mr Muzyka was honest in this interview. We all know that DLCs are pirated. We all know that DLCs were pirated from the beginning, regardless of the DRM platform [Steam, Origin etc]. The amount of income earned from selling DLCs [@ Steam for example] is a good compensation for the loss of money because of pirating. So, what is the truth? The truth is, that those people who buy DLCs are compensating the developers & publishers for their losses. It's a well thought model from the developer's perspective, but an annoying one from the customer's perspective. "No f*cks given" says the pirate.