Expansion vs. DLC

[txa1265]

A huge download with nearly no visible effect.

Hey - to be fair they generally at least break a few things and change stuff people like!

 

[bkrueger]

Hey - to be fair they generally at least break a few things and change stuff people like!

At least they try that every time. But they aren't always successful even with that.

 

[Zloth]

Throwing in my own definitions...

DLC = small'ish. Going back to Oblivion's big experiment, I would call all that stuff DLC. The Razor dungeon is pushing "expansion," but I think I'll just call it a big DLC.

Expansion = much bigger. If it's just one quest, it better be a really huge one. It should include other substantial additions, too, like a new class, lots of new enemies, and so on. Not just "we put in another dungeon with the same monsters you've seen before but with more HP."

Stand Alone Expansion = so much bigger that they just made a stand-alone game but charged less than a full release. Death of the Outsider was a recent(ish) example.

You could just replace the expansion with the "extra big DLC" if you want, but "stand alone extra extra big DLC" isn't going to work.

Hotfix = a fix released outside of the normal 'cadence' the developers follow. For instance, if they normally release a patch every 4 weeks, but have to kick one out the door in just one week because there's an awful bug that can't wait, then that's a hot fix. If the developer isn't somewhat embarrassed that they had to do it, it isn't a hotfix.

 

[Leoking]

why does it matter anyway?

Because I think it's a fun topic to discuss, and given how this thread already reached 4 pages on its first day, Many others think so too

 

[bjon045]

I found this newsbit on a random site from March 14 2004 where the author is quoting Stanley Woo from the Bioware forums, and apparently Stanley was using the term "DLC" when referring to something you could download for the Xbox version of KOTOR1: https://www.theforce.net/videogames/story/KOTOR_XBox_Downloadable_Content_84084.asp

This is 2 years before Oblivion came out...

Good find. I wonder if there is anything earlier than that. Using google search date ranges it looks like Steam may have been using /dlc/ in their URL's around 2004/2005. It looks like google date range search are very buggy though which is a shame.

How did you find that link?

This is Bing's horrifically bad response:
The term DLC, which stands for downloadable content, was first used in the late 1990s, when video game developers started to offer additional content for their games via online services. One of the earliest examples of DLC was the Horse Armor Pack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, released in 2006. DLC can range from cosmetic items, such as skins and outfits, to new levels, modes, characters, and story expansions.

 

[Warmark]

What is the last content on Steam or anywhere else that's described as an expansion vs a DLC?
I remember the Xcom2 WotC add-on being called an expansion, and it truly was by my definition, it added so much new to the game.

 

[Stingray]

How did you find that link?

I saw that someone on Reddit claimed that KotOR was using the term DLC before Oblivion, so I googled for "kotor dlc 2003" and it was near the top.

 

[Stingray]

What is the last content on Steam or anywhere else that's described as an expansion vs a DLC?
I remember the Xcom2 WotC add-on being called an expansion, and it truly was by my definition, it added so much new to the game.

AFAIK, Steam always uses the term DLC to describe any game addons, they don't care what the developer/publisher wants to call it. But, as a recent example and as a possible answer to your question, CDPR appears to always refer to Phantom Liberty as an "expansion" on its website and their press releases for it, they don't use the term DLC. I'd be fairly certain that's intentional, they know the connotations that "DLC" still holds for many people.

 

[bjon045]

I saw that someone on Reddit claimed that KotOR was using the term DLC before Oblivion, so I googled for "kotor dlc 2003" and it was near the top.

It's fairly likely that Bioware was using the term internally at the time based on that and there is a good chance it would have pollenated across the industry (as people moved between companies etc) including to Bethsoft. I suspect Beth were the ones who made the term mainstream for consumers though.

 

[Redglyph]

Because I think it's a fun topic to discuss, and given how this thread already reached 4 pages on its first day, Many others think so too

I suppose that's a very good reason.

 

[JDR13]

I saw that someone on Reddit claimed that KotOR was using the term DLC before Oblivion, so I googled for "kotor dlc 2003" and it was near the top.

What was the DLC? I can't recall any for KotOR.

 

[Stingray]

What was the DLC? I can't recall any for KotOR.

Apparently it was included in the PC version right from the start, but Xbox guys had to download it.

"The content features a new race, the Trandoshans, and a new area, Yavin Station, selling high level armor and additional lightsaber crystals. Players can purchase additional weapons, such as the Baragwin heavy repeating blaster and flame thrower, and new items, including an Advanced Bio-Stabilizer Mask that will provide immunity to poison."

 

[SveNitoR]

Since DLC stands for downloadable content, shouldn't the game itself be included in that definition? It is content that is downloaded after all. Otherwise shouldn't DLC addons be called downloadable extra content?

More on topic: I see DLC as small additions and expansions as bigger additions. But it's not a big deal what it is called, apart from the confusion it can lead to (like the millions of Paradox dlc:s where it is hard to know if something has meaningful new content without reading an online guide..).