“True” implies objectivity. So let’s remove the word true. Then we can discuss our subjective value judgements. For instance, I believe a Bonus Mission has greater ‘entertainment value’ than an Escalation. I am sure the vast majority of fans would agree. That’s my subjective opinion, sure. Nonetheless, it’s an opinion I feel I can justify with evidence from observable reality.
This comparison with tangible goods seems to imply that the value video games provide to the consumer cannot be quantified. Certainly there is truth to this. Game length, in isolation, is often a poor metric for judging the richness of an experience. Open world RPGs which take 100+ hours to complete because you’re constantly doing the same copy/paste side-quests come to mind.
However, that does not mean the amount of content in a game is insignificant. Imagine if Hitman 3 had released with 4 levels instead of 6 for the same price (levels of equal size & quality). I am sure everyone would agree that this would represent less value for the consumer. Quantity is an important metric which feeds into our overall judgement of the entertainment value a game provides.
People do make ridiculous assumptions all the time on the internet, and love to pretend they are experts. Nonetheless, I believe we can make some reasonable assumptions regarding ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. It seems likely that this DLC will amount to 7 new premium Escalations or comparable “contracts” granting exclusive items (although it is possible that future packs may contain more substantial content).
Working on the assumption that ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ will essentially be another set of Deluxe Escalations, it is understandable that people are questioning the pricing. This DLC costs 50% of the price for the full game. Whilst I might not be an expert on game development, I am fairly sure the work required to produce this DLC does not amount to half of the total work necessary to create a full game.
Of course, there is some degree of creativity involved with making the Seven Deadly Sins DLC. However, in my view, this level of creativity is nowhere near comparable to the creativity which is required to produce a Bonus Mission. Thus I regard Escalations as less creative, lower-effort content.
Certainly, it is silly to view IO as “evil, greedy capitalists swimming in cash”. As you say, finances are complicated and there are all kinds of expenses to be considered. Yet I feel it is also naive to write off anti-consumer practices as being entirely necessary just to keep the company afloat. The cost of H3’s development was recouped within a week of release. Is it really “gibberish” to conclude that IO is likely to be in a stronger financial position that they were previously?
Conclusions
IO’s strategy has dramatically shifted across the trilogy. H3’s post-launch content is greatly slimmed down compared with the previous two games. It appears IO have realised they can get away with selling a fraction of the content at even higher prices. They are free to make that decision, I am free to criticise.
This is perhaps not surprising when the rest of the industry is doing the same. Just as I call out companies like Activision Blizzard for their terrible behaviour, I will criticise IO Interactive when it looks like they are heading down the same road. I feel it’s important to voice my displeasure, even if it might be futile.
The real tragedy is that the (potential) success of lower-effort DLC such as Seven Deadly Sins will directly serve as an obstacle to the production of richer content. After all, why would they bother?