Metro: Last Light DLC Controversy Prompts Gamers To Buy Used Copies

Instead of buying a new copy of 4A Games' new FPS, Metro: Last Light, gamers who actually value their money and maintaining some integrity for the hobby of interactive entertainment, have decided to pledge their allegiance to used copies, discounted copies and pirated copies over the game's DLC controversy.

Gamers are basically saying 'We're willing to pay for the game and support the game, but we won't give support to bad business practices'.

Gamers like Angry Joe, sites like MyTide, and a large group of sub-communities across the web, including YouTube commentators, have banded together (in essence) to say that they won't support purposefully stripped content from a game to be resold at a premium price, on top of the $60 entry price.

One gamer on a comment thread noted that...

Voting with the wallet seems to be the only way publishers get it. I was looking forward to higher difficulty and no HUD but i'm following suit, voting with my wallet i choose to pass on Metro: Last Light. I'm a gamer, but i'm not about to bend over for publishers.Hate when industry decisions like DLC force gamers to pass on franchises they enjoyed back in the days.

Some have said that this will start a slipper slope, but this isn't even a slippery slope, we're already sliding down the hill at a pretty quick pace. They're literally charging you extra for a difficulty setting. This comes after characters were put behind a pay-wall, when cheat codes were put behind a pay-wall in games like Saints Row: The Third or Sleeping Dogs. This comes after story missions were put behind a pay-wall. This comes after an entire game region was disc-locked behind a pay-wall and even a game's true ending.

The common excuse from parent company Koch Media was that Deep Silver's hands were tied because retailers demanded some sort of exclusive pre-order bonus and the only thing they could do was strip off and re-sell the game's Ranger Mode to players, with brand manager Huw Beynon stating...

"Offering game content as a pre-order exclusive is a requirement by retail." [[ br. br ]] "Game makers and publishers now live in a world where offering game content as a pre-order exclusive is a requirement by retail, and Ranger Mode seemed like the best choice since it was a mode for hardcore fans who would most likely pre-order the game, or purchase it at launch in any case,"

The best way to combat these practices is what's often mentioned on Reclaim Your Game: Hold Your Wallet.

Metro: Last Light is releasing for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. If you want to send a message it involves not giving publishers money for giving you less or forcing developers to strip off content to sell back to you.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.