Opinion: EA’s Madden NFL 10 downloadable content is out of bounds

Electronic Arts often comes under fire for being an evil empire bent on game industry domination. I love EA’s games, including the annual incremental Madden update. There is a lot to like about this year’s package, including the new tackling system that makes plays completely “unscripted.” That brings us to the always slippery slope of downloadable content.

There are two schools of thought about DLC.

The glass half-full take is, “Yea! New content for my favorite game at a reasonable price!”

The glass half-empty view is, “Why should I pay more money on top of the $60 I already spent for content the designers created months ago and ultimately deemed not worth putting in the game?”

The view you take may ultimately depend on your opinion of a given publisher and you know what, thousands of gamers already think EA is working on a Death Star.

Madden NFL 10‘s DLC is chock full of some of the worst examples of dreck I’ve seen in a while. It ranges from things that should have been in the game when it shipped to things no gamer should ever, ever pay for.

Get a load of some of this stuff:

Super Superstar: Allows your superstar to get maximum progression for the length of his career. What in the name of Vince Lombardi is that? Your created player can’t reach his highest level unless you buy an add-on? Seriously!? That would be akin to Square selling you Final Fantasy VII and then charging you separately for the final battle against Sephiroth.

Pick a Superstar: This download allows you to pick any NFL player to start Superstar mode with. Cripes, if you have to buy all these add-ons for Superstar mode, exactly what does the mode include for your original purchase? A blinking cursor waiting for your credit card number? This really should have shipped with the game.

PK Scout: This download gives you a special scout who will reveal all true punter and kicker prospect stats in the upcoming off season during Franchise mode. I am speechless. I have played Madden since the Super Nintendo era and I have never, not even once, checked my punter or my kicker’s stats. Now EA wants me to pay to do it? There is more chance I would pay to watch EA Sports President Peter Moore trim his nose hairs.

Elite Status: This is the mysterious piece de resistance that allows you access to VIP lobbies, leaderboards and the all-new “Elite” game type. Wow, they are charging for additional difficulty modes now. I am dumbfounded. Thanks to DLC, the days of really fun free unlockables may well be over. Remember the great codes from the old arcade b-ball classic NBA Jam? I can see this done today by EA: Bill Clinton – 500 Microsoft Points. Fresh Prince – 1000 points. Your Soul – Ha, ha! EA already has it, gamer sheep.

These ridiculous things exist because someone, somewhere is buying them and we all suffer.

I implore you, fellow Madden gamers: Tell EA Sports the buck stops here.

I’m not against good DLC. Bethesda has shown just how well it can be done with their content for Fallout 3. If you want to pay for it, there’s enough content there for a whole other game. If you don’t, none of the add-ons are necessary to get your full enjoyment out of the original game. They will also do a Game of The Year edition that gives you the original game and the add-ons for one price.

Does anybody expect a Madden 10 bundle with these add-ons? No, because they’re crappy and would give nobody who hasn’t already purchased the game incentive to do so.

Folks, if we let EA get away with this five years from now they’ll be trying to charge us for in-game commentary and the right to play fourth down.

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Voshempa's Videogame Blog]