Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing producer Steve Lycett (“S0L”) fielded some questions in the game’s thread in the SSMB today, one of them involving the prospect of DLC. Member PSI Wind FTW asked:
Hey S0L, is it possible for DLC to be on all 3 console versions and even the PC version?
Steve’s reply:
Chances are DLC will be limited to 360/PS3.
Whilst it’s entirely possible to do it elsewhere, the big stumbling block is how you actually make it available.
On Wii there’s no DLC store as such – so you have to write some form of in-game store, that also safely handles transactions and deals with downloads that may get paused or corrupted. Then you’ve got the limited storage space, unlike an unlock key or music track, game assets here are pretty big. You’re looking at over a 100Mb for something like an extra track and character. Which would soon fill the Wii’s internal memory, meaning you then have write SD card support – which has it’s own set of problems…!
Plus you can’t update games on Wii (not so far as I know) unless the DLC is supported by shipped code, you can’t add anything once the game is done.
It’s not undoable of course, but all the effort has to be paid for.
PC is a similar story, whilst the game will likely be made available via Steam, and you can offer DLC via the same method – what about disk owners? Again you’d have to write some method or store, then there is the whole security issue too, it’d have to made pretty difficult to extract back out – else people will just share it about for free.
Again, this can be overcome, but again, it bumps up your cost.
That’s before you consider the cost to test assets over multiple platforms to boot
If the cost for implementing the content and getting it working exceeds the money you’ll make for doing it…
So whilst I can never say never, I think outside of 360/PS3 it’s not likely to be something that will happen.
There you have it. Wii DLC? Ain’t gon’ happen.
No surprise there.
Glad I own both a Wii and 360. :3
As am I :D. It’s a shame Nintendo didn’t make a more integrated online service. Though, in the case of limited storage space, who said a package would need to be a character AND a track? 😛
Characters and tracks? ON PS3? Good job I have PSN!
My Xbox Live doesn’t work. 🙁
I guess that means no mario guest appearance for us wii owners 🙁
I got PSWii, no complaints here.
Didn’t think so.. but on the other hand, the Wii has free online play
Hey, I got mentioned :D. I fewl special :V XD.
once again, Sega deprives Wii owners of good stuff. we get crappy Sonic games (storybooks), and now we get NO dlc? And the wii version is probably gonna sell a WHOLE lot more.
Sega…you never learn…I don’t care about storage space. why, if Sega wanted, they could add a free SD card to the wii version.
Now my chances of buying it have dropped.
Sonic 4 is sega’s last try for me. If they mess this one up,….
oooohh bad things…..will….happen…. >:,
I do feel bad that Wii only owners would be left out, but I’m still glad that the other console versions are not going to be held back by the Wii’s shortcomings.
@Nickno: Overreacting a bit?
@Nickno
If you want what 360 and PS3 versions of games get, get a 360 or a PS3. You don’t own a comparable system. Owning a Wii does not entitle you to getting whatever is featured in 360 and PS3 games. What does it entitle you to? Mii racers and motion control, because that’s what the Wii can do. They gave a MORE than good enough explanation for why the Wii version likely won’t have DLC. They would have to tackle an ENORMOUS hurdle that only a couple of games, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, have really conquered, and that’s because DLC is an enormous part in both of those games’ financial structure. Some other games, like Samba de Amigo, have tried, and failed. Miserably.
And how that I think about it, Sega made Samba de Amigo on Wii… They tried to do Pay & Play with Wii owners once, and it didn’t work. Why would they do it again? Sega is a business.
tl;dr: Get a PS3 or a 360 if you want PS3 and 360 features. It’s not Sega’s fault the Wii has some major shortcomings, and you don’t think its advantages (motion control, Miis) outweigh the disadvantages (horrendous internet support).
I got all 5 systems, but I like to have everything which is why I’m getting 360 and DS versions until the PS3 gets exclusives then I’ll get it on PS3…
I’ve never considered the wii a REAL gaming console. And this is coming from someone who only plays RPG’s, Nintendo and sonic games
@ Light Dasher & Mit
Can u both STFU. Nick isnt over reacting, hes actually right, for those with only wii’s, they had there hopes up ESPECIALLY the nights fans. Sure I have a 360 but I’m talking about the ones with just the wii. That is like an idiotic move. You set up all this, telling everyone about DLC on systems and a couple of days b4 the release you come out with some crap like this. Not really the brightest marketing strategy…heck at least crush our hope in the beginning instead of leading everyone on….
@ Edge
SHUSH…god your sounding so ignorant…
Everyone who goes ‘Oh Noes! Wii and PC get no DLC…’ Will you please STFU!?!
I have to play the PC version, and don’t care that they could release Blaze or a playable NiGHTS for the Next Gen We-Pwn-You-All-With-Our-Leetness consoles.
Are they making it so, except the characters from the feature games, you have to download a keyfile or similar? No.
There are 20 characters, 21 with the Wii, without DLC or anything.
Hey, Wii players, At least you have Online.
Hey, PC players, At least you got the game.
Shut up the whining.
And Edge… You deserve to get it on PS3. You’re the kind of gamer that I hate…
You slam the Wii just because it’s not leet enough, and it’s games are cheap and affordable.