Mass Effect 2 DLC Pricing Detailed

The details we received this week about Bioware's plans for Mass Effect 2 DLC was a little confusing for some. What's free? What isn't free? Do we need to download the Cerberus Network to gain access to future DLC releases? Well, Bioware has answered all of these questions for us.

The most confusing element of Mass Effect 2's DLC plan has been the aforementioned Cerberus Network, which was announced on Tuesday as an in-game portal for accessing news and DLC, which will be free to players who purchase a new copy of the game. For those that don't buy the game new, the Cerberus Network will be available for download for an as-of-yet unspecified price. This has many gamers talking, as those who would have planned to buy it used at some point don't like the fact that this, in a way, detracts from the savings of buying it used.

The Cerberus Network is currently listed on EA's servers as costing 1200 Microsoft Points, or $15. For those of you keeping track, EA also packaged DLC with new copies of Dragon Age: Origins, that was not free to those that bought the game used. That DLC was also priced at $15 when it arrived on Xbox Live.

EA has now confirmed that, aside from the free content available on the Cerberus Network from day one, the announced Hammerhead hover tank will also be available to Cerberus Network subscribers as soon as it is released.

The Cerberus Network sounds like it's shaping up to be a very interesting addition to Mass Effect 2's DLC offerings. Personally, I've had the game pre-ordered for months, so buying this new isn't really an issue. But, this sounds like it'll really cater to fans more than it will line EA's pockets. Even if I didn't buy the game new, I think it's easily justifiable to pay $15 for something like this, considering the current and forthcoming free DLC it will lead to.

Publishers, with EA leading the way, are trying to find ways to drive up sales of new games. The used market is hurting their profits (though some would call it a "victimless offense"). But, of the many ways that publishers could try to cheat consumers in order to force them to buy games new, this doesn't feel that way. Earning yourself some free DLC for being a loyal customer or a fan of a series seems like a great idea, in my opinion. Whether or not this practice will be widely adopted is yet to be seen, but it seems pretty likely.