Wall of text incoming. You have been warned.
I haven't read every page in the thread because it's gotten pretty long so there's a good change someone has already expressed the same sentiments, only better, but I feel like it bears repeating.
This is an important matter.The fact that there are people not just in this thread, not just on GAF, but everywhere that think exploitative monetization is ok or are otherwise dismissive of the issue is cause for concern. The people who say things like, "if it's a problem, don't buy it" to dismiss the need for greater awareness are missing the point. And just to be clear I'm not pointing fingers at everyone saying "don't buy it" because it is one of the answers to the issue. It's just not a good reason shut up about it. It's actually a reason why awareness is needed.
Posters on NeoGAF are generally more informed and up to date on these matters than most people even on other messages boards who are in turn more informed than players at large. Despite this people on GAF still buy games that are terrible, have game breaking bugs, or exploitative monetization and regret it. Now imagine how much more common this is among video game players in general. Many people do not consider games to be their primary hobby or consider themselves "gamers" and as such don't spend as much time reading about games as playing them. They don't know to wait for the GOTY editions, they don't know that $60 game they bought has a DLC list a mile long.
Another argument I've seen in this thread is that this extreme monetization is a non issue because when it is present in a game, it negatively affects the game to such a point that you give up half way through rather than pay for the XP boost or whatever. While some might consider that a minor victory, they still suckered you into buying a bad game. A game that was bad specifically because the developer/publisher made the game less enjoyable in the hope of getting extra money from people. Like with most bad games you can lessen the blow by renting, buying used, buying 6 months down the line, trading it in, etc, but not everyone knows these trick. In most cases you'll still lose a few dollars and the time you invested, but more importantly a game which could have been good was not because of completely avoidable reasons.
Even in cases where dlc "cheat codes" like xp boosts or extra gold do not affect game balance and are entirely avoidable it presents a different problem. People who buy these things are then essentially spending money on something that is entirely pointless. I expect a rebuttal along the lines of, "But some genres like RPGs have always had grinding! This option just lets people who lead busy lives enjoy the game." Except thought of another way, purchasable xp boosters are encouraging developers not to correct already extent issues found in the genre at large because they can make extra money off people.
All these issues bring us to the last reason we need greater awareness.
Video game publishers are dumb.
So let's say this campaign is a success and we bring greater awareness to the masses and they stand up for themselves by refusing to buy games with exploitative monetization (I can dream, right?). It's all pretty pointless if video game developers and publishers don't get the message. They aren't going to assume, "Oh, our skinner box sold poorly! Clearly people aren't as stupid as we think. I guess we'll have to find a way to make good games that sell well enough to justify their budgets without using people like human cattle." Instead they will think, "Huh, Bob's skinner box on mobile phones is selling like hot cakes, but ours on the PSWiiBoxOne4U isn't. Clearly we didn't make it right. Have the dev team executed and fetch me a new one."
Unless we make it clear why we aren't buying these games it will be attributed to other market factors. I realize the whole thing is awfully optimistic, but it can't hurt to try. If we try and fail then we just fail. I'd hate for the apathy of consuemrs to be the only thing keeping things the way they are.
If publishers cannot make games without exploitative DLC due to rising costs associated with video game development, most of them have themselves to blame. They have pushed graphics as a selling point for so long and put so much focus on "cinematic experiences" which require huge budgets to such a degree that it has pushed many other publishers and developers out of the market. I do not think this was unintended. Unfortunately it has pushed the remaining pubs and devs into a corner as costs continue to rise and they must continue to deliver more in this market they created. They created these consumer expectations. I do not feel the way the market is going that it is sustainable in the long run, but that's another topic.
That said using exploitative DLC to hide the "true" cost of a game and pay for development fees isn't a solution that will save them. The successful million sellers will continue to be just that and will enjoy a nice revenue stream from their DLC while the struggling developers will continue to fall by the wayside.
TLDR
"Don't buy games with shit DLC" is a reason for greater awareness, not less.
Just because the problem doesn't affect you because you are an 3L1T3 G4M3R with refined taste doesn't make it less of a problem.
DLC that is "harmless" shouldn't be DLC at all.
Video game publishers see us as walking wallets and believe we are just as smart as one.
If this kind of DLC is needed to keep the industry alive then maybe it doesn't deserve to.
Above all we should want video games to be good. If some types of monetization stand in the way of that, we should be against it.
And now to burrow into my lurker hole to never be seen again!
(*Disclaimer: I am not against all DLC. There is good DLC. I am criticizing things make games worse and ask for money in exchange. Also if you'd like to argue something with me don't argue the TLDR. It's just an inflammatory shell of my actual arguments.)