Brutal Legend DLC Free on PSN for Two Weeks

PlayStation 3 purchasers of Tim Schafer’s metal tribute Brutal Legend have a bonus coming for their Sony loyalty. The first DLC pack containing two maps (Circle of Tears and Death’s Fjord) and an axe (Blade of Ormagöden) is going to be free for those who download early.

For two weeks, PS3 owners do not have to pay. After that, the price will go up to $5. That’s a great deal, but it is also important note that Xbox 360 users will get the same content, but with no freebies. While 360 owners get the content two days earlier (November 3rd), they have to pay from day one.

The sad thing is that this is not unusual, and a larger scale problem than timed free exclusives.

It begs the question of what a developer has to do to make Microsoft allow free content. Even the bonus items on Live, such as the free Gamepics and Dashboard Themes, require a corporate sponsorship.

Live is undoubtedly a bandwith hog for Microsoft, and that is understood. Those Silver users that do not pay can still access quite a bit of free content, even if it is not great (does anyone use McDonald’s Gamerpics or themes?). Still, the number of users who have gone Gold should be offsetting the cost. Why are Gold users not able to to partake in the free content for two weeks as well, forcing Silver users to pay if they would like the added maps? It’s not right, and it becomes more obvious on a daily basis that Microsoft does not favor those who spend $50 a year to support the service, no matter how great it may be.

*Edit: Corrected a statement about Capcom’s Age of Booty DLC which wrongly stated the DLC was not available on Xbox Live. It is automatically updated in-game as opposed to storefront updates.