£10 for 5 MW2 Maps LOL

[Evilsod]

The 'big deal' is that DLC is turning into a ridiculous con to seemingly replace expansion packs except with massively less content and for almost as much money. On top of that, to achieve this they are deliberately preventing the mod community from working on the game, an activity that has often made the PC gaming experience what it is.

Some of us find this behaviour saddening to say the least as the hobby we grew up with in some cases is being bastardised and screwed purely to further line the pockets of companies who are making huge sums of money already.

Exactly. DLC has turned into less content for more money and is just destroying proper expansions. Look at Oblivion, they had the Shivering Isles expansion, a massive new area with a ton of new stuff. Then they had the lesser Knights of the Nine DLC, which while not bringing in any real new areas, was a complete storyline with lots of new dialogue, etc. Then you had the minor DLCs that generally got laughed at. Onto Fallout 3, the DLCs range from Point Lookout, a new zone with lots of new stuff and Operation Anchorage, a rather gimmicky linear DLC that is neverless entertaining (still not played Mothership Zeta which i think is the smallest).

Then you compare it to a pack of 5 maps, some of which aren't even original. And on top of that you have no choice if you want more content because they've removed custom content which is the biggest '**** you' to the PC community.

Just saw something on xfire

GAME MINUTES PLAYED
World of Warcraft 3,696,756
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer 2,239,496
Call of Duty 2 Multiplayer 1,485,568
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 862,379
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer 804,962

I wouldn't really trust anything Xfire says... i'd be willing to bet over 90% of the people who play those games don't use Xfire.

 

[Bane]

People buying games that they never play will only ever effect that person & no one else.

No, it will also affect others. As an unplayed game still counts as a successful sale.

When publisher looks at sales figures, they wouldn't care less if the game has been played or not. So whatever actions the publisher has taken will be classes as acceptable as the consumer still bought in to it.

 

[Final8y]

No, it will also affect others. As an unplayed game still counts as a successful sale.

When publisher looks at sales figures, they wouldn't care less if the game has been played or not. So whatever actions the publisher has taken will be classes as acceptable as the consumer still bought in to it.

No one buys a game with the intention of not playing it so yes it should rightly count on the sales figures because there was a reason for a person buying that game in the first place.
And the percentage of any game that has been bought and not played would be tiny to not worth even thinking about & is little more than splitting hairs on a Pedant level to the few who care about the butterfly effect.

 

[Kill_Phil]

pfft 10 quid how ridiculous, i will stick to bfbc2 me thinks who dont charge for map releases

 

[DooMeR]

I think most of us are guilty of buying a game playing it for a hour or so then not really playing it again.I bought torchlight in the steam sale and still not got round to playing it. I know theres quite a few on this forum alone that bought mw2 dispite knowing about lack of dedicated servers and everything else then hating the game. Its the same with c and c 4 most people knew there would be no base building yet people bought it on the name alone then complained later.


We as pc gamers are in the minorty i dont know anyone else with a gaming pc (in real life) they all have consoles. Most of them think pcs are for itunes and face book.Consoles are taking over i cant remeber the last big exclusive pc game. The only one i can think of off the top of my head is crysis and a few rts's.

But pc is still by far the best gaming platform whever the masses see it or not. I'm just glad we still getting good games.

Dont forget steam has had a big part to play in all this as well as pc gamers. Comapnys have seen people are willing to pay more money for their games on steam then they are in retail stores in some cases is a 5 to 10 pound differance on new games. Since steam was launched peoples internet has got better and faster and steam grew to what it is today. I remeber when half life 2 was first released on steam people had problems with it. It was branded as the worst thing ever now people said they would never buy anythign off steam again but look at it today.

The playstation and The xbox store are just console versions of steam. Steam imo is as much to blame as anything but people dont tend to hate on steam.

I think it will get to the point in the future where must games will have to be activated on steam for online and offline play. If not steam it will be games for windows live or some other way to keep a tighter grip on us pc gamers.

 

[Killerkebab]

You have a habit of replying with the obvious because its obvious that we are the minority as if we were not then we would not be having this issue over games because no one would be buying this crap.

If you're tired of him stating the obvious, the least you could do is accept what he's saying

Oh really? In that case should we start paying mod makers too? Stop making retarded comparisons. Have you always gone into that restuarant and been given a free dessert? Somehow i think not. How about the more accurate version, have you had the meal then been told it is impossible to have a dessert from anywhere else, if you wish to have a dessert you must pay the prices there which are extortionate because you can't go anywhere else.

Maybe the reason so many mods never see the light of day is lack of funding. At the end of the day, these developers work on CoD for a living. They should be paid, no?

Whether you think the standard is good enough or not is irrelevant. Clearly enough people do for them to charge £40 and then £12 for some maps. This is a new age of video gaming where companies see they can finally get away with it if their product is good enough. Again, what you think of it is irrelevant. Their product is "good enough" because people are buying it and loving it.

You're both arguing the same point but from two different directions.
He's saying they can get away with it and it isn't greed because they're literally being given carte blanche to charge almost whatever they want because the public are willing to pay.
You're saying this is extortionate and greedy because you've been used to having all these things for free. You'll find he doesn't disagree with you, and that he hasn't purchased any of these products, but that he knows its not something as evil as "greed". The business is just doing what almost any business would in that position. Hell, what almost anybody would.

At the end of the day, you're both saying the same thing but he's not as angry as you are because he didn't buy the game. Please stop this bickering.

 

[Evilsod]

We as pc gamers are in the minorty i dont know anyone else with a gaming pc (in real life) they all have consoles. Most of them think pcs are for itunes and face book.

Nah thats what iPhones are for

@Killerkebab: There are enough morons out there that they would buy almost anything that was released for the 1 and only game they play. Frankly Modern Warfare 2 just seems to be an experiment on how much they can get away with. Going straight from releasing 3 new maps (Broadcast, Creek, Training thingy) on Modern Warfare to charging a price that is WAY beyond all reason for 5 maps of which 2 are from MW is nothing short of seeing what they can get away with. That is not business, that is greed. They are well aware that a lot of there customers are idiots who just pay whatever price they're asked and thats exactly who they're trying to get to buy it.

For the record, i didn't buy the game either, i've played it and seen people on it and the only way to describe it is Unreal Tournament: Modern Warfare.

Edit: To add to your point about mods failing through lack of funding? Just how many mod makers do this for a living? Mods usually fail because the makers lose interest. I point you in the direction of the Thief 2 mod, Shadows of the Metal Age. A completely free expansion developed by fans. Or mods for games likes Deus Ex which are still being created despite the game coming out almost 10 years ago. Or Bethesda games that actually take pride in being hugely supportive of the modding community. If the maker is passionate enough the mod will get finished in time. As Kenai said, Activision and IW are already rolling in money from the sales of the game. Just how many man hours do you think it actually took for map makers to convert 2 old MW maps and to design 3 'new' ones? Somehow i doubt offering these maps as free would even make a dent in that profit, they just wanted more.

 

[Kenai]

At the end of the day, these developers work on CoD for a living. They should be paid, no?

They already were paid (well should have been, whether Activision actually gave them any of the profits they were due remains to be seen), presumably very handsomely too due to MW2 having a massively inflated RRP on PC and console, to then charge £12 for making 3 maps and porting 2 more is nothing short of taking the ****.

Given the way Activision want to head ('we want to make every $50 purchase a $500 purchase'), it saddens me people are so readily accepting such poor value products which is eventually going to leave people like me with a choice of 'pay out my backside' or 'dont play games'.

 

[Final8y]

If you're tired of him stating the obvious, the least you could do is accept what he's saying .

I don't accept what he says just so that he will shut up when i disagree with what he's saying just because you agree with him.

 

[Killerkebab]

They already were paid (well should have been, whether Activision actually gave them any of the profits they were due remains to be seen), presumably very handsomely too due to MW2 having a massively inflated RRP on PC and console, to then charge £12 for making 3 maps and porting 2 more is nothing short of taking the ****.

They were paid for the game, maybe they feel they should be paid for additional work. Whether you think it is of decent value, or even additional (the maps aren't new, are they?) is not important. All you need to do is not buy it. This is exactly how business works. We buy products we like and want and we don't buy those we don't want. Then, businesses get to tailor what they produce to please the customers so that the customers give them money.

So you think the map pack and MW2 are horrible value for money?
THEN DON'T BLOODY BUY THEM

Given the way Activision want to head ('we want to make every $50 purchase a $500 purchase'), it saddens me people are so readily accepting such poor value products which is eventually going to leave people like me with a choice of 'pay out my backside' or 'dont play games'.

It saddens me too, it really does. But maybe we were just kidding ourselves all this time that games are only worth £20

 

[Evilsod]

They were paid for the game, maybe they feel they should be paid for additional work. Whether you think it is of decent value, or even additional (the maps aren't new, are they?) is not important. All you need to do is not buy it. This is exactly how business works. We buy products we like and want and we don't buy those we don't want. Then, businesses get to tailor what they produce to please the customers so that the customers give them money.

So you think the map pack and MW2 are horrible value for money?
THEN DON'T BLOODY BUY THEM

WE DON'T INTEND TO

Seriously how stupid are you. I don't want to see this **** become the norm. Now its ridiculous prices for a few maps. Then they'll start including powerful items in MP DLCs so unless you buy it you're at a disadvantage. Then they start ramping up the prices. Soon they'll be charging for patches and basic support. Before long its pay to play, but since that means you can play as much as you like per month they'll have to change to pay while you play where it costs you x per minute spent online. All companies like activision give a toss about is the profit, they aren't interesting in returning any of it to fans.

 

[Kenai]

I didn't buy them but congratulations on completely missing the point whilst trying to be a smug condescending *****, I can't be bothered trying to explain it again.

 

[Final8y]

They were paid for the game, maybe they feel they should be paid for additional work. Whether you think it is of decent value, or even additional (the maps aren't new, are they?) is not important. All you need to do is not buy it. This is exactly how business works. We buy products we like and want and we don't buy those we don't want. Then, businesses get to tailor what they produce to please the customers so that the customers give them money.

So you think the map pack and MW2 are horrible value for money?
THEN DON'T BLOODY BUY THEM

It saddens me too, it really does. But maybe we were just kidding ourselves all this time that games are only worth £20

You don't understand is that this practice is going against one of the things that has made the PC gaming so enjoyable.

Because its about freedom & choice & this is no choice when they have taken away the choice to mod & make maps by the community which some pro console users don't understand or miss because they never had it the first place & i can see this practice growing as more gullible & accepting people lap it up & there will be no more mods on any mainstream game.

 

[Gunni Parker]

It is £10.79 only while pre-order is on. Once it is officially out you are looking at whopping £12!

SO not only is it already a complete rip-off but get this, some of the new maps are actually just maps copied from COD4 HAHAHA

I'll stick with the stock maps i think.

WOW! thats really good value. I can't wait for Treyarch to bring out another Cod game. Atleast all their patches are free.

 

[Killerkebab]

WE DON'T INTEND TO

Seriously how stupid are you. I don't want to see this **** become the norm. Now its ridiculous prices for a few maps. Then they'll start including powerful items in MP DLCs so unless you buy it you're at a disadvantage. Then they start ramping up the prices. Soon they'll be charging for patches and basic support. Before long its pay to play, but since that means you can play as much as you like per month they'll have to change to pay while you play where it costs you x per minute spent online. All companies like activision give a toss about is the profit, they aren't interesting in returning any of it to fans.

Why are you calling me stupid when I agree with everything you're saying? Of course its ridiculous, and of course they're going to push it as far as they can. All I'm saying is moaning about it won't help, all you can do is not buy it and hope others follow suit. I'd be happy if I wasn't insulted just for trying to make the point that they're not "greedy", they're just taking what they're given

If you can make your business $1 billion by making people like us happy, or $10 by screwing us over, which do you think you'd do?

You don't understand is that this practice is going against one of the things that has made the PC gaming so enjoyable.

Because its about freedom & choice & this is no choice when they have taken away the choice to mod & make maps by the community which some pro console users don't understand or miss because they never had it the first place & i can see this practice growing as more gullible & accepting people lap it up & there will be no more mods on any mainstream game.

Of course that is what PC gaming is about, I don't quite understand your point. Just don't buy the bloody maps and hope others follow suit. The only way to show them you're not happy is to do that, and if they don't make money this will stop.

That said, the millions of fanboys all around you will end up buying the damn thing, so I guess we just need to get used to it and adapt

... also did I mention I don't like being called stupid? especially when I'm more or less echoing your views.

I didn't buy them but congratulations on completely missing the point whilst trying to be a smug condescending *****, I can't be bothered trying to explain it again.

...

On a side note, most of you mention you simply "don't want to see this become the norm". Again, I agree with you but this isn't exactly new. Someone mentioned Oblivion which I never played, but I assume the content wasn't exactly popular and I assume it hasn't happened since. What about BF2? The addons for that were terrible and cost a similar amount (if I remember correctly) and what happened was a lot of people didn't buy it.
Later, they re-released those for free. Every publisher will try to get away with it at some point

 

[Final8y]

Of course that is what PC gaming is about, I don't quite understand your point. Just don't buy the bloody maps and hope others follow suit. The only way to show them you're not happy is to do that, and if they don't make money this will stop.

The point is if people do keep buying, that bit in bold will not exist for much longer.

 

[Killerkebab]

The point is if people do keep buying, that bit will not exist for much longer.

Yeah, I agree, and it's sad. All we can do is hope they don't, or at least hope only the console guys buy it.

 

[Final8y]

Yeah, I agree, and it's sad. All we can do is hope they don't, or at least hope only the console guys buy it.

So why has it taken you so many pages to get such a simple point.

 

[Killerkebab]

So why has it taken you so many pages to get such a simple point.

That wasn't the point I was originally trying to argue with. Someone said they were being greedy and I just said they're just taking what they're given, and doing what pretty much anyone in their unique position would do. I'm hoping this time around the same thing will happen that happened to the BF2 extra (payable) content and so on.

I want the golden age of PC gaming to last just as much as you do, but I don't think it will.

Now what I want to know is why that earned me a few choice insults and attacks

 

[Final8y]

That wasn't the point I was originally trying to argue with. Someone said they were being greedy and I just said they're just taking what they're given, and doing what pretty much anyone in their unique position would do. I'm hoping this time around the same thing will happen that happened to the BF2 extra (payable) content and so on.

I want the golden age of PC gaming to last just as much as you do, but I don't think it will.

Now what I want to know is why that earned me a few choice insults and attacks

Well the past has many examples of being in such a position & not being greedy about it.
But people like to use the excuse of well everyone in such a position would do the same to justify what they are doing as if there is no choice to not doing so, which would make us nothing more than a bunch of sheep following lemmings if at times some people didn't take a stand.