Activision, feeling my job as a video game industry muckraker and general loud mouth is too easy, announced it's first map pack for Modern Warfare 2 today. G4tv.com reported today that the new map pack, which includes 3 new maps and 2 recycled maps from the original Modern Warfare, will be released at a price of $15. That's right folks, the same thing that Valve and other companies often give you for free, Activision is charging you for. But not only charging, charging you 1/4th of the game's original value. A game who's multi-player has been fundamentally broken since day one. It seems that the move to 100% IW.net was nothing more than a ploy to require all content come directly from Activision, and of course, at a price.
Maybe it's just the person I am, but I would think a map pack like this could be a "Thank you for making this the best selling game of all time" or "We're sorry the game has been broken and exploited." These maps could have been an olive branch for Activision to it's customers in a time that they really need it. I'm not sure if they read what people are saying, but the gaming community isn't really happy with them right now. But instead, of fostering goodwill with the very people that keep them in business, they decided to twist the knife and gouge for a few more dollars.
It seems that Activision is hell bent on alienating the fans and developers of one of the most popular franchises of all time. Just remember though, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has tanks, destructible environments and is releasing some free maps shortly. Not saying you should stop playing Call of Duty games and jump onto Battlefield, I'm just saying...
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but Battlefield is so ugly. It truly is. I WANT to like it. I WANT to love it but I guess I'm just going to wait for the Medal of Honor game and see what happens. I have high hopes.
ReplyDeleteWell Anonymous, I have to say I don't agree. While not the best looking game of all time, I think Bad Company 2 looks pretty sharp. But this is also coming from a guy that has no problem playing games on the original Half-Life engine as long as they're good.
ReplyDeleteIf Activision didn't want to make more money off of MW2, they wouldn't release anything. This isn't like an MMO where you need a steady stream of new content to keep people playing and keep pulling in subscriptions. An FPS is a one-time purchase, and DLC is ONLY offered as a way to keep the consumer buying. I agree that the price point is a bit absurd, but (even avoiding arguments about development and distribution costs -- they will need a consistent price across platforms and Microsoft wants a cut) people will buy it anyway, so can you really fault them from a business perspective?
ReplyDeleteWhen there's no incentive to "do right by your customers," it's a principle of the free market that you shouldn't bother. The fact is, MW2 is *already* the best selling game of all time. They don't need to butter up the consumers or offer concessions because they *already* have your money.
@Brad: You really raise a great point. I don't fault any company for releasing additional content and charging for it. Not every company is Valve and I understand that. At the end of the day, these developers and publishers are still businesses. I have no problem buying DLC for games like Fallout 3 that add a fair amount of content for a fair price.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do draw issue with is when it's completely overpriced and on top of it they don't allow the community to produce their own content. Some of the greatest experiences I have ever had with games were with content made by players. To completely shut down that section of PC gaming is completely short sighted. Instead of being dedicated to Modern Warfare 2, making maps and playing on their privately ran servers they will just be looking for "the next Modern Warfare 2."
But a point I would like to make is yes, they have everyone's MW2 money, but what about MW3? How many people are going to have a negative impression of the Call of Duty brand after having a glitchy and exploited multiplayer experience, only to be completely raked across the coals with DLC?
Simply put, it's just another example of Activision living for today and just assuming that *everyone* is that stupid. There will always be people that will line up for CoD games, but if they keep it up, those lines will get shorter and shorter.
I think we're more or less seeing eye-to-eye on the contributing factors; it's just a moral argument of what "should" be the case. As I said, I don't know their costs, but the price seems high, and I've definitely had my fair share of excellent experiences in custom multiplayer maps, so I hear where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteBut the consumer base for the Modern Warfare franchise is vastly broader than the hardcore purist who appreciates that distinction, and even those who have tried to make that point before have crumbled (remember the pre-release "MW2 boycott" about this very issue? http://imgur.com/abXW9.png). The fact is, ideals are important to people, but not important enough to miss out on a great gaming experience. So until there's strong competition to take that business away, the customers are writing them a blank check to bleed the game (and the franchise) dry. Obviously, if they actually diminish the game experience, you're right, and people will stop lining up, but it's difficult for me to call the map pack a cash-in without knowing its development costs.
I hope you're right, and that the public perception and general goodwill towards their antics will eventually turn the tide. I guess I'm just too cynical to really believe it.