satanisgreat9 said:
I either have to cringe at Bungle's stupidity, or applaud them for getting suckers to pay for what is normally free.
We're releasing a total of nine new multiplayer maps.
All nine maps will eventually be available as Live downloads and as a normal boxed game disc - available at retail for $19.99 (US).
The release on Live will be staggered, some paid, some free!
The first two maps are free and coming in a few short weeks. (late April)
The same day the 2 free maps are released, 2 additional maps will be available for purchase.
The remaining 5 maps will be made available as a paid download on the same day the retail package goes on sale.
The retail disc will contain extras, including a documentary, a cool project from our cinematic and animation team, every Halo 2 update released so far and possily one or two other little treats.
By late summer, ALL the maps will be available for free.
Halo's multiplayer maps are nothing special. Particularly if they have to remove them due to problems inherent to the engine. I do wonder if they will do any recalls on the paid maps in order to "temporarily fix" other game issues. I really wonder how desperate Halo players must be to get new maps, but then I chuckle and download a new server list of UT2k4 maps that retroactively spank most of the single-player maps in Halo. No...wait, check that. ALL of the single and multiplayer maps.
The best thing is that I don't have to pay $19 for an overglorified map pack, or wait about 5 months until they are free to download. Whereas I can download new maps, new weapons, new vehicles...all for free.
Why is Bungie charging for these maps when they should be free?
Well, the answer for the retail pack is simple - it costs money to make the maps, press a disc, put it in a box and get it to retail. For downloads, it's the exact same development process, plus bandwidth, support, all that stuff.
Funny. You would have thought the money these pretentious jackasses have made through overhyped sales alone, they could afford to regularly release new maps. Just like every other FPS game company. It is called post-release support and addition to keep interest, and it does NOT require the bullshit they are trying to excuse this with. It might fool the naive or stupid, but the real FPS audience are enjoying much more content, for free, and have been for years. Now Bunle is trying to fuck that up with some shitty hype whore excuse, with an already limited title.
$20 for a map pack of 9 maps is insane. The misc. crap included really isn't that noteworthy either, as it hardly pertains to the game's operation. So much for their claims of "programming costs". Besides, as anyone in the FPS industry knows, maps are cheap to make. Good maps take nothing but a mapmaker's time, and Bungle can't really be crying for money at this point due to hype and Lowest Common Denominator.
You make things, they cost money to make, you have to charge for them. At the end of the day, Bungie doesn't have much involvement in the business side of things, although we are very pleased this stuff is going to be available for free download in the long run. And we're pleased that two will be free immediately. The other cool thing is that by working with retailers we can put these maps in the hands of gamers around the world and those who do not have Live.. These maps are not just about Live play, but for all those who play in LAN tournaments, etc...
How about this, morons? You and then go with a low-cost distribution plan similar to Nintendo's distribution of peripheral in-game content. Those disks could easily sell at $5 apiece, to cover the print run and work (*snicker*) on that disk, and they sell a lot more than almost the cost of a new game. I snicker because most map compilation CDs are capable of holding far more than 9 maps. More like DOZENS in most cases. Yet these pretentious twats are going to sell 9 maps and expect this to really work or remain anywhere clost to those in the real FPS industry.
Nine maps is actually a lot of Halo maps, and these new ones are in many regards, more complex graphically and technically than the original batch.
Nine maps is a lot? Oh...a lot of
Halo maps. I forgot, 9 maps is a lot for the crippled console FPS releases.
The discs and the software are tremendously expensive to program, design, manufacture, package, ship and distribute. That's what you're paying for, should you decide to buy it.
No, you're paying for a lot of barely-talented yet overpaid schmucks to ship you content that comes for free for other games post-release, because it is part of supporting the community and continued interest. Too bad Bungle's bullshit lies don't really stack up to the real industry, and they must assume that people are naive as to how things are published.
Wait, I forgot. Microsoft and Bungle both need the $10 a CD disks to make sure that the new maps aren't pirated.
