Topic: CoD4 map pack sells 1 million in 9 days

[scottws]

I don't really, however, see all that much difference between holding out content for DLC and holding out content for expansion packs.

I agree with this.  But in the cases of many expansion packs, they are released to capitalize on the success of the original game rather than to release features or content that was purposefully held out of the original game (or previous expansions).

For instance, I don't think F.E.A.R.: Extraction point or Starcraft: Brood War would fall under the type of expansion pack you are describing.  But I bet many of The Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon ones would.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, Scott said that quite well.  There are the type of games that abuse that stuff like crazy, but I think traditionally more expansion packs have been good than crap, and a big difference is that expansion packs tend to be reviewed like normal games, so they can receive a low score or get badmouthed by people as an entity, keeping more people from buying it.  You can't really do that as well with DLC because it isn't an entity, it's a bunch of little things that aren't necessarily packaged together.  Plus most expansion packs offer a decent amount of content or add some significant new features, and most of the stuff couldn't have been developed in full then simply released later... most likely the majority of the development was after the fact.  A lot of expansions alter some gameplay fundamentals in different ways or add gameplay types, the kind of thing that needs balancing and playtesting and such.  Certainly you're right that there's no real science to it, but I think you can still distinguish the difference between a lot of these things.  Plus people have long bitched about expansion pack abuse, and that's no different.  Lots of people including people here have bitched about EA's way of doing things with The Sims and some others.  The same principle applies there.

as far as consumer mindset goes, it's rare that people start willingly giving things they're used to up

Yeah, I don't follow your logic there, especially in light of gaming since the year 2000 and the many things gamers have readily given up in exchange for basically nothing.

[wizall]

I'm a little late here, but I will say that I did decide to get the map pack after some deliberation.  Being a PC gamer almost my entire life the idea of paying for something that should have been included in the first place is definitely galling.  That said, the amount of time I've put into playing these maps has been completely worth it.  So, while I'd love to boycott "expensive" DLC, this is one I'm willing to pass on.  And I'm okay with it.

[gpw11]

Yeah, I don't follow your logic there, especially in light of gaming since the year 2000 and the many things gamers have readily given up in exchange for basically nothing.

I'd argue that it's a different target audience, one that doesn't really know what's been given up because they never experienced it.  But yeah, that could possibly continue to happen, with younger gamers settling for less.

[Quemaqua]

Exactly.  I don't know that people ultimately want to give up stuff as they go forward, even if a fair portion have bought into it here or there, but it seems to me as a body of consumers we get a new generation of gamers every couple of years, and even if they aren't spending their own money, they're spending that of their parents.  That's more uneducated purchases based on ad saturation and popularity, and if they get used to it, it doesn't change so much as the years go by.  Add in the group of kids not old enough to really care about what they may have lost, the influx of casual gamers who don't know any better, and the group of experienced gamers that have been swayed already by promises of convenience or simply the consumerist allure of having more shit to buy to expand the games they love to a super-hardcore degree, and you've got enough money to assume this stuff is going to keep getting pushed forward.

[MysterD]

DLC For The Right Price
First thing's first -- I'll buy DLC stuff, if you price it right for me. I'm more likely to purchase it if it's compiled onto a retail disc, too. Kind of like say BethSoft did w/ Oblivion's DLC, putting ALL of their DLC stuff on a Elder Scrolls 4: KOTN Disc and selling it for reduced price.
($20 retail, which is cheaper than an expansion; I paid $10 for it on sale, though -- wo0t!)

DLC Treatment by Publishers
One of the things that annoys me about the DLC stuff is the current treatment of it by certain publishers. Some either care for it too much and overcharge for it; or they just seem to care about DLC way too little, as far as I'm concerned.

For example, take how Codemasters has treated Overload: Raising Hell/Challenge Pack Combo DLC for the PC version. First off, you can't even buy this in stores on a retail disc period. Also, only certain places online have it available for purchase to download; barely any of the online places have it for purchase period!

Also, I really would've liked to have seen say some of the NWN1 Premium Mods be put on disc as one expansion pack box, but never were -- such as Wyvern Crown of Cormyr, Infinite Dungeons and Pirates Of The Sword Coast.

Free DLC
It's always nice to get free content. I really like what CDPR is doing w/ Witcher by releasing FREE DLC Content for download and what Bioware/EA is doing w/ Mass Effect DLC for Bring Down The Sky, releasing it for free to PC gamers. I really like when Egosoft released Bala Gi Missions DLC for X3: Reunion Owners just to give them more reason to keep playing.

It's when companies go to this kind of length to release extra DLC content for free, that when their next game is out, I think I will be more likely to look for their next game week of release and possibly buy it for the retail price, instead of waiting a fair amount of time for a price drop/sale to hit.

The Sims - Expansion Pack Abuse + Extra Content Abuse

Plus people have long bitched about expansion pack abuse, and that's no different.  Lots of people including people here have bitched about EA's way of doing things with The Sims and some others.  The same principle applies there.

I agree. I mean, I'd hate to see DLC's being milked worse than the way some companies treat expansion packs, such as the way Sony does w/ EverQuest (It has like 12 expansions, if I recall) and EA does w/ The Sims -- and I think it wouldn't be surprising if it eventually comes to DLC's galore being milked in that way, too.

The ONLY reason I have yet to buy Sims 2 is b/c I am waiting for a Sims 2: Complete Box w/ everything. They pump out too many expansions and extra items packs for me to even try and keep up w/ it. I probably won't buy Sims 3 until they put out a Complete Box for that, as well.

Hell, I've still yet to buy Sims 1: Complete Box...

Expansions That Could've Been Full Games...

For instance, I don't think F.E.A.R.: Extraction point or Starcraft: Brood War would fall under the type of expansion pack you are describing.  But I bet many of The Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon ones would.

I think some of the best examples of "expansions that could've probably been sold at full game prices would" be BG2: Throne of Bhaal, NWN2: Mask of The Betrayer, and NWN: Hordes -- all which are RPG's that are longer than many regular sized games (all are at least 15-20 hours plus) and add a lot of new content/features to the actual original game.

Map Packs
I don't know, but I think the CoD4: Modern Warfare map pack could've been released for a lot less, given that it gives you 3 new maps and 1 remake map for $10. $10 ain't much money, no -- but damn, you'd think for a game that has been out for a bit and that they ain't changing much to the CoD4 MP Game itself, they'd give you around say 10 quality maps for around $10.