New "fees" for online extras are sharply raising the price serious video gamers pay for Xbox 360 games. More than 3 million Xbox Live subscribers pay a $50 annual fee that allows them to play games online against one another. About 3 million more use the service without an annual subscription, taking the total to more than half Xbox users. Through Xbox Live, players can buy maps for fighting terrains and other add-ons that are indispensable to serious gamers, usually at a cost of $10 each. Game levels and maps require a lot less of a game's development staff but can sell for a fair bit of a game’s original price.
Pricing the downloads is a tricky science that many game publishers, including Microsoft, are still figuring out as they try to balance profit with the risk of alienating gamers who might feel they are being taken advantage of. Microsoft Xbox Live group product manager Aaron Greenberg said few gamers complained about the add-on features and that the charge helped Microsoft recoup the cost of developing games and running the expensive online service."We are like the complaint department. We hear from the small minority that are not happy," he said.
News source: CNN
Pricing the downloads is a tricky science that many game publishers, including Microsoft, are still figuring out as they try to balance profit with the risk of alienating gamers who might feel they are being taken advantage of. Microsoft Xbox Live group product manager Aaron Greenberg said few gamers complained about the add-on features and that the charge helped Microsoft recoup the cost of developing games and running the expensive online service."We are like the complaint department. We hear from the small minority that are not happy," he said.
News source: CNN
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I'm waiting for the Gears maps to be free. I'm not paying "just" $10 here, $10 there. The only problem is that majority rules. So if 1,000,000 people do pay for the content, the 100,000 just doesn't matter too much.
That's utter bs to me.
That's utter bs to me.
It's only EA that's been doing that. They're the tight gits here. Other companies have just been charging ridiculous prices, mainly RedOctane/Activision. 500 points for a measly 3 songs?! I'd rather play them on Frets on Fire, where you can't pick up and down on quick notes.
TRUUU
I've got all 3 next gen consoles, and if I could only keep one it would be the 360 (even though I've just got it back from being repaired)
Unfortunately Microsoft are in the business of making money, which they will do in any way they can, just like any other business in the world.
There are companies like Epic who release map for free (when they are allowed to do so) but these are very much the minority.
I am fine with paying for newly developed content and for Xbox Live, but I will not pay for content already on the disk. As far as I am concerned it was developed with the Game and should be part of the game.
Bad Example: Guitar Hero Tracks...way to expensive
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