- Foxsnipe
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- Exalted Heroic Member
Posted by: D1RTY FRANK
Foxsnipe, I have to say that your defensive view is quite narrow.
Nobody held a gun to my head and made be buy any of the Halo games, or the 360, or any of the stuff off of the Marketplace. I chose to do it because I am a fan of video games. I love the Halo franchise.
Fair enough. However the point I'm trying to make is this isn't worth crying and whining over. You can either buy them now or wait. People should really consider themselves lucky that there is even a free option; yes, it'll be a while, but at least it's there.
I tend to be very picky on what I spend money on. I still will not buy the 120GB HDD until I absolutely need it because I don't feel the gain justifies the cost, so you can't say I'm a spendthrift. Similarly, I understand while people are getting worked up here. Yeah, I'll probably drop the $10 because I want to try something new (I would have done the same for Gears except I moved on to another game by that point), but that doesn't mean I don't see why people are upset. Still, that doesn't justify the huge amount of complaining and ranting like children. I'm all for feedback on unfair pricing and whatnot, but what the community has shown thus far is not the appropriate method.
Be upset all you want, but you should still be civil. All you have to do is say it's too expensive and you'll be waiting. No need to say Bungie/MS suck because they are ripping you off. They would only be truely ripping you off if you were forced to buy it (i.e. Matchmaking restricted you from playing), which isn't the case (this time). Of course, you'll be missing out of some gameplay but you have alternate means to play and eventually get the maps.
However, I think there is a larger issue here that gamers need to be wary of. Companies--especially Microsoft--are taking advantage of our love for gaming. Now it's not enough for them to make a profit the old fashioned way by creating a product that people want and offering it for a reasonable price. The new business model is to squeeze every penny out of us that they can. It goes beyond good business into the realm of ridiculous greed and gross disrespect for the ones that make it possible for companies like Microsoft and Bungie to exist in the first place. I think this is a dark time for gamers. Sure, some games may be better than anything we've played before, but it's also costing us more than ever before. This can't go on forever and I fully expect there to be a crash before the next generation or shortly there after. That crash will not be good for those of us that love gaming.
Fair point. But at the same time, people are starting to make more money, and as a result of all prices going up people just start accepting it as normal. Blame the economy in general for that one (and I suspect some blame should be directed to the manufacturers of the source hardware for increased costs that eventually get passed down to us). Though it could be said Microsoft simply provides the path for companies to do this, it is really up to them whether they choose to exploit it or not. Granted they'd be foolish if they didn't economically, but the decision is still their's. Software in general isn't any better, look at the exorbitant prices for things like Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. The digital industry as a whole is guilty, we are lucky it's taken this long to reach the gaming arena.
People have every right to complain right now and voice their concerns/resentment. Bungie talks a lot of community. The creation of this "community" of dedicated fans may just be another way to insure cash flow for Bungie, but it actually means a lot to fans. Honestly, I think we deserve better. The bottom line is Bungie is a business and they need to make money, but they are making plenty of that right now and they have us to thank for it. I don't think they should take advantage of us by over-charging for maps--and they are over-charging because $10 is 1/6 the price of the full game that took them three years to make. Don't tell me it took 1/6 of the development time and money to make these three maps. They don't even have to press any disks. It doesn't equate.
People do have the right, but they should first understand that not all that money goes to Bungie. Microsoft gets its fair cut of the profit, no matter how much you like it (just as PayPal does for all transactions). As it stands, I see a lot of outright hatred directed at Bungie individually without thinking it through. Let's also remember there are deadlines to keep and contracts to uphold. You may not agree but at least respect that those things exist.
Also, as I said before, at least protest in a civil manner, without acting like you didn't get picked first in a playground game or something. As much written protest as there is though and that Bungie may see, untimately it comes down to whether Microsoft will see sales drop significantly. And with the price set where it is, I suspect it won't, since it's not that great of an insult if people think one more map would be fair. It's just the way the market works, similar to CDs, which I feel are too expensive yet there are many people willing to buy theme.
More than anything else, I feel really disappointed right now. I want there to be many map packs for Halo 3, but I also don't want to be a mindless sheep that gives Bungie and Microsoft free access to my bank account. Even if $10 isn't anything to you, I would hope that people would stop and look at the big picture. How about we send a clear signal to them that we aren't mindless consumers and hold out on these maps until they are free or the price drops.
And that, is precisely what I've been trying to explain to people. If you don't feel the gain is equal to the cost, then wait. Surely you can wait 6 months when you are not kicked out of Matchmaking, as upset as that may make you. Band together with other like-minded players and stick to custom games, where you'll probably have more fun anyway. If the pricing continues, I probably would wait until they are free as well (at least unless I get a free point promo from the likes of Verizon or a pre-order at BestBuy). Since I did wait for the Gears maps, I don't mind paying up this time around. Besides, I have a lot of points on my account just twidling their thumbs only because I got a point card for pre-ordering Halo 3, so I feel that promo deserves to go back to Bungie/MS. Otherwise my points would probably just be wasted. I don't buy a lot of things off Marketplace. Other people I'm sure buy things like the RvB videos, TV series, etc. which in the case of the latter I find very silly. See, I bet I'm going against some people who are complaining here.
All I ask is people just stop whining like children and hold themselves to a higher level of protest and discussion (i.e. protest with your dollars). It makes you and the community look a lot better. People should at least understand they have a free option instead of pretending they don't and taking the pitchfork to Bungie, acting and talking in an offensive manner (cursing and yelling at Bungie), etc., which has generally been what's happened.
Thanks for the chance for a civil discussion. Hope I hit each point enough.