- porkstein
- |
- Noble Heroic Member
LW45 TS40 TO40 TSW35 TSN35 TT30 SB30 MLG25
IMPORTANT NOTICE: I am perfectly happy spending $60 on ODST. I will be preordering it full-price from Game in the hope of receiving it a day early. I believe it to be more than worth the price tag; I will likely play it a lot more than most games I buy for $60. In fact, if I had known I would play Halo 3 as much as I have, I would have happily forked over $600; I've certainly played it more than 10 times as much as any other 360 game I own.
Yet I understand why people are unhappy.
In September 2007, for $60, we were given a 10 hour campaign, a fantastic Matchmaking system, Forge, Theatre, and Customs. We were given 11 maps. We were given many solid additional features such as customisable armour and file sharing.
In September 2009, for $60, we will be given a 5 hour campaign, a new co-operative game mode, and 3 maps.
Hardly as good value for money. People see a short campaign and a map pack as worth perhaps $30, relative to Halo 3, that is. And what it seems to them is that the extra $30 is going towards disc 2; the disc that they have already bought.
But what about everybody who doesn't own Halo 3? I hear you say. Well, usually game pricing is based on development cost, not content. For instance:
Fallout 3 is larger content-wise than Mass Effect. But both cost a similar amount to develop due to Mass Effect's stronger graphics and more detailed environments, as well as the ambitious aim of animating every line of dialogue word for word.
To put that into further context, let's imagine a new game; Halo: Mythic. It costs $60, and comes with everything Halo 3 had to offer plus the Mythic Map Pack. According to the previous argument, the $60 price tag is justifiable. I think we all agree it isn't.
So, there you have the reason behind the anger of many people on these forums. I'm not suggesting that they are entirely valid, but it seems to me that many people don't fully understand their stance on the issue. I am here to explain.
Extra notes:
*Stop assigning figures to each feature of the game. Not only does it not work like that, but the figures are extremely subjective and not necessarily accurate for many people.
*Stop bundling the Reach beta, Recon, and Theatre into the content list of ODST. Not only is Recon a part of Halo 3, but most people wouldn't pay a penny for it. Theatre is also a part of Halo 3, and betas are always free extras; Crackdown being a prime example.
[Edited on 06.14.2009 8:31 AM PDT]