Free DLC, Everyone Wins, 343 Please Read

Games Other Halo
1

I know there are threads out there, but I feel this is important and deserves direct attention.

343 has an enormous task of fixing the DLC situation that is currently dividing H4 and killing the player numbers…

Make the first 3 DLC packs free to everyone. I assure you everyone wins long term.

Breakdown:

People that already buy DLC to support the game they play (of course me included):

Pros:

-Get to play DLC maps in all play lists to validate purchase
-Get to go for map based achievements
-Positive trend in… Halo’s ‘worth / value’

Cons:

N/A (Zero dollars lost)
absolutely don’t add in ‘I PAID FOR IT’… think before you speak; it’s business, YOU lose nothing (see above)

People that wont buy DLC:

Pros:

-Free content. Clearly these people are cheap in general. Free = good
-Get to enjoy great content to hopefully get on board with loving / supporting Halo again
-Positive feelings towards Halo and it’s value once again. Less negative posts in forums looking for band-aid solutions regarding DLC

Cons:

-Obviously zero

343:

Pros:

-Player base will be increased ‘AND’ (more importantly) happy.
-Long term money gained (people not buying anyway ‘right now’ but attitude can go a long way
-Positive word of mouth / friends coming back to play (think about the forums overall mood at this point)
-100% sure more sales of Champions / future halo DLC / games compared to ‘money lost’ on free maps (again, people not buying

Cons:

VERY short term $ lost (again, for the 20th time, people that are going to buy have bought already)

Side-Pros:

Less lag / better connections over time (population)
Happy player base getting to experience how good Halo 4 has become as an overall package since release.

There truly are no losers ^ Seems like simple business to me (but this is what I do I guess).

Please feel free to state TRUE losses from this (keep away from emotional / immature ‘loss’ such as ‘BUT I PAID FOR IT’…

2

Thereby setting the precedent that there’s no need to buy DLC because “it will just be free later.”

3

> Thereby setting the precedent that there’s no need to buy DLC because “it will just be free later.”

Pretty much this^^

And wile i’m in here I might as well post this.

> Valve has long been a proponent of free content updates for its games, describing that policy as a way of continually promoting sales of full games and keeping its titles relevant among the gaming audience.
>
> However, numerous reports have suggested Microsoft is less amenable to the practice of offering free content through its Xbox Live Marketplace, leading to publicly-revealed disputes between the manufacturer and companies such as Epic, which also has a tradition of free expansion content, over pricing structures.
>
> Said Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, “Since the release of Left 4 Dead last November, the design team has been excited about creating new experiences for this world and allowing players to do the same, by releasing much of our internal toolset, like the Survival Pack and Authoring Tools. We’re working with the fans toward the ongoing entertainment value of the product.”
>
> Crash Course will be released this September for both systems.

4

i would be happy if they just threw it on sale even. anything to get more folks to buy it.

it still looks like (unfortunately) a dlc playlist is the way to go. it will have low numbers but hey so does slayer so i dont see the difference. same issue either way and at least those who have the dlc can play it.

5

Have the cheap players bought it yet? What % will buy it?

For the most part, people that will buy this type of stuff (in life, not Halo) will buy it right away.

People that don’t buy this type of stuff will not buy it.

Maybe make DLC free after 4 months or so?

This keeps the overall player base happy (people that bought it or didn’t buy it) and keeps more people playing…

Which is where the common sense long term sales benefit comes in.

Think the current DLC problem (for both sides) is acceptable at all?

What about other fixes? Any other constructive ideas on how this should be tackled? It’s a pretty messy one.

Look at current ‘quick fix’ with map requirement, I know temporary, but look at the numbers. How many would quit all together if it were permanent?

6

then i have bad news for the free users.

the dlc packs will never become free.
its 1 from the rule’s that Microsoft has make with 343.

that dlc packs never most become free

7

> Thereby setting the precedent that there’s no need to buy DLC because “it will just be free later.”

should also mention this worked fine for halo 2…

8

I totally agree with the people that disagree with me above; btw.

In general, making stuff free changes expectations for handouts in future.

But in this case, IMO, it’s easily the best ‘make money’ and ‘keep Halo alive and well’ fix. Sometimes throwing the bone is what the consumer needs to keep moving forward.

The decline is unreal and theses band--Yoink!- wont stop the bleeding; that I’m almost certain of.

Of course you don’t just make stuff free in healthy business that have not lost the demand yet.

An example of this is iPhones. The old model is eventually free. A lot of people don’t know that ATT or Verizon (or whoever) pays apple a lot of money per ‘sale’ (free).

Think of Halo 5, future Halo games / DLC the ‘cut’ that apple gets for that ‘free’ phone. People sure are happy and coming back after ‘free’. And a lot of them end up getting the new phone long term.

(I know that will get some lash back but more making an overall point about long term health in a crisis with a minor / every day example of ‘free’ making money).

9

The phones are not free. It’s only free because you sign on to a 2 year contract. Go to Verizon or AT&T and try to get that phone free without the contract.

Nothing in life is free. There is always a catch. In this case Microsoft (not 343) controls the pricing of any and all content distributed on XBL. It’s been said many times that due to the achievements it will never be free. Your better off pleading for a discount. Otherwise buy the GOTY edition to get the map packs “free”.

There is no “fix” for the DLC issue. Any “solution” will upset someone somewhere.

10

> The phones are not free. It’s only free because you sign on to a 2 year contract. Go to Verizon or AT&T and try to get that phone free without the contract.
>
> Nothing in life is free. There is always a catch. In this case Microsoft (not 343) controls the pricing of any and all content distributed on XBL. It’s been said many times that due to the achievements it will never be free. Your better off pleading for a discount. Otherwise buy the GOTY edition to get the map packs “free”.
>
> There is no “fix” for the DLC issue. Any “solution” will upset someone somewhere.

Such is the nature of the world.
Nothing is ever free. Everything comes with a catch.

11

I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.

DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.

12

There is a huge problem with this as it sets up the mentality in everybody’s mind that if you just wait the DLC will become free. This will lose 343i a lot of money in the long run.

It’s much better to give non-premium buyers a limited experience compared to the members that subscribe by purchasing paid downloadable content, because that gives you more incentive to support the product.

The more financial support that goes into Halo 4 and it’s DLCs, the larger the budget on any future DLCs, and Halo 5 becomes, the better the content, and game that gets released in the future.

Halo 3 went the route of directly restricting non-premium players to two or 3 playlists that covered the “Basics” of the game. They got access to Rumble Pit, which is standard FFA, Social Slayer, which is standard 4v4 (then later 5v5) slayer. And Social Skirmish, which is standard 4v4 objective.

They got the basic Halo experience most players signed on to play. While the more “niched” experiences were given to players who continue to support the game after it is released. Ranked Playlists, Living Dead, Big Team Battle, SWAT, Snipers, MLG, these all became available to continued subscribers of the game’s content.

Halo 3 is considered the most successful Halo game in the entire franchise in terms of maintaining it’s population against it’s competition. It took 3 CoD games to take it down. CoD 4, WaW, and MW2 all had to come out in order for Halo 3 to become dethroned. And Halo 3 followed the “subscribe for a more complete experience” route of handling DLC sales. It also helped that Halo 3 provided more ways to get the DLC, with Halo Wars, and later Halo 3 ODST’s release including DLC as part of the package.

I personally believe that if Halo Reach had DLC requirements on most playlists, and Halo CE: Anniversary shipped with ALL MAP PACKS, and not just the Anniversary one, Halo Reach’s population would have been unaltered, and DLC would have actually been a part of standard rotation.

Future Halos should strive for this setup. If they were releasing a Halo spinoff this year, such as HAlo Wars 2, Halo ODST 2, or Halo 2 Anniversary, it would be a perfect time to release ALL map packs, while also restricting most playlists to have map pack requirements. But sadly because it is a Halo 2 GotY, most players won’t bother buying it because they “already have Halo 4 anyway”.

13

> I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
>
> DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.

I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.

14

Remarkable concept. I wonder if 343 will look at this, and whether or not they’ve even thought of this idea.

15

> > I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
> >
> > DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.
>
> I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.

I realize that, but I’d rather have certain armours be locked than splitting the community again. Losing some armours is a small price to pay if EVERYONE can have the maps.

Maps > Armours

16

> > > I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
> > >
> > > DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.
> >
> > I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.
>
> I realize that, but I’d rather have certain armours be locked than splitting the community again. Losing some armours is a small price to pay if EVERYONE can have the maps.
>
> Maps > Armours

If there are achievements tied to the maps, Microsoft won’t let them be free. And if its any armours, its going to be the classics that they take away. (Recon, Scout, Mark V, Mark VI, ODST, EVA, EOD, ect.)

17

I don’t know about all 3 being free, maybe Majestic. I do think Microsoft should have a fire sale however. Mark them lower individually and have a discount bundle at a lower price than what the Wargames Pass was originally.

18

> > > > I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
> > > >
> > > > DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.
> > >
> > > I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.
> >
> > I realize that, but I’d rather have certain armours be locked than splitting the community again. Losing some armours is a small price to pay if EVERYONE can have the maps.
> >
> > Maps > Armours
>
> If there are achievements tied to the maps, Microsoft won’t let them be free. And if its any armours, its going to be the classics that they take away. (Recon, Scout, Mark V, Mark VI, ODST, EVA, EOD, ect.)

Then the simple way around that would be to not have multiplayer achievements tied to the maps. We already have commendations which are accolades of some sort.

Please read this article, I think Guerrilla Games has it right and I’d like H5 to follow the same structure.

19

> > > > > I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
> > > > >
> > > > > DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.
> > > >
> > > > I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.
> > >
> > > I realize that, but I’d rather have certain armours be locked than splitting the community again. Losing some armours is a small price to pay if EVERYONE can have the maps.
> > >
> > > Maps > Armours
> >
> > If there are achievements tied to the maps, Microsoft won’t let them be free. And if its any armours, its going to be the classics that they take away. (Recon, Scout, Mark V, Mark VI, ODST, EVA, EOD, ect.)
>
> Then the simple way around that would be to not have multiplayer achievements tied to the maps. We already have commendations which are accolades of some sort.
>
> Please read this article, I think Guerrilla Games has it right and I’d like H5 to follow the same structure.
>
> Video Game News & Reviews | Engadget

I heard about this, I just didn’t read it because the title says it all. (But I read it this time). Honestly, an ideal game would have free DLC. However, that would make the developers go broke. I think they shouldn’t have armour be DLC, unless it was both DLC and un-lockable through commendations. Either that, or make other things DLC, like weapon skins and stances.

20

> > > > > > I wish DLC map packs were free and in lieu of that they had micro-transactions in the form of customizable aesthetics, like armour or armour effects.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DLC map packs split the community and just aren’t working at the moment.
> > > > >
> > > > > I want you to realize, that would mean that certain armours are axed out of the game on purpose, or are locked on Disk. I think the H3 ODST thing worked, as it was a different game, and DLC.
> > > >
> > > > I realize that, but I’d rather have certain armours be locked than splitting the community again. Losing some armours is a small price to pay if EVERYONE can have the maps.
> > > >
> > > > Maps > Armours
> > >
> > > If there are achievements tied to the maps, Microsoft won’t let them be free. And if its any armours, its going to be the classics that they take away. (Recon, Scout, Mark V, Mark VI, ODST, EVA, EOD, ect.)
> >
> > Then the simple way around that would be to not have multiplayer achievements tied to the maps. We already have commendations which are accolades of some sort.
> >
> > Please read this article, I think Guerrilla Games has it right and I’d like H5 to follow the same structure.
> >
> > Video Game News & Reviews | Engadget
>
> I heard about this, I just didn’t read it because the title says it all. (But I read it this time). Honestly, an ideal game would have free DLC. However, that would make the developers go broke. I think they shouldn’t have armour be DLC, unless it was both DLC and un-lockable through commendations. <mark>Either that, or make other things DLC, like weapon skins and stances.</mark>

Sure, I was just using armour as an example but I’m fine with those suggestions as well. By having free maps they have to make up the money else somewhere and micro-transactions have proven to be a very efficient way of making profit. Weapon skins, stances, armours, wherever it is I don’t really care I just don’t want to see DLC maps again. Every single online MP game I play with DLC maps becomes awful because of the segmented community. Little aesthetic things though won’t make a difference. I really hope 343i adopt this strategy, it would make H5 much better and hopefully sustain the online player base for years to come.