Do I think we should have free DLC? Yes and No.
Yes, there are some DLC that should be free, IE single map DLC, certain Character based DLC should be free, Spartan Ops like Missions should be free. (Yes, Spartan Ops should be grouped as DLC.)
No, there are some situations and DLC that shouldn’t be free, IE large map packs, and large missions. The larger the download, the more the need to not be free. DLC on Xbox LIVE is very iffy, mostly because it costs to not only for the developer to put DLC up on Xbox LIVE, so Microsoft can check it and make sure it works right, and isn’t full of spyware, but they also have to help maintain their servers.
Money from games and DLC help keep the developers, not the publishers, so leave EA and Microsoft out of this. The money from game and DLC sells are used to maintain the servers, the developers computers, their furniture, their building, pay their employees, and pay for the marketing.
YES, I understand that a lot of you guys look at this as a money grab, and you’re right, it is, Publishers and Developers don’t make money from used games, and once they release the game, a small percentage from the sells actually return to them.
DLC is a good way to make spending a year or more developing games easier.
> Can we just eradicate DLC?
WHY!? Why eradicate DLC, that means no new maps, no new missions, no new content post launch. You’re grouping DLC as only maps and map packs. Halo 4 is the first Halo game on the Xbox that has DLC that’s more than just maps. We have Spartan Ops which is missions, we have this new DLC that’s armor and weapon skins. All of the Preorder stuff, that is DLC of sorts. You do away with DLC, what else are you going to bundle with preorders?
> Like put more maps in Halo 5 and raise the price of the game if necessary,
Raise the price? that’s a stupid move, no offence to anyone, but look what happens when you have a high priced game. People don’t buy it day one, they wait until the price drops, people pirate the game.
> It’s not only an unethical practice, it also causes problems in getting maps to actually be played in-game.
Unethical? How is it unethical? Because it costs money!? Oh no you have to fork out some money to buy an optional part of the game.
Unethical is Pay to Win, Unethical is making every single DLC free, and not giving developers a cent, Unethical is forcing people to spend money.
Ok, it causes problems in getting the maps to actually be played in-game, there are ways to FIX those problems other than removing DLC altogether. It’s called lowering the price after a few months, it’s called having a send alone playlist for DLC.
> And I do say unethical because most of the time it’s like this:
> I sell pies.
> Suddenly, I cut a pie in half, and start charging you extra for the other half.
If you cut the pie in half, charge the same as a whole pie, and then charge a person the same price for another half, is unethical.
You don’t go out and sell a person a slice of pie, and then if they ask for another slice, or the rest of the whole pie, you don’t give it to them for free.
When I walk into a store to buy an apple, I don’t expect to be charged 0.99$ for a whole basket of apples.
They way you’re talking, it sounds like to you, that developers make a whole game, and then break it up and sell the parts at a later date. Which that kind of action is slightly unethical, but that’s not what DLC in Halo is. Halo’s DLC is they develop the game, they release the whole game, and then after the game has gone gold, or has been officially released to the public, they then begin work on DLC, to be added to the game.
Lets go back to your pie selling, lets say you sell me a whole pie, are you telling me that that’s all the pie you’re going to sell me? I can’t come back and order a slice, or half of a pie?
> > Not every company. Yes its annoying that you have to pay but they need money after all it is a job
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> There’s a difference between “needing money” and “trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of the frugal masses”.
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> And frankly companies like EA and Microsoft are probably fine from a financial standpoint.
Those are PUBLISHERS. 343i is a DEVELOPER, know the difference.
A publisher publishes the games, and makes mass copies of the game and help out with marketing.
Developers are the ones who develop the games and work their butts off to release them.
Yes Microsoft is most likely getting a larger percentage than say EA, but that’s because you’re dealing with to parts of Microsoft, you got Microsoft the publishers, and Microsoft the Xbox LIVE. Xbox LIVE takes a cut from anything on their services, it helps maintain their servers, and help them with R&D, as well as other expense.