The official Modern Warfare 2 Discussion thread, cough Captain Price is dead, cough

Activision: Do you have the profits from MW2?

Jason West: We got it, sir.

Activision: Good, that's one less loose end.

[Shoots Zampella in the chest]

Jason West: No!

[Activision shoots West and crouches down to take a wad of cash from Zampella's vest]

 

Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package Details, Pricing
Details about Infinity Ward's upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map pack, titled the Stimulus Package, have been posted on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace website. This download contains five maps in total, two of which appeared in the first Modern Warfare title.

This pack will be available to download on Xbox LIVE starting on March 30. PS3 and PC owners will have to wait a bit longer.

Here are the map descriptions:

Bailout - a multi-level apartment complex

Storm - an open industrial park littered with heavy machinery

Salvage - a snowy junkyard fortified by stacked debris and crushed cars

Crash - a war-torn urban environment (CoD4)

Overgrown - features a massive dry creek bed (CoD4)

Activision has confirmed the pack will cost 1200 Microsoft points ($14.99).

This comes out to the low-low price of $3 a map. Two of which aren't even new. Way to go Activision.

 

Are you sincerely surprised at this, after the rather astounding recent demonstrations of their business practices? Anyways, you can always choose NOT to buy the mappack...

 

Unfortunately it's not surprising. There seems to be a trend of game prices increasing. Just about every new arcade game I've thought about buying is now 1200 points, which always makes me think twice.

MW2's original price here was also artificially inflated. Its RRP was NZ$150, where most console games range from $99 to $120. It was nothing but blatant price gouging.

 

This has pretty much been my biggest fear with the increase of DLC in general. Most popular games nowadays have some sort of DLC come out for them at some point. Sometimes it's an extended single player campagin. Sometimes it's added multiplayer maps. And sometimes it's locked content that is already on the disc. Very rarely is any of this free.

The average price of video games has already increased to $60-$70US and with an extra 10-15 per DLC it's getting outright ridiculous. I'm not one to poo-poo extra content for my favorite games but the pricing is getting out of hand IMO.

And yes, I'm well aware that there is always the option to not purchase the DLC but when it's something like multiplayer map packs it becomes difficult to play with my friends if they all buy it and I'm the lone holdout.

 

You do realize what you've written, right? You have to unload hard earned cash on a so-so DLC...because of peer pressure!?

 

Forgive me if I don't like being ripped off. I can remember when map packs like this were free. Hell, Bad Company 2 is doing it NOW. I'm sure you prefer to pay extra money on something that other companies are giving away.

 

The only recent free DLC I've seen is that of ME2 (so far). None of the Halo 2 or 3 mappacks have been free. Maybe one or two for Gears 1 if memory serves. And definitely not the one and only mappack that was released for MW1. At the end of the day though, any purchase is ultimately the buyer's choice. However it does suck that eventually the purchase is forced upon you when matchmaking lists demand that you have the DLC. Either you shell out for it or you can forget about keep playing the game you enjoy. What a lovely choice to make, huh?

 

Alex Rocyewicz: EA have you ever hear the enemy of my enemy is my best friend?

EA: Infinity ward you are going to find that that cuts both ways, Activision is using site: "Hotel Encino" You know where it is, I'll se you in Hell.

Alex Rocyewicz: looking forward to it, Give my regards to Medal of Honer if you ge their first.

 

I don't think that's entirely true. I know Bungie's released at least a few free maps, mostly whenever they were able to. Cold Storage was free, and I remember a Halo 2 pack coming out the summer before Halo 3 that was free as a thank-you to the community. Pretty sure the old Halo 2 packs became free eventually, as well. I may be wrong about that one.

 

Valve has also released a ton of free DLC on the PC version of TF2. Plus, the first DLC, the one that added survival mode, for L4D was free as well. Even on Live.

 

Yes, Cold Storeage is free but I think that's the sole piece of Halo 3 DLC which is actually free; the actual content-heavy mappacks (Heroic, Legendary and last but not least Mythic) were definitely not free (and before you say the first part of Mythic was free with Halo Wars, you had to buy pay the premium for the collector's edition in order to get it).

As for the Halo 2 mappacks, it's been awhile and my memory's hazy but I'm sure you had to pay for them all when they were first released.

Valve has also released a ton of free DLC on the PC version of TF2. Plus, the first DLC, the one that added survival mode, for L4D was free as well. Even on Live.


Ok, I forgot that bit for L4D. But you have to agree free DLC is the extremely rare exception, not the norm, when it coes to DLC on XBL.

 

I do agree. I just don't like it.

 

Being that this is the first game I have actually played for any length of time on LIVE, do you have to buy the map packs to play those levels/continue to play period on LIVE or are the map packs only if you want to play on those levels with split screen?

 

If its like COD4, the players who have DLC maps will be segregated from everyone else. If you choose not to download the new maps, you can't get matched up with people who do.

I remember holding out on the last map pack for COD4 for a long time and I could only play with small pool of players. Matchmaking always took forever, too.

 

That is kinda what I figured plo_koom. Thanks for the info.

 

So how are the new maps? Anyone tried them out?

 

They are okay. I love seeing Strike and Vacant back.

All the new maps are quite big.

 

I like big maps because I usually play on Ground War with more people. Fuel is my favorite of the new maps. It's varied with big outdoor areas, small buildings, and everything in between.

 

My xbox aint getting fixed anytime soon.