If a lot of people complain about spending $15 for the G.R.A.W. DLC, then Ubisoft will have to re-evaluate the situation for future DLC too.
I, personally, feel that the Chapter 2 DLC is worth it. Even before touching it, I know I will play the new content a lot because of how much I have played G.R.A.W. I feel it is also necessary to say that we did not receive a review copy, so I paid full price for this (superb) game, just like you.
I have no problem paying developers — big or small — for worthwhile games and/or add-on packs.
For one thing, and this is the kicker, it is going to keep G.R.A.W. in many a 360 for even longer now. The Oblivion DLC does the same thing. Gamers get to enjoy more of the game they already love.
It is your opinion on whether or not the premium content is worth the premium price tag. There is no need, or place, to rationalize why I think it is worth the money, as it is my opinion. I would just be barking up a tree. It is worth it because I will utilize it.
To be honest, I expected this Chapter 2 map pack to cost $10. When I read it was going to cost me $15, I had sticker shock at first. Then I though about how much I enjoy playing G.R.A.W. It is, after all, one of the best looking and playing games on the system to date.
The real negative effect this will cause is the precedent it is setting. Other developers see that they too can price gouge 360 owners. This is really a Bad Thing for the industry. It really shows how helpless we are.
But if the game is good, and G.R.A.W. is great, then the cost seems justified (to me, at least).
What do you think?
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
The PC content is completely different and nowhere near as varied. The free pricing of the PC version is irrelevant, aside from the map editor.
This is priced content that's hovering in the slightly overpriced territory. Would I like it cheaper? Well of course. Is it fair where it's at? I see no reason why not. The co-op campaign is by far the most fun I've ever had on Live.
2 - Ken Edwards
I agree about how fun the co-op campaign is. I also agree that it is worth the $15.
But I do not think the free pricing of the PC version content is irrelevant at all. What is irrelevant is what three levels and three maps the PC players got. They got that stuff for free. We paid $15. There should be a happy medium here.
Oh and just a warning. Download the frickin' Title Update before you spend an hour downloading the GRAW Chapter 2 DLC. Because if you don't install the Title Update first, you will have to grab the Chapter 2 DLC again.
And when you say "Download Again" it doesn't just zip right away. It downloads it again.
Minor oversight? Yes. Annoying as hell? You betcha!
3 - Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
Well here's a point for you both to consider. What made Co-Op in GRAW fun? Was it the maps and design themselves? Or was it the people you played with? People who may not, and in the case of at least a few of the people you game with WILL NOT, buy Chapter 2?
Just some food for thought.
4 - Ken Edwards
Your point works until a point, at which point it becomes pointless. Why? Because there are a lot of people playing right now with this new Chapter 2 content. I will go play GRAW with them. It is your loss in the long run.
Cost of everything is going up in the next generations. And lets not forget that the XBLM is in business to make money.
5 - Ken Edwards
... so bitch about the cost all you want. I am enjoying a great extension to an already great game. Would I like to see a beefier expansion for $15? Sure I would, but they haven't given us that. They have given us more multilayer goodness though.
6 - Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
I'm sorry Ken but cost of next-gen only matters when there's actual next-gen development costs attached to it. You'll be hard pressed to prove that 4 maps and some trvival bits cost Ubisoft any major amount of money to produce.
If people just bend over and accept this rediculous price, then you're heading down a slippery slope where it's ok to charge $15. If $15 is acceptable then what's to stop then from charging $20? Inflation only happens in the gaming world because we allow it to.
Right now the acceptable level for that ammount of content is around $10 (check the boards, you know it to be true) and the only reason it will ever go higher is if we allow it to.
Maybe GRAW Chapter 2 is worth the money for the entertainment value, but that entertainment comes from the people you play with, not the maps themselves. So why not just put the $15 towards some beer and then replay the original maps with some friends? We hardly got tired of them.
The bottomline is that there's no way you can justify Ubisoft charging that price for maps. Even if the experience is worth it, the content clearly isn't. Getting screwed is still getting screwed, even if you had a good time.
7 - Ken Edwards
I would wager ($15 just for the comic value alone) that it cost Ubisoft quite a bit to develop this Chapter 2 add-on pack.
Lets be honest, the slope got slippery when Microsoft introduced micro-transactions on XBLM. It has already headed into bad places. I certainly hope that Lumines Live does not charge extra for multiplayer, but that is the latest rumor.
People will always complain about higher prices, as everyone should. No one wants to to pay more for something than they think it is worth. But the market will determine the price.
We complained about the $10 extra per game, the cost of themes and gamer pictures, the cost of Bankshot Billiards 2, the cost of Table Tennis, etc., etc.
The only complaining that has had any resonance is the Horse Armor mod for Oblivion. Everything else has sold well.
It seems to me that a lot of people have bought the Chapter 2 add-on pack. There have not been a shortage of people to play on the four new maps.
The bottom line is that I have justified the cost of the add-on to my self. And that is all that really matters here. It is a shame you feel screwed over by this, but at this point in the, I would much rather spend another $15 on GRAW then on any other 360 game.
Is Ubisoft capitalizing on the summer gaming slump? Sure. That is called a wise decision.
Would it have sold better at $10? Probably. Would $10 recoup the costs involved? Who knows. Has Ubisoft made back the money for the initial development of GRAW? Won't the sale of the Chapter 2 add-on help defray those costs?
True, we don't get tired of the old maps, but having more than four choices sure is nice. And meeting more people on Xbox Live is hardly a bad thing.
Well, unless you are playing Halo 2 :P