There is a debate on Bungie.net about the morality of Bungie making certain playlists on Halo 3 require Legendary DLC.
Before I begin to elaborate upon my thoughts and feelings on this practice I will try to summarise the facts as I am aware of them.
Currently there are 3 sets of DLC for Halo 3, Heroic Map Pack (Free), Cold Storage (Free), and the Legendary Map Pack (600 points).(1)
There are currently 12 multiplayer playlists, split between Ranked (5 playlists), Social (3 playlists), DLC (2 playlists), and MLG (2 playlists).(2)
Of these 12 playlists only 4 require you to have purchased the Legendary Map Pack.(3)
Microsoft controls the price of the DLC.(4)
Now before I continue I want to make it very clear that this is not intended to be considered an attack on anyone. It is not my intent to insult or ridicule someone for their opinion on this matter. I am merely trying to put across my own view upon this debate, and hopefully fuel further meaningful discussion on this matter.
So let me begin.
As I type this, today is the first anniversary of Halo 3 retail release; I have owned it since day one. A quick perusal of my Service Record will show that I am not considered amongst the Hard Core, nor am I one of the Elite. I have yet to pass the thousand games mark, and my highest ranking is a 30 in Lone Wolves. (5) So it is safe to say I am an average, middle of the road, pedestrian gamer. I would like to think therefore that I have an average, middle of the road, pedestrian view of this gaming service provided by Microsoft, a pompous proclamation maybe but it is from this viewpoint that I intend to frame my remarks.
The first thing I feel I should clarify in regards to this debate is this. It doesn’t matter how much your console cost. The cost of Xbox Live isn’t an issue either. Why do I believe this, it’s simple they are not related in anyway shape or form to the cost of Halo 3.
Consider this, my Xbox cost me £225 ($418.18)(6) second hand. When it died I bought an Arcade for £160 (£297.37) and placed my old HDD in it. So the cost of my console totals £385 ($715.55). Then you add in my annual Xbox Live subscription for the last twelve months £39.99 ($74.33). Halo 3 cost me £39.99 ($74.33) plus the two sets of premium DLC which at a total 1600 Microsoft points cost me £13.33 ($24.78)(7). It all adds up to a whopping £478.31 ($888.99) to play Halo 3.
Except it doesn’t; I use my Xbox for far more than just playing Halo 3, and I am sure that many gamers are like this as well, so when talking about the cost of playing Halo 3 with DLC it is not really appropriate to consider the cost of the ancillary things aside from the purchase of the game itself if they are not used for the sole purpose of playing Halo 3.
So in actuality the cost for me to play Halo 3 is the cost of the game and the DLC, £53.32 ($99.11) and I believe that the equivalent sum is the only one relevant to this discussion.
Now onto the playlists. To this day a consumer can still play Halo 3 without any DLC. Indeed only this weekend just gone, my Brother bought his first Xbox 360 and got a copy of Halo 3. I set up my Brothers console and gamertag for him and left him playing Halo 3 as it comes from the box. He has exhibited no displeasure at any restrictions imposed upon him by the current playlist options; he will download the free maps as needed, and will purchase the Legendary DLC when he wants to enter these playlists. The fact that some playlists are restricted has not impinged upon his ability to play this game online and enjoy the experience.
However many have shown great displeasure at the double team playlist becoming Legendary DLC required, arguing that they believe it to be morally wrong for Bungie to restrict access to certain playlists to those that have paid for premium content. I respectfully disagree.
There is no moral argument to be answered. Halo 3, as with all video games, is a luxury item, we are not talking about necessary essentials here, food, clothing and shelter. Playing a video game on Xbox Live is not an inherent right or man but is instead a privilege that living in the developed western world allows us to do, therefore it is not immoral to offer premium content and restrict access to parts of the service. It can be argued that it is unfair, however as Video Games are a luxury item and not a necessity; morality really doesn’t play any part in this discussion.
It is also important to note that 66% of the playlists, representing a wide diversity of gametypes are available to play with all the free maps. Bungie are not preventing you from playing the game, they are merely offering a bonus to those who have paid for premium content. If you pay extra, you get extra.
One person in this discussion stated that they refuse to buy these maps as a point of principle. To a certain point I do agree with his statement. My father once closed all his accounts at a bank and transferred everything to a separate institution. A full day of work, and wages, were lost as a result, not to mention the inconvenience of contacting all of our utility companies to switch direct debits (I believe the US equivalent of this is the Automated Clearing House)(8). The reason for this was a £0.50 ($0.93) charge to withdraw money from over the tellers counter.
I agree wholeheartedly that you should stand up for your principles when dealing as a consumer, because if no one stands up for your consumer rights you will get walked over by big business trying to cut corners and save money. It doesn’t matter if it’s £0.50 ($0.93) or if it is the cost of the DLC, £13.33 ($24.78), with matters of principle cost doesn’t factor into it. So to the gentleman who refuses to purchase on a matter of principle, you have my admiration. It has been my experience that few people would quibble over a small sum, whether it is against their principles or not.
However I purchased the DLC as a matter of principle. That’s the problem with principles they are so personal that they can vary greatly from person to person on the same issue. So while I agree with the sentiment behind my fellow gamer’s statement, I personally disagree with the content.
Paying the £39.99 ($74.33) for the game as I did on September 24th (9) gave me access to the game, and all the maps that shipped. I was happy knowing that I was playing a game I had been looking forward to since I cried WTF as the credit screen rolled on Halo 2. I was content knowing that my money would in some way shape and form help Bungie with funding for their next project.
Then, as in Halo 2, Bungie released DLC. I happily forked over the money for the Microsoft Points to purchase the Heroic Map Pack knowing from experience with the Halo 2 map packs that it would eventually be released for free. Despite this I handed over my money with a smile on my face. Why you ask, simple. The DLC had development costs on top of the costs of developing the game that shipped in September 2007, for this reason I was happy to pay extra because I knew some part of that money would see its ways to the coffers of Bungie and help support them during the development of their next title.
I end this with a question or two to you all. If Content costs money and the revenue from DLC helps pay for new content. Is charging for extra content inherently wrong? In light of the extra costs of DLC, what right do we, the consumers, have to demand this content for free?
Thanks for reading; I look forward to your responses.
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References
1-Xbox Live Marketplace page for Halo 3
2-Halo 3 Matchmaking Lobby
3-http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=15519 Playlist Reminders
4-Bungie Day Podcast
5-http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Halo3/Default.aspx?player=Jim+028
6-Based on the conversion rate 1 GBP = 1.85845 USD http://www.xe.com/ucc 24/09/2008
7-£17.50 ($32.52) for a 2100 point card equals £13.33 for the 1600 points.
8-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Debit
9-I managed to get my copy a day early.
