Ben-DutkaEA has their Online Pass and it has long since been rumored that Activision is seeking ways to monetize the massive online popularity of Call of Duty .
Well, Ubisoft says if you really think about it, Activision already is charging for online play. As Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told MCV and as summarized at CVG , the CoD publisher may not be charging direct fees for online participation, but they're still getting plenty of compensation via downloadable content. This came about after MCV asked Guillemot if Ubisoft would charge to play the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood online; Guillemot responded:
"I'd say that CoD is already charging customers for its [online] service, as Activision are already launching DLC regularly…customers are already buying content."
This past June, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said he wanted to utilize a subscription system for the hugely popular shooter franchise, which met with immediate hostility from gamers everywhere. Perhaps that won't happen, but there's one other complaint gamers often have with Activision: the high cost of DLC; the extra content comes often, and usually holds premium $14.99 price tags. And of course, none of them have anything to do with the single-player campaigns, so…isn't it logical to assume they're already "charging" for online?
Good call, Ubisoft. Makes sense.
All this does is vindicate my longtime stance that DLC is nothing but a hidden charge for gamers and its nothing but a virtual scam.
Last edited by A2K78 on 10/25/2010 9:40:43 PM
One more reason i get the PC version when possible. Free mods, dlc, etc.
Exactly. When you have a computer DLC means FREE. Just look at the L4D series. Valve regularly releases free content on the PC side while MS forces Live members to pay for the same content on the 360.
Gaming PC= Not Free
Neither is a 360 or a PS3. Not sure where you're going with this. We're talking about the software side of things, not hardware.
Capeesh?
I'm saying (if I bought DLC for multiplayer) I could buy it all for the next decade or so for consoles and still not have spent as much as it would cost to get the free DLC for the same games on PC. So free ain't cheap, get it?
I take it you're factoring in what you believe it would cost for a gaming PC and so you're basing your reasoning on this?
You can get a gaming PC (without a monitor) for $500 off Newegg. Also again a gaming PC doesn't just play games but far more and thus its value is increased far more than a PS3 or 360 at their $300 price.
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 10/25/2010 11:02:12 PM
And yet, LV, in all my years of owning, using, and building PCs, I've never found them as easy to use for video games as games consoles. So in the end, the console wins because it does precisely what it is designed to do. Unlike the PC which is doing 10 things it was designed to do, and 10 more things that it was not designed for and 20 more things that the original PC architecture was never intended to do.
LVs got a point.
for me its too much to get a gaming pc already with a ps3 and get more games for both. dont have time or money.
god damn sixthform.
Highlander,
Well yeah, consoles can be a little more user friendly. Any trouble I've had on the PC side of gaming has been easily fixed thanks to forums and friends that are gamers. Having to spend some time calibrating settings of various things IMO is not a big deal when you consider how great things end up looking and the rewarding process of working on a PC.
Look, I didn't want to turn this into another PCvsConsoles war. They both have their place in gaming. I simply wanted to point out that all the DLC people are having to pay for on consoles is FREE on PCs and I think the console gamers are getting screwed.
Actually, given that Modern Warfare 2 was released via the Steam platform, Activision is charging for DLC.
Great article.
Damn those bastards! luckily I mostly play story mode for cod, and only with friends in multiplayer. I'm not paying to get noob toob every second. I only buy the dlc when its at a discount. and that was just for zombies… you know how about we pay for the online and get free dlc that would be better…I personally won't pay for online though
Last edited by gangan19 on 10/25/2010 9:45:21 PM
so that means every game out there charges 4 their online play. games like uncharted, killzone, halo, battlefield, red dead redemption… they are all guilty of this.
btw its $15 for 4 new bc2 maps… i dunno.
well, compared to those games, call of duty is crap.
as for the 15 dollar dlc for battlefield, its alot better than modern warfare 2 map packs for the same cost. i mean 3 new maps and 2 that i was playing in modern warfare 1. if you look closely enough, you can even see that they reused some buildings for the first game in to the second with a few aesthetic changes. also, compared to battlefied maps, call of duty maps are pretty small.
i just find it amusing how you would question 15 bucks for 4 new maps but happily bend over for 3 new maps and 2 rehashes for the same price. that mentality is just hilarious to me. also, before you label me as a call of duty hater, i play modern warfare 2 online. i barely get any good games. all i hear is noob tubes from start to finish. i decided to pass on black ops though just because its more of the same with a fresh coat of paint, i want to say lead based paint. i would buy it when it gets a lot cheaper though because treyarch seems to have a good handle on single player. played world at war single player but didnt get into online. just got the platinum and thats it.
luckily 4 me i would never pay $15 for DLC
i have friends who gameshare with me.
it get DLC 4 FREE, as i will 4 bC2 vietnam.
don't say i bend over, bi***
Plus imagine the peer pressure from the fellow codnuts to buy all the DLC so they can play the same game for years.
Or till a new CoD arrives.
some of my friends keep hassling me to get it whenever i play with them online but i dont really give a crap. not to mention the price is outrageous for what you get and the 1 month timed exclusive, i blame that on microsoft mostly.
Codnuts is an awesome word.
Codnuts is an awesome word.
You dont have to buy it, its DLC. But people still do buy em. Anyway Black Ops really stands out from all the other CoDs, is anyone buying it? I definitly am, got my Prestige Edition reserved.
it seems like the same call of duty with a few more gadgets to me. if i decide to buy it though, i'll wait for a major price drop and only do single player. MOST of the people playing call of duty are dicks and idiots so i can wait a few months. i'm not saying theres no good people, they are just greaty outnumbered.
Yea treyarch seems to know what they are doing with the sp… W@w was pretty good and lengthy if u ask me… And I also agree that yea mw2 has some d-bags playing! Always talking crap! MAG and MoH are by far the two best online shooters I've played as far as the crap talking goes! I even got a lot of crap on KZ2, but not enough to complain about… But so far I wish more servers were filled with the people on MoH so far I've just been able to enjoy winning and losing!
@johnld
You are SO right about CoD players being dicks. Everyone that talks are nasty and mean individuals. What makes it worse, is that they aren't bright. If I had a nickle for every time someone thought they were hilarious for wanting my mom… (And even if they DID do my mom, the jokes on them… They'd have to be crazy to want her… ew!)
But people are mean if they win, and they're mean if they lose. I get messages all the time from people telling me I'm a heartbeat noob…. now I don't use noobtubes or rockets or anything like that… so I just respond to them by telling them to use ninja… Some people are stupid enough to say they won't cause it's a waste of a perk…
Yeah… ok buddy… you keep thinking it's a waste while you continue to lose…
GAWD… if any of you ever see me online playing MW2, I guarantee it's because I have a friend also online playing it.
I told them I was NOT getting Black Ops… but they all got it anyways. I told them again… I'm not getting it… so my friend Jesse pre-ordered it for me and said it would be a gift… He's a bastard, really, lol, but I guess I won't turn down a free new release… *rolls eyes* I hate CoD fanboyism….
" I told them I was NOT getting Black Ops… but they all got it anyways. I told them again… I'm not getting it… so my friend Jesse pre-ordered it for me and said it would be a gift… He's a bastard, really, lol, but I guess I won't turn down a free new release… *rolls eyes* I hate CoD fanboyism…. "
Are you sure it's not just you wanting Black Ops?
🙂
"Are you sure it's not just you wanting Black Ops?"
I would be a terrible person if that were the case. lol. All but one of them are still in university racking up student debt. Brandon and I are the only one's who have a career and are probably the only ones in the group to be able to afford a new game once in a while.
The fact that Jesse, Jake, Nick, and Josh are chipping in money (Brandon helped out) means I'm a total jerk if I actually wanted it. Cause now their student loans are paying for it… lol… I'll think of something to repay them.
But yeah, obviously, they did it because I was adamant about not getting it. I tried to convince them to try another online game for once… doesn't seem to have worked.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 10/27/2010 9:02:37 AM
Which is why I find it appalling that Sony is now charging for online play with the Plus service.
Yeah. It doesn't make sense. But nice try.
Huh? It's free to play online on the PSN. What are you talking about?
Rent is too damn high! Oh yeah and you've finally lost your mind.
Yea what?
Eh?
where did you get that interesting bit of information, an xbox site?
Yeah, You dont make any sense. but nice try.
yeah everyone nice try
Er…? You lost me at "charging for online play".
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 10/26/2010 12:34:57 AM
You've finally succumbed to the parasites in your brain haven't you? Seriously, any shred of credibility that you possibly could have ever had is now gone. Charge for online play? You really are quite mad.
i guess another company talking about CoD finally made this guy snap…
Saying "Activision Charging For CoD Online Via DLC" is as stupid as saying "Sony is charging for online play via PS+"
Wasn't that hard to understand but naturally your CoD hate has blinded you.
or…. maybe…. you just were not very clear.
Not really though, the CoD fanboys will buy anything that's CoD-related.
I remember about the stimulus package getting downloaded million times in a matter of week I think.
They can choose not to but they just go all out with CoD.
If their friends buy it, they pretty much have to or risk being shunned by the CoD community.
That's like justifying a heroin dealer's actions because there are people out there that buy the stuff. The fact that people are buying up the DLC is irrelevant. This DLC is just another example of shady business practices preying on the misinformed and uneducated.
I may not like these games or a majority of the people that play them but I can still see how wrong the current DLC format is on consoles.
Yeah, sorry Anti-vision the only stimulus package I'll be buying won't be from you!
But it will be for a 30 pill-count bottle of No-Doze to help keep me awake while I'm playing a few gaming marathons.
I just platinumed assassins creed 2 and i'm kinda pissed on one thing. the trophy goes from beating chapter 11 to beating chapter 14. kinda makes me thing that they just chopped up the game intending to sell them as dlc and i just missed out of the full game. i mean i missed 2 chapters in the story.
although my brother did buy the game used so i dont know if the dlc codes for both chapter 12 and 13 come with every new copy.
They don't come with it, you'll have to fork out cash if you want to understand the story more and get to use the hang glider again.
Well it's a perspective thing. I can still play Warhawk today even if I haven't bought into any of the expansions. There's still value for the game even if I don't have all of the most up-to-date add-ons.
What would happen if Activision charged for playing online(a service) and then also charged for more content (map packs etc)?
Similarly, when comparing Xbox LIVE's Gold service to PSN+ you'll find that PSN+ is offering you content and discounts. Whereas, LIVE GOLD gives you online play and discounts, but with little to no content. LIVE Gold is more easily recognized as a rip-off in comparison to PSN-standard, but PSN+ gives you a net value of something more than LIVE Gold.
What I've noticed is a recent trend to reduce content upfront and slowly disperse it for a price to consumers that have already grown tired of the weak amount of content given at Day1.
i bought the warhawk expansions separately because that game was just plain fun. then they gave it away free for plus members. i hope sony does more of these on recent games, it doesnt have to be free, greatly discounted works too.
johnld,
Ubisoft did shaft us with those 2 missing chapters.
They padlocked both chapter's rightinside the game itself& then sold the DLC code keys to them later on to unlock them.
Stone cold f*cking rip-off, so what they just did by snitching, was no better than what Ubisoft, themselves, did in AC2.
Matter of fact, I think it was even more low down & sneaky than anti-vision, cause at least the scumbag kotex came right out and said(in other words) that he'll fu** us over if he can find more ways.
So Ubisoft is the new kettle that's keeps calling the pot, black!
Gamers made Call of Duty a mega hit and they cry about the results of the aftermath. Serves them well.
i blame 360 users for that cod buildup. they say theres a lot of great games for 360 but they only focused on overhyped and small amount of shooters. my theory is halo came out for 360, they got hooked into playing online, wanted another fix. mw1 was hyped up, they follow it since they didnt have any other games to play aside from gears.
it didnt blow up as big on the ps3 since theres a variety of games and users tastes and of course a smaller install base. dont get me wrong, i loved modern warfare 1, its the sequel im not too fond of.
its just funny that when you ask these guys to name what games were must have for the 360 out of the large selection, they say halo, gears of war, fable (i dont get it), mass effect (not exclusive anymore), and ……. they just cant think of anything else. of course i'm not talking about guys who actually care about videogames.