goLUCKY

Looks like it's available in UK first, and it'll cost them £3.63, that's about $5 buck here in the US.

http://www.xbox.com/en-gb/mechassault/premium.htm

The first chance to download Premium Content will make you fall in love with MechAssault all over again! It includes two new multiplayer game types - Check It and Take It - as well as three, count them, three new multiplayer maps: Secret Outpost, Magma Fields, and City Under Siege.

flashburn

Trigger

So they're charging for downloads now? Boo...

Kellehair

Boo indeed. The free downloads as a selling point for XBL has been a bust IMO.

Trigger

I wouldn't say that - there's been tons of cool free downloads. Some of them will come with the OXM demos disc though. I mean - 50 bucks for a year of XBL is totally worth it, but they shouldn't start charging extra for stuff.

Armando

What happens if you cancel your xbox live account or you replace your xbox?

Premium Download Boycott!!!

Oh, yeah back on topic. I won't be downloading this. Also don't forget that you can turn off premium purchasing in your dashboard so that you don't accidentally buy this. Since downloading will automatically charge the CC that you used to open your account.

flashburn

Thanks for reminding me Armando, I need to turn that 'feature' off.

Kellehair

Name a few.

Decker

How about that shopping cart-car in Midtown Madness 3? It's a shopping cart -- and a car! Get it?

edstein

Mech Assault: Multiplayer maps, modes, etc.
Splinter Cell: Kola Cell map

goLUCKY

and Mechs!

Project Gotham Racing 2 is supposed to have downloads.

funkyryno

That's it?

nickdawgy

Roster updates for ESPN sports games. Maps for UC. Downloadable content for CS coming soon.

I'd say that is plenty of good, free, downloads

JuicyJ

I downloaded 4 maps for Unreal Championship.
Kola Cell and the new level for Splinter Cell.
All the various Mech Assault additions (modes + mechs + maps).
Multiple cars and checkpoint races for Midtown Madness 3.
Roster updates for my sports games.
Ghost Recon: Island Thunder maps
TJ&E3 characters + maps

I am hoping for more free stuff in the future too, but dont care if i can pay a little to keep my games alive.

PC games release expansion packs down the road for $20-$40.

a small nice expansion pack with 2 brand new GAME MODES and multiple maps for a MERE $5?!?!?

thats friggin unbelievable!!!

whats unbelievable is that they havent charged for premium content yet.. i would have suspected they'd just bundle 3-5 new levels for Splinter Cell and charged $5.

For games I love , I would happily pay $5-10 for a nice expansion a year down the line.. if HALO 1 came out with a mere 2-3 levels, everyone would easily and quickly pay $5-10 for them...

for the MechAssasult fans, they've got the game they loved right when it came out, and multiple expansions for free along the way. and now, a full year later, their came is still relevant as for a mere $5 more, they can add 2 brand new game modes and a few maps and extend it into 2004!

I think its a frigging deal!

JuicyJ

Kellehair, do you have an Xbox or mech assault?

just curious.

I imagine you do, and it would justify you being in this thread. We can only imagine what kind of a troll wouldnt have an xbox and/or mech assault and would show up in a thread like this... damn trolls.

Kellehair

LOL! I just ordered the XBL/Mech Assault bundle through that sweet deal from Amazon. I was trying to be infammatory by saying "name a few" in hopes that people would jump to XBL's defense and list all the great stuff I could download. You put together a nice list but to be honest none of that stuff really appeals to me.

The problem is that the developers promise free downloads, the reviewers increase review scores based on the possibility of free downloads, and gamers buy the games expecting free downloads.

Trigger

well... mechassault alone has tons of freebees already - I still don't like the idea of paying extra for more.

I guess the only problem it poses is that some people will pay for it and others won't. With free content, pretty much everyone downloads it eventually so there are lots of people to play against using the new 'mods'. With pay content, you pay extra for it and less people are going to have it downloaded, so the chances of you finding a partner to play against with the new stuff is gonna be slimmer. You pay more for something that's worth less than the free stuff. That's they way I see it anyway.

JuicyJ

Developers promise free downloads? Where?

Reviewers increase scores on downloadable content? Where?

Gamers expect free downloads, I didnt. Who?

TOPDAWG

I paid for live and that is all I will pay for on the thing. The fact is if game markers see people are willing to pay for one thing they going to think hmmm maybe they are willing to pay for play. Game companies won't stop once they can see they can make money off pay shit. I can see other 3rd parties wanting money for downloads but ****ing M$ WTF are they thinking!? They make all the money off live you think they want that as a selling point.. I won't pay for anything cause once a company knows you're willing to pay for one thing they won't stop.

Also forgot to add when I use live I always host the games. So I ask M$ why should I pay you're for downloads when without people like me hosting you're system would not even ****ing work. When I host game it's running off my xbox off my Internet speed I pay for not M$ they just match the players up off live. I'd like to see what M$ would do if all the hosts said this is BS and stopped hosting. No M$ I'm not paying you extra when in fact it's me making you more money by hosting so other live players can play a game. Like I said 3rd parts games I can understand wanting money but M$ games that is just BS. I say stop it before it starts and it will get worse once they see people willing to pay for shit.

cubanx

Well it is kind of shady to Hype DDR Ultramix for the downloadable songs and then "mention" it's a $5 download for them the week of release(or maybe I missed the press release). $1 a song is fine but these companies hiding the premium online content fee's till release or afterwards need to stop it.

TOPDAWG

HAHA if you think that is bad one company who game does not even come out to next year has said in a interview they going to have pay downloads off live. So it does seem like companies are holding things back already hoping to get future money off it. The name of that game was vultures so you know but it may came out this year I can't remember the date but still their game is not even done and they talking about people paying extra for crap for the thing already.

Trigger

Hmm... maybe this is how they are able to keep Live subscription rates down to 50 bucks a year. If so, then I guess this isn't so bad.

TOPDAWG

This could bite M$ in the ass. I mean think we all know cable cost a pretty penny and most companies gave ya 125KB upload and that is not near enough to host games on live I tried it and the lag was crazy but I got moved up to 225KB and now I can host fine. However most of the people hosting have like 500KB upload and things like that so being as they can pay more for their Internet they may have the money to lay down for the pay download. So if I was them I'd damn sure be using the downloaded stuff I paid for all the time. So then you shut out all the people who don't have the money for the download out of all their games. And being as they can't host they may have a hard time finding a game to join cause most of the hosts with the extra cash put out for the extra stuff and are using it allot. M$ could up braking their userbase for a game in half with this crap.

I mean the 125 people can't find a game and they can't host one to so they can't even play the game. So they going to get pissed and say **** live this is not worth it. Also this does happen I host in CS and can never get a full game so I say **** this and just turn the game off. Now if this starts to happen with more and more games people are going to get pissed and quit live. Also the host are going to get pissed cause nobody is coming to their games or it takes 20 mins to get a full room. So they are going to have to stop hosting and join some other hosts game. So lets hope their friends put out the money for the downloads or they going to be playing without them now cause it's hard to get you're friends into some other host game. I hope M$ did indeed think about what I just typed cause if not that it could lead to a big **** up on their part.


PS. I look at it this way I look at what is on the game disc when I buy it and if it's not worth the money to me I don't buy it. I don't think well it may get extra stuff later so I will go ahead and buy it and look forward to the extra stuff to make me full I spent my money good.

JuicyJ

$50 a year is nothing, it is essentialyl the cheapest price they can do and still keep people off of Live that would just mess with it.

I have noticed a decided lack of losers on Live, people who just mess up games and stuff. they are still there, but in alot less #'s because they have to pay $50 to even get online, which is nothing, but its still something.

Also, paying for extra content to a game has been around on PC for a long time (expansion packs for $20-40).. I dont see why $5 for a good expansion of MechAssault, a year later, is a bad idea? If i was a huge MechASsault fan, I'd be thrilled!

Also, If you dont like the game out of the box, dont buy it! I never bought a game because I thought " it's okay, but the downloadable content will push it over the edge!!!!" I buy a game because of what is currently on the disc.. and if there are free downloads later on, super!

Rarely does a game mention that its going to have downloadable content for free as a big selling point.. MechAssault did with a huge sticker on the front, and it had TONS of free downloads over the course of a year.

Games like DDR say downloadable content as a feature, and then sell songs or song packs for $5? I dont think that is bad,.. It extends the replay of your game tremendously, and its a mere $5. If you dont want them, dont buy it!

They have been planning to do this for a long time, they even tested it in Revolt during the beta, where they had prices next to new cars to download for test.

Kellehair, enjoy your XBL subscription.

funkyryno

Free contentt for PC games, in the form of mods, has been around a lot longer than expansion packs. I understand your point, but I don't feel like paying money for crappy Xbox live upgrades. Maybe if they offered something significantly new I would pay, but it's kind of hard when there is so much free stuff to download for my PC games.