Call of Duty 4 Official Map Pack to Cost Money for PC Gamers?
It was exciting to first hear that Infinity Ward (IW) would be bringing 4 new maps to Call of Duty 4, all of which will help get the players away from the standard Middle Eastern and Russian environments. Here are the names of the maps according to Gamespot.com:
Broadcast - Remember that broadcast station you have to fight your way through in the single-player campaign? Well, it will be a fully functional multiplayer map available in this map pack. Apparently, it is primarily an indoor map, with a few outside locations such as the rooftop and parking lot. However, IW stated that they are really expanding on the inside, so don’t expect a simple copy/paste of the single-player version.
Creek - A Russian map with a twist, Creek is a large map that offers a variety of fighting styles from close combat to sniping.
Chinatown - There wasn’t much information about this map available. We can probably expect this map to be more of an urban showdown.
Killhouse - Interestingly, according to Gamespot, IW said that players should recall the training area at the start of the single-player when imagining this map.
Now, more maps is always a good thing, especially when custom maps, while being great fun, just aren’t widely accepted by most servers. Plus, after only playing for a few months, even I’m getting tired of seeing the same old places over and over. However, the manner in which we may be getting these new maps is the problem.
Here’s what Gamespot had to report on this issue:
The map pack will be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the coming months for an unspecified price. But interestingly, Infinity Ward hasn’t decided how the maps will be distributed on the PC, where players are much more expectant of postrelease bonus content being released for free. Realistically, Call of Duty 4’s multiplayer is so absurdly good that would have gladly handed over cash for whatever maps the designers could have phoned in–so we’re especially glad to see them putting so much time and care into this first release.
I never doubted that console gamers would be expected to pay a small price to download the map pack. Personally, that is what they get for playing the console version–it just comes with the territory. However, the fact that IW hasn’t confirmed that the map pack will be available as a free download for PC gamers is… disturbing. The article is right, we are “much more expectant of postrelease bonus content being released for free.” Isn’t that EXACTLY how it should be? Of course, Gamespot isn’t about to say that postrelease content costing money for the PC version is absurd… they wouldn’t get invited back if they did.
What makes IW think that PC gamers will fork over any amount of money for a couple more maps when most of us are hesitant to pay for “expansion packs?” The day postrelease content costs money for PC gamers is the day that PC gaming officially dies for me. Just because companies can get console gamers to fork over money for the most rediculous downloads imaginable doesn’t mean it will work on PC gamers.
If the map pack does cost money to download I won’t be doing it. I’m not going to contribute to the “consoling” of PC gaming.
AT Wire Word of the Week:
Con·sol·ing [verb] - To make similar to console gaming.
—Synonyms: scam, cheat, steal, exploit, mislead, screw, hoodwink, hustle, manipulate
Also see: Xbox Live.
Filed under: COD 4 New Maps Broadcast, Call of Duty 4 Official Map Pack, Chinatown, Creek, Infinity Ward, Killhouse, Money for COD4 Map Pack?, PC Gaming vs. Console Gaming
[...] JC Fletcher wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI never doubted that console gamers would be expected to pay a small price to download the map pack. Personally, that is what they get for playing the console version–it just comes with the territory. However, the fact that IW hasn’t … [...]
I don’t understand why console are expected to pay a fee. We payed the same amount for the game, why should PC gamers get it for free?
You console gamers have to pay a fee just to play online, whereas we PC gamers dont and its always been that way; suckers.
MS Live blows, period
Console games already cost 10 dollars more and it’s not like developments are less for PC games than Console. It’s silly that just because PC games have been respected longer they shouldn’t have to pay fees for content. Talk about self rightous. As for the comment about being able to play online for free, it’s interesting that MMOs are included in your 50 dollar yearly fee. Much better than a monthly fee per game. PC gamers need to just deal with the fact that times are changing. Console games are nearly as clean and clear as they are on a PC, and just as (if not more) respected in today’s gaming world. It’s nice to not have to buy another 500 dollar video card every time a new game comes out. Consoles (esp now that there is downloadable content) are the future.
pc games dont charge to update maps and services because when many pc games are release4d they have many diff bugs and fixes that need to be applied so that the game will work efficiently on a wide spectrum of systems. many games are revamped 5 or 6 times over the course of many years. its just the nature of the beast and as far as paying for anything extra for a game is ubsurde. no matter what system. Thats all
Everything you said in that article was spot on mate. If IW does choose to put a pricetag on the release of a few mediocre maps for the PC me & a hell of a lot of other hardcore PC gamers out there will not be purchasing it full stop, or they will be getting it by other means *cough* .
First it was EPIC Games getting taken in by the easy Console way of life & now its Infinity Ward, I mean how many more great developers are we going to lose?? its slowly starting to dawn on me & i know many others that PC Gaming just isn’t what it used to be and is dying at an incredible rate just because of the better Studios getting a little to greedy for there boots.
Also to be honest i thought CoD4:MP was bloody terrible, why the hell do i want to play the same maps ive already played in SP mode, a thousand more times over? Its just mindless stupidy, i was hoping it was going to be like Battlefield 2 but actually good instead of crap. What i mean by this is the better engine, better gameplay, better graphics. and most of all nice large fun maps, where you can actually move around in and get something done not all this close combat crap, its not even realistic for gods sake.
@seraph: Yes, I will give you the development costs being the same but the price difference is another matter. The reason why games cost 10 dollars more on the xbox is because of licensing fees and distribution differences. Not only that but PC games can potentially make more money than console games due to distribution platforms like steam which cut out the labeling, boxing, shipping, and brick and mortar stores all together.
The biggest thing about making people pay for extra content on the PC is that no one will buy it. There are plenty of custom maps for CoD4 all ready. Heck, I just played the Original Carentan with some people the other day.
But the biggest question is how. How are they going to distribute and make people pay? There is only one option I see that is even remotely possible to make this pirate proof.
Amen to the article! It would be stupid for IW to charge PC gamers for a few maps when there are new and very good custom maps for COD4 multiplayer coming out every week for free! If they even try to sell it, there will be a free version available from a modder.
@consolesforchildren: “… not all this close combat crap, its not even realistic for gods sake.” COD4 has excellent multiplayer. I can’t believe you say COD4 is “unrealistic” and say BF2 had better mulitplayer? What are you smoking? In BF2 you could take a .50 cal sniper rifle to the chest and then magically throw med packs on the ground to instantly heal yourself. Nevermind that in BF2 everyone has a magical backpack that flies out of their butt when they jump from something to tall. BF2 was fun, but it is a joke compared to COD4.
The best part about COD4 is that it mods pretty well. Depending on the server, custom maps and mods can accomidate anyone’s personal taste. But don’t knock the realism, then compare it with a game that never heard of the word.
“… not all this close combat crap, its not even realistic for gods sake.” LMAO - I dare you to say that to SF 5th group or the SAS!
OK… #1 reason charging for online mp maps won’t work. IW doesn’t host the mp gaming servers. When you connect to a server running a map you don’t have it auto downloads. Sure this can be turned off so you’d have to have the map to even get on the server, but what happens when you’re playing a “normal” map and then switch to a “paid” map? 1/2 your gamers get booted of the server? That server wouldn’t be online for long, as people that don’t want to fork out the money would get tired of getting kicked off every other map, having to download every custom map manually… even free ones, etc.
So…. even if they sucker some people into buying them, good luck finding server admins willing to go through the headaches of having them loaded without getting sued for letting people download them from their server for free.
I whole-heartedly agree with your article, and as others have pointed out - the pc is an open platform and should not be compared to closed platforms such as consoles. Console users fail to understand this. Next thing they should whine about is how unfair it is that we can download wallpapers for free.
I used to play PC games but i found it hard to play multiplayer for party games on them… and its not very convienient. Always need updates in video card then eventually processor and RAM… plus its a bigger hassel to hook it up to my HD projector. I think they should have to pay for the maps because someone’s job is to design the maps…? Seems like whoever that was should get paid for their job. Otherwise theres no incentive to make more maps in the future.
Ha, their incentive is to keep their customers happy so we buy their games in the future. PC has an expected tradition of free content. We have a huge array of custom maps to choose from, IW trying to leech more money out of us isn’t going to make either party benefit. We pay huge costs on the front end just to RUN their game. Ram, videocards, motherboards, mouse, keyboards, headsets, processors, etc. I’d gladly go to console when it allows me all the versatility of a computer. oh yah, and gets rid of controllers.
computer-assisted auto-aim is for noobs.
and yes, its built in to every console shooter.
have fun with your hackers and purchasing your own servers, its simply an argument between customization over standard. Which is fun but not everyone on a computer has the same advantages as others which I see is unfair, it shouldnt be how much money you put into it, and what map you designed, it should be a standard? Plus it is way harder to hack on Xbox live without being banned and i’ll pay just to have that along with a somewhat reliable server (getting better hopefully)
I agree with qferret. Charging a price with online maps can’t work. People can use that download function on CoD4 to get the flippin map without paying. Those maps should included in the next version patch of the game to prevent major lags in the server or something like that with that many people not having the map.
@qferret
BAM! MONEY SHOT! He hit it, bullseye. It just simply won’t work to pay for the maps because, well, read his post! Not to mention there is this new thing called PIRACY. IW should look it up.
Only some sucker pc users will pay for the maps. The rest will download them. I dont play consoles cause the graphics are crap, framerates are crap, controlls are crap, the netcode and internet gameplay is crap, i built a pc for my little brother to play cod4 on just to get him off the xbox live… he hasnt played cod4 on the xbox since.
With computers, yes you have to upgrade them, that is due to games being released with a higher standard of graphics all the time… For Example, Crysis looks mint… Why isnt it on console… oh my… the consoles have gfx cards equivelent to GF6800ultras… lol… The thing with the consoles is that they will never be anywhere near as good graphics as a pc, anyone who thinks that console is close to a pc obviously hasnt seen a good one.
If they are ganna make pc users pay for it they would be smart write up decent few hours of good single player action and pop another 10 multiplayer maps in n sell it as an expansion pack kinda like UO..
Anyways console fanboys suck pole
I read this directly off of Activision’s CoD4 website.
the new map packs for PC gamer’s will only be reachable by buying the GOTY edition from stores, which costs as much as the original game, and all we get is 4 new maps?
give me a break activision, that is completely absurd, we can get better content from mod servers anyway, and you expect us to pay so much money for something we should be able to download for 5 dollars, or nothing at all?
get your priorities straight.