DLC Pricing: Before Release?

[tbradshaw]

As the release date for Rock Band inches closer, a lot of our Rock Band discussion hovers over the topic of which system we will be purchasing Rock Band for. Most of the conversation forms into a series of checklists with items and the "winner" like: Controller Cost: PS3, Market Penetration for Online Play with Friends: XBox 360, Online Experience: XBox 360, Online Service Fixed Cost: PS3, Storage for DLC: PS3.

However, for a game like Rock Band where the purchase is clearly a "platform" for many years of use, DLC pricing is a very very important characteristic for making an informed purchasing decision. Since it's been established that over 100 songs will be released in the first year (of which we will be purchasing 100%), even a small difference in pricing can mean $25 to $100 a year in variable expenses for Rock Band. This can be pivotal for system selection, as $55 of net savings on DLC could pay for a Live Gold account, etc.

So, my question for Harmonix is not, "How much is downloadable content going to cost?" Instead, my question for Harmonix is:

Will the pricing schedule for downloadable content be announced before release?

I'm willing to forgo pre-ordering the game until the last second in hopes of finding out if the pricing schedule is going to be released. If it's not going to be released, then I can just make a decision on the information that we have already. If it is going to be released, then that is a premiere decision focus and I'm going to try and hold out to make a decision with that information in the mix. Of note: Relative comparisons are fine as well. Knowing the the pricing schedule for both systems will be the same is good enough, as we'd just like to know the relative standing of both systems.

Thanks again!

-- Travis

[ThePaska]

I would expect Harmonix to release all pricing before release, not just for how much each controller will cost but also DLC info.

I would hope they would at least before people start to purchase it. I think they are still working out most of their pricing concerns still so it could be weeks before we actually get price announcements. I would expect to see some kind of price announcements on DLC at some point.

[Brock_Landers]

I can't imagine live and psn having different priced DLC... but I guess you never know, so may be safe to wait and see if that's the concern.

[ductyl]

Hard to say, since XBL uses their own "points" system, which actually has different values for different countries.

Here is the price in USD for 100 points in different regions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Points#Differences_between_regions):
USA $1.25
Japan $1.28
Australia $1.38
Canada $1.50
Europe $1.66
United Kingdom $1.70

So if they wanted to keep the PS3 prices the same, they'd have to have different priced songs for each region on the PS3 service too.

I'm interested to see how this works out, even though I've already commited to the 360.

- ductyl

[tbradshaw]

Just a quick Monday morning bump in case the Harmonix guys skipped the weekend. :)

[logicalnoise]

most XBL items prices leak within a week or so of it's release.

[Bakkster]

If DLC prices are different between consoles, it's due to Sony or MS, not HMX. I've heard rumblings that MS tells devs that certain downloads need to cost xxx points, even when the dev wants them to be free. Not sure how true this is, or if Sony has done the same thing, but food for thought.

[Thrashdragon]

I imagine Harmonix and Neversoft are playing a waiting game on announcing DLC prices, so that the last one to the party has some sort of a measuring stick.

[Electric_Zen]

I imagine Harmonix and Neversoft are playing a waiting game on announcing DLC prices, so that the last one to the party has some sort of a measuring stick.

Interesting thought. It may not be possible to wait out Activision, however. The GH3 DLC plans appear to be about as undeveloped as the GH2 ones. There's no guarantee we will even see any GH3 DLC this year.

[tbradshaw]

I've heard rumblings that MS tells devs that certain downloads need to cost xxx points, even when the dev wants them to be free.

These are the kinds of rumors that I've heard as well that hint towards a different pricing schedule for each system. I'm hoping that Harmonix will at least be "in the know" for the pricing of DLC and can comment on if they will be the same or not.

-- Travis

[sporkBrigade]

If DLC prices are different between consoles, it's due to Sony or MS, not HMX. I've heard rumblings that MS tells devs that certain downloads need to cost xxx points, even when the dev wants them to be free. Not sure how true this is, or if Sony has done the same thing, but food for thought.

I think you're talking about the Gears of Wars thing. Epic claims they wanted to release their map pack for free, and MS made them charge for it. It ended up being like 10 bucks, which seemed pretty pricey considering they wanted to make it free. XBox Live in general just seems so inflated right now, and with MS dipping their fingers into every aspect of their platform, it really is a realistic thought that things are going to cost more on XBox Live then PSN.

Unfortunately, I'm taking the more cynical view. I don't think we're going to hear a peep about pricing other then "Our pricing will be competative and reasonable. I think our customers will be happy with what we've come up with." You know, otherwise known as default answer A. I don't think we'll see dollar amounts until the day before they become available for download. Especially if it ends up being different between platforms. I love HMX for what they develop, but they're proving they like to hide "bad news" as long as they possibly can.

Anyway, here's hoping HMX does the stand up thing and informs us before the game releases. I don't even care if they give us the specific cost, I really just want to know that they'll keep the pricing consistant across platforms is all.