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[ravingloon]

We were having a discussion of this in an earlier thread. About what was in the Special Edition for 79.99. I linked back to an article last year on how Valve was going to have tiered pricing based on content (The cheapest edition was offline only). Well Best Buy isn't the only one listing the 49.99 edition as offline

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=645118

Price 49.99. Category: Action/Shooters

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=T000128

Price 79.99. Category: Shooters/Online

Yikes. If this is true, Doom 3 is looking like a real bargain.

 

[Wario64]

I don't believe this news

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Makes sense, as the ATI bundle version is SP only.

On the other hand, the more expensive version is a "collector's edition" which leads me to believe there's a limited run, which doesn't seem likely for a multiplayer version.

 

[Mareg]

I know most of you guys are craving for the Online part of HL2. But there is a certain pourcentage of people that couldn't care less, and these people would certainly like to pay a little less for an offline version.

Now, if it is so, Valve as got to make it clear on the box that you're paying for an offline version, otherwise...

 

[Phoenix]

In any event - $80 HL2 sucks ass and will only greatly encourage people to pirate the game.

 

[Kon Tiki]

You didn't think they were going to give you Counter Strike 2 for free did you?

 

[Arcticfox]

In any event - $80 HL2 sucks ass and will only greatly encourage people to pirate the game.

What would be the point of pirating the online version that you would never be able to play on official servers?

 

[Phoenix]

What would be the point of pirating the online version that you would never be able to play on official servers?

I agree - I'll wait for it to go on sale myself, but when I see torrents of multidudes of games with online play hacks - I suspect HL2 will have these as well. Then theres the thing with people not caring if the servers are official or not

 

[Wellington]

I know most of you guys are craving for the Online part of HL2. But there is a certain pourcentage of people that couldn't care less, and these people would certainly like to pay a little less for an offline version.

Now, if it is so, Valve as got to make it clear on the box that you're paying for an offline version, otherwise...

$49.99 is the standard price for games these days... I don't see how that's 'a little less' for the offline version. If anything they are ripping off the people that have kept the HL community going for so long.

 

[GaimeGuy]

The REASON half life has prospered is BECAUSE of the online play.


Come on, how can anyone justify Valve in this?

"Here's Half Life 2 for 50 dollars!"

"Oh. You want to play online? AND you want to be able to download mods? Lol 80 dollars bitch."

 

[Crazymoogle]

True or False, believing an online SKU report is still on par with believing that guy in school who was absolutely sure Super Mario 20 already came out in Japan.

 

[ImNotLikeThem]

I guess the Collector's Edition version doesn't have any Action in it, and all you do is shoot things and go online since it only says 'Shooting/Online'. Oh teh no!

 

[gofreak]

If this is true, I simply won't buy the game out of protest. I won't care how good it is - there are plenty of other great games coming out this year and my time is at a premium anyway. $80 to give you access to the online game is ludicrously arrogant, and a step in the wrong direction..not to mention, a slap in the face for fans.

 

[Dagless M.D.]

other than the fact that I don't believe this, charging more for the online version of HL2 would be like a director making a film and then releasing a version of it without the end. Saying that its for the people who don't want to see a good movie.

 

[shuri]

They are including Counter-Strike Source. Its been announced. Stop being fruity

 

[gofreak]

They are including Counter-Strike Source. Its been announced. Stop being fruity

So can you use mods, and play with them online, with the $50 version?

 

[Burger]

Strange since valve hasn't announced the pricing structure yet.

 

[Error Macro]

Remember last year when Newell said that they were going to charge a monthly fee for online play? I hope he completely ditched that lame-ass idea. He's biting the hand that feeds him.


















And believe you me, that is a lot of goddamn feeding.

 

[FightyF]

This pricing structure was discussed long ago, I'm guessing they are sticking with it.

So I'm assuming that you pay $50 for the offline version. You have the option of buying online play on top of that $50.

For the $70 version, you can play online, download ALL mods, etc. for a pre-determined amount of time (again, this is an assumption based on what they have spoken about in the past)

Internet Cafes can pay for a package and get a discount, I think it comes down to $10 a computer each month, and they don't even have to buy the game to begin with.

Obviously, this makes perfect business sense, if you DON'T consider consumer reaction and assume that they'll play along.

But when I consider consumer reaction, I don't think it's going to be negative in the long run.

To have access to all the MODs, to all the online benefits, even HL1 was easily worth $80. Now, if you don't care for MODs, or for online play, $50 is a good deal.

It's up to the guys at Valve to educate the consumer on this issue. It sounds like most of you don't even know that MOD creators have a chance at making some money here. There will be options to buy a MOD, so you can play it online. It will be very inexpensive for the consumer, and it will make some money for the MOD dev team.

It's a setup that makes perfect sense to me. The drawback is that it is somewhat complicated and will confuse many consumers (interesting to note that it has confused many veteran gamers in this thread alone). If Valve doesn't address this issue (of consumer confusion), I can see them being hurt negatively in the first few months of sales.

 

[XMonkey]

Hahaha

 

[happyfunball]

I don't think its so much confusing as it is just plain crap....ill stick to battlefield or, just to give it a try, play on unofficial servers..

If this pricing structure is true...then say goodbye to any hope of counterstrike source being number 1

 

[Littleberu]

I don't think its so much confusing as it is just plain crap....ill stick to battlefield or, just to give it a try, play on unofficial servers..

If this pricing structure is true...then say goodbye to any hope of counterstrike source being number 1

Ahaha. That's what they said about Steam at first : "I'll never play on this shit again!!!" Ahaha. Good times.

 

[FightyF]

I don't think its so much confusing as it is just plain crap...

I know where you are coming from...

I think you'll agree that paying $70 for it is technically worth it, you are getting a lot of product for such little cost.

But I'm sure you'll point out that games like BF, DOOM 3, Far Cry, etc. charge you only for the game, providing MODs and extra content for totally free.

This is another problem (that I failed to mention and consider) with Valve's plan. The competition is offering better deals. Sure, Valve's pricing plan makes sense...but it's not as good as the deals you are getting from other games.

 

[signet]

Think the xbox version will have online included in the $50.00 version (If you have XBL that is)?

 

[XMonkey]

Hey, here's a thought, lets all wait until the game is actually out and stores have ACTUAL prices before we go on a speculation streak.

 

[FightyF]

For more information on where I got my information, just read the following links:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/436/436617p1.html

http://www.thenakedreview.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-399.html

http://www.halflife2.net/index.php?page=article_vs_general2

^^^scroll down from 3/4 of the page to find the relevent info

signet: This proposal only concerned itself with the PC version. As the Xbox version most likely won't have MOD support, it's almost certain that there won't be extra charges.

Hey, here's a thought, lets all wait until the game is actually out and stores have ACTUAL prices before we go on a speculation streak.

The only speculation involved is whether or not Valve will go ahead with what they've said. The Gamestop prices are a clue, but I'll agree that we should be waiting for more conformation before making a final conclusion.

 

[Thaedolus]

I'm guessing if it's that expensive to play online, most people will try to find a way to do it illegally. And by most people I mean me