Epic To Charge For New Gears of War Content -- Mark Rein, Epic Games

Well this appears to be the final stance on the saga that is "Microsoft forcing Epic to charge for new content for Gears of War". Mark Rein, in a post over at the Gears of War Forums has just stated that they will be charging for the new Gears of War content, but that it will be done in the same fashion as the Halo 2 map pack. Meaning that you can either pay for the content, or wait a "few months" for it to become free.

"Epic thinks the way to maximize the return on Gears of War is to give the maps away for free and Microsoft thinks the way to maximize the return on Gears of War is to sell the maps. So what we've agreed to do is to put these maps on sale at a reasonable price then make them free a few months later. They did this with the original Halo2 map pack and it was a huge success. Lots of people bought the maps and lots of people downloaded them when they became free. That's what is going to happen and it seems like a fair compromise for both companies and a win-win for Gears players. --Mark Rein

Thoughts?

Well this appears to be the final stance on the saga that is "Microsoft forcing Epic to charge for new content for Gears of War".  Mark Rein, in a post over at the Gears of War Forums has just stated that they will be charging for the new Gears of War content, but that it will be done in the same fashion as the Halo 2 map pack.  Meaning that you can either pay for the content, or wait a "few months" for it to become free.

Thoughts? 

SPHYNXA

I hope its later content that will be charged and not this update were getting very shortly. theoryc2

My Bad Double Post  :(

As "evil" as you think this move might be, it makes the most sense.

Put yourself in the shoes of one of the top executives of the gaming division of Microsoft. You have a game, that has reached Halo-esque heights in popularity and critical acclaim, and the developers are ready to release more content for it. Being that GoW has sold so many millions of copies, you havea HUGE market just for the download content. With the accessibility of the marketplace, you have an easy to use distributer. You want more money as part of a corporation, and a business's goal is to...MAKE MONEY!

WTF is M$'s problem? They are a billion dollar corporation, they don't make the games, they have no right whatsoever to force epic to charge for maps. It's downright wrong. Way to make a bad relationship with one of your number one exclusive franchises.bolt2448

Here was Mark Rein's explanation:

"Why does Epic not have control over this even though we created this content on our own time and our own dime?  Quite frankly Xbox Live Marketplace isn't our store.  It's Microsoft's store.  Like any retailer they have the right to figure out what goes on the shelves of their store and what price they sell it at.  They spend the money to operate the store and deliver the conent.  They've also spent billions of dollars to create and build Xbox and subsidize it's the price so you can afford it and we can make games for it.  As our publisher, they also invested tens of millions of dollars marketing Gears of War, and have done an awesome job for us, so they have a right to a good return on that investment"

[QUOTE="bolt2448"]WTF is M$'s problem? They are a billion dollar corporation, they don't make the games, they have no right whatsoever to force epic to charge for maps. It's downright wrong. Way to make a bad relationship with one of your number one exclusive franchises.SPHYNXA

Here was Mark Rein's explanation:

"Why does Epic not have control over this even though we created this content on our own time and our own dime? Quite frankly Xbox Live Marketplace isn't our store. It's Microsoft's store. Like any retailer they have the right to figure out what goes on the shelves of their store and what price they sell it at. They spend the money to operate the store and deliver the conent. They've also spent billions of dollars to create and build Xbox and subsidize it's the price so you can afford it and we can make games for it. As our publisher, they also invested tens of millions of dollars marketing Gears of War, and have done an awesome job for us, so they have a right to a good return on that investment"

WTF is M$'s problem? They are a billion dollar corporation, they don't make the games, they have no right whatsoever to force epic to charge for maps. It's downright wrong. Way to make a bad relationship with one of your number one exclusive franchises.bolt2448

[QUOTE="bolt2448"]WTF is M$'s problem? They are a billion dollar corporation, they don't make the games, they have no right whatsoever to force epic to charge for maps. It's downright wrong. Way to make a bad relationship with one of your number one exclusive franchises.ipath4life

[QUOTE="ipath4life"][QUOTE="bolt2448"]WTF is M$'s problem? They are a billion dollar corporation, they don't make the games, they have no right whatsoever to force epic to charge for maps. It's downright wrong. Way to make a bad relationship with one of your number one exclusive franchises.bolt2448

Ugh...this is STILL going on? The update was delayed because of this. It's frustrating and I see where MS and Epic are both coming from, but why not give a little back to your loyal user base? Demanding that they charge for it isnt good for your rep.Sig12047

Great job Microsoft. Money-hungry jerks.unknown-phenom

This info is old, we all know this already. It's free in a couple of months so we don't have to pay for it.gatsbythepig

I hope its later content that will be charged and not this update were getting very shortly. theoryc2

[QUOTE="gatsbythepig"]This info is old, we all know this already. It's free in a couple of months so we don't have to pay for it.SPHYNXA

[QUOTE="SPHYNXA"][QUOTE="gatsbythepig"]This info is old, we all know this already. It's free in a couple of months so we don't have to pay for it.gatsbythepig

Who cares I stopped playing gears after a couple of days and went back to pdz.

Gears is too simple and repetetive and tps suck.

like I'm gonna buy the maps if they are going to be free later

I quess I won't return to Gears as soon as I thought

ehh i'll take it.

not free at release but it will be free after a couple of months. not bad.