There seems to be a shift in the gaming industry, and for the most part it looks to be a busy gamer friendly one. Until recently, the trend has been toward hawking cheat codes for cash and charging secondhand game owners for multiplayer with the proliferation of "online passes" - single-use codes included in the game box that unlock functionality.
The new trend, if it takes off, is to encourage gamers to hang onto their games longer while providing more value for doing so.
Fans of the Call of Duty series have long worried that Activision would foist a subscription plan on them - and today their concerns were met with... a seemingly modest proposal. Call of Duty Elite at first glance appears to be a good deal for the hardcore gamer while remaining easy to ignore for more casual players. Pricing is yet to be announced (expectations are around $8/month), but the bottom line is that online multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be free for all and some new features (most likely limited stat tracking and social networking) will be offered to non-premium Elites.
Subscribers will get all map packs and related DLC at a subscription rate rather than buying them a la carte. Don't worry, you can still buy individual packs separately if you prefer - though if Activision handles the value proposition right, there'll be little upside to doing so. If pricing for the premium plan offers good value and doesn't unbalance gameplay in favor of paid subscribers (which Activision has vowed it won't), it's a good solution for all: savings for devoted gamers and a steadier income stream for the publisher and developer, which in turn helps fund continued improvements. If you're interested, sign up for the beta at callofduty.com/elite.
Likewise, the L.A. Noire Rockstar Pass - which launched today on Xbox 360 and is expected soon after the PlayStation Store returns - offers players of Rockstar's popular new detective serial a 50% discount on DLC planned for release in June and July. The pass costs $10 now (it jumps to $12 on June 14) and includes all of the DLC previously offered as preorder bonuses across various retailers (two cases, two suits and a bonus challenged) plus a pair of two new cases due in coming weeks. Once you purchase the pass, you'll need to download your add-ons manually from the game's main menu.
The only minor marketing snafu is that "Rockstar Pass" sounds suspiciously like one of those online pass codes included in new retail games nowaways, rather than a DLC discount deal. Also, it probably should have been numbered (e.g., DLC Pass 01) since it includes only a finite amount of content. Unless that's all of the content Rockstar plans to offer as DLC for this game, it sounds like a Rockstar Pass would get you everything forever - but that would require a model closer to the Call of Duty Elite offering.
What do you think of these plans? A new, positive gaming trend? Or another ploy to suck dollars from your wallet...
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