Totally agree, and what's worse is that the songs I would want are spread across all 3 packs! Either put them all together or list songs individually.

If they were individual I'd consider paying 100 each, maybe even 150 for a song I really wanted (same as a gamerpic) but 500 for maybe 1/3 that I want is too much.

Not buying :(

I've posted at Major Nelson's blog.

http://www.majornelson.com

As well as any kind of official GHII / Activision / Red Octane site I would encourage people to post there too. I haven't seen one positive comment about this pricing. The horse armor escapade has a reputation within MS for being a bit of a rough time. This is much MUCH worse I'm sure you'll agree. If there's enough bitching from the community, I'm sure they'll be having words.

Unleash the fury!

I sucked it up and bought the Lumines packs, but those were 800 for 20ish extra songs (!) compared to 3 for 500 here.

No way I'll pay this, and I certainly wouldn't mind getting Killer Queen.

LOL, and I remember some jerk claiming to be on the inside said they'd be free or cheap. BOO expensive songs.

I responded there thus;There are two caveats to bear in mind here however. These songs are available pretty much world wide on Xbox Live, hence a license to "publish" the song worldwide is required and that would be more expensive than say just one for the US. That's because of the backwards way the Music biz works.

As a small factor it's not an excuse though.I don't deny that Microsoft has a responsibility as the shop keeper, but, it is the publisher, Activision/RedOctane who set the prices not Microsoft. As a third party game Microsoft just get their cut per MS point. The price of content is less of an issue to them.

However that is difficult for them to claim "free market" here when it suits them after telling Epic last week it couldn't give away maps for free. As the publisher for Gears they are well within their rights to set the price for their game but don't preach the values of the free market when they don't have one. I hope at least they are waving the Xbox Live MP Polices and Best Practice documents at Activision and saying "We told you this would not end well".

I really want a couple of those songs, even though I suck but I'm not buying them on point of principle at that price.

Microtransaction rape at its best (worst). The licensing excuse is just that -- an excuse. GH2 has more tracks and will ultimately cost less than the DLC (98 bones) *and* it comes with a controller. Seriously -- who do they think is going to buy such ridiculous spin?

I'll still purchase the game but I refuse to purchase any content at this price. And deftangel -- MS definitly shares the blame here for this awful trend -- Major Nelson's ridiculous statements defending this model are evidence enough of that.

I'd only pay 500 points for some Hendrix songs. All Along the Watch Tower, Purple Haze, and Voodoo Child!

I didn't mean to suggest they are blameless. As shopkeeper they share responsibility for what's in the store but I can 100% assure you final say on that price belongs with Activision. MS gives pricing guidance and basically runs a policy that advises prices should be kept in line with that's already up on MP. Unlike Gears, they have far far less input into this.

As much as I disagree with Major Nelson's statements, he's hardly in a position to come out swinging at Activision publically but I would hope at least words are being had behind the scenes. More to the point, at least he has put himself there in the firing line and taken all the flak thrown at him which is a bit more than can be said of Activision at present who appear to have remained steadfastly quiet.

It's absolutely right for consumers to pressurize MS in this instance but I think it's important to recognize the publishers role in this also. For every bad example of premium DLC on marketplace there is also a good one.

Takes 2 seconds to sign, recommend you do!

http://www.petitiononline.com/GHIIDLC/petition-sig...

Apparently DDR from Konami charge 100 MS points per song or 800 for 10... anyone in the US able to confirm and/or if those songs are "licensed"? Not that you could blow this anymore out of the water already but if we're going to war, it's always better to have more guns!

Well, I'm not sure I agree that there are as many good examples as poor ones, but it's sorta a moot point. If 50 percent of the DLC on the marketplace is overpriced, I see that as a pretty negative trend for consumers. It seems pretty obvious to me that the guidelines MS are using aren't really in touch with the real world value of the content. Hell -- a lot of it should just be free.. there is virtually no value in skins and models -- and even less in avatars and themes.

MS and the power of choice -- the choice to accept bending over and taking one for the team..

People may think I exadgerate the issue.. I think those people are just accepting the abuse laying down.

Even tho it may be futile.. I'll be happy to sign once I get myself to a real computer.

I didn't mean literally. There's so much on there now I couldn't offer a comparison. I was only alluding to a tendancy to write off all micro-transactions/premium DLC as bad when I don't feel this is the case.

I would cite as good examples;-

Oblivion (Horse armor excluded before someone wiseman brings it up)
Kameo
PGR3
Marvel Ult. Alliance

Where it's been fairly priced and adds something to the game which you probably wouldn't have been able to get hold of via a traditional retail model.

Obviously there are lots of bad examples though I would argue that if there is no value in skins and models, why do people persist in buying them?

I've probably purchased a fair bit through MP since launch, but only where I've felt it's reasonable. On this occasion I think this is unreasonable and I'm of the opinion that making plenty of noise about not buying it could make a difference. GHII is a perfect example of a game where DLC makes sense, it's literally win-win if they get the right business model.

I certainly don't think I'm laying down and accepting the abuse :)

Guess we'll just agree to disagree here. I respect your position -- I just think the value of a lot of this content is being greatly exadgerated. For example.. on the Xbox 1 we saw far less DLC but a far greater percentage of it was free. If Crimson Skies was a 360 app, I doubt we would have recieved any free planes :/

It's all about conditioning us into percieving these things as having value.. and of course people will buy it when there is no other way to go about getting any sort of add-ons for our software. I'm pretty sure if MS had their way we'd see this trend spill over to the PC platform as well.. and see how many long term PC gamers you can find who think a single model is worth a single dollar.

Unlimited supply and far less demand would never fly outside of digital distros.

:D

Anywho, I doubt they will change the price on these packs, even when everyone screams there lungs out!

Although it's unfair.. Microsoft can do as they wish on Xbox Live and there's no one who can change that.... Although it would be an awesome move if they for instance changed some of the prices...

If it doesn't sell well, I think they'll have to have a rethink of sorts. It's as much dependent on Activision as MS if not more so. I'm optimistic, I've not seen ONE person think this pricing structure is a good idea or attempt to defend it.

I'm sure Sony and the Singstar people are looking at this with interest and thinking about how their plans relate. You could create an entire business model around these sorts of games that is fair for everyone. Similar to how some MMO's operate in Asia. This sort of practice will kill it stone dead and the same will be true of Singstar, GHIII and Rock Band (God help us when EA get involved here). There has been a lot of time and chatter invested about these models in the industry of late so it's in their own interest to get it right if they want to make it viable.

Ultimately competition is good. At present MP is out there on it's own as a forum for this kind of thing, at least in the console space. Once Sony get their act together *hopefully* that at least provides a point of reference for comparison on a less regulated platform and hopefully a sense of competition to put some deflationary pressure on the MP, especially the worse aspects of it.

I can certainly appreciate how those with more of a staple in PC gaming have a different perspective here. That's a background I don't really have so I guess you could say I'm looking at it through a different pair of eyes. Much like I think Boom Boom Rocket is great and everyone hates it because I haven't played that many rhythm games!

I'll assure you though I haven't bought any single models and/or skins from MP yet and I'm not planning to. Then again, that sort of thing goes on all the time in South Korea where there are plenty of MMO's supported by just that, the sale of items, models, skins etc. It's all about getting the model right. Nobody has managed that here yet.

I would certainly rather purchase Guitar Hero III by means of an access disc for a nominal fee and then pay to fill it with songs I actually want, all at the right price of course :)

I agree with this and I don't. You see my problem is I can't even buy pick and mix without falling into a coma of indecision. Meanwhile, I hate the likes of Lamb of God - Laid to rest in here and I HAAAATE that I have to "master" them to proceed in the career mode, so I would like some choice.

I suppose what I want the most is for Harmonix to realise not everyone likes the shite music they listen to. (Sorry for everyone's toes I stepped on there)

Lumines Live was stripped of all the licensed bullshit Lumines 2 got stuck with, and will most likely offer those in a special Bullshit Pack for 1200 points down the road, but it still contains a plethora of perfectly playable skins (except for that dreadful ARRIIIBAAAA!!1 *whistling*, I can't imagine that HAS toes to step on) and that's an approach I like.

Let those into rituals and death get their own packs and those who like other, slightly less morbid undertakings get theirs, but offer a good base of songs to stand on - songs that don't get on anybody's tits.