Valve not charging for downloadable content

by John Bardinelli { May 25th 2007 at 12:28PM }

Despite the rise of micro-transactions and pay-per-download content in the PC and console worlds, Valve recently announce it has no intention of charging for downloadables in games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2. Designer Robin Walker explains their logic that gives Valve a big gold star in our book: "You buy the product, you get the content ... We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers."

Micro-transactions were innocent at first, but when we had to pay for horse armor in Oblivion and tutorials in Madden, the line had to be drawn. Kudos to Valve for a step in the "don't make the customers angry" (i.e. "right") direction.

Tags: content, counter-strike, dc, downloadable, microtransactions, steam, teamfortress, valve

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fatima @ May 25th 2007 3:30PM

Thats good now if only Microsoft stoped forcing developers like Bungie and Epic to charge for content.

I mean wtf is up with M$? Why do you charge for freaking icons and backgrounds for 360? Its insane!
At least Sony lets you import icons for free! and backrounds on PS3/PSP are FREE!!

mike @ May 25th 2007 12:39PM

well I dont think any1 can get away with charging for additional content on the pc as people will just download that additional conetent off a torrent site or something for free. But on the xbox we are screwed. Stupid MS.

Robert @ May 25th 2007 12:43PM

First time I've ever seen Valve do something right.

marc.federico @ May 25th 2007 12:58PM

Thanks Valve ur the man. Indy is the way to go.

Geo @ May 25th 2007 1:01PM

I just download Half life 2 demo from valve two day ago, nice service..........

Kid Pyrrhic @ May 25th 2007 1:01PM

This means jack shit to me. When the product finally arrives and they show me the free content, then I'll believe them.

The chance at free money is too great for any company. I'm sure we'll hear something like "Well, you didn't really buy the product when you bought the game. You only bought the the first half of the product. Here's the rest - $14.99 please"

mike k. @ May 25th 2007 1:00PM

To the #1 .. i think there is more to the story for Bungie and Epic being "forced" to charge for downloadable content. I don't buy it, for the fact that there is free content available (albeit limited) on xbox live as it is now.

I have a feeling the developers wanted free and Bungie/Epic corporate machine worked it out with MS to say they had to charge for it. Nobody's innocent here, is my main point.

Kudos to Valve if they're dedicated to it, then their stuff may be free on XBL as well if they have any.

imacoorobot @ May 25th 2007 1:06PM

Well #7, you're in luck, because it's been around for a long time. Stuff like an entire new game mode for Day of Defeat: Source. So I guess you should believe them.

copa @ May 25th 2007 1:14PM

"First time I've ever seen Valve do something right."

Don't be an idiot.

This is how Valve has always operated. After Half-Life was released in 1999, they later offered Team Fortress:Classic as a FREE add-on. Then they offered maps, graphic upgrades, voice chat, IPTV broadcasts, bugfixes, cheat banning, and too many new game features to mention. Free, free, free, free, free.

They supported that game for years after release, and never charged a dime beyond the intial retail purchase price.

To this day, I can still enter my initial Half-Life retail key onto Steam, and play these games, with their years of upgrade and support, for free.

This fall, they are offering the best value I have ever seen in console gaming. Team Fortress 2, plus Half-Life 2, plus Ep 1, plus Ep 2, plus Portal, for a standard retail price. And they are continuing their policy of offering free maps and support.

Yet you still have infantile whiners on this board insulting Valve. Maybe they should sell map packs for $15, since it wouldn't change how much people bitch about them.

Thomas Crymes @ May 25th 2007 1:25PM

No one HAD to buy horse armor.

The only question that really matters is this:

Did you feel you got a complete game when you purchased the title? If the answer is yes, then there is nothing really to complain about other than your desire to get something for nothing.

As with all purchasable items. Either the price is worth it to you or it isn't. If it isn't then you don't buy it. It's a radical idea to be sure.

joe smith @ May 25th 2007 1:30PM

Jesus guys, will you drop the goddamned horse armor thing already? It was more than a year ago and it was the very first attempt at DLC. Give the guys a break already. You'd think someone had come into your house and held you at gunpoint and made you buy it.

Jonathan Tran @ May 25th 2007 1:31PM

@11

It was not the first try at DLC. Try looking at every Korean game, ever.

Also, I applaud Valve but there should be one exception.

You should have to pay to get an AWP. You should have to pay double to be able to complain about an AWP. That is all.

Matt B @ May 25th 2007 1:51PM

AWP's are for pussies and it ruins the game. AWPussies sit back and never try to complete the objective.

steve @ May 25th 2007 2:13PM

There is no problem with micropayments, except that it doesn't exist. The whole idea of micropayments is to have a system to help you pay for penny or sub-penny purchases because it would tax the credit card system.

Instead, it's just a stored value system that is effectively an prepaid CC. There is hardly any content that you can get for < $1 equivalent in points (or whatever units are used). I wouldn't mind paying 1-5 cents for nice looking horse armor, but $2.50 or $5? That's just BS. Plenty of businesses regularly deal with real goods purchases that are just a few dollars and allow you to use a CC, and they still make a profit. But forcing you to use a "micropayment" system instead of discrete CC purchases just rips you off

americankgb @ May 25th 2007 2:14PM

As copa said valve has been releasing free stuff forever. Not to mention that as of day one the SDK for source has been free as well. Without it we wouldn't have great mods like Counter-strike or Day of Defeat. Valve has been doing stuff right since day 1. I'll keep backing valve until they do something to make me change my mind.

nojok3 @ May 25th 2007 3:04PM

Regarding the first comment about Microsoft charging for backgrounds - you can upload your own. While you cannot set a different picture for each of your 360's blades, you can still set the background.

On that note, I think its stupid that Microsoft has been charging Microsoft points for stuff that they are getting paid to put out on Marketplace. When TV shows pay Microsoft to put content out and then Microsoft in turn charges us for a "Heroes Theme and Gamerpics" is absurd. Charging for Madden tip videos=stupid. Don't even get me started with the new Gears stuff.

Rubang B @ May 25th 2007 3:38PM

Valve kicks ass.
Suck it... everyone else.

Shawn D @ May 25th 2007 3:49PM

@8
Great points copa, it doesn't surprise me to see all these whiny people still complain about Valve. Some people just don't know a good thing unless it slaps them in the face.

Not only has Valve been the most generous game dev's out there, they are doing extremely well. Valve just announced it has more than 13 million active users on STEAM. Maybe MS can take a page out of their book, and provide a free service to their loyal customers, instead of charging for P2P play and ridiculous micro-transactions. But, that's the freedom you give up for supporting a closed proprietary piece of hardware.

Grey Fox @ May 25th 2007 3:55PM

This is why I get pissed off when people moan about Steam because these are the right people to be setting a example on how to do downloadable content RIGHT.

Doc @ May 25th 2007 3:58PM

thank you valve..you just added another LOYAL customer to your base! It's about time dev's realize that giving away things isn't a bad thing if it keeps interest in your game

aylera @ May 25th 2007 6:03PM

Valve has been giving content away for awhile now.

My only gripe is that pretty much all of the Source engine mods are now run by Valve, and thus cost $9.99 or so. There are still plenty that aren't, and that's the point.

Nevermind the fact that they don't HAVE to release map packs (although they did recreate pretty much every CS map, some with HDR effects) as the player base can make their own.

Still, while I admire Microsoft and their uber creation that is Xbox Live, console players would be outraged if they knew what the PC community has been receiving for decades.

Steve @ May 25th 2007 8:16PM

I was laughed at when I brought up the prospect of being nickled and dimed to death when they began talking about DLC on live. Now look where we are. The PC version of the DLC for Battlestations Midway was released for the PC yesterday for FREE. The EXACT same content that XBL charges 600 points for. Kudos to Valve for sticking it to MS here.

Some will say, "fine, then don't buy it." That's not the point. In 20+ years of PC gaming, extra content has pretty much always been given away. I believe that this is the same reason that we don't see map editors in games much anymore. I mean, you can't have those pesky gamers just giving away maps and mods now can you? For example, take Battlefield 1942. The Desert Combat Mod made that game what it became so what did EA do? Turned that Mod in BF2 and shafted us on the editor. USer mods gave games legs but indtead of being happy with increased or at least a longer sales cycle, they'd rather squeeze every penny they can out of the community now. This is what happens when bean counters run gaming companies.