Activision says: Guitar Hero II download prices are awesome and you love it

How many copies of Guitar Hero II 360 were sold? I bet it's a lot more than 300k.

I admit, I bought a song pack when it was first released, out of the excitement that I've been playing GH for so long and I could finally do this, but I'm still sticking with my protest and haven't bought a song pack since... at least until More Than A Feeling is released.

Once Rock Band starts their download service, something tells me they won't be so evil with their song pricing. Maybe then Activision will wake up and realize they're treating the fans of the franchise like assholes.

I think everyone agrees that it appears to be too expensive...the issue is whether or not MS/the devs agree. I've purchased one pack and ONLY one pack, because I only like the songs in one pack enough to pay that much. I would have bought all three, but the selection was too weak FOR THE PRICE ASKED.

I don't think it's an accident that the fourth pack has higher profile songs for all three titles. The fourth pack is a winner, IMHO, so I'll probably pay for that, too. I suspect that they'll further cherry-pick the titles out there to release packs that have A-list songs and not change the price. THAT is the lesson they're testing, now.

What I'm honestly worried about at this point is Activision turning around and trying to sell us GH2 songs for GH3 so that we can finally play them online. I mean, shit, I've JUST BOUGHT THOSE.

Has anyone even asked them about this before?

Yeah, we love it, F-ck you Activision.

We'll see how much "we" love them when everyone buys Rock Band and sells there GH II's on Ebay.

Since when did buying DLC mean you're "rich" or "dumb"?

Yeah I'm not poor but that doesn't mean I'm uber rich. I just happen to not think the prices are that outrageous or expensive. I'll gladly pay for them.

Basically the ones complaining are a bunch of whining bitches. Don't buy it if you don't like the price. At the same time quit bitching to those of us who don't care about the price and don't think its a big deal.

This has definitely convinced me to part ways with Guitar Hero and join rock band. If Activision is going to not only lie about how much DLC they will have for GHII and price songs that many of us have already played on the PS2 at over $2 apiece (and making us buy them in packs that they determine), then I have no reason to remain loyal to GH. I'll keep playing GHII (as the songs already on it are good), but after Rock Band arrives, so long Activision.

Some of you are being overly dramatic for nothing. There's no way on Earth Activision would so dumb as to actually decrease the number of songs available on the initial release and then bump up the song pack price to absurd numbers.

I suspect 6.25 is the price they arrived at after considering what would sell the most and maximize their profits. This statement was basically saying they're satisfied with the response.

Activision knows a move like that ones some of you are predicting would alienate the GH fanbase big time. They're not idiots. They're business people.

To Farseer its hard to ignore whiny bitches like yourself when you CONSTANTLY whine and complain in every thread related to Activision or Guitar Hero.

You're not trying to change anything for "good". You're just being a cheap ass loser.

Last but not least I'm glad you don't buy it. You're the one whos missing out. The rest of us will continue to enjoy the great music and the game itself. And Activision will continue to enjoy its sucess. Activision is in the business of making a profit. And it costs money to put out games and DLC I'm sure. I'm not going to be mad at them or scream like a lil bitch because they decide to sell something to the mass public at a price THEY deem is okay.

Just like any other company Activision wants that paper and its obvious they're making it.

OH on another note its hilarious how you people think that Rock Band is going to be somehow less expensive than GHIII. IF anything the controllers will be more expensive while the songs themselves are a lil less costly.

I have purchased all of the available tracks because my fiance and I entertain a lot, and every party we throw eventually turns into a Guitar Hero party. To be able to throw $6.25 at Microsoft and be able to entertain our guests for another 30 minutes is actually one of the best deals I've seen in a long time.

If you dont like the price, then dont buy it. If you think that you are going to scare Micro$oft and Red Octane by vocally boycotting it, well, you wont. Even if you did "win", then all they will do is stop offering the content altogether, and then we all lose.

I've made my mind up so go ahead and charge $100 a pop for this stuff I will never ever buy any of it or even your Guitar Hero product. The more this stuff goes up in price and the more pay DLC is on Xbox Live the less and less I'm buying. This vote with your wallet stuff was never going to work because many people can't control themselves and will pay for it, they are like drug addicts with no self control. This is only going to get worse and these publishers and MS are laughing at you all the way to the bank. Just wait till we are paying for demo's.. It's coming just watch!

Am I the only one who thought of that scene in Dazed and Confused where Parker Posey is dumping crap all over the freshmen and says" "Smile, you love us." Thats activision to us. Now cue the 70's music!

"I have more than enough money to buy all the songs from the first game, but I already played them, so I feel that it is not a wise decison to pay twice as much to play them again."

That's fine...but some of us DON'T HAVE Guitar Hero I on the PS2. In my circle of friends, none of us played GH until GHII for the 360. You may seem to think we lack some form of impulse control...but then, you've already enjoyed this content. It's no sacrifice for you. Your perceived value is less because its REHASHED content for you. It's not NEW, like it is to me. Hence our perception of the perceived value of the content is not mutual. How could it be? I've played less GH overall and NEVER played these particular tracks. You consider the price unacceptable, while I merely consider it overpriced for packs with songs I don't want. If I want to play "Killer Queen" I can only play it by buying the pack OR by purchasing the PS2 version and Guitar. And for those who don't have a PS2, that as well. Never mind the issue that I want to play on my HDTV in 1080i in full 5.1 stereo, as well.

To take the role of Devil's Advocate for a moment, I think you're assuming things that may or may not be true. The assumption is that we're convincing Activision and Microsoft that overcharging is good. Conversely, they may be thinking that sales are SO poor, it doesn't make economic sense to do more for the relatively small profit to be earned. Since none of us knows how the economics of it work, we can only guess.

As for the famed Oblivion Horse Armor, that's actually an argument that the market works. After the furor of the initial pricing, all of the further content was priced cheaper AND had more bang for the buck. This most recent pack has more popular songs which are considered Rock Anthems (Sorry, but releasing songs by The Donnas and The Exies before hitting groups like Deep Purple, Judas Priest or the Ramones....DUMB). That doesn't make the price more palatable, but three good songs sells a lot better than one or two.

I'm willing to bet if there IS a pack 5, it will have some big hitters like Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, Bowie and Joan Jett in it, and its less likely to have Burning Brides or The Slip.

Your repeated use of pejoratives doesn't help you argument. By painting everyone who doesn't fully agree with you doesn't help your case.

"Does it feel good that you will be paying, for these 47 songs, near $100 for what others can get for $40?"

No worries, mate. It certainly DOES NOT feel good. I think we all agree that Microsoft and Activision are making some big mistakes, here. Because if the entire catalog of GH I was made available RIGHT NOW, I would cherry pick, like I suspect most are doing. That's lost revenue for them. I would GLADLY spend $50 for the whole catalog of GH I...but at these prices, no one will.

I don't know how their finance structure works...maybe this makes them the same profit as selling at a more reasonable structure...but it's a self-defeating strategy. If Rock Band comes out with cheaper DLC, then I think that will be nails in the coffin for GH III.

Especially if Rock Band can deliver on the promise that GH has not: frequent content updates. I can imagine Frampton Comes Alive appearing (the whole double-album) under Rock Band...and if it's reasonable, I can imagine buying it. But at the current pricing...Nada.

I think the feeling of angst comes from the fact that Harmonix comes across as a bunch of guys who really just want to deliver a product, and the combination of Activision and Microsoft are getting in the way and blocking access with palms out-stretched.

It's just that, even at these largely high prices, some folks are going to pay the money...not because they like it, but because it's no so odious as to prevent them from spending at all. But like me, I'll bet few will purchase in the kind of volume they could, because the price is higher than they like. Some people seem to think that makes anyone who does buy some sort of addict, slave or some sort of idiot for doing so. For the price of a Venti Latte at Starbucks, I'll quibble, but I try to put in perspective.

I've bought all 4 packs, but I've never played GH1. I know Rock Band is supposed to have new songs every week. If they are at $2/song, I won't be buying that many. Then again, I though I read they planned on doing the song pack thing too. I love these games, but that love could quickly disappear with these prices.

"in time, anything will become desirable"

I couldn't agree more. In fact, if I didn't already own Guitar Hero for the PS2, or had downloaded it for Frets on Fire to play with my USB-compatible Xplorer guitar, I probably would've downloaded it as well.

Luckily we'll never have to find out what that's like.

I'm wondering how long I'll be able to hold out on songs I don't want when Rock Band keeps churning them out on a weekly basis. Hopefully they don't charge as much as Activision. Otherwise, things might get a little costly for me.

The prices for this are pretty high, yes this is a given. Also, I might as well get this out of the way, I downloaded packs 1-3 on the first day I bought GH2 (but GH2 came with free MS points, so justify that anyway you see fit).

Now, everyone blames either two parties for the prices: Activison, or MS. But why hasn't anyone said anything about Harmonix? They created the notecharts for those songs, no? Rock the 80's is the final game that Harmonix is working with RO and Activision, and then they are done (most likely for good, but there have been alot of reunion tours lately if you catch my drift)

This content will be available long after Harmonix splits the band, but of they plan on still using GH1 songs (again, something that Harmonix played a major hand it), a good chunk of the profits will go to them. Instead of just adding the price up after they leave, it looks like they just made it high enough right off the bat.

So please, if you are gonna bash Red Octane, Activision, and Microsoft, then at least bash Harmonix too. I know Harmonix comes off as this group of nice guys that just want to give the people what they want, but don't forget they are a buisiness, and if they just gave away everything then they wouldn't be a buisiness for too long.

This week's Business 101 lesson:

Pricing. Products are priced such that they bring in the greatest total profits possible. One can sell at a very low price to more people, but at a smaller profit per sale. You can sell at a higher price, to less people, but more profit per sale.

These GHII song packs are overpriced for me. I have not bought any. But to say they are "overpriced" in the business sense is officially wrong. They have just sold nearly $2 million worth of these things. My guess is that at $3 per pack, which is the most common request I hear, that they would not have sold the necessary 1.5 to 2 million downloads to get the same profit. I am assuming the song packs cost about $2 in licensing and overhead, which may be directly influenced by the quantity you sell.

The bottom line is that because so many people are willing to pay that much, they are priced appropriately at that level. It sucks that many of us can't add songs for a price that makes sense. But, that is just the way the world turns, I guess.

Yo some don't realize the point I don't have a Ps2 , but i have a 360 so i never got 2 play the first GH. I will pay double for GH download before I buy a Ps2 and guitar and game for it. Its alot cheaper for me 2 download 2 my 360 not saying pricing is all that fair just saying that thats the reason some of the others are paying for the DLC.