Second Alan Wake DLC episode 'The Writer' priced at $10

$10 for max 2 hours of content is far better than $15 for 10 - 200 hours of gameplay.

In other news- down is up, MGS has a coherent story and gamers arent cry babies.

If you still play MW2 MP on a regular basis, the Stimulus Pack was a bargain compared to other DLC.

I have no idea what "and 3 news which isnt doesnt work as much as episode of alan wake does!" means, but Im pretty sure my play time on those maps is ten fold what it would be of that Alan Wake episode.

Along with a room at the Great Northern Hotel- the Alan Wake DLC can be had at a very reasonable price.

Hey Will, did you know it costs $10 to go see a 2 hour movie?

You're comparing apples to oranges but you'll never see it that way because you don't seem to understand the value of an experience.

Im perfectly aware how much entertainment costs now a days, thats why I never understood why everyone was up in arms about MW2 DLC costing $15. Im fine with spending money on DLC, but I was told I was a mindless sheep feeding my corporate masters cause I bought and used the Stimulus Pack for 10-25 hours of gameplay thus far.

The experience of playing Alan Wake DLC is subjective, in the end you are paying for a finite amount of play time. Im fine with that, but then dont act insulted when a Map Pack is released and contains limitless gameplay for $5 more than this single episode. If you're gonna be up in arms about the Stimulus Pack, you should be campaigning for this to cost $5.

I think this is a very fair price. I'll use the argument that a lot of people love to use. You are getting 1 new episode for $10. On the original disk, there where 6 episodes for $60. So you are getting 1/6th the content for 1/6th the price. Sounds about right to me. Also if they are anywhere near as long and awesome as the 6 episodes on the disk, this will be well worth the money.

The coffee is, according to Agent Cooper, as black as midnight on a moonless night.

@D dogg

I don't think that is the problem. We are just making excuses for game companies now. We used to pay our $50-$60 on a complete game, but now games like Alan Wake come out the door with the full intention to not come with the full story for the sole purpose that they can "be more like a tv series and release episodic content". I call bullsh*t.

In the end it comes down to people's personal preference and $10 for 2 hours of creepy edge of your sea game play as opposed to the great replay value of the $15 stimulus package is all up to the person buying the product. I'm not defending one side or the other, all I know is dlc could have been better implemented and a lot fairer priced in more than one game. Sucks that it has to be this way now, but if people start to say it is okay for developers to charge them $10 for a mediocre product ultimately the prices will steadily rise and the cost to be a gamer will steadily rise with it.

p.s. not saying Alan Wake is a mediocre product

this is good news, im on chapter 3 now and i already know i'll be chomping at the bit to get more. i will be balls deep into every episode this game releases. im really interested though on how much content will actually be there. im hoping its at least 2-3hours long.

Or rent it from GameFly like I did, received it a day after it's release. Just finished it today and it has become my Game of The Year. Just an amazing game.

This game is awesome, i bought it when it came out new and just finished it because i had a lot of homework. Just wow.

What you've just said is precisely why the packaged DLC code strategy won't make a huge difference unless very appealing DLC is released Day One. People know having an unused code will increase the resale value. Sure some folks lie, but there are plenty of reputable sellers on eBay and Amazon.

Bioware seems to have it down pat, but I think they are such a deep pockets AAA developer that post-release content is now part of the plan from the beginning. They don't have to weigh the options based on first week sales, or worry if their studio will be shuttered after the game is out.

@Will - Map packs don't contain limitless gameplay. They just add variety to the limitless gameplay that already exists. The stimulus package should be 10$, but 15$ isn't as terrible as some people make it out to be. Think of it like this; CODMW2 costs 50-60$ now. With that you get the entire single player experience and the entire multiplayer experience(including all 16 maps). The stimulus package costs nearly 1/4 of the price of the full game itself and all you get with it is 3 maps.

With each Alan Wake episode, you get a whole new experience; More story elements, more character progression, new environments, and so on. With that said I think 10$ is quite reasonable. Especially if each episode is in fact 2 hours. That would mean if you bought 6 episodes for 60$, you'd be getting the same amount of gameplay that the original game itself offers.

I still contend that map packs offer content with no finite play time. I will literally be playing those maps for months on end, especially considering the fact they are far more common in playlists than any other 5 map combination.

Consumers always want the product they are buying to come as a bargain, at $10 the Stimulus Pack would have been an obscene value and a great gift to the community. At $15 its not a ripoff as most make it out to be, rather its probably where it should be considering the popularity of MW2 and the content being offered.

MW2 shipped with 16 playable maps, the Stimulus Pack added 5 to that list (31% increase) at 1/4 the price. Not a ripoff, not a bargain, its remarkably average if anything. Again, its 5 not 3, last I checked I get to play Overgrown and Crash and both maps looks far better than they did in CoD4.

your last paragraph essentially makes the same argument for SP DLC as I make for MP DLC- that if you are invested in the product, the experience ends up making this price point a value you are comfortable with. Much like the way people who dont play MW2 are priced out of the DLC, people who did not enjoy Alan Wake are not going to spend $10 on the DLC. In both cases, if the DLC came with obscene value at a modest price, fringe players might be tempted to buy it.

@myabsolution: Grats for not understanding the subject at hand.


No problem on the rant 64, I totally understand where you're coming from. I was talking more in general. I love games like Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed 2, etc but for me at least you have to offer more than a great even fantastic average hour game to get my $60. If I wanted I could buy all those games new, but I can't justify it. I honestly will only play it once MAYBE twice and possibly play it years later once through, why should/would I pay the full amount for that? I know some would, but I can't. The only games I will buy new are your online shooters, open ended games (WRPGs), puzzle games, and those with an insane replay value. Those, to me, are worth the $60.

To me Portal is absolutely priceless but there is no way on earth I'd pay over $20 if I could help it.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is I only buy good games, games I will play for 50+ hours, and only then are they worth a whole $60. A game like Uncharted 2 or Assassin's Creed 2, even Half-Life 2 are some of the best games ever, instant classics. But I wouldn't pay the full price for them at launch, I'd rent or borrow them. BUT if they were priced more around $40 I'd have no problem getting them at launch. TV shows cost more on amount of content, double/triple disk albums cost more, why can't the same be for games?

Anyone having any thoughts on the idea are welcome to comment. All "myabsolution" need to read through the discussion again.

Oh while I was typing this I got a text from a friend, he's done with Alan Wake... IT'S MINE!

I never said map packs offer a finite amount of play time. Obviously you can play them over and over.. and yes you could play these 5 "new" maps for months on end, just as you could also continue to play the original launch maps for months on end. My response was pertaining to your comment about them offering limitless gameplay; as they only add to the limitless gameplay thats already there by adding new environments/more variety to the game.

Again, I agree with you. I don't think 15$ is necessarily a huge rippoff. I just think 10$ would have been a bit more reasonable. In no way would it be of an obscene value for 10$ either. After all how can you classify a 5 dollar difference as being obscene. 15$ is a price that for the most part only hardcore COD players will consider. If it were 10$ they could have had the sales of both the hardcore and casual players. I know there's 5 maps, but 2 of them are essentially rehashed MW1 maps and in no way do they look 'far' better than their original counterparts. You'd have to be a delusional fanboy to think otherwise. You also have to take into consideration the value of 1200 ms points and what you could do with it.

You can't put a percentage on the increase in value that 5 maps add to a full sp and mp game. You only took into account the 16 multiplayer maps. The game shipped with much more than 16 multiplayer maps. Like I mentioned above, it also contains the entire sp experience and the entire mp experience, which is more than just 16 maps. Again 3 new maps and 2 old maps or 5 new ones(whatever way you wanna break it) for a 1/4 of the price of the full game can seem unreasonable to some people. You can't just look at it from the consumers point of view either. Yeah your getting 5 maps, but they only put a legitimate amount of work into 3 of those maps.

Anyways, I was just trying to put in perspective the general view on it being overpriced, which I personally think is a completely understandable point of view. Some people definitely blow it out of proportion, but I can still see where they're coming from.

Also, nowhere in my last paragraph did I mention anything about dlc being worth it as long as your invested in the product.. although I would think that's pretty obvious. I just stated why it seems like Alan Wake's dlc is fairly priced for everyone.

Sold! Screw the crybaby kiddies.

I'll take the free DLC and any other paid DLC they have to offer.

Easily my GOTY!

I think the Alan Wake DLC itself is overpriced and only exists because of the games development hell. Basically, you are only seeing this DLC and the ending of the game cut short because this game needs a pipeline of revenue for the foreseeable future.

this game is so awesome, but as for DLC soo soon.no thx.

I was gonna buy the game instead of red dead but now i dont think i will..This whole idea of online and DLC just makes me wanna go back to the days when a game was a whole experience and it dint need the extra downloadable content and extra bullst.Wtf they just force you (people like me who dont have a live subscription) to pay the 50e a year and extra 10s and 20s to complee a game that the 60e imply that it is COMPLETE.Fck that im not buying it unless it comes out complete in one disc.

i have an extra code does anyone want itttttttt????? first to comment is FREEEE

actually i want to see you guys go crazy nand fight for it and im serious its reallll, i have a friend at gamestop and he gave me too i dont need another one so the code isssss................. GW336-YDPHF-77H9T-TKF7G-J4XG6