Devil's Advocate - Infected Song Packs

Let's assume that you own a PS2. If you don't, pretend that you do while you read this. Then go down to your local electronics store and pick one up. They're cheap now, and you won't be disappointed. If you are disappointed, I don't want to hear about it because you're doing it wrong. Let's also assume that you own a 360 and a copy of Guitar Hero II with a working guitar. I know it's far-fetched, but work with me. It'll do your imagination good.

Now, give me $40.00. In return I'll give you a copy of the PS2 version of Guitar Hero (sans guitar). It comes with 47 songs, head-to-head multiplayer, multiple characters, multiple guitars, and numerous bonus tracks available for purchase with cash earned by shredding with the best of them on the Toxic Tour.

Or, you could give me $93.75. In return I'll give you all the songs present in the original Guitar Hero. There's an added bass or rhythm part and you can play co-op with your friends if you pick up an additional wired guitar. As an added bonus, you'll be tethered to your 360 as your friends point and laugh while wirelessly tearing it up on the PS2 version. Also, they paid $10 less for the base game. They also got 10 fewer songs... wait a minute. That works out to $1.00 per song. Remember that. It's going to be important later.

Why does it cost more than twice as much to play the songs on your 360? I'm glad you asked. Unfortunately, the answer is greed. You'll hear a lot about licensing fees and digital distribution, but what it really boils down to is that Microsoft, Activision, and Harmonix like money. They know you've got it, and they know that the song list from the first game is generally preferred to that of the sequel.

"But Justin," you say "there are only three song packs available, and they don't add up to $90.00!" You're right, but that's not the point. When I bought Guitar Hero the first time, I paid for all the songs at once. It's only fair to compare this new content on fair ground. Right now, a song pack contains three songs and goes for 500 points. I can get a complete game for only 300 points more (and believe me, TMNT 1989 Arcade, Heavy Weapon, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are all better deals and completely worth your time). Now, 500 Microsoft point is equivalent to $6.25 in real money. $6.25 divided by three is roughly $2.08 per song. That's twice what you'll pay on iTunes except when you buy a song from iTunes you can listen to in on your PC, on your iPod, or you can burn it to CD and listen to it anywhere with technology that has been readily available to the average consumer since the early 90s. When you buy that same song - let's say "Infected" because it's the best one available - you can play it on your 360. And you can't even just listen to it.

You know what really gets me though? We were lied to. In an interview with GameSpy a Red Octane employee said in regards to the 360 version's downloadable content that "songs shouldn't cost much more than what you'd expect to pay for actual songs on downloadable music services." I don't know about you, but when I think "downloadable music service" I think iTunes. When I buy a song off of iTunes, it costs me $0.99. I'm anxious to meet the man who thinks that twice the price isn't much more. Because he's an idiot and he's wrong and he deserves to have a foot (or many feet, I'm sure we could plan a carpool) shoved directly up his ass.

You've got to make a profit. I understand that. If $2.00 per song is genuinely the lowest price that can make a profit then that's fine. I sincerely doubt that it is, but I'll go along with it for the sake of argument (not because it's a particularly strong point but because I like to use my imagination). Somebody over at headquarters must know that $2.00 per song is a high price. Why then are we only able to buy songs in three-song packs? If I'm going to drop $6.00 on three songs, I'd damn well better like every song I'm getting. Hell, I'm okay with buying three at a time, just let me pick which three it is. As it stands right now, to get the three songs I'm interested in, I have to purchase all three packs. That's 1500 points - or $18.75 real money. That's more than the cost of a CD (typically between $15.00 and $18.00 for at least 12 songs) for a quarter of the songs. Now, I'm an extreme case, but I can't be the only one out there that only really wants "Infected," "Ace of Spades," and "Take It Off."

You're pissing me off, Microsoft. Guitar Hero II for the PS2 with guitar costs $80.00. Guitar Hero II for the 360 with guitar costs $90.00. What's the big difference between the two versions? The 360 version has 10 additional songs. 10 more songs = 10 more dollars. That seems fair to me. Those 10 additional songs, just like the downloadable tracks, are only playable on my 360. I can't play them in my car, and I can't burn them to CD. So why should it cost me more money to get the same songs with none of the physical packaging?

You're dropping the ball here, and I sincerely hope that it lands squarely on your foot.

Apr 27, 2007 - 11:50 am | 1 comments
Justin Last