Bungie has dropped their latest update regarding Halo 2 and Xbox Live and it is a doosie. If you haven’t read it already, you can read it here: Bungie.net : Top Story

I’ve got mixed feelings about this “patch” business. Up until now, console games have been “what you see is what you get,” and if some glitch happened to make it through QA then thousands of purchasers were stuck with it. Now, with the Xbox Live connected console, games can be patched to fix, among other things, “weapon balance issues.” To me, the troubling quote is

Grenade attacks will be one of the most significant changes for the 1.1 version of Halo 2. In many ways, the new grenade balance is a reflection of the way we really wanted them to be.

If that’s the way they really wanted them then why aren’t they that way? Even though all the gameplay tweaks ands changes seem like steps in the right direction, I’m still troubled by this trend.

Next generation of consoles will surely all be connected to the net and this trend will continue. The question is whether or not gamers will embrace it or reject. The blurring of the line between PC games and console games continues.

That being said, I’m excited about the changes. The enhanced melee attack and improved grenades are welcome additions to my style of play. And the mid-jump melee attack? That’s my specialty, just ask my clan mate, Ted. I caught him with a mid-air, rocket launcher melee attack and BEAT HIM DOWN. Making this common place is okay with me. It is interesting to see the nerf-bat, normally reserved for MMOGs, has been found in Bungie’s offices. Once people start learning how to exploit this round of changes, Halo 2 ver. 1.2 won’t be far behind. This is what troubles me most about these updates. The vicious circle of “re-balancing”.

I posted this submitted this earlier today to Evil Avatar but I haven’t posted here since I’ve been watching March Madness all evening. So I’ll just quote myself from EA’s site:

Bungie.net’s weekly update gives us the lowdown on the upcoming “expansion” pack. From the update:

• We’re releasing a total of nine new multiplayer maps.
• All nine maps will eventually be available as Live downloads and as a normal boxed game disc – available at retail for $19.99 (US).
• The release on Live will be staggered, some paid, some free!
  The first two maps are free and coming in a few short weeks. (late April)
• The same day the 2 free maps are released, 2 additional maps will be available for purchase.
• The remaining 5 maps will be made available as a paid download on the same day the retail package goes on sale.
• The retail disc will contain extras, including a documentary, a cool project from our cinematic and animation team, every Halo 2 update released so far and possily one or two other little treats.
• By late summer, ALL the maps will be available for free.

It goes on to describe some of the new maps and includes a FAQ for all your questions. I was a tad disappointed that there won’t be a Hang ‘em High translation but the new stuff definitely looks spiffy. I’m holding judgement on the whole “purchase the new maps now” vs. “wait until late summer”. I think it’s gonna cause major headaches for match making. Get used to playing with the same people who will pay for the new maps.

I said originally I was holding judgement. The more I’ve thought about this, the less I like it. Halo 2 sold millions of copies of Halo 2. Let’s just say 5 million copies. At 50 bucks a pop, that’s a quarter of a billion dollars. Now, from my previous findings, the publisher and developer get about 20 bucks a pop. (MS and Bungie in this case). That works out 100 million dollars. Wrap your brain around that number a little bit before we move on. Good. Now, let’s pretend it cost Bungie and Microsoft 30 million dollars to develop, test, market, and produce Halo 2. Let’s say it has cost Bungie a million bucks to keep Bungie.net (and all the terrific stats they maintain) up and running. That leaves sixty-nine million dollars in their collective coffers. That is a lot of scratch. I would think they could dip into those reserves and throw us a bone with new maps. Do they really have to charge for this? I also see this as giving game developers a “safety net” for delivering games missing vital elements, knowing they can always go back and patch them, but that’s a different topic all together. What I’m trying to say is Halo 2 earned Bungie and Microsoft a HEALTHY little profit. Isn’t 19.99 a little steep to ask for an update that will eventually be freely available? And what about buying the maps on Live? How much will they cost us? I don’t want to have to pay to get things I initially thought would be free.

“But,” you might counter, “if you’re patient, all the maps will eventually be available for free.” Ahh, but there’s an interesting tid-bit in the FAQ for the upcoming expansion:

By late Summer, with the support of Mountain Dew, all the maps will be completely free.

So it’s not even Bungie fronting this offering, it’s Mountain Dew. One of the maps not highlighted, but was mentioned in the update, is named “Backwash”. Will this map contain some form of a Moutain, covered with a Dew? Some Mountain Dew ads, perhaps? We’ll have to wait and see.