Gaming in Pieces

I figured that I would inevitably spend a little dough on Xbox Live's Marketplace when I got the 360. So far, it hasn't been as much as I expected, honestly. $20. That's it. I blew that on a couple of dashboard themes, some Arcade titles, and some multiplayer maps for Perfect Dark. Welcome to thte club of Where'd My Money Go. I'm just a client. I'm not dumb enough to be a president.

What I am starting to notice, with the help of Kotaku, is that developers are starting to release Live content at the same time the game launches. This isn't like Halo 2's map packs, released some six months after the game dropped. No, this is at the same time. You walk out of the store and you're already missing stuff.

It would be like buying a car and the dealer offer to sell you the non-explosive gas tank after you sign the dotted line. Or the passenger seat. That junk should just be IN there.

Bungie had it right the first time out. I practically salivated all over my Box waiting for those maps to come out. But now we no longer own the game. Not because it owns us, but because we really don't get the whole game. We get peices and get charged to put them together.

And with the intertubes of today, people hear about this stuff more and avoid it at the cash register on purpose. I mean, they come back later, but it's the initial point we get across that's the important part.

What's the saying..."A gamer and his money are soon parted."