I've just had a play though the World of Warcraft edition of Peggle [link] and it's left me thinking of how much a game is worth, in a monetary sense.

Now I have a certain contempt for WoW (and most other MMORPGS), not due to the gameplay, since I've never played it, but due to the monthly fees. Usually when I have stated this people assume I'm being cheap, £8.99 a month is not exactly going to break the bank (slightly less I think if you buy many months at once), but it's more than that. I don't mind paying for a game, they cost money to make and in the case of MMORPGS the servers need to be maintained but the time exact amount of time you spend on it is not entirely your decision. The makers of WoW and other similar games dictate how long it takes to level up and acquire the good stuff (equipment etc.), in making such decisions they essentially deciding exactly how much money they want out of you. For example if it takes 4 months of average playtime per day to level up to the highest level they're going get 4 times as much as if it only takes a month. Obviously the game wouldn't be as addictive to people if you could do everything in a week but when put in context of the amount of players they have (11 Million, Blizzard say) that £8.99 a month starts to add up and you've got to wonder how much they could actually charge and still make a profit. Also I have to ask myself: if a game such as Team Fortress 2, where you cannot level up had to be paid for every month, would I ever touch it?

I was then taken to thinking of Sequels, The upcoming release of Left 4 Dead 2 has riled a lot of people as it seems too similar to the original and has been released so soon. Now in my life I've bought many a sequel that was very similar to the original, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games for example but there's usually a factor that sweetens it.

On console, new content, no matter now minor (at least before the recent days of DLC) could only come from a sequel so in order to play new maps or use new characters you'd gladly pay for a sequel. On PC you get player created content, though most will not be up to the standard of the originals it extends how much you play a game, sometimes by years.

Some games also get away with it thought relevance, sports games that are updated and shipped every year, though of no interest to me, are bought not because it will be a true advancement on the previous years model but so it'd be up to date with all the player and teams you currently like. Playing one of these games from a few years ago can be quite surreal since half the players are in the wrong teams. These are primarily console games as well so simply patching it with new player details is kinda out the question.

Left 4 Dead 2, is in my mind, trying to do the console trick but with it's main player base on PC. All the content they're adding could be simple released as an update to the original rather than a full priced sequel. From any other developer we'd expect it but Valve have built up a reputation for keeping games updated with new content, so people feel cheated. Of course, they have to make money, they are a business at the end of the day, but even they have stated that L4D and L4D2 are so similar things could be ported between the two with very little effort. Also there's no story to it (not really) so it's not as if people wanted to advance the plot.

Then there's the money issue, I've had my money's worth out of the first game, many times over, but asking full price again for a game we essentially already have is still a bitter pill to swallow even for me. My greatest fear with the sequel is that new game will splinter the community making the first game obsolete, multiplayer-wise, only a year after a release. Valve have stated that they're looking into making the 2 games compatible somehow, and I really hope they do because the first deserves to be saved as I consider it to be one of the finest games in recent years.

The point to this rambling? I don't know, I guess I had this swimming round my head and it needed to be let out. If any of it doesn't make much sense feel free to ask me about it and I'll try and explain a bit better, it's currently 2:20AM here so my proof reading abilities may be loosing the battle to tiredness. Also I watched Godilla vs. Hedorah tonight and that's one hell of a mind-fuck.

TL;DR version: I don't like the concept of WoW and L4D2 may destroy a game I'm very attached to.

-wib