Breaking Down the XBL Marketplace - Part One: How Much are Gamers Actually Spending on their Favorite Games?

Overpriced, lacking, or just plain sucks.  Those are a few of the words used by gamers to describe the behemoth that is the Xbox Live Marketplace.  Why have gamers turned so hostile towards the one stop destination for all things 360 and is Microsoft, the developers behind the games, or are the gamers themselves the ones to blame for the growing number of angry remarks being made against the marketplace?  In part one of this two part series, we take a look at just how much gamers are spending for their games. 

Would you be willing to pay between $150 and $200 for a game that releases for $59.99?  If you answered "no", chances are that you have already paid that price for just one of your games.  Let's take a look at one of the most popular series to ever grace an Xbox console. 

The Breakdown 

The Halo Series 

Halo: Combat Evolved (November 15 ,2001) 

- $49.99 

Halo: Combat Evolved (December 4, 2007 XBL original) – $15.00 

Total Money Spent by Gamers – $64.99 

Halo 2 (November 9, 2004) 

-$49.99 

Halo 2: Limited Collector’s Edition (November 9, 2004) 

-$54.99 

Halo 2 (Halo 2: Multiplayer Map Pack (July 5, 2005) 

-$19.99 

Total Money Spent By Gamers – $69.98 – $74.98 

Halo 3 (September 27, 2007) 

-$59.99 (regular) 

- $69.99 (limited) 

-$129.99 (legendary) 

-$399 (console) 

Halo Multiplayer Map Packs 

Heroic Map Pack (December 11, 2007) 

-$10.00 

Legendary Map Pack (April 15, 2008) 

-$10.00 

Cold Storage Map (July 7, 2008) 

-Free 

Mythic Map Pack (April 9, 2009) 

-$10.00 

Mythic Map Pack 2 (February 2, 2010) 

-$10.00 

Themes and Gamerpics (prices when released) 

Halo 3 Picture Pack 

-$1.00 

Halo 3 Theme 

-$1.75 

Halo 3 Trilogy Theme 

-$1.75 

Halo 3 Uprising Theme 

-$1.75 

Halo 3: First TV Spot Theme 

-$1.75 

Halo 3 Splatter Theme Premium 

-$3.00 

Halo 3 Mythic Theme Premium 

-$3.00 

Avatar Items 

-$7.00 (Female) 

-$10.00 (Male) 

Total Money Spent By Gamers 

$130.99 - (If regular was bought) 

$140.99 - (If limited was bought) 

$200.99 - (If legendary was bought) 

$470.99 – (If console edition was bought) 

Halo Wars (March 3, 2009) 

-$59.99 (regular) 

-$79.99 (limited) 

-$29.99 (Games on Demand) 

Multiplayer DLC 

Strategic Options 

-$10.00 

Historic Battles 

-$10.00 

Themes and Gamerpics 

You’re in Command Theme 

-$3.10 

Halo Wars E3 2007 Theme 

-$1.90 

Halo Wars E3 2007 Gamerpics 

-$1.00 

Total Money Spent By Gamers 

-$85.99 (If regular was bought) 

-$105.99 (If limited was bought) 

Halo 3: ODST (September 22, 2009) 

-$59.99 (regular) 

-$99.99 (collector’s) 

DLC 

Videos and Strategy Guides 

-$21.00 (altogether) 

-$1.00 (seperately) 

Themes and Gamerpics 

Prepare to Drop Premium Theme 

-$3.00

Avatar Items 

-$11.50 (female) 

-$14.50 (male) 

Total Money Spent By Gamers 

-$98.49 (If regular was bought) 

-$138.49 (If collector’s was bought) 

Total Amount One Gamer May Have Spent Since Halo’s release in 2001 

-$935.43 (The potential amount of money you have spent on the Halo series.  Not including taxes.) 

-$211.98 (The potential amount of money you have spent on the Halo series in the Xbox Live Marketplace.) 

That is just one example of how much gamer’s are actually spending on a game since the original release date.  Factor in other successful series like Call of Duty, Gears of War, Madden, etc…and of course those numbers will increase along with how much is spent on the marketplace per game.  

Siren Says: "Do we have a right to rant about the prices of DLC on the marketplace?  Yes and no.  Are most of the prices ridiculous, yes.  I mean seriously.  Who in their right mind is going to pay 80 MS points to watch a video for Halo 3: ODST when they can youtube it for free?   Also, is it a rip off when some of the developers have been outspoken about them wanting some of the DLC to be free, but Microsoft gives a big fat "no can do" and charges gamers?  Yes, but we are the dumb ones who will pay for it.  In the end we have nobody to blame but ourselves for the prices on the marketplace.  If we keep paying for it, they keep getting money, so why would they change the pricing?  Sure Microsoft sets the prices, but again they know gamers will pay for games that they love." 

*Stay tuned for the second part of Breaking Down the XBL Marketplace - Part Two, where the members of Gamercide let loose about their feelings on the marketplace and we break down the XBLA.