Marketplace drama again: Red vs. Blue Ep. 1-5 DL vids, US$ 1 each |
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After Guitar Hero II, the next battlefield over Marketplace content with a price point is (sadly) Rooster Teeth's "Red vs. Blue", where Episodes 1-5 are now downloadable to the 360 @ 80 pts per episode.When Major Nelson announced this in his blog, it seems that the post-Guitar Hero II drama spilled over, as some of the early (and even later) comments exploded over having to pay for something that they believe is essentially free, either via Rooster Teeth's website or video-sharing service. The issue is more complex than this, though, and Xbox Staff member (and Rooster Teeth sponsor) e had to clarify:
It's not as free as you think. On Rooster Teeth's website, the "free view" is rather limited because they follow a "rolling window." Only a given number of episodes from the current season are available for viewing for free at that given week. Every Tuesday night, that window rolls forwards to the next batch.
Oh, and e strongly disapproves of watching the episodes on YouTube... because "If youÂ’re not going to respect RoosterteethÂ’s intellectual property, just donÂ’t watch."
Other than that, for unlimited access to the RvB archive, you have to be a Rooster Teeth sponsor. Hey, they have to eat, too (as well as all their equipment). US$ 10.00 nets a six-month subscription which also gives you the premiere of the newest RvB ep earlier than the non-paying public, as well as sponsor-only content and bonuses (especially Seasons One and Two).
Finally, there's the DVD. And between the DVD pricing and the Marketplace pricing, it turns out there's no diff. One of Major's commenters did the math: 20 episodes/DVD @ US$ 20.00 per DVD = US$ 1.00 per ep... which is the same price as the Marketplace episodes. Another criticized that approach, noting that unlike DLC, a DVD is something tangible - not to mention tradeable and resellable, and come with cover art and other swag, too.
Overall, our analysis of the response to the RvB news is that it's a lot of carryover from Guitar Hero II, plus the other Marketplace troubles. Plus, the critics do have a point: if the only price to pay on Rooster's RvB archive website is the time it takes for the rolling window to cycle, or that sponsorship is relatively much cheaper, it might have been better for Rooster/Microsoft to release the content for free... or at least cheaper (or with higher definition and bonus content... just to soften the blow).
But still... criticism is one thing, but the spillover drama is something else entirely. A lot of arguments can still be raised about pricing on Marketplace, but one thing's for certain in all this: if you have the DVD, or you managed to download the video during the rolling window, then good for you, no more drama or download needed.
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I own both season 1 and season 2 on dvd. I recall then during the proceeding hubbub about "basically free". Rooster Teeth then said it was the "packaging" we were paying for. Shananagins on them. The Xbox Live community inspired and supplied the funny for the show (especially the first couple episodes of season2). We deserve better, we supported them.
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