Would you spend $5 on a megawad via X-Box Live or other service?

This is a tough sell I know, but I was thinking a few months ago while playing Doom 2 Master Levels on X-Box... I'd be willing to pay $5 to get mega wads like Scythe, Icarus, Eternal and others on X-Box Live or PSN. I'm sure if iD would agree they could do their port technology to do it and hopefully the authors of the .wads would get a percentage.

But would you ever pay $5 for something you can just get for free even if it helped the author?

It might sound silly, but I know I would.

Maybe Playstation 1, but that's it.

No, there would need to be more of an incentive than that. If it was on a portable system or phone with a good control system maybe. Or if it was exclusive and id approved it would be tempting - though I expect that would not go down well in the community.

But most appealing to me would be if id did a reboot of Doom II, something along the lines of Brutal Doom with new levels, monsters and guns. If they did that - and it was good - I'd pay for it and the associated megawads.

But would you ever pay $5 for something you can just get for free even if it helped the author?

With piracy being as convenient as it is these days, that is a question you can ask for every game.

I certainly wouldn't want to pay money for fanmade levels distributed by a third party doing no additional work and on locked platforms I don't even use.

If id put out exclusive content on the order of NRFTL via Steam or something, I'd strongly consider grabbing it. Paying for fan-made DLC already on the archives, not so much.

While (in principle) I'm in favour of supporting authors, I don't know if it'd be possible to commercialise their work without knocking a bloody big hole in the community. Once fan-made content is given a monetary value and finds its way into online stores, I expect it'll only be a matter of time before sites offering the same content for free are issued DMCA Takedown Notices.

Exclusive new content is another potential can of worms for an old game that many here would consider a hobby interest - do I gift my magnum opus to the archive or sell it on Steam?

Such pseudo-moral dilemmas are non-papers. Just look @ how Final Doom was initially criticized on a similar basis, and how 16 years later almost nobody remembers the "controversy". I guess it didn't last even 1-2 full years before fading away.

geo said:

I'd be willing to pay $5 to get mega wads like Scythe, Icarus, Eternal and others on X-Box Live or PSN.

I do not have an Xbox or Playstation, therefore I wouldn't.

If I want a console, I hit the ~ key.

Anyway, if I had an Xstation or Playbox or whatever, I wouldn't pay to get classic mods. I might pay to get the possibility to load any mod I want to. But that's something that Sony and Microsoft will always adamantly refuse, because user-generated content represent a loss of absolute total control over the platforms they sell.

The colossal amount of effort required - including programming work, legal and paperwork, wouldn't be worth the infinitesimal amount of revenue it would generate.

Gez said:

I do not have an Xbox or Playstation, therefore I wouldn't.

If I want a console, I hit the ~ key.

Anyway, if I had an Xstation or Playbox or whatever, I wouldn't pay to get classic mods. I might pay to get the possibility to load any mod I want to. But that's something that Sony and Microsoft will always adamantly refuse, because user-generated content represent a loss of absolute total control over the platforms they sell.

Everything Gez said, I'll second.

fraggle said:

The colossal amount of effort required - including programming work, legal and paperwork, wouldn't be worth the infinitesimal amount of revenue it would generate.

This. The legal part would especially be a mess given the huge amount of copyrighted content that is hidden in the vast majority of megawads.

Hell, not a single of my favorites pwads doesn't include copyrighted stuff.

Gez said:

Anyway, if I had an Xstation or Playbox or whatever, I wouldn't pay to get classic mods. I might pay to get the possibility to load any mod I want to. But that's something that Sony and Microsoft will always adamantly refuse, because user-generated content represent a loss of absolute total control over the platforms they sell.

and therein is where open architecture in software and hardware will always have a thriving creative community. PC gaming will live on.

Sort of reminds me of the youtube app for android. It doesn't show videos you can find by going just to the website.

I think when word gets out that wads and megawads have been free on the internet for 5 or more years, players are going to feel real gypped. There isn't much benefit to playing megawads on an XBox than on your PC. Some Xbox controllers even connect to PCs as joysticks, so you're not really missing out on anything, just paying money for something that is easily free.

But then again people buy bottled water so idk.

Not for something already released for free (legal issues and contacting every involved author aside), but No Rest For The Living was basically this idea, wasn't it?

Of course, there was a lot of piracy of that....

I would pay $5 for a great megawad, yes. $5 is what I have to pay for a cup of coffee.

I mean, $20 for Scythe 1, Scythe 2, Alien Vendetta and Speed of Doom? Totally worth it. If they werent already released for free, that is. But I recon thats not what you meant.

edit: okay I see you asked if I would pay even if it already was free. Well, I dont know. For the wads I just mentioned, yes I would, I guess.

I'd pay about $5 for a bundle. One megawad isn't worth it for me, so maybe if I got AV + Scythe I & 2, I'd go for it. If I'm really itching to play some older megawads, I'd play on PC

No.

I'm not sorry I paid for NRFTL. The Nerve team did an excellent job with it. I'd like to see them return to DOOM, hopefully with some free releases.

That said, there's a difference between an official purchase incentive\bonus and re-releasing previously(VERY previously) free work for pay.

To me this would be like paying for the privilege to drink water from a spoon that could be taken away at any moment.

Thanks for the answers. I guess this topic can be locked now.