February 10th 2009 12:12 pm PT

I’m glad that they are giving some of the Silver members a chance to see what they are missing out on.

@Badassbadger, in the case of GTAIV, all silvers members are missing out on are 14 year old faux gangster wannabees screaming down their mics how they are going to “bust a cap in yo ass”, and making nasty racist comments.

In that case then, looks like I should buy L4D!!!!

Great! Now even more trash talkers and whiners will be playing this game on live! The community is horrible as it is…and now they are opening the gates to even more vile people.

They get it free for a week Chris, get a life. Like your 50 dollars a year really matters by the end of the year anyway. You get everything, even demos, a week before they do. Either way, I never play GTAIV anymore, kinda sad. There are better online games to play, and I highly doubt I will buy Lost & Dammed. The multiplayer, while ambitious and impressive, really just isn’t that much FUN, which is what matters. And yeah, every person on there is a vile, racist moron. Probably the worst game to plan on live currently. Extremely unfortunate.

Well, I’m interested in the DLC a little, but online multiplayer was more important to me. So, I bought the game for PS3 instead so I didn’t ever have to worry about being blocked from online for not paying a fee.

I’ve had a lot of fun with multiplayer with no lag or network issues.

So; There is no need for me to worry about Microsoft and their hand-outs used to boost sales. Not a bad marketing move for the DLC, though.

I suppose it’s a nice gesture depending on each gamers options a preferences.

@ Killer Scuzzy J – 1600 points is the confirmed price, but buying it in a store (or via Amazon, etc.) only gets you a card with a redemption code on it. No CD, no case, etc. Although some place online was offering it with 3 months of XBL Gold.

As for GTA IV being “no fun” online, get a couple of good friends together in the Party Mode, and you probably won’t even bother with anything else. We’ve literally killed hours just screwing around there.

I didn’t even bother to beat GTA4 game is terrible they took so many things out that made San Andreas so good. Saints Row 2 is ten times better in every form and fashion.

so nothing awesome for the people who pay for gold?

Call me crazy, but Gold members really do get something out of this–we get a LOT more folks to go multiplayer with during that six days. In addition, at least a few of those folks will probably like it enough to upgrade to Gold–which means there’s a few more folks on multiplayer as a result. Not to mention, some tiny fraction of their Gold fee goes back into development for the XBL service. So while we don’t get anything immediately tangible and obvious, we do see a benefit. And if you paid $50/year for your XBL Gold, then six days of Gold works out to roughly $0.82. Maybe you can start a petition to demand 65 free Microsoft points for your troubles…

I was just at GameStop, and the manager showed me the in-store version of the DLC. It comes in a cardboard box the same size and thickness of a game case. It’s $19.99 and comes with a code card and a two-sided fold-out poster with a full-size shot of the biker chick from the front cover on one side, and a Liberty City Map on the other. If you pre-order it from Amazon.com by 2/14, you get a FREE 3-month XBL Gold Card!

@ Killer Scuzzy J: When you’re buying MSP and Gold cards in stores, you’re also paying for a retail release of a code (instead of using your credit card to buy them over XBL). In this case, I guess buying the in-store version would be best for those who (for whatever reason) can’t get or don’t want to deal with MSP and would rather just buy it directly. Plus you get a little extra free bonus content with the retail version too as previously mentioned. (I forgot to mention that it also comes with a 48-hour Gold trial code too) And the official release date is 2/17, but you can already buy the store version in advance now so you have it ready to use on the 17th.

Well technically it isn’t free for me, and the majority of LIVE members since we’ve already paid for the service. So this is pointless.

No offence, but it’s stupid the way its worded now. Why wouldn’t Major say ‘MP free to all SILVER members’. That would be more politically correct.

i just bought my points today,so i dont have to mess about when this comes out

i heard there are new missions(obviously)
new weapons
new vehicles
and new music

but no new areas(not that i have heard)

hmm,hope it justifies the $25 million that Microsoft paid for this..hell,i hope it justifies the 1600 points i am putting down for this

either way,i am looking forward to it

it says you can do the new missions any time during the normal game,as the new missions dont feature Niko,how will the character transfer happen?

There is no disc version…what is in the stores is a box containing a code card to download the content on the 17th. I understand the point of buying MS points and Gold cards in stores, as a lot of people don’t like having stored info on anyone’s servers (when ARE you going to allow us to delete old credit card info, MS?), but to promote a “retail version” of a GAME makes 99% of people think it is on a disc. Very few stores sell Marketplace content (I have seen some Arcade titles at Target and Wal Mart, but only a few, and NEVER for pre-order), so to me, at least, this was very misleading. I have a lot of friends who pre-ordered this because they live in rural areas and don’t have Live, so now Gamestop gets canceled reservations, my friends don’t get the content, Rockstar doesn’t get the sales, and who exactly benefits?

Like it was mentioned before, if you want the content, your best bet is the deal on Amazon.com: 3 Months of Gold (usually $20 retail) and Lost and the Damned ($20 or 1600 MS points), for $19.99…and if you are in no rush, Free Shipping!

you have to remind us again on the 7th

Incentives, incentives, people! This gives those who are not yet signed up for Gold Accounts to experience Xbox Live as it was intended to be experienced. If quality people sign up for XBL Gold because of this promotion, it means I get to smoke new people in COD4 eventually.

As for not receiving any sort of ‘bonus’ for DLC that you have to pay for (whether you’re Silver or Gold) anyway, what is it that you would like to have? Realistically, the online service we pay for is pretty great.

The GTA IV DLC is a bit pricey and I am not sure if I’ll be buying it but the price is the same whether you’re Gold or Silver and that seems fair to me. You just get a slight incitement from Microsoft if you’re currently a Silver member.

@Killer Scuzzy J

You obviously have no idea how to manage a business.

If Microsoft only had the DLC advertised on the 360 Dashboard they would only hit a percentage of gamers.

If (like they are doing) release a branded 1600 MSP card along with advertising in stores AND encouraging the stores to do bundles they stimulate much more of the market.

And, of course, the employees of game stores can laugh their asses off at the PS3 owners who ask about buying Lost & Damned. lol

Does any one know the new multiplayer games?

@IrN ChRiZ

As I stated; I don’t really care whether or not I get to play any of the content on the DLC. If PS3 eventually gets it, i MIGHT download it.

When making the decision on which console to purchase the game, I had to decide what was more important to ME. And for me, having the ability to get online was more important than having an opportunity to pay for additional content later on.

I like the fact that I can get online at any time without worrying about whether or not my XBL subscription has ran out or not. GTA IV is a great game as it is without additional content. The multiplayer modes already available are a blast (Race & Cops & Robbers = favorties).

I guess my point of posting here is to reiterate the fact that Microsoft does not provide a good option for people whose gaming habits don’t justify the cost of the current XBL Gold membership. I also believe that Microsoft should allow people to play online multiplayer for free and find other Gold level services (such a NetFlix, PrimeTime, enhanced friends lists, group chat, et cetera) to encourage a pay-for service. It’s a double standard to allow Windows gamers to play on XBL for free, but then charge Xbox gamers a monthly/yearly fee for the same service.

Microsoft wants to make out these free weeks as this great thing. And they want to encourage people to enjoy the online services and find the urge to pay for them. From a company standpoint, they think their doing the community a favor. I know that there are tons of Silver members like me who just don’t find the service offers us what we want for a reasonable price (free is not the only option – maybe a lower-cost for less features?).

I was a Gold subscriber for 2 years and 4 months. I know what the service has to offer. With the amount of time I spend online and the lack of use of the avaialable features, I haven’t found the cost to be justified for my gaming habits. Sony provides everything I want/need in the PS3. I still have and enjoy my Xbox360 games and will continue to buy exclusives. I just refuse to pay for another Gold membership just so I can play online. I can enjoy my Xbox360 games offline until Microsoft takes a step forward to change things.