UPDATE Blunder Leads to Free Halo 4 Map Pack

[Karloff]

UPDATE Blunder Leads to Free Halo 4 Map Pack


The Crimson Map Pack offer is for a limited time only to participants in the Buy and Play November promotion.

Preorders of Halo 4 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120610-Halo-4-Makes-220-Million-in-its-First-Day] got a little complicated for Microsoft and developer 343 Industries, when a promotional code meant to give players just a little extra linked them to the Crimson Map Pack by mistake. Instead of playing Scrooge, developer and publisher have embraced this blunder and are giving anyone who participated in the 14 Day, Buy and Play program a chance to get the Crimson Map Pack for free.

"We decided to provide the additional reward of complimentary access to the Crimson Map Pack, for a limited time," said an official statement from Microsoft and 343, "as a 'thank you' to our customers that contributed to the success of the Halo 4 launch." Those of you who were involved in the program, which ran from November 6th to November 20th, have until 9am UTC/GMT December 18th to claim the free Crimson Map Pack.

If only more publishers would make mistakes like this is, I'm sure, the thought that's crossing your mind right now. Or embrace them as wholeheartedly; in any event, if you qualify, better claim before the time runs out!

Source: Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/12/11/distribution-mistake-means-free-halo-4-dlc-for-everyone.aspx]

UPDATE: It would seem that, when Microsoft and 343 Industries said that the map pack was available for a limited time, what was meant was that, once the time limit runs out, affected players no longer have access to the maps.

"Those of you that own the Halo 4 Map Pass via standalone purchase or the Limited Edition will not be impacted and will continue to have access to the content after the complimentary access period ends on Tuesday," said community support agent Miss Kleo. [http://forums.xbox.com/xbox_forums/xbox_support/f/27/p/409510/2072684.aspx#2072684] In other words, if you bought it then it's yours forever, but if you're getting it via complimentary access then it's yours until the 18th.

Thanks to alert reader TorchofThanatos [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/TorchofThanatos] for the heads-up!

Permalink

 

[TorchofThanatos]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

Edit: So I was kind of angry when I wrote this. Yah, it annoys me but at least I will have other people to play the maps with.
Better then trying to take back the maps some how.

 

[mikeybuthge]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

I agree, it sucks when developers give instead of try to squeeze every penny from consumers, shame on them

 

[Trivun]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

How heartless can you be? I also pre-ordered the Limited Edition, and the extras that I got more than made the purchase worth it, on top of an excellent game. Now, because they made a mistake, you're having a go at Microsoft and 343i for actually being nice and doing something decent rather than being dicks and refusing to uphold the consequences of their error? If they turned around and said to everyone who benefitted from this to go screw themselves and did refuse to give the content away, I bet you would be among the first to be complaining saying that they were being evil soulless money-grabbing corporate assholes. It's a good thing when a big company is willing to do something nice for their customers, so why don't you take your negative attitude and either direct it to a company that deserves your scorn (like Zynga, for just one example), or get the hell off this thread.

(Sorry to anyone who thinks I'm also being as arrogant as this guy, but it makes me really pissed off when I hear people complaining just because someone is an easy target - there's plenty to hate Microsoft for, but there's plenty to love too, and some people just don't seem to understand that for the sake of jumping on a bandwagon of hate...)

 

[Trishbot]

Am I seriously old enough to remember a time when Halo OFTEN gave away ALL their map packs for free after a certain point? That was something Bungie used to pride themselves on: making sure everyone got the content. You only paid to get it several months before everyone else, but it was eventually all made freely available for everyone to enjoy.

Umm, where do i start.
Heartless? They fucked up, royal messed up. I am allowed to get angry at them for doing it and where do you get bandwagon hate from. I am not jumping on some bandwagon, I have a complaint! I am allowed to say, "WTF guys!" I would be the first to say they were money-grabbing if the refused to give me content that I paid for. I am not some entitled gammer ranting and hating when i don't get my way. 343i also gave away all the Specialization to everyone, which was a good thing. I am not complaining about that, locking them in the first place was stupid. Not realizing that the code that you are giving everyone for the Specialization is the same code that you charge people 30 bucks (that includes 3 free map packs) for is a really big mistake. Yes, it was nice for the community as a whole but I screwed me over and anyone else that bought the Limited edition and the War-games pass.
If someone is welling to pay extra for your game you don't want to piss them off because then they wont next time.
Get off your hight horse, you righteous prick, 343i deserves some backlash for this so they don't do again in the future.
Better yet they could just not charges any of us for map packs and refund the people that already paid for them.

OMG! Like, I totally paid FULL PRICE for Dragon Age: Origins's Limited Edition and, wouldn't you know it, they eventually LOWERED THE PRICE of the game. Everyone should have to pay the same as me for eternity! How DARE others get what I got for cheaper or free! *gasp!* Even worse, they bundled all that expensive DLC into an "Ultimate Edition" and you could get everything now for less than half the price I paid for the full original game! What greedy, inconsiderate jerks!

Seriously, I don't understand this. You got your content, you got it early even, and you got a buttload of other goodies. Again, there used to be a time when Bungie would charge people for early access to their maps then GIVE the maps away for free to everyone who wanted them, and you didn't see any fans gnashing their teeth and claiming betrayal. If anything, it's more upsetting that Microsoft forced them to stop that very generous policy.

 

[Erttheking]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

As someone who ordered the limited edition, give it a freaking rest. People are getting the map pack for free? Really, who cares? It's supposed to be the freaking holiday season the time of compassion and giving. 343 messed up and gave something away for free, and they decided to be good sports about it and say "you know what? It's on the house." Are you honestly saying that they should've gone around taking them all back and screwing over the people that got lucky just to make YOU feel better? Come on man.

 

[Falcon123]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

See, you're the type of person that gives gamers a bad reputation of being "entitled". Reread what you just wrote. That's called entitlement. You pre-ordered something and got exactly what you were promised. They didn't take anything away from you, nor did they lie about the content you were given. You got it, and more importantly, you got it first. That's what you paid for. You chose how to spend your money, and you were given exactly what you ordered.

So the only complaint you have now is that someone else (not you) gets to benefit in a way that has no effect on you whatsoever . You're not losing anything. The company made a mistake and decided not to be jerks to other people. If you really believe that your preorder makes you so superior to everyone else that other people should suffer just so you can have the satisfaction of being the only one in a special club you STILL get to be in, I ask that you sit down and take a moment to consider where your life has gone and how you got to this point.

Long story short: you got what you paid for and should be happy. You should be happy for your fellow gamer for not getting screwed over at someone else's mistake too, and so venomously not being so just makes you look like a jerk.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

Woooh buddy, they made the best they could have on such short notice about a bad mistake. You got what you paid for, and they are simply turning an accidental mistake into something good.

I'll pre order you some coal for christmas, limited edition of course. And just because i'm feeling nice, i'll give it to all the bad kids for free.

 

[cricket chirps]

On a completely different -not hate/anger/"respond to others!"- subject. How does one go about claiming the give away? I'm eligable and already used the code for the specializations, what do i do to get the maps?

 

[Radoh]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

This attitude is hilarious to me.
You realise the more people that have this map pack make it more likely that the maps will be in your rotation, right?

Let's say that two hundred people had access to these maps, that means that in order for you to play any of the maps, every person in the lobby needs to be one of those two hundred people, whereas if everyone has these maps, you can play them all the time.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

As someone who ordered the limited edition, give it a freaking rest. People are getting the map pack for free? Really, who cares? It's supposed to be the freaking holiday season the time of compassion and giving. 343 messed up and gave something away for free, and they decided to be good sports about it and say "you know what? It's on the house." Are you honestly saying that they should've gone around taking them all back and screwing over the people that got lucky just to make YOU feel better? Come on man.

But it shouldn't have happened in the first place. I am really not that angry at the fact that people got it for free, I now have more people to play the maps with.
I get that it is 343i first DLC I it would have been nice if you don't have to pay at all for any maps but try not to mess anyways 343i.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

On a completely different -not hate/anger/"respond to others!"- subject. How does one go about claiming the give away? I'm eligable and already used the code for the specializations, what do i do to get the maps?

when you put your halo 4 disk in, at the main menu the bottom option is the marketplace. Go to that and it should bring up the menu to download and the cost will be 0 point. Enjoy your maps.

 

[Erttheking]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

As someone who ordered the limited edition, give it a freaking rest. People are getting the map pack for free? Really, who cares? It's supposed to be the freaking holiday season the time of compassion and giving. 343 messed up and gave something away for free, and they decided to be good sports about it and say "you know what? It's on the house." Are you honestly saying that they should've gone around taking them all back and screwing over the people that got lucky just to make YOU feel better? Come on man.

But it shouldn't have happened in the first place. I am really not that angry at the fact that people got it for free, I now have more people to play the maps with.
I get that it is 343i first DLC I it would have been nice if you don't have to pay at all for any maps but try not to mess anyways 343i.

You still over reacted. Really, people getting free stuff is not bad.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

See, you're the type of person that gives gamers a bad reputation of being "entitled". Reread what you just wrote. That's called entitlement. You pre-ordered something and got exactly what you were promised. They didn't take anything away from you, nor did they lie about the content you were given. You got it, and more importantly, you got it first. That's what you paid for. You chose how to spend your money, and you were given exactly what you ordered.

So the only complaint you have now is that someone else (not you) gets to benefit in a way that has no effect on you whatsoever . You're not losing anything. The company made a mistake and decided not to be jerks to other people. If you really believe that your preorder makes you so superior to everyone else that other people should suffer just so you can have the satisfaction of being the only one in a special club you STILL get to be in, I ask that you sit down and take a moment to consider where your life has gone and how you got to this point.

Long story short: you got what you paid for and should be happy. You should be happy for your fellow gamer for not getting screwed over at someone else's mistake too, and so venomously not being so just makes you look like a jerk.

I siad "fuck you 343i" because the gave stuff I paid money for free to other people. It is great for the other people that didn't have to pay. It is great for the community because now many more people will have the maps and hopefully we can play them more. It is great for other people and kinda of screws me over, a little. As for a special club who cares, the club can go away, I don't care. However i care about the money that I spend spend. Sucks for me great for everyone else.

 

[cricket chirps]

On a completely different -not hate/anger/"respond to others!"- subject. How does one go about claiming the give away? I'm eligable and already used the code for the specializations, what do i do to get the maps?

when you put your halo 4 disk in, at the main menu the bottom option is the marketplace. Go to that and it should bring up the menu to download and the cost will be 0 point. Enjoy your maps.

Thank you, and nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO T_T due to complicated reasons i cant get to my xbox before the time is up D: sadness. If anyone finds a way of getting it on xbox live's website and downloading it there(which you can usually do with purchases) let me know.

Also, Hey, really Torch don't worry about the Limited Edition buyers thing, i'm rather sure they are going to try to make it up to you all as well by giving you something that no one else can get period/ever. This thing happens now and again and that's how it usually resolves itself. Just wait and look for news.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

So I pre-ordered the Limited edition, and so far everything I was supposed to get free the entire community also gets for free.
Way to go 343i, thanks for screwing over the guys that pre-ordered for game because they thought you would do a good job.
FUCK you 343i.

As someone who ordered the limited edition, give it a freaking rest. People are getting the map pack for free? Really, who cares? It's supposed to be the freaking holiday season the time of compassion and giving. 343 messed up and gave something away for free, and they decided to be good sports about it and say "you know what? It's on the house." Are you honestly saying that they should've gone around taking them all back and screwing over the people that got lucky just to make YOU feel better? Come on man.

But it shouldn't have happened in the first place. I am really not that angry at the fact that people got it for free, I now have more people to play the maps with.
I get that it is 343i first DLC I it would have been nice if you don't have to pay at all for any maps but try not to mess anyways 343i.

You still over reacted. Really, people getting free stuff is not bad.

People getting free stuff that I paid for kinda of annoys me. Like I said on another post. Great for everyone else and for the community, which I am apart of, but still annoys me.
Either way I am still playing Halo 4 and will be buy Halo 5 when it come out.
This is the internet, everyone over reacts: watch this

"Dragon Age 2 is so much better the Dragon Age Origins! DAO Sucks, Hawk in so cool!"

And now we wait to see how many people take the bait.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

On a completely different -not hate/anger/"respond to others!"- subject. How does one go about claiming the give away? I'm eligable and already used the code for the specializations, what do i do to get the maps?

when you put your halo 4 disk in, at the main menu the bottom option is the marketplace. Go to that and it should bring up the menu to download and the cost will be 0 point. Enjoy your maps.

Thank you, and nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO T_T due to complicated reasons i cant get to my xbox before the time is up D: sadness. If anyone finds a way of getting it on xbox live's website and downloading it there(which you can usually do with purchases) let me know.

Also, Hey, really Torch don't worry about the Limited Edition buyers thing, i'm rather sure they are going to try to make it up to you all as well by giving you something that no one else can get period/ever. This thing happens now and again and that's how it usually resolves itself. Just wait and look for news.

Ohhh, can you go over to a friends house who has Live, download your gamer tag and then download maps on to his xbox. Delete said download and delete your gammer tag off the xbox, then when yours is back just redownload the maps on yours? I didn't know if that would work or not. Besides I am not that worried, annoyed and upset, yes, but this is better for the whole community. Group over person in this case.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

What I don't understand is why aren't they just given away for free?, I mean seriously there's like 3-4 maps that will get spam voted meaning one or two will be neglected like two current vanilla maps are and then the rest will get stale really fast.

I reckon they should just allow people unlimited creation in Forge mode so price isn't a matter and then they can upload those maps for the rest of the community published for free and everyone wins and gets more content that doesn't get stale so fast.

Also before anyone adds "some custom maps can have certain advantages for one team, all 343 would have to do is go through them to check and make sure they are fair and square for both sides like they do when creating their own maps.

 

[cricket chirps]

Thank you, and nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO T_T due to complicated reasons i cant get to my xbox before the time is up D: sadness. If anyone finds a way of getting it on xbox live's website and downloading it there(which you can usually do with purchases) let me know.

Also, Hey, really Torch don't worry about the Limited Edition buyers thing, i'm rather sure they are going to try to make it up to you all as well by giving you something that no one else can get period/ever. This thing happens now and again and that's how it usually resolves itself. Just wait and look for news.

Ohhh, can you go over to a friends house who has Live, download your gamer tag and then download maps on to his xbox. Delete said download and delete your gammer tag off the xbox, then when yours is back just redownload the maps on yours? I didn't know if that would work or not. Besides I am not that worried, annoyed and upset, yes, but this is better for the whole community. Group over person in this case.

Yea thankfully i thought of that too, just called a friend to do exactly that haha.

Really though im sure they are gonna give Limited Edition buyers exclusive access to some armor that is special like the purple flame skull helmet in reach.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

UPDATE: turns out if you don't pay for the maps you only get them till the 18, to play them after the 18 you must pay. The maps are on a free trail period.

Okay, I was upset at the free but this is now just stupid. So now everyone that thought they got them for free only have the maps till the 18.
Sorry, guys looks like free map pack no longer true.