
Anyone remember expansion packs? You know, those things so aptly named because they expanded a game’s story, maps, equipment and characters without requiring a significant update to the game itself. The advantage to them was that a person didn’t need to install the original game engine again, as indeed there was no need to repackage it, so it was slightly cheaper to produce.
I think, somewhere around Halo 2, everyone realized that there was no reason to make expansions, or stand-alone expansions, when you could make twice the money just slapping a number on the end of the name. I’m frankly unsure as to how anyone could think Left 4 Dead 2 should have just been DLC or an expansion and yet still be excited about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward, or CoDIVMWIIbIF for short.
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