As a huge fan of the RTS genre I try to play every major RTS that my grubby hands can get on. One game that has continued to elude my grasp is DoW. The reason simply is because of the ridiculous initial investment required to play the "full game." Call it whatever you want: episodic content, expansion packs, semi-sequels... this tactic of selling bite sized morsels of gameplay is milking at its finest. And why not milk? You combine a vast gameworld with a rabid fanbase and get gallons of vitamin-D organic. I guess it all started with the MMO's (as do many other trends which are detrimental to society). The granddaddy of them all, EverQuest started releasing expansion packs to quell the ubernerds who hit the level cap in a matter of weeks. To see the cool new items and lands you had to buy the expansion and then another expansion... and so on. Sony Online Entertainment now had two streams of revenue: the monthly service fees AND the profits from expansion sales, why would they want to stop? MMO-ers are the biggest crack addicts of them all. No matter the price, playing becomes service with inelastic demand. It is quite easy to see how this is an awesome formula for the bigwigs up top.