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Buying used games? EA will charge you for the online mode!

SHOCKING NEWS: Ubisoft to follow suit!

"Ubisoft may attempt to thwart used game sales by offering additional content to buyers of new copies of its games starting next year.

During the company's financial call this morning, Chief Financial Officer Alain Martinez said Ubisoft is looking closely at Electronic Arts' current business model, where buyers of used games must pay $10 to gain access to certain gameplay features and content that's normally free if purchased new.

"Most of the games we will release next year will have downloadable content available from the start," said Martinez. "We are looking very carefully at what is being done by EA regarding what we call the '10 dollar solution,' and we will probably follow that line at sometime in the future." "

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1090839p1.html


And so it begins...


EDIT: At least they're not masking it as "improving the gamers' experience by offering them premium online content" or "providing better content through recovering the additional online cost". They're straight up saying "hey, used game sales suck for us, we want money, and this is how we're gonna get it!" :)
 
e²Studios said:
EA or any publisher for that matter only makes money on new game sales, GameStop or whatever other rip you off retailer is the only party making money on a used sale. This is more of a way for them to try to stick it to them and in turn also get consumers to buy new instead of used. With the extra $10 it may sway a consumer in to buying it new since those shops only charge $5 less than new for the used copy (of course this is the same game they only gave you $10 for on trade-in).

If anyone is ripping you off its GameStop or wherever sells the used games. They are to blame for this more than anything.
Click to expand...

This just in....

Toyota now want a fee when I sell my car so the steering wheel can function

Nike wants a fee when I sell clothes at a garage sale. They say the fee will allow the clothes to cover up *ahem* body parts

Sorry, this is a ridiculous argument as once the game is sold....the license is transfered to the owner who is then able to due what he wants as long as it is within the law of copyright

Selling and buying used games does NOT infringe copyright at all and the license has been legally transferred

This is a ****** move by EA and Ubisoft and I will not buy their games. They can go **** themselves as far as I am concerned
 
As if Ubisoft needed another reason for people to dislike them. They're already using the worst DRM imaginable.

I don't think this would be so much of a problem if the games were so expensive to start with. Second hand games from Game or Gamestation are usually only £5-10 less than brand new. Once you factor in these extra costs it'd cost the same price a new game. Throw in increasingly important DLC (CoD6 guys are already working on it, that should be in the retail game!) and online subscription fees...

...up until recently people lolled at the idea of £60 N64 games. We're going right back there.
 
I noticed that Modnation Racers (PSP version) already has this similar function. You can download an online gaming key for 9,95€ if you've bought a used game.
 
Miharu said:
I noticed that Modnation Racers (PSP version) already has this similar function. You can download an online gaming key for 9,95€ if you've bought a used game.
Click to expand...

Of course the PSP game SOCOM 3 has an 'online entitlement voucher' that costs $20. Of course if you get it on PSN like I did you never even see that stuff. My assumption is that was due to the atrocious piracy level on the PSP ... but regardless I really don't like the trend.
 
dukebound85 said:
Sorry, this is a ridiculous argument as once the game is sold....the license is transfered to the owner who is then able to due what he wants as long as it is within the law of copyright
Click to expand...

Sorry for your being uninformed but you are selling the license for the single player version of the game. There is a seperate EULA for the online portion of the game that specifically states the license is non transferrable. All companies do this, and everyone agrees to the terms when going online with a game.

While you and a few others may not like it, it may entice others to just buy the new copy instead of the $5 less for a used and getting ripped off by GameStop or whomever. This is what the companies want as they make money off a new retail sale.

The silly car analogies are irrelevant.
 
I hope enough people refuse to buy these gimped games that EA (and everyone else) realizes that gamers arent idiots and arent going to let the used game market die.
Unfortunately, a lot of gamers are idiots and will gladly spend tons of money on stuff that should be free, like day 1 DLC.
 
NoSmokingBandit said:
like day 1 DLC.
Click to expand...

Or 3 new maps for £11.
It's funny but those who really need the money, the small time indie devs, they don't charge extra for DLC. The bigger the developer/publisher - the worse it seems to be (EA and Activision). But yea I won't be buying their titles. Not that I bought their stuff before, except for Rock Band 2 and MW2.
 
"EA CEO John Riccitiello has defended the company’s Online Pass system by saying it was designed to provide additional value to the customer instead of squelching used game sales."

http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/09/ric...t-about-hindering-used-game-sales/#more-99515

What a load of bullplop. His whole statement is just saying a whole lot of nothing, but he's using fancy business terms, so he sounds important and right! :rolleyes:
 
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