Having to pay for multiplayer content.... its coming.

hightower1

Game developers are this summer going to start implementing "online passes" system in new games.

What does this mean for you and me?

Well when you buy a new game you will also get a code you need to enter to validate the copy you have for online content like multiplayer.
Its a one time code so if you trade in the game the online is useless unless you pay more (approx 5eur) to activate the online content for yourself.

Basically game developers get around 12eur on every 60eur game sold, when you trade this in to say gamestop when its re sold all the money goes to gamestop.
As far as the developers are concerned this is a big loss as another person who buys the game second hand is someone who DIDNT buy it new and give a cut to them.... enter, online pass system.

THQ are implementing this in the new UFC game and EA will be doing likewise later in the year. I for one will vote with my wallet and wont be buying new games with this "feature". Out and out greed on developers behalf in my opinion. In terms of the UFC game, I WAS going to buy this new as have been interested in getting more into UFC as a sport but this is a slap in the face.

What do you think? Would you pay additional money to play this online bearing in mind we already pay yearly for the network in place to host the content?


Source:
http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/ufc-undisputed-2010/1091592p1.html

dazftw

Trying to get back some of those used game sales.. I see nothing wrong with it really. I usually buy multiplayer games new anyway.

VinLieger

dazftw wrote: »

Trying to get back some of those used game sales.. I see nothing wrong with it really. I usually buy multiplayer games new anyway.

Same i cant see anything wrong with this, they are loosing a lot of sales through second hand stuff and im the same i dont mind buying a game second for single player but just dont when it comes to multiplayer

rizzla

I don't see anything wrong with it. My bro bought skate 3 so he got the skate share code that came with it, so I'll be buying that when it hits the marketplace. My only gripe is you couldn't buy it day 1 the game went on sale, in fact you still can't buy it.

Jerichoholic

It's wrong, we already pay a subscription to play online with gold accounts. I could see EA doing it since they have their own servers to maintain, but you can't play EA games with a silver account. If xbox live becomes free then it wouldn't be so bad, but this is not a good thing whatsoever.

Reganio 2

I am with others I fail to see how an extra fiver is going to kill people. You can either buy the game new for 60 quid or wait a while get it for 30 and pay an extra 5 quid I don't see how its that bad. Might also stop people illegaly getting the games although 1 thing this is bad for is the likes of Xtravision.

calex71

My biggest issue with it is that Gamestop etc won't be dropping their prices anytime soon so effectively if you buy a second hand game you will end up pay nearly the same as new if you want to play on line.

How is this any different to buying a 2nd hand car? Garage gives you x for your old banger and adds y to it and out on the forecourt it goes to be sold to someone else, that person won't have to pay ford or bmw etc 10-25% of the car's original value to drive it on a motorway. ea want to charge 800ms points and thq 400 if you buy their games 2nd hand.

I always trade old for new anyway which in fact helps their sales I feel. If this effects the cost i get for a trade in or selling on adverts, it would force me to buy less games. As I simply could not afford them

Anyway it's there IP and their are entitled to charge what they want i guess :mad:

Gunmonkey

Apart froom the hypocrisy of people claiming developers are "greedy" when they try to stop people giving them the middle finger by buying a used game for €5 less, its worrying when stores like Gamestop are reporting $2 Billion in sales over just the previous financial quarter when I suspect the majority of their sales are from selling used games at ridiculous prices.

I dont see how the €5 licenses are so bad, it will only affect you if you dont buy new.

Adamcp898

How will this work for rented games though?

calex71

Gunmonkey wrote: »

Apart froom the hypocrisy of people claiming developers are "greedy" when they try to stop people giving them the middle finger by buying a used game for €5 less

You think the developer will see much of it ? I think most of it will go to publishers like EA, who are not charging and extra €5, it's more like $10 :eek:
There was a link to this on their site last week which escapes me at the moment.

EGriff

Adamcp898 wrote: »

How will this work for rented games though?

I think you get a 7 day trial online without the code. At least thats what EA are doing.

v3ttel

I'm all for game developers getting a bigger slice of the cut (its where I'd like to end up eventually), but this is not the answer.

Surely, game developers can work out a deal to get a slice of profit for second hand games? That would be a much more reasonable solution.

I need to pay two companies if I want to play online? So if I want to pay UFC 2010 online and see a bargain second hand copy, firstly I've to pay MS to access the general Xbox live service, and then I have to pay THQ to access that specific service also?

Adding fuel to the piracy fire imo. Its like they are trying to fleece customers every which way.

RobertFoster

calex71 wrote: »

My biggest issue with it is that Gamestop etc won't be dropping their prices anytime soon so effectively if you buy a second hand game you will end up pay nearly the same as new if you want to play on line.

From my experience, there's very little difference in price anyway. Buy new for €60 or second hand for €55.

calex71 wrote: »

How is this any different to buying a 2nd hand car?

You don't buy a new car and then trade it in a week later.

Gunmonkey

calex71 wrote: »

You think the developer will see much of it ? I think most of it will go to publishers like EA, who are not charging and extra €5, it's more like $10 :eek:
There was a link to this on their site last week which escapes me at the moment.

While the developer may or may not get any of the license cash, the publisher will be able to shore up some of the lost revenue opportunities from the used games market, and so will be more prone to green lighting a sequel or another project by the development team. Pure speculation on my part though, publishers could give the devs the middle finger either.

And the UFC 2010 code costs $5 (so about €3.50 on XBLA and €5 on PSN), EA Sports codes are set at $10. Plus most EA Sports developers are owned by EA itself, so if the parent company does good the developer does too.

Simon Gruber Says

This has sorta happened already with BFBC2. When you buy it new, you get the "VIP" code which unlocks a couple maps already loaded on the disc and one or two future map packs. However, if you buy it second hand, it's pretty much guarenteed that the code will be used and you'll have to fork out 1200 M$ points to unlock those maps.

So, the fiver or so you'd save buying this game second hand is instantly lost(and more) if you plan on playing it online.

ClayDavis

Surely most games you buy second hand you buy a while after the release date ?

Wouldn't most of the online community for that game have dissapated by then?

It is kind of bull but I can see why they want to start charging for this because their sales are negatively impacted by retailers agressively pushing used games.

Jerichoholic

I dunno about that, I was playing Call of Juarez 2 online yesterday and there were plenty of players about.

Slugs

People we seem to be missing the point here... It's not the fact that we're paying ONLY €5 for this new implementation, it's the fact that we have to pay at all. Why the **** should I have to pay €5 to a company if I'm already paying €6.99 a month for xbox live?! We are already paying for live, the fact that we're even paying that is a joke in and of itself. If this is brought in, there's going to be serious issues.

ricman

Say you buy tiger woods 2009, in 2 years they close down the servers so you cannot play it.Most games released have tiny amounts of people playing them online after 6 months.Games cost millions to make so i its understandable why they want to do this.

Mr Freeze

So just to be clear, If I buy a game new, it comes with a code that enables online play.

If I buy it used, I will have to pay extra if I want to play online.

I have no problem with this, as I buy my games new anyways.

OctavarIan

Slugs wrote: »

People we seem to be missing the point here... It's not the fact that we're paying ONLY €5 for this new implementation, it's the fact that we have to pay at all.

More money to developers is a very very good thing. For the portion of games with worthwhile online features, paying €5 won't kill you when you're already paying half price for the preowned game.

Slugs wrote:

Why the **** should I have to pay €5 to a company if I'm already paying €6.99 a month for xbox live?!

You're paying Microsoft €6.99 a month, not the 'company'.

Slugs wrote:

We are already paying for live, the fact that we're even paying that is a joke in and of itself. If this is brought in, there's going to be serious issues.

There won't be serious issues. If people can pay up to €20 for ****e DLC they can pay €5 to play online.

rizzla

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Yup thats my beef, if they are charing 5e to play the game online then they should allow silver xbox live accounts to play online. I think a few of the gaming sites have sent emails to microsoft regarding this issue. I think we are on a slippery slope with this 5e online thing, I can see it getting worse.

Yeah but you only have to pay it if you buy it preowned there is no charge for buying it new. If you have a silver account why the hell pay the €5, you can't play online anyway, you just have a silver account.

rizzla

LIGHTNING wrote: »

No point is that if you pay the 5e with a silver account you should be able to then play it online. Microsoft should have a exemption for those games.

I can see why people on the gold package would have a gripe with this but if you have a silver account, there's no reason for you to pay this €5, as your already on a silver account and probably don't care about online gaming anyway.

rizzla

LIGHTNING wrote: »

But as gold members we are paying most in order to play online, paying again to play a game online isnt fair. I dont always buy games new so why should I be punished.

Because the game you buy preowned is money into the pocket of gamestop etc, and nothing goes to the hardworking developers of the game your currently enjoying. Some see it at punishment to the gamers, others as justice for the developers.

alastair_doom

Doubt people will be paying €5 extra to play a second hand games. Places like gamestop will have to drop the price of second hand games to make them worthwhile if they want people to keep buying secondhand.

Its just the money will be better distributed.

The only people who this should affect is those who trade in new-ish games.

Karmafaerie

I really can't understand the attitude some are having here.

It's as simple as this.
Gamestop and the like, as well as us gamers have been enjoying a somewhat flawed system for some time.

The game industry is quiet often one of very low margins of profit.
Most games don't even make a profit.

You buy a game for €60.00 and sell it to Gamestop for €20 and they sell it off for €40.
The next person is getting the game for €40.00

9/10 in the exact same condition as when bought new.


The online community of games costs money to maintain, to moderate, to improve and update.

It's a rolling progression.

Games like Halo 3 which is well over 2 and a half years old, still costs Bungie a tonne to maintain.

So I don't care about paying a bit extra if I'm buying a seond hand game.


If I buy something in cheap in a sale I don't bitch if it's not all I was expecting.
You get what you pay for.

If brand new games had extra charges it would be different.
This is a case where Gamestop (et all) should shoulder some of the costs.

They're making massive profits simply for stoing something on their shelves and selling it on.

Grumpypants

I would prefer if they reduced the cost of the game by 5 euro then you had to buy a code for the multiplayer aspect. When you consider the majority of multiplayer parts to games are just tacked on as an after thought and i rarely have any use for.

Maybe give you a taste for free for 2 days then you buy the code to unlock the rest.

TheDoc

Good business on their part.

They are losing out big time on the trade in market whilst the likes of gamestop make a fortune, remember the devs and publishers have no say on the pricing of the second hand market.

Its essentially the wild west for shops like gamestop.

The only downside I can see if the trade in value from gamestop to trade in customers falling. I'm sure the lack of instant multiplayer access will allow them to fork out less cash for second hand games.

Can also see them hiking up the sale prices due to " you need this to play multiplayer"

Its a sad day that this is the way console gaming is gone. MY 360 of many a year aprted company with me last week and I've no regrets. I play world of warcraft and its the only game I'm going to play for years to come, they will release another mmo and ill continue playing it.

Blizzard are one of thsoe devs that give their customers bundles of value. I pay about 120-160 euro a year for world of warcraft, thats the price of 2-3 xbox games new, and I can tell you they just dont compare when it comes to value for money.

I've always being an advocate of avoiding trade in shops, never used them and never will. I've made happier people from just handing my games over to friends or family, selling them or just advertising them on boards.

I'd rather let a game gather dust then hand it into gamestop, although I'm utterly biased against them, due to how much I hate them.

helios12

I have to say I'm a little sickened by people who accept this stuff so readily.

You pay a yearly subscription to Xbox Live plus over -inflated game prices. Dedicated servers? nope. Free content? nope. Go on and buy yourself a little jacket for your avatar when you get back from paying 60 quid for a game and don't concern yourself with all that lag.:rolleyes:

For the record, the person who mentioned it being grand cos the second -hand price will drop to 30 euro. Only after many months will you get a good game for that price second hand in any of the games shops -by that stage no one is playing it.

Grumpypants

It is weird how easily people accept these things without thinking them through.

At the moment shops sell new releases at a very cheap price (HMV 45 euro for example) and give you a ok trade in price. For example i had Alan Wake traded it in for Red dead for 12 euro. Which was ok. HMV do this becasue they know they will make more profit from selling alan Wake second hand than red dead new.

Without that big profit margin on trade ins they will have to make it on new games. So all this will do is push up the price of new games reduce the price they will give you for second hand games and add an extra cost to buying second hand games.

But the publishers just say its hurting developers and everyone rolls over and has their belly tickled.

rizzla

Grumpypants wrote: »

It is weird how easily people accept these things without thinking them through.

At the moment shops sell new releases at a very cheap price (HMV 45 euro for example) and give you a ok trade in price. For example i had Alan Wake traded it in for Red dead for 12 euro. Which was ok. HMV do this becasue they know they will make more profit from selling alan Wake second hand than red dead new.

Without that big profit margin on trade ins they will have to make it on new games. So all this will do is push up the price of new games reduce the price they will give you for second hand games and add an extra cost to buying second hand games.

But the publishers just say its hurting developers and everyone rolls over and has their belly tickled.

That's just a what if scenario. I doubt that will happen because if the prices in the stores go back up people will just go back to buying their games cheaper online.