EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

[Ufgt]

EA Sports to charge $10 to play used games online

Hmmm... canabalizing the used market is a pretty unethical business model. I wonder how consumers will respond. Personally, I have no problems since I don't play sports games online, but once this model becomes popular and other devs/publishers adopt it, it may be out of hand.

What do you guys think? I'm at work right now so I don't have time to type out my entire thought, but I will revisit this issue when I get home.

[Durahansolo]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

I wonder if this will cause Gamestop to fix some of their used prices. For example: If a new game comes out and gets traded in within the first few months of the release, and if the game was still selling for the full original price, it would sell for $5 cheaper. Buying used and then paying an extra $10 to play online around that price would actually make the game cost more used than new.

(But then too EA Sports games usually drop dramatically in price by the next year since a new game would be coming out, so I don't even know if this would apply much to their sports games. Anything else would be a totally different story like Mass Effect or Battlefield)

[Feba]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

Personally, I have no problem because I don't buy from piece of shit companies.

Way to shoot yourself in the foot though, EA. Anyone seen used sports game prices? They're practically nothing. When people know they're going to be paying another $10 on top of that, they're going to drop even further. The first game with this might sell well. After gamestops start telling people they can't get anything for their old sports game as a trade in value, they're going to stop buying new ones every single year.

[Malacite]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

WTF EA, you finally get the stink of the Devil off of you and onto Kotick, then you pull this nonsense.

Good Job, you morons.

[Takelli]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

As long as they don't touch the other games that go online like MW2, Demon's Souls, and others, I am fine.

[Ufgt]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

As long as they don't touch the other games that go online like MW2, Demon's Souls, and others, I am fine.

Well, that's the thing... if this model proves successful and the profits outweigh the potential lost sales from angry consumers, than it's very easy to see other companies adopting it. I guess you also have to take into account the ethics behind such a move and whether certain companies are willing to compromise in order to increase the bottom line. But that's a debate for another time, I think.

[Kailea]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

That is what we call a "dick move" good job EA ;p

[Solymir]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

This seems like one of the biggest dick moves by a game publisher I have seen in a while. One owner equals one person being able to play, online or otherwise. If I were a Gamestop manager I would stop buying used EA games until this rule gets changed back. And I would make sure all customers knew this before the next new game comes out.

I just realized something, is this going forward on any new games published or is this going to start for used games currently in stores?

[Ufgt]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

Just for new games being published, as they are the only ones that will have the one time use code.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

WTF EA, you finally get the stink of the Devil off of you and onto Kotick, then you pull this nonsense.

Good Job, you morons.

You think just because they made a few new IPs that EA had really stopped being scum?

You didn't see this coming after Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2? They withhold content to used gamers and force pay for the "free" download content people who bought new got? That was bullshit then, this is just more of it.

Sony's only dabbling with the multiplayer idea, which isn't totally absolutely terrible in theory. Its one thing to discourage the buying of used games, though. What happens when EA puts out a game with online mulitplayer and "free" download content? It would cost more to buy used that that point.

Gamers being gamers, though, they'll do what they always do - bend over and take it.

No one stopped developrs when the started charging for sidequests and alternate costumes. EA is only doing what it does because gamers like being morons, apparently. You guys just had to go and buy your stupid horse armor, now developers think this is OK.

[Ufgt]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

The industry has changed and it's becoming too damn expensive to be a gamer.

[Icemage]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

Hold on a second, why so much hate-training on EA? And since when are GameStop such angels?

First, if you're the sort to buy a new copy of Madden or FIFA or whatever every year, this doesn't affect you because the online registration comes with the new game.

If you're buying a used copy, EA normally doesn't see a penny of that money - can you blame them for wanting to shut down second-hand sales?

I'd be upset if I owned stock in GameStop, but if you actually buy games new and not used, this change doesn't affect you at all (and even with used games it only affects you if you actually want to play online).

So what's the problem, here?


Icemage

[TheGrandMom]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

So what's the problem, here?

Greed?

The used game business has been around for decades and there are ways of dealing with it without gouging more money out of people. I guess we should start charging people an extra fee if they want to drive a used car too. Seven free starts but after that you have to pay $1000 if you want the real keys to the car.

[Romyro]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

You can’t drive a car online though.

[Feba]

Re: EA: Games purchased used will cost $10 for online play

First, if you're the sort to buy a new copy of Madden or FIFA or whatever every year, this doesn't affect you because the online registration comes with the new game.

Way to miss the point. It's not about when you buy the game, it's about when you sell it-- and if your trade-in value suddenly drops to damn near zero, it's a bit harder to justify the upgrade.

If you're buying a used copy, EA normally doesn't see a penny of that money - can you blame them for wanting to shut down second-hand sales?

Absolutely. I buy tons of media-- CDs, Books, Movies, Games, and so on. Software is the only industry that does shit like this. It's an abuse of its capabilities. Would we really think it's fair to not be able to sell off our old CDs, Books, etc., ever, if they had the technology to do that? And we're not just talking about GameStop-- we're talking about garage sales, CAG, Goozex, craigslist, ebay, and simply giving things away. If I give a friend of mine a copy of an EA Sports game now I'm costing him money, unless I find some way of covering that payment too. It's also going to cause plenty of problems for people who buy new. If I take my game over to a friend or relative's house, it suddenly becomes less useful. Not sure if it uses PSN account or hardware ID, but either way that's going to result in legitimate owners having to rebuy their rights.