EA to Charge You $10 to Play Used Sports Online

[drksilenc]

i thought major publishers were out to make money? it seems like the top 3 do nothing but alienate there customers and charge more which makes us buy less. dont they realize that there constantly devaluing there products buy doing this stupid nonsence

 

[rhino13]

So... GameStop isn't mad abuot this?
I don't understand!
They think people are still going to buy used?
It doesn't make sense!

 

[Parsifal57]

[citation][nom]thackstonns[/nom]This is just what I would want if I was EA, to be looked at the same as gamestop. I hate gamestop because they are a rip off, and EA because they are a rip off. Maybe EA should just try to buy gamestop, and quit charging 10bucks for online play? Also since I will no longer buy any EA games looks like you are losing $60 instead of making ten.[/citation]

GAMESTOP are the reason this is happening, more and more people wait to play the game 2nd hand and GAMESTOP actively push the 2nd copies since they make much more revenue from them. If GAMESTOP were to feed a portion of the 2nd hand sales back to the publishers then the publishers wouldn't bee looking at this sort of approach.

Regardless of the people who think that this is the Games Publishers cashing in, they actually need to make a profit by selling a minimum number of games, if they aren't reaching that minimum because of the practices of companies like GAMESTOP.

So if you feel the need to blame anyone blame the 2nd hand resellers for not compensating the publishers, and as long as this goes on look for more publishers to go this way.

 

[bv90andy]

I don't buy sport games but I hope this won't become the norm as I like to buy used games for my xbox, play them and sell them a month later for the same money

 

[megamanx00]

FU EA, FU

 

[Kelavarus]

[citation][nom]Parsifal57[/nom]GAMESTOP are the reason this is happening, more and more people wait to play the game 2nd hand and GAMESTOP actively push the 2nd copies since they make much more revenue from them. If GAMESTOP were to feed a portion of the 2nd hand sales back to the publishers then the publishers wouldn't bee looking at this sort of approach.Regardless of the people who think that this is the Games Publishers cashing in, they actually need to make a profit by selling a minimum number of games, if they aren't reaching that minimum because of the practices of companies like GAMESTOP. So if you feel the need to blame anyone blame the 2nd hand resellers for not compensating the publishers, and as long as this goes on look for more publishers to go this way.[/citation]

This. Not sure why people are surprised about this. For years, secondhand resellers have been making a killing, and absolutely zero of that goes to the publishers. Only thing I'm surprised about is how long it took.

 

[beayn]

[citation][nom]shinmalothar[/nom]Rough translation: Were sick of 2,000,000 playing our games online but only receiving a 3rd of the sales.[/citation]

Used game sales does not mean more people are playing the game than copies of the game were sold. Provided the original copy can no longer play without the disc or the original key is disabled, then this is no different than a car company trying to charge people additional money when they buy a used car from someone.

If on the other hand they are allowing the original key to keep playing the game and the used copy to play online for $10 then there is nothing wrong with this at all and the only person making more money than they should is the one who sold the used game for probably way too much. In this case EA is not the greedy one and they are rightfully charging for the use of their services.

 

[beayn]

[citation][nom]Kelavarus[/nom]This. Not sure why people are surprised about this. For years, secondhand resellers have been making a killing, and absolutely zero of that goes to the publishers. Only thing I'm surprised about is how long it took.[/citation]

So long as the original buyer of the game is not playing it online because he does not have the disc or his key is disabled, the publisher does not have the right to get any more revenue from used game sales. It would be like buying a used Ford car from your buddy and having Ford charge you extra because they want in on the re-sale.

If however the original buyer can still play and the used copy is allowed to play online for $10 then they are only charging for their services and the greedy people are the ones who sell the used game for way too much in the first place.

Without knowing what EA is allowing or not allowing, we can't assume they're being greedy just because it's the popular thing to do.

 

[sliem]

"GameStop is excited ..."
of course they are. Corrupt minds think alike.

 

[princeofdreams]

[citation][nom]jamesedgeuk2000[/nom]As this is illegal in the United Kingdom I wonder what sneaky method they will try and implement here[/citation]


What on Earth makes you think this is illegal here in the UK? It is not, EA have not prevented the resale of the goods, all they have said is, that if you wish to use their servers to play online then you must enter a valid code for the game, that code being supplied free to the original purchaser of the game. If you do not have a valid code then one can be purchased for $10. Perfectly legal for any company wishing to charge for others to use their services and does not contravene ANY laws here in the UK.

This is a two fold move by EA, first they get a bite out of the second hand market, also it will allow them to claim so money on the pirated versions of games out their, people with pirated games can buy a key from to use that game online, hence giving EA $10 revenue for pirated games

It makes sense from EA's perspective, I don't necessarily agree with them, I think EA make more than enough profit and they should stop looking for ways to screw us, the customer over, but I do understand why they did it.

 

[dark_lord69]

EA is the Creative Labs of video games.

Both companies can go outside and play hide-and-go F*ck themselves.

 

[restatement3dofted]

Great. Now I get to pay an extra $10 for the privilege of not being able to access EA's servers. Maybe the extra money will help them fix the ridiculous frequency with which they go down / aren't accessible.

 

[drutort]

how about they just sell the games less new... and req everyone to pay monthly or yearly fee, isnt that better? that way when a game is resold you would still have to pay yearly fee like anyone else and the game value its self can be left alone and not inflated...

i think its like the MMO's its the monthly/yearly fee that will bring in more money not stupid things like this on used games...

but of course that would imply that there services would actually not suck and be worth the monthly/yearly fee

 

[drutort]

reason why its not fair for used games... is that if you never sell your game that $10 goes far far longer then someone who buys used game and now suddenly has to pay a flat fee regardless of the value of the used game

if you do money/time then this is were its not fair, thats why monthly/yearly fee is far better IMO

and if there online access sucks so much they should not be crying over resales... well cause your products life has expired and your (dev) are probably not putting in any more money into the game anyway... why should someone buying used have to fetch extra money for it?

and if they cry about there servers, they should allow there games to connect to alternative servers for online play... only fair to those who bought used and dont wish to dish out another $10

lets face it, when ppl buy used they have far less interest in the product then someone who rushes out and buys it new... its obvious

with that said, its obvious they will most likely not wish to shell out $10 on the used game for the online access

 

[Guest]

Kelavarus, nor SHOULD the publishers receive anything from a 2nd hand sale. If they want to profit from the used games business, they can get into the used/pre-owned games business themselves. Buy used games back for dirt cheap and then resell them for much higher. Why does the publisher think they should be entitled to ANYTHING from a 2nd hand sale without any extra effort on their part ? As others have said, you wouldn't expect your car dealership to get anything if you sold your used car.

 

[invlem]

One can only hope this will knock $10 of the gamestop used pricing scheme.

You know, instead of charging $45 for a $50 retail game, they might charge only $35...

 

[NuclearShadow]

To be honest this isn't quite new or

 

[NuclearShadow]

Gotta love kids that steal the mouse

Anyways as I was saying this isn't quite new and is actually quite generous in a way PC games have had CD-keys for how long? Then for sometime now CD-keys have been tied to accounts instead of just entered at the installation of the game I wish I had the oppertunity to pay $10 for a CD-key to PC games
and to be able to buy them used for a discount price.

Also don't go to places like gamestop you can always find a better deal online whether your buying or selling.

 

[LLJones]

Can you imagine if the auto manufactures implemented this idea. The outcry would be incredible. If you are lucky enough to be somewhere where there is no tax, just the 10 spot. A lot of people will be paying tax on the 10 so you know the powers that be will not do anything to stop this. I thought there used to be a consumer protection group of some sort out there.

To paraphrase Tom Petty ( it was amazing how fast the song was pulled from the airwaves never to be heard again)

Companies want to see how much you'll pay for what you used to get for free.

 

[gm0n3y]

[citation][nom]Kelavarus[/nom]This. Not sure why people are surprised about this. For years, secondhand resellers have been making a killing, and absolutely zero of that goes to the publishers. Only thing I'm surprised about is how long it took.[/citation]
Why should publishers make money on second hand games? Do you think car manufacturers should make money on used car sales? Or what about housing sales, should the original builder get a cut of every resale?