EA's 'Project $10' to Squeeze Used Game Buyers

[Tegid]

Nothing too new here... what they're talking about is essentially DLC, which has been around for a while, now. The cited example is Dragon Age: I've played it, and the DLC and extras that come with the standard edition are nothing to shake a stick at. The game is totally playable and still 99% as fun without that extra content. The way I see it, they're simply throwing in some DLC for new customers as a perk.

Is this really such a bad thing? Most of the comments here have been negative, but this can actually be a good thing for the video game business in general if smaller publishers pick it up. There's a large amount of used game trade that happens entirely for the profit of the middle man: box store retailers. The developers don't see any of this profit, and they're the ones responsible for creating more excellent games for us to play. EA is trying to get some income from used game sales through DLC. Granted, the developers don't see very much of that income, but that's a discussion for another day.

 

[Bert R]

So, yeah, EA had a chance when Activision decided to flip us the finger but it has succeeded in firmly planting itself back at the top of the World's Hugest Consortium of Assholes Pretending to be a Game Company.

 

[Tegid]

Nothing too new here... what they're talking about is essentially DLC, which has been around for a while now. The cited example is Dragon Age: I've played it, and the DLC and extras that come with the standard edition are fun, but inconsequential. The game is totally playable and still just as good without that extra content. The way I see it, they're simply throwing in some DLC for new customers as a perk. If you think it's unfair, send a letter to EA about why you think so, maybe suggest an alternative, and in the meantime don't buy their games and/or DLC.

Is this all really such a bad thing? Most of the comments here have been negative, but this can actually be a good for the video game business in general if many other publishers pick it up. There's a large amount of used game trade that happens entirely for the profit of the middle man: box store retailers. The developers don't see any of this profit, and they're the ones responsible for creating more excellent games for us to play. EA is just trying to get a piece of the used-game-sales-pie through DLC. Granted, the developers don't see very much of that income, but that's a discussion for another day.

 

[dumbcanadian]

Places like Gamestop and EB games are hurting the gaming industry's profits more than people who pirate games. They pay a couple of dollars for a used game, then resell it for $5 less than a brand new copy, screwing the original developer out of money they deserve. Plus they charge tax every time the game is resold. If you want to buy used games, buy them from friends. Don't support EB/Gamestop. They make more profit from selling a used game than they do from a brand new one because the developer doesn't get shit. I'd rather pay $5 more for a brand new game, and know the money is going to the people who ACTUALLY DESERVE IT.

 

[rockabye]

Imagine finally paying off the mortgage on a really nice old house after 10 years, then getting a new bill of $15000 by the construction company who built the house 50 years ago, just because one day they got up and decided that they want more money.
Sounds absurd? It's the same principle.

 

[megamanx00]

Such foolishness. I will not pay $10 for your used game EA. I would rather just wait till NewEgg has it for $9.99 . Bad EA, bad (smack)

 

[guitarpeggio]

Did I miss something?? Did AIG buy EA?? What a bunch of A-Holes!

 

[guitarpeggio]

E...A...Sports...If it's in the game, It's in the game! (provided you pay a surcharge to access it...)

 

[Nimmist]

I have some better ideas to ‘ensure the game company's future success.’

1. Stop alienating paying customers with draconian DRM.
2. Lower the cost of video games, especially in our current economic state.
3. Make good games that last longer. It seems like most of the games being released now can be completed in a few hours, and I have a lot less free time now that I’m married and have a kid.
4. Leave the used games market alone. This means no install limit DRM which does NOTHING to prevent piracy and is a direct attack against the used games market.

 

[cloakster]

If its a newer game, EB games in Canada only sells it for like $5 less...so now its gonna cost $5 more for the used copy Also, some games like NHL 08/09 are selling for less than $10 now, there's no way im giving EA more money than EB games

If this happens, im definitely not buying any EA games again

 

[Xaios]

While I realize I'm going to get flamed to hell for this, there is an observation I would like to make:

There is a critical difference between buying a used car and used software. Let's say you buy a used car that's 10 years old. Is said car going to run as well as the day it was shipped? Chances are that, no, it probably won't.

Conversely, if you buy a 10 year old piece of software and install it on a computer, is it going to run worse simply because it was written 10 years ago? No. Sure, the media might have degraded and that might cause problems, but when you're buying software, the media is really the only used part that you're purchasing, because with modern intellectual property laws, the media is really the only part you own, the software on said remains the property of the developer/publisher. Once you've installed that software onto your computer, it IS new software, it isn't arbitrarily not going to work any worse simply because you're not the first person to run an installation from that disk.

So my point: when you buy a piece of software new, you're paying for 2 things: the media, and the rights to use the software on that media. Ownership of the media may be transferable, but ownership of the license to use that software is not.

Hope that made sense. Once again, I'm not a fan of having to pay more for 'used' games either, but they DO have a case for this. I simply hope the lion's share of the money makes it back to the developers.

 

[chriskrum]

We'll see, but it doesn't strike me as a very good idea. They're just reducing the value of the original product because many people are only able to justify spending 60 dollars on a new game because they know they can sell it on Ebay or to Gamestop for 30 dollars (assuming they don't hold on to if for too long). They rationalize the purchase by telling themselves that they are really just spending thirty dollars, much the same way people rationalize a purchase by applying a "rebate" to the price.

If EA hurts the resale value of their products they will most definitely hurt their original sales value.

I personally have not purchased ME2, Bioshock 2, or Dragon Age. I will wait for the price to come down or maybe skip them all together. I think the best thing that gamers could do to improve the current gaming market is to be more prudent in their shopping.
Ignore release hype and play games that have been on the market for a year. They'll cost you less and the fake reviews will have been superseded by player's opinions who've actually played the game meaning it's easier to separate quality from crap (I got suckered into buying Spore on launch day--never again!).

 

[Guest]

For Dragon Age and Mass effect it is talking about included extra content, like the stone golem and the normandy crash site. the game comes with a redeem code that can be used once. if you buy those games used you would have to buy them as DLC if the original owner already redeemed it. The game is still playable with out doing it, but when it is available on day one it should really be on the disk. soon there will be different keys like for win 7 dvds and you will only access what you have paid for..

 

[JohnnyLucky]

It's obvious from the comments that game players are opposed to the concept. It's also obvious EA is trying to maximize profit. Neither position surprises me.

 

[aweadam]

I hear a lot of hate from people, and I can understand not wanting to pay extra. But think about how used game sales have hurt the gaming industry... If the industry moves more into a used-game friendly market, that means less profits overall for developers, and eventually it would damage the quality of games. I love games like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age. I hope Bioware/EA get as much profit as possible so that they want to produce more and more great games.

 

[Guest]

Guys, guys . . . `Project $10` only applies to the DLC codes that come with a new game. Someone who buys a game used will still get the full game, but they will have to pay $10 to get the DLC that came with it. This makes sense since the DLC is tied to the account of the original owner. The codes even expire after a period of time if you don't use them.

Really you aren't missing out on anything if you don't buy the DLC, though I will admit that Shale is quite a humorous character and a powerful fighter, and the Blood Dragon Armor in ME2 is pretty sweet. The rest is just 'meh'.

 

[96stangman]

i have started a petition http/www.petitiononline.com/m112009/petition.html

 

[Cons29]

wow, thats just greedy. what about if i buy an old game that is dirt cheap, they'll still add $10 that might even be higher than the games price?

dear EA, pls do one thing for me, STOP buying off companies! everything you touch turns into crap

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

Along with piracy, another huge concern of game publishers these days is that they are missing out on the profits to be had from that sale of used games.

Huge concern? More like greedy concern...

This "problem" is nothing new. In fact, I submit is not as bad today as it was years ago. Nowadays, I buy used games but not many because of the whole online activation (there is usually no guarentee the game hasn't already been activated and you are out of luck, especially on online games). Before, I bought all my games used from Funcoland.

Game developers have been talking about this and the renting "problem" for a long time. They want to charge us for selling it used and charge us for the ending to rented games.

I expect to hear some strong opposition from the reselling lobby. Wait to piss on their resellers...

I also expect the movie and recording industries will try to start charging for used DVDs and CDS and to start charging for the ending of rented movies....

Do they honestly think this won't come back and bite them? Piracy WILL increase, renting will increase, used game sales will drop, resellers like Eb Games/Gamestop will die off thus hurting their new sales, etc etc etc

 

[Hunter_Killers]

ITT: People that don't read.

"At the meeting, Riccitiello green-lighted "Project Ten Dollar," a coupon program to reward people who purchase a new game with downloadable content and upgrades. People who buy used games pay an extra $10 or more for the same goodies."

They are essentially offering that you can pay $10 for all the DLC the game original included that are probobly on the original owners account, you get the game but not the extras.