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

[vincent jg]

First the online and DLC mandate and now this. Who wants to take bets how long before EA follows Ubisoft and require continuous online access to play any game? Heck, I'm still angry at EA for ruining the SimCity franchise and dumbing down Spore.

I hope EA never decides to takeover Valve's Steam.

 

[r3t4rd]

Wow...I am all for Capit0lism but this is just wrong....plain wrong. And they wonder why Piratesy is an ongoing issue.

 

[princeofdreams]

Isn't strange a couple of days after EA announce all new games MUST have DLC and online capabilities, we find out that EA intends to try and charge $10 for the transfer of said DLC with the sale of a used/second hand game, do you really think that is a coincidence?

The gaming industry has become so greedy, they are like vultures waiting to pick the flesh from your bones, this is wrong in so many ways, it will damage the industry no end if they are allowed to continue like this, unchecked and unfettered.

The sale of second hand software helps to keep the industry going, people (some at least) feel the need to get a game instantly when it comes out, they play it to death, then sell it, money realised from the sale is then reinvested into new games. Kill the resale value, you kill potential future sales on new products. I'll give an example, people like to buy a new car, they know when they wish to get another new car in the future the are they are buying will have a trade in value towards that car, if you were prevented from selling that used car how long would the car industry last? It would collapse because hardly anyone could afford to buy new and just scrap what they have. Yes cars cost more than games, but the principle is the same.

There have always been second hand stores, whether it is for clothes, music, movies, household goods whatever, it is part of the capitalist society we live in. And do you think these publishers will actually transfer any of this cast to the developers? NOT A CHANCE. Developers only see a small fraction of the profits made, it is all sucked out by these so called publishers, just as they are in the music industry, it is their unbridled greed that is killing the industry, not the resale of games, not even piracy is that damaging to them. Publishers rush games out so they are unfinished, lacking in content, they even charge for DLC, anything to screw more and more cash out of you, a 4 - 6 hour game, that will be $60 please, and yes we want an extra $10 every 6 weeks please for an extra 30 mins of game play (if your actually lucky enough to get 30 mins out of it)

Look at the turnover of these large publishers, EA/Activision etc. And they claim poverty, it is truly disgusting what they do, they are like leeches sucking the life blood from the industry

 

[LePhuronn]

And they wonder why piracy is so bad

 

[drksilenc]

agreed with nottheking. what it looks like is say they have 3 different versions of the game regular which costs like 50 for the pc limited edition which costs 60 and SUPER MEGA edition which costs like 100. so what there doing is when u buy a used copy weather it be super mega le or regular the used price will still be 45$ but to get the le content you pay an extra 10 so your getting it still 5$ cheeper

 

[Guest]

This is absurd. These crooks want to get paid twice for one product. Why should their games not be pirated in light of this ridiculous cash grab?

 

[rhino13]

Dito on every piracy comment made through here. Why would anyone pay $10 more dolars for a used product.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

That ticks me off. As a ps3 owner, I actually have a wife, job and responsibilities. I don't like spending 60 bucks on a new game, why should I get stuck paying EA more just because I don't want to be ripped off? On their Madden series and ncaa it's not like they add enough to justify 60 bucks a year. Hopefully someone else can start making the games I want so I don't have to pay EA more than I have to.

 

[Vampyrbyte]

I'm seeing alot of people claiming that the used games market really hurts the game developer industry. EA are one of the biggest games developers/publishers out there (Second to Activision-Blizzard, i belive). They dont need this money, they are simply persecuting their customers.
I hear you talking about licenecs not being transferrable, actually while the licence itself may state it is not transferrable, this does one thing. VOID THE ENTIRE LICENCE AGREEMENT.
This is Illegal, you CAN transfer your licence, so long as you relinquish all hold on it to the person you sell it to. The Licencer has NO right to charge the second party to use this licence.

I don't know about US law, but this breaks UK and EU Law. Did my research, This wont stand up in court.

 

[Ryric]

Having seen the "content" avaliable by registering your game with EA/BIOWARE for ME2...its honestly not worth the effort, let alone the $15 ... Dragon Age released some stuff...but still not a ton of game changing content.

 

[bad_code]

[citation][nom]vincent jg[/nom]First the online and DLC mandate and now this. Who wants to take bets how long before EA follows Ubisoft and require continuous online access to play any game? Heck, I'm still angry at EA for ruining the SimCity franchise and dumbing down Spore. I hope EA never decides to takeover Valve's Steam.[/citation]

Maybe one day a federal court judge will rule that since you only have a license to view the movie or play the game and you don't actually own the game, you will have to turn the game in and you will get no money and they will resell the game as new and make more profit on the same game. Heck why not. Big business already controls our government. Just wait until the next election when companies throw millions to get people elected. Man I hate getting old! Ignorance is bliss!

 

[kyzar]

This just seems the wrong way to make money.

Steam released a fascinating article recently about how pricing affects sales on the platform - they noted for large titles, a 20-33% price cut weekend made enough sales to generate more profit than the normal sales at full price. As Steam is digital, there is virtually no per-item cost, so the price can be played with almost at will to generate sales and therefore profit.

I know it works for me - do I rush out and buy the latest EA game at 50 quid a throw? Hell no. Do I sit at my PC after a glass (or two) of wine and think 'Wow, game X is only eleven quid - I'll have a copy! - unfortunately (for my liver and my hard drive space) - hell yeah... I have well over a hundred games on Steam - most of them purchases from special offers and some (such as the complete GTA series) were a combo of being on special and the fact that although I already had the games it was cheap enough to buy them again and never have to change discs...

Offer good value with convenience and you'll make money. Alienate your custoemr-base and you'll make some money, but only until your reputation spreads...

 

[zak_mckraken]

Sucky sucky, five dollah! You give me ten dollah, soldier boy!

 

[p05esto]

If they just make all games $10-20 I would actually buy them. But at $50 a crack and I have little time to play...it's just not going to happen, so I pirate. Remember the $20 Serious Sam games? I loved them and was one of the few games I've bought in my life. Make the games cheaper and more people will buy. Pirating is a hassle, I'd rather pay $10 for a game than pirate it.... but at $50-60 the tables turn.

Why doesn't some major studio try it out? Take a gamble with a great game and see if your profits are worse or better with the $10 release.

 

[freggo]

Can't wait for the car companies to pick up on this B.S. idea. Buy a used Ford, pay $10 or some features (Brakes...) will not work. Hmmm, you know what EA... "forget you"

 

[Guest]

This article is so, so ridiculous.

Including $15 DLC free with retail copies does not equal a $10 charge for a used game.

Is it an incentive to buy it new? Of course. Is it a chance for the company to make money from used buyers? Of course. Do you have to pay for it? Of course not! It is extra content, plain and simple.

Might as well wail and gnash your teeth that the standard editions of games don't include all the content of collector's editions while you're at it.

 

[MayDay94]

this is crazy and has been done in limited form already. gears of wars2 was one example - new copies came with a download code to get free "day-one" dlc maps for multiplayer. the code can only be used once, so if you sell the game, the next guys has limited mp maps unless he wants to pay additional for them. single-player was not impacted at all. rock band had a similar deal. i bought a classic rock dvd which had a free code to import songs into regular version of rock band (it was a stand-alone game with 20 songs). however, 2nd hand people have to pay $10 to import to rock band. therefore, they would have to buy used disc and then pay ms and rock band $10 to make those songs available to their regular rock band game.

 

[coldmast]

It's bad enough that we are starting to be sold incomplete games and downloadable content - especially once support drops how do we backup said content? Why do big companies always have to become parasitic to their customers.

I don't buy used games, and I am a strong customer (collector) of various EA games and right now I'm upset at how dumb this $10 plan is. You're telling me I can't share my games with my own family, and them have the same experience. If you want an extra $10 try selling video game branded t-shirts, fans will buy and market your product for free!

PS where is my HD SSX?

 

[chrisv815]

No wonder the company has a negative cash flow, and a stock price in the dumper. They have no idea what the consumers want. And I for one will not be buying any of their games from now on.

 

[coldmast]

also Gamestop and EB games have the worst pricing on used games; I've seen used games priced higher then new owns and gullible consumers actually think they get a deal.
It is time we take a stand and start selling our used games directly to each other for $10 on Craigslist & Kijiji.