Just sounds like they want to give people incentive to buy a new game(which they turn a profit from) over a used game which they dont see a dime from. I am more surprised this sort of thing wasn't done years ago. Your original Xbox could track licenses for games but they never really did anything with it. That being said this blows.
they can now make money off used cd...people can buy an online pass for the used game. So they get paid again..and again
I agree with Bob, It's suprising they didn't do this before. Just be glad it doesn't relate to something in the real campaign for ME3.
In their eyes it isnt that they are being paid twice for the same product, its that a new customer is buying their product from a merchant and they somehow aren't making a dime of their product being sold. If you were a vendor this would annoy you.
This is the same thing as Mass Effect 2. Its EA's way of making more money. If you bought ME2 used you did not have access to the Cerberus network and you did not get some of the in box "DLC", you had to buy those separate
Honestly I preferred that method Enigma. Rewarding people who bought it new instead of penalizing those who didn't. I guess they found that wasn't enough of a carrot.
Wouldn't annoy me. Someone selling something that belongs to them isn't any of my business. Game publishers have a different opinion, obviously.
Companies in general have different opinions. They don't like their product being resold without them getting a cut. They view it as lost revenue.
I'm not seeing their point. They are still supporting the mp server no matter who owns/plays the game. It makes no impact on them who owns that particular CD. If A is playing or B is playing..its no additional resource being used. Only if an extra player is added should they be concerned. I'm sure more will be heard about this.
Why does that not make sense? A product they own the license for is being sold and they aren't getting a cut. If you buy their game in a store new they get a cut. If you buy someone's book they get a cut. If you buy someone's CD they get a cut. If you buy someone's line of bath towels they get a cut. The thing is that only the game industry has the means to assure that people who re-sell their item to a new user also gets them a cut. It's simple business. Why should they care if their online server has 4,892 people on it or 4,893? That is a players concern, not theirs for the most part. They are in it for the money, a game being re-sold to a new user only costs them money on server use in the long run so they are recouping that loss by adding an online pass. Hell CoD is going to push a pass onto you if you want to play with all the DLC and toys on a NEW COPY. Why not complain about that instead?
Without delving into the rest of the thread much - THIS is what I wanted to say as well. They have those VIP passes with new games, Cerebeus Network was the one in Mass Effect 2, and there's other games that come with codes if you buy a new copy - if you didn't? Well you can buy it on the marketplace (or whatever platform you are on) in order to get the content from that code. This usually isn't an issue for me, as I don't buy games that often anymore unless its something I REALLY want.. in that case I usually buy new anyway. Although, moved saved is always a great thing. Dammit Bob, why'd you have to remind me!
Yeah, this is nothing compared to CoD Elite, particularly becuase it has no effect on people buying new games.
i hope it does not make sense to other business, buy a used car..give the maker a cut..buy a used fridge..give the maker a cut..buy anything used..the maker gets a cut.
The only difference is that those industries lack a way to really enforce that sort of thing like the gaming industry does. Without the secondary vendors co operation that is. As I stated already.
Mmmm, the "intellectual property" & licensing conversation. This discussion is always interesting[ly sad].
People who spend years(and sometimes decades) of their lives working on something for many hours a week shouldn't get completely snubbed. Even Gamestop employees will tell you that the game producers dislike them selling used games because they dont see a dime. Hell I had that exact conversation the other night when Batman came out and we both agreed what EA was doing is shitty, but we see where they are coming from. Second hand game buying is bigger than most other industries(outside the auto industry) second hand business so it has much more of a chance to get under the skin of their various companies. Especially when how well a game sells can decide if a company lives or dies.