Anti-Resell measures- going too far?

I can understand something like Cerberus Network, giving you a bit of extra content for buying the game new.

But I've noticed, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 will lock you out of using the online features of a game if you don't buy it new.

Is it just me, or does everyone else find that ridiculous?

I do.

Wait, what? EA is actually doing this?

Fuck you, EA. Just fuck you. There is absolutely no response I can coherently make that doesn't contain at least one "fuck you" in it, so fuck you, you greedy corporate hacks.

This. And to think I bought into their "Oh trust us guys, we're a better company now! Certainly better than Activision!" bull.

Gaming is getting way too corrupt, and unless we rebel against the companies (boycotts, mass piracy/playing open-source alternatives, IRL protests etc...) we're going to have to get used to getting screwed like this.

edited 1st Mar '11 9:30:37 AM by chocoboxxx

Or you could just patronize publishers that don't seem to be as eager to screw you over buying used. How come it always seems that this stupidity comes from Western publishers as opposed to Eastern publishers?

Crytek says NO! to EA Online Pass.

Well done, Crytek. Well done.

Let's hope more companies follow Crytek's lead.

This strikes me as something class action lawsuit-worthy.

How far is "too far"? Do you have some definition or can we safely assume that "anywhere" is WAY TOO FAR in this case?

We need to see if it says anything on the box about this or if it mentions anything when connecting to the servers. If it doesn't then yes we could sue because we're basically unwittingly signing into a contract when buying the game. If it does say something, there's nothing we can do.

Gaming is getting way too corrupt, and unless we rebel against the companies (boycotts, mass piracy/playing open-source alternatives, IRL protests etc...) we're going to have to get used to getting screwed like this.

Nah, you fools are just continuing to buy games despite. Therefore, you've set the demand high enough that they can do what they want with the supply.

• Who's going to join for the boycotts?
• Piracy just makes the companies bite back harder and only prove the point they're making.
• Playing open source is just going to try to make them copy that open source game and make it better.
• Real life protests are just going to make you look whiny.

Why don't you just simply stop buying those particular games for a while and stop pirating all together? If companies see that, well, they can't blame piracy and they'll be forced to see that the consumers are unhappy.

Also note that games that are bought used don't have any revenue go back to the publisher. Realize that next time you stop by Game Stop or whatever.

We need to see if it says anything on the box about this or if it mentions anything when connecting to the servers. If it doesn't then yes we could sue because we're basically unwittingly signing into a contract when buying the game. If it does say something, there's nothing we can do.

I know for a fact that my copy of NFS: Hot Pursuit mentions the Online Pass on the case, and that it is a one-time activation.

I pretty much only buy Nintendo published games, well that and Ubisoft (the second biggest Wii publisher by far). I don't think I own any EA Wii games, nor Activision. Fuck.

Any lawsuit would be thrown out anyway. It's their program, they (unfortunately) have the right to do whatever they want with it.

Well yes, because they said so on the box. We were discussing the possibility of them not telling you that they're doing this. It's their program but they have to let you know your rights when using it. Otherwise you're unwittingly signing into a contract upon purchase and that is illegal.

Yeap, by buying that game or wanting that service, you're going to have to agree to some document somewhere, which they will kindly point out to you in small text. It'll probably be on their site, but you're going to have to agree with it before continuing, or else. Thus, the only way for the consumer to make publishers stop doing this is to not buy in the first place (and if you're feeling militant, beat up pirates since the companies will continue to whine that these measures will be necessary as long as there is piracy, unless you agree with pirates, but that's off topic).

You have a point, but consider this: If piracy gets even MORE massive, companies will just give up because resistance is futile.

Wow... I never thought I'd see the day that a game company makes Activision look good by comparison.

You have a point, but consider this: If piracy gets even MORE massive, companies will just give up because resistance is futile.

Exactly, then no one gets games. And that's terrible because too many people expected free items from a business.

Yeah it's unrealistic in retrospect, you're right. This is nothing new dude, a few years ago Activision used to be OK and EA used to be the bad guys. They're just flip-flopping again.

Activision still is the bad guy, it's just that the roster of bad guys is expanding a bit.

There's no such thing as "Good guys" in business. There's only those who make money and those who don't. What defines who makes money? Profit. There's long term profit and short term profit. Due to constant pressure from the market right now on those two companies, they've been choosing short term profit and digging themselves in deeper.

Want to know who I blame?

That's obvious. It's gamers in general, not just pirates. Pirate pirate, duh, but we gamers have been asking for more and more but buying less and less. We buy established franchises of dubious quality yet upturn our nose at new IP. We buy expansions for games we already own but we hardly give the indie games a chance.

Because we're so easily satisfied and content to lie in our little gaming gutter, the little people are swept under the rug and the big dogs keep on churning out the same crap year after year.

Then when we get bored we buy the new IP games used, find out we like them but by then it's too little too late.

We only have ourselves to blame.

Nah, that's just being another supportive customer to the big businesses. Good job! Granted, you stuck with samey instead of risky, thus creating a closed market, but whatever! Complacency served Pokemon exceedingly well.

No, the problem is the stereotypical customer. You are male, probably in your late teens to early adulthood. You're into blood, violence, and gore. Also boobs. Never enough boobs. You're also an increasingly small slice of the pie. You can't put out enough money to keep these big corporations going, that's not your fault, so don't blame yourself for it.

The point is, companies are killing profit by only serving a single customer seriously. By putting out constant low end shovelware to everyone else who isn't into the AAA games, you're alienating those who might try to break into the medium. When you watch TV or read a book, think of how many genres there are and how many different people enjoy them.

Now think of games. You've got... well, not nearly as much. See, most goals in games now a days are gained by either punching someone or solving abstract puzzle #2959734. And the latter has sold better, see: Tetris. Gaming is an expensive medium, but it's failing to appeal to larger masses, meaning less profit. That means in order for companies to get along well, they have to remember that, yes, there's other customers. Nintendo did it with the Wii, look how well they did.

Except for the shovelware they let through, granted. That caused them to be a one shot wonder, but hey, their choice. At least the DS fared better on the market.

That's the root of the problem, and sorry guys, but in exchange for fairer treatment, gaming is going to need to go in that direction. Refute as you see necessary.