Activision Joins the Anti-Used Games Crusade

[diasravenguard]

Well looks like Activision is off my list perminantly until they make some major changes to the board of directors.

This is the point where you renounce them? Not any of the much doucheier things they have done in the past? This is where you draw the line?

I kid, but seriously I decided never to buy anything from them again a long time ago.

Them and blizzard for partnering up with them while trying to feed us drivel... I gaveup on activision a long time ago and blizzard when they removed 2/3rd of the power of the most used spell on my class and gave us a "pretty" skinchange on animal forms... Seriously average gamer is 35 not 8...

It would be nice to see some of these developers acting like we are grownups and treating us respectively.

 

[diasravenguard]

You're forgetting about import fees, most new games here in Canada start at $69.99 and go up from there.

Well we pay the import fee here too it may be lower because the US isn't expecting as much off the import as much as the sell of it... Any other fees they add on it?

 

[Requx]

You have made a powerful enemy Activision.

YEAH...its not me its this guy...I just shout inspiring chants.

 

[PHOENIXRIDER57]

I will continue to buy used games until the practice becomes illegal. Sorry, but I can't afford to spend $20 on a game, let alone $50 or $60.

And then we'll start buying them underground and we will create a huge black market for secondhand video games.

The video game indrustry is the biggest entertainment industry already, in terms of making money. The greedy goblins just like to bathe in dollar bills and leave us less fortunate to supply them with the green. 60 dollars is a pretty outragous price when it comes to any video game, no matter the content or game hours. I hope someday the industry can stop bitching and get over the used games bins and the gamestop that gamers love and need.

 

[diasravenguard]

The video game indrustry is the biggest entertainment industry already, in terms of making money.

I think the adult entertainment industry is still the number 1 in the world. . .

 

[diasravenguard]

I will continue to buy used games until the practice becomes illegal. Sorry, but I can't afford to spend $20 on a game, let alone $50 or $60.

And then we'll start buying them underground and we will create a huge black market for secondhand video games.

The video game indrustry is the biggest entertainment industry already, in terms of making money. The greedy goblins just like to bathe in dollar bills and leave us less fortunate to supply them with the green. 60 dollars is a pretty outragous price when it comes to any video game, no matter the content or game hours. I hope someday the industry can stop bitching and get over the used games bins and the gamestop that gamers love and need.

What would be better is to have the merchandisers selling the new games say that they can't produce sells since no one wants to pay that new game price. That'd make me crack a rib laughing...

 

[Blind Sight]

You're forgetting about import fees, most new games here in Canada start at $69.99 and go up from there.

Well we pay the import fee here too it may be lower because the US isn't expecting as much off the import as much as the sell of it... Any other fees they add on it?

Not sure, but there could possibly be tariff structures around video games (which directly violates NAFTA but whatever) between the United States and Canada. For example, when the dollar reached equality with the American one a few years back we didn't experience any kind of drop in video game pricing, the cost stayed exactly the same, yet other goods did experience a drop. I'm not sure what caused that, but still, it's somewhat fishy.

 

[MetalGenocide]

I was going to say: An Activision related thread and Kottic's name isn't mentioned? BLASPHEMY! but...

...where apparently Mr Bobby Kotick himself made the tidy sum of $20 million....

You sneaky sneaky ninja.

because activision needed to do something else to look worse right now

Btw. Your avatar is awesome. Got one in high-res?

 

[commasplice]

Personally, I dislike DLC, in general. Expansion packs, too, but at least those tend to have more content than just a single gun or something. Even when the DLC is something I'd be willing to pay for, I still feel like I'm getting gyped. It's like the publishers are saying, "Well, sure, you could buy this perfectly functional used car for a reduced price, but if you buy a brand-new one of the same model, we'll include the bumper and trunk lid for free!"

Protip: a large reason why a great many people (myself included) buy used is not because we are stingy assholes that want to cheat publishers out of their money, but because we are scrubs that can't afford to be shelling out $60 every time something shiny gets put on the shelves. People like me don't get to enjoy the full experience of these games, because we only had enough spare cash for the used version in the first place, nevermind the monthly fee for XBLA.

Oh, and whoever came up with the idea of re-releasing entire games, but with a single extra boss fight, or a new 5-minute-long cutscene...you can just go straight to hell. I'm looking at you, Kingdom Hearts. That shit is not cool. Not fucking cool.

 

[Leftyrem]

didnt they make like a billion dallors on mw2 and god knows how much with dlc? like who runs activision hitler?

 

[linkzeldi]

The used game market can't disappear.Going to gamestop and buying a bunch of old ps2 games for like 5 bucks each is one of my favorite past times. You can't take that away from me!*

*Is aware this applies more to newer games, just felt like being dramatic. Besides buying old obscure games is awesome.

 

[Mysnomer]

"We are still evaluating various possibilities for greater participation in the used-games business. What's been working the best so far is providing additional content and therefore limiting the supply to used games."

"Today [we have] more resources than ever dedicated to creating additional content for Call of Duty, whether that's map packs, whether that's game modes and the whole host of new [downloadable] features that we're going to talk about when we get close to the launch of Black Ops."

This is not additional content, this is cutting features from a game. I have now realized that we are frogs in in a pot of water, and the temperature is increasing steadily. I had resolved that when games became entirely digital, I would cease to purchase anything, and instead use the rest of my time as a gamer to play the classics I missed. Well, that time has come earlier than I expected, because when half a game...no, when any of the core game (and that includes multiplayer features if the game is multiplayer-centric) is digital, the whole game might as well be digital. So long, modern gaming. You'll produce a few self-contained, single-player gems ever so often, and I'll pick those diamonds from the dross, and that will be the extent of our involvement.

 

[Chappy]

I was going to say: An Activision related thread and Kottic's name isn't mentioned? BLASPHEMY! but...

...where apparently Mr Bobby Kotick himself made the tidy sum of $20 million....

You sneaky sneaky ninja.

The only site I could find that wasn't Wiki on short notice to try and find out a rough estimate of Modern Warfare 2's profits was that one so had to mention him sorry, though yes I am a ninja.

Though hopefully it can show atleast a proportion of the money they made out of the game when their shares go from $1 - $11 and someone makes 20 million for himself and that they really can afford to let people buy second hand (after all the game has to be bought full price first before it is sold again) but just don't want to because they need more money to use as paper weights or something.

 

[diasravenguard]

You're forgetting about import fees, most new games here in Canada start at $69.99 and go up from there.

Well we pay the import fee here too it may be lower because the US isn't expecting as much off the import as much as the sell of it... Any other fees they add on it?

Not sure, but there could possibly be tariff structures around video games (which directly violates NAFTA but whatever) between the United States and Canada. For example, when the dollar reached equality with the American one a few years back we didn't experience any kind of drop in video game pricing, the cost stayed exactly the same, yet other goods did experience a drop. I'm not sure what caused that, but still, it's somewhat fishy.

I have heard that Canada doesn't always follow NAFTA trading laws but being a separate government they can get away with it Still sucks for us gamers specially if I ever decided to leave the US of A. . .

 

[RicoADF]

I find the reaction to this... entertaining.

The only people who really have a reason to complain about this sort of thing are people who buy their games used, and people who for some unknown reason don't want have their console online. While I feel for the latter, they're relatively few and far between, and frankly typically just technophobic incompetents who probably shouldn't be gaming in the first place.

Now, as for the former group, the people who buy their games used, I'm going to clue you in on something:

ACTIVISION DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU.

They're not getting any money from you. In fact, in terms of games with online multiplayer aspects, you are arguably COSTING them money.

The argument of "I'm going to have to pay for stuff that should have been included in the game" is moot. You weren't paying ACTIVISION for the game in the first place, so it's not like you have any say in what should, or should not, have been included on the disc.

Actually there are alot of people in the latter (I'm not one of them), facts are that not every country is like the US that has high speed net all over the country. Places like Australia has lots of no net or very slow net areas, and while I'm not one I sympathise for those that are.
On that ground alone I think what activision etc are doing is illegal, their not giving the full product someone paid for period.

 

[Funkiest Monkey]

Oh fuck this, man. I can't say I'm surprised though, being the money-grabbing pricks that Activision are. I will continue buying used games since I just ain't got the cash.

[sub]Not that I'll have the time or money for Black Ops, no matter how good it looks. I'll be too busy enjoying New Vegas and Reach![/sub]

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Most of the freebies that came with Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 sucked. However, since this is Activioson, no doubt their future games will have critical content removed from the game so you have to buy the game essentially twice, that and the free DLC will also suck. Oh, and the subscription fees Kotick wants to introduce.

 

[MachoFern]

Worst move would be to start packaging stuff with new games AFTER the game has been released and bought by many, overall I'm not crazy about this whole route anywho, selling used just keeps the game alive, and opens the doors to more players who may buy DLC with the saved money from buying used. The publishers get money from selling the game to stores, not by sales of the game.

Basically this helps the publisher a tiny bit, and hurts the retailer and the consumer a lot. Great idea Activision.

 

[Antari]

Well looks like Activision is off my list perminantly until they make some major changes to the board of directors.

This is the point where you renounce them? Not any of the much doucheier things they have done in the past? This is where you draw the line?

I kid, but seriously I decided never to buy anything from them again a long time ago.

Before I could somewhat stand the fact that they had Evil incarnate as their CEO. But now its a point of, I wouldn't even help the poor fool in the mail room at Activision. Before they still had a chance of fixing things and recovering. Now those days are gone.