Gamestop giving used Arkham City buyers Catwoman code

[Something Amyss]

*claps furiously*

Thank you for being level headed and not blind to this, Gamestop isn't trying to save your money they're trying to take it from you and not give it to Warner Brothers.
Customer best interests don't come into it.

Which would make more sense if the codes came literally from nowhere, which I doubt EA's letting happen.

The more probable solution is that Gamestop's taking a hit here. Now, it may be for corporate greed, rather than you, but seriously.

 

[theultimateend]

In before senseless hatred of GameStop

I like this move. It takes EA's dick move of the online pass, and bashes them for it.

Yep, we need folks to make profits by reasonably pricing their products, not trying to overcharge and then slap on extra charges.

I know, I know, 60 dollars is a steal someone says.

But frankly it is a luxury.

Also I don't pirate, so the "don't buy it if you don't like it" is something I DO do. However these policy changes will inevitably hurt games I do want to buy .

So.. Gamestop are trying to increase there profits by screwing over game developers.. And people are siding with gamestop? WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO????

Thank you, good god I don't understand how people can side with Gamestop. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANY OF YOU, PEOPLE!!

Well they are still assholes but if a KKK member saved me from a burning car I wouldn't scold him for it. I'd still think he's misguided but the dude saved my ass from a burning car, I really don't care what his intentions were at that point.

 

[eclipsed_chemistry]

So.. Gamestop are trying to increase there profits by screwing over game developers.. And people are siding with gamestop? WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO????

Thank you, good god I don't understand how people can side with Gamestop. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANY OF YOU, PEOPLE!!

And other businesses, like say, EA, Warner Brothers, and the like are sooooooo different, right?

Oh, wait....

I never said that, but since we're going to argue that tired point, then yes, they ARE different. Unfortunately, game developers don't have the money to pay for their developments costs and publish the game on their own, otherwise we wouldn't be having this argument at all. So yes, unfortunately, publishers are a necessary evil. Games don't get published, we don't get games, simple as that. I'm not saying they care about anyone except for their profit margin, because they probably don't, but I do care about getting games, and if supporting one means supporting the other, then fine, they can take my money as long as quality titles from quality developers keep getting made.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

So.. Gamestop are trying to increase there profits by screwing over game developers.. And people are siding with gamestop? WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO????

Thank you, good god I don't understand how people can side with Gamestop. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANY OF YOU, PEOPLE!!

And other businesses, like say, EA, Warner Brothers, and the like are sooooooo different, right?

Oh, wait....

I never said that, but since we're going to argue that tired point, then yes, they ARE different. Unfortunately, game developers don't have the money to pay for their developments costs and publish the game on their own, otherwise we wouldn't be having this argument at all. So yes, unfortunately, publishers are a necessary evil. Games don't get published, we don't get games, simple as that. I'm not saying they care about anyone except for their profit margin, because they probably don't, but I do care about getting games, and if supporting one means supporting the other, then fine, they can take my money as long as quality titles from quality developers keep getting made.

And second hand sales are a "necessary evil" of the same Capitalist system that publishers love only when it makes them money.

 

[Aura Guardian]

...what has changed? The only difference is that you'll be giving your money to one "multi-billion dollar corporation" instead of another. Gamestop isn't trying to make a stand, they are trying to keep customers buying used games so they can keep their profit margins high.

Go fight the power somewhere else Che Guevera

*claps furiously*

Thank you for being level headed and not blind to this, Gamestop isn't trying to save your money they're trying to take it from you and not give it to Warner Brothers.
Customer best interests don't come into it.

It's not like people can't look for a good sale. I mean that's what I did with Mortal Kombat. Day of launch, I had $45. Not enough for a new or used(I never buy used). Two weeks later, Mortal Kombat $20 off. Went to that store and got it. What's even better is that they have a magazine about their stuff and the cashier ripped a coupon that had $10 off Mortal Kombat. So I save more than I thought and I had $67 to kill tax. So I had more money than I thought I would have because I was patient enough to wait for a sale for a game I really wanted. And sometimes if I have the $66 handy, I buy the game at launch. And if not, I wait for a sale.

And that's perfectly fine. You can look for a good sale, no one is arguing against that, it's just that used games sales are screwing developers out of money unfairly just so people can save $5 bucks on their end. It's not right. I buy every single one of my games new, and if I can, I don't buy them at Gamestop anymore because I always get hassled about buying it used and saving a couple bucks, and I don't always have the patience to launch into my "anti used video games" tirade. And yeah, if it's a game that I don't absolutely need or want right at the moment, I'll wait around a couple weeks or a month for the price to drop to say, $40-45 bucks and then I'll get it.

And there's nothing wrong that either. I always buy new because I support the developer because they never screwed me over. I'm buying this game new.

 

[Jeralt2100]

You see I DON'T CARE what their reasoning is. GAMESTOP maybe getting my money but it won't be nearly as much as I would have given WB. They are NOT screwing me over and that is the difference here.

What?
You're seemingly oblivious to how this whole thing works.

If you buy a used game, WB doesn't get the money.
You give them $10 for the code.

Instead Gamestop has bought the code and giving it out "free" and tempting to people to buy a used copy from them instead of elsewhere.
How much is a used copy over there again, $40-$50?

I don't quite get how you figured you're giving GS less.

Exactly. I'm sure Eidos/WB are going to have physical cards to sell in Gamestops and other stores for their online pass, just like Modern Warfare an Halo Map packs, MS Point cards, etc. So sure, Gamestop will gladly throw one of those in with a used purchase of the game, which you're going to pay them $10 more for than you would have had they not done this. It's just going to inflate the used price of a game that's going to be very popular for a longer period of time.

 

[Bat Vader]

Man I don't have a lot of money. I can only buy like half a dozen games a year and the other two or three I get are gifts from family or friends. I would get even fewer if I didn't buy used. WB is giving me a crappy deal and I call that screwing me over. Gamestop is giving me a significantly better deal so I take that. Not giving WB my money IS proving a point to them, it just isn't my only motivation.

I understand that, and I am sorry if I came across as high and mighty. Not my intention. But you can't call this a crappy deal because, frankly, you aren't losing anything by buying used. If you buy used, what you are getting is the game, nothing more, but the reviews have already said the game is 9+ even with Catwoman. So why complain? She's extra.

Its just a somewhat entitled attitude that gets on my nerves. DLC has gotten people into this mindset that they deserve it for free, because older games didn't have DLC. Its annoying.

I can understand where they are coming from. When developers like Valve and CD Projket Red are offering DLC for free. It is kinda hard not to get mad at the ones that aren't.

 

[Nieroshai]

Hell yeah Gamestop. Gamestop > Rocksteady. I really don't get why people hate gamestop. They save people billions of dollars a year and now they have done this. To reiterate HELL YEAH GAMESTOP.

So Gamestop is better than the creators of a great Video Game Franchise? I... I am confused. It was EA's idea. Not Rocksteady.

1. I wouldn't consider it great. Arkham Asylum was a C+ or maybe a B- in my honest opinion.

2. Yeah your right about it being WB's decision(NOT EA!)

...except that EA has been making a habit of doing this. Dead Space 2 stands as an example. No multiplayer for used copies unless you buy the code.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

. . .So

Are All gamestop employees STILL the spawns from hell or are you guys still going to find a reason to whine about this?

 

[Pandabearparade]

No matter what Gamestop does, haters are going to hate on them.

Fair enough. Hell, I never trust a corporation, either. Still, it's an odd double-standard. It's alright that EA packs day one DLC into games, but it isn't okay if Gamestop gives it away...

Yeah, that makes no sense.

 

[Lyri]

It's not like people can't look for a good sale. I mean that's what I did with Mortal Kombat. Day of launch, I had $45. Not enough for a new or used(I never buy used). Two weeks later, Mortal Kombat $20 off. Went to that store and got it. What's even better is that they have a magazine about their stuff and the cashier ripped a coupon that had $10 off Mortal Kombat. So I save more than I thought and I had $67 to kill tax. So I had more money than I thought I would have because I was patient enough to wait for a sale for a game I really wanted. And sometimes if I have the $66 handy, I buy the game at launch. And if not, I wait for a sale.

I think in those cases it's more likely because they were looking to shift the excess copies of MK that didn't sell on launch day.
Some titles are just like that, but hey if you can see the sale coming and reserve the money to do so, more power to you.

Which would make more sense if the codes came literally from nowhere, which I doubt EA's letting happen.

The more probable solution is that Gamestop's taking a hit here. Now, it may be for corporate greed, rather than you, but seriously.

You mean WB right? ;p

I doubt Gamestop is taking a hit, they still sell the same used copy if it comes with or without a code it's still the same price.
They will have some way of getting codes, surely it would be bad business practice for WB to deny them access to helping on that. I doubt GameStop is doing anything unlegit but I wouldn't be surprised if WB tells them to fuck off.

Exactly. I'm sure Eidos/WB are going to have physical cards to sell in Gamestops and other stores for their online pass, just like Modern Warfare an Halo Map packs, MS Point cards, etc. So sure, Gamestop will gladly throw one of those in with a used purchase of the game, which you're going to pay them $10 more for than you would have had they not done this. It's just going to inflate the used price of a game that's going to be very popular for a longer period of time.

They probably will do that or it'll just come from their computer system, I doubt they would stock many copies of a hyped up title without some way of helping customers get a pass.
Someone posted earlier that GS print the pass on the reciept for new customers, clearly they have a system in place that prints codes.
Now they're just handing out free ones for used purchasers from this store.

 

[Aura Guardian]

It's not like people can't look for a good sale. I mean that's what I did with Mortal Kombat. Day of launch, I had $45. Not enough for a new or used(I never buy used). Two weeks later, Mortal Kombat $20 off. Went to that store and got it. What's even better is that they have a magazine about their stuff and the cashier ripped a coupon that had $10 off Mortal Kombat. So I save more than I thought and I had $67 to kill tax. So I had more money than I thought I would have because I was patient enough to wait for a sale for a game I really wanted. And sometimes if I have the $66 handy, I buy the game at launch. And if not, I wait for a sale.

I think in those cases it's more likely because they were looking to shift the excess copies of MK that didn't sell on launch day.
Some titles are just like that, but hey if you can see the sale coming and reserve the money to do so, more power to you.

Actually they were sold out day of launch and they told me that got a lot of copies. It was also because the sale was that you got a $15 gift card and a MK figure for free.

 

[Radelaide]

...what has changed? The only difference is that you'll be giving your money to one "multi-billion dollar corporation" instead of another. Gamestop isn't trying to make a stand, they are trying to keep customers buying used games so they can keep their profit margins high.

Go fight the power somewhere else Che Guevera

*claps furiously*

Thank you for being level headed and not blind to this, Gamestop isn't trying to save your money they're trying to take it from you and not give it to Warner Brothers.
Customer best interests don't come into it.

And in the process the producers can go suck it. Anything that has this effect is good. Ereryone on this site with the opinion that online passes and payed on disk "DL"C are a good thing disgust me. You're what's wrong with the games industry, you're so nice and happy to bend over to the producers and their money spinning ideas that they can get away with it all. When you buy a game decades from now and every level past the first one is paid (not payed) on disc DLC it's your fault.

Your comment has entirely no relevance to what was said.

One commenter said that Gamestop are filtering the money that consumers would be forced to give to another company their way. Second commenter essentially said that in retail, customers mean fuck all because we have to spend money on it anyway.

Then you come along with some bizarre doomsday scenario about how we're going to be paying for every level because we're buying demos? I think you've got yourself a little confused. Do some research and come back with a better informed idea.

OT: Funnily enough, I'm okay with the idea of an online pass. Everyone is like "OMG HOLY SHIT THEY'RE TAKING AWAY MY SHIT" but if you think about it, even with an extra $10 for the DLC or whatever, you're still getting it cheaper than if you bought the game new. A used game is say $50 and the new copy would be $100 (I'm working from Australian prices here), if you spend the extra $10 for the pass, you're still getting all the content for less than the RRP of the new game. Unless you're not connected to the net (in which you wouldn't get the DLC from the new copy of the game anyway) the consumer is coming out on top.

 

[inutaisho7996]

If Gamestop is really buying these codes and giving them to people, it's a brilliant move. Rocksteady gets money from used game sales; the whole reason to include the DLC codes with new copies. Gamestop gets less money from used Arkham City purchases, but they appeal to the people that buy used games; hopefully getting more customers in the process. And used game buyers get free DLC.

If they're just printing them and not giving Rocksteady anything for it, I'm totally against it. Gamestop gets more profit from the used game sales than they would if people bought the game new, while Rocksteady gets nothing. The whole point of the Catwoman DLC is so that the people that made the game get a profit from used sales.

 

[Dastardly]

If you didn't know by now, to play as Catwoman in Arkham City you need an online pass code found in every new copy, or pay $10 for it.

Well, seems Gamestop is giving Warner Brothers one hell of a ***** slap.

http://www.destructoid.com/gamestop-to-put-arkham-city-catwoman-pass-in-used-copies-213711.phtml

Basically, each receipt for a used copy of Arkham City will have a Catwoman code printed on it, which will render Arkham City's online pass completely pointless.

I for one love it, and hope they do it for more games. The used market is basically the only benefit we get in this industry. It'd be really shitty if Publishers succeeded in getting rid of it.

This is a good thing, and I think it's accomplishing what it should.

Gamestop is probably having to buy those codes. From the publisher. Gamestop has simply chosen (quite wisely) to take that cost upon themselves rather than pass it to the consumer. And Gamestop needs to do just that.

Whether we like to admit it or not -- used-game customers are customers of Gamestop, not customers of the publisher[/b]. So the publisher has no reason or obligation to ensure that used customers are happy. Gamestop needs to put in some work/money to please their customers.

 

[Omnific One]

WB still gets the same benefit... so all it does is keep GS afloat. They're gonna have to start doing this more and more, and it'll cut into profits/increase prices/and reduce trade in values.

 

[Epona]

If Gamestop is really buying these codes and giving them to people, it's a brilliant move. Rocksteady gets money from used game sales; the whole reason to include the DLC codes with new copies. Gamestop gets less money from used Arkham City purchases, but they appeal to the people that buy used games; hopefully getting more customers in the process. And used game buyers get free DLC.

Gamestop will pass that loss onto the customer, the one who bought new and is trading it in.

Also, Rocksteady doesn't deserve money from used sales and I'll bet that if given the choice, most used buyers wouldn't pay the extra $10. I wouldn't and I would prefer the game cost me $10 less. Gamestop is setting a bad precedent here.

If you guys think this will stop online passes. Think about this, if Gamestop pays $10 to WB for every used copy that is sold, WB stands to make more than they would if individual gamers had to pay separately. This will only encourage more online passes.

 

[Shaoken]

If Gamestop is really buying these codes and giving them to people, it's a brilliant move. Rocksteady gets money from used game sales; the whole reason to include the DLC codes with new copies. Gamestop gets less money from used Arkham City purchases, but they appeal to the people that buy used games; hopefully getting more customers in the process. And used game buyers get free DLC.

Gamestop will pass that loss onto the customer, the one who bought new and is trading it in.

Also, Rocksteady doesn't deserve money from used sales and I'll bet that if given the choice, most used buyers wouldn't pay the extra $10. I wouldn't and I would prefer the game cost me $10 less. Gamestop is setting a bad precedent here.

Let me put it this way; this online pass is a great way to show that people are still interested in the game and that Rocksteady should continue making free DLC to get more people into it.

 

[dystopiaINC]

If Gamestop is really buying these codes and giving them to people, it's a brilliant move. Rocksteady gets money from used game sales; the whole reason to include the DLC codes with new copies. Gamestop gets less money from used Arkham City purchases, but they appeal to the people that buy used games; hopefully getting more customers in the process. And used game buyers get free DLC.

If they're just printing them and not giving Rocksteady anything for it, I'm totally against it. Gamestop gets more profit from the used game sales than they would if people bought the game new, while Rocksteady gets nothing. The whole point of the Catwoman DLC is so that the people that made the game get a profit from used sales.

exactly! if they aren't buying the codes than this is terrible. think about it like this the whole point of the pass was an incentive to buy the game new, and if you got it used you missed out on some frivolous thing. but if they circumvent it and give out free codes with out paying for them then the remove all incentives to buy the game new to begin with!

new game: $60 with free code

used game:$55+10 if you want the frivolous stuff:$65

game stop used game: $55 with the code in it.
sorry what was the point of buying new again? game stop already sells used copies for way to much and buy back for not nearly enough a used game really shouldn't be $55 maybe $45-$50 for games only a few months old and cheaper after a year or so.

also my biggest problem with gamestop is when you go in and try buying the new game but the try to offer you their used copy for "FIVE DOLLARS LESS!" they have their employees active trying to get you to buy the used games instead of the new ones it just seems like thats half the issue right there, people who would have bought it new end up getting persuaded into the used one (thus all that money that was about to NOT go to gamestop is now in their pockets) and if they are giving out free codes that they didn't pay that's more way to screw the developer over.
"if you bought it used anywhere else you would have to pay extra for not getting it new! but not here we give you that code that only new buys get for free!"
or
"why buy it new? you can get it for less if you buy OUR used copy! and guess what! now you get that code for free as if you bought it new anyway!"