Hitman: Absolution May Require "Purchase" of Free Online Pass
- Thread starter Cognimancer
- Start date
This allows them to find out the exact number of used copies that are being played online.CardinalPiggles said:
If I had to guess it is actually being used to see how many "lost sales" they are getting for each copy of the game.Hero in a half shell said:
So they sell say 50K copies, then see this purchase online done 70K times (I'm pulling numbers out of my ass here) that would give them info that the games have been traded around X amount of times.
Darn you little gray ninja >: (Little Gray said:
Honestly, if you think having to download and enter a pass code is an inconvenience and "jumping through hoops", then you really need to take a good, long look at your life.
I bet the non NA copies were pressed first and then they decided to get rid of online passes but it was to late to do so in Europe, AU, ect. And you are in no way being "shafted". The multilayer passes are free and it will likely be patched at some point. I also think that future copies in non-NA regions will be free of online passes.CardinalPiggles said:
Having played the game extensively...it was annoying to get the code...but really...it took 35 seconds.
Contracts mode is pointless anywho. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNrs3QtMZ_g
Contracts mode is pointless anywho. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNrs3QtMZ_g
So is the war on used games going to over any time soon? I mean, I know that the second hand industry brought about the current financial crisis, but fair is fair.
Uh, that's...well, okay. Not sure what to think about this.
I bet it's a trap. A trap to deceive us into a false sense of security before the Xbox explodes, executing half of the U.S. in a cleverly designed hit on the U.S. from the Illuminati.
I bet it's a trap. A trap to deceive us into a false sense of security before the Xbox explodes, executing half of the U.S. in a cleverly designed hit on the U.S. from the Illuminati.
Square-Enix, give me your keys.Bhaalspawn said:
Uhm, did you read the article? They decided not to do codes, but to list it as something you'd purchase and make it free to purchase it. So no codes, just a little extra work.Frostbite3789 said:
OT: Someone in this post made an excellent point about this being a way to find out how many plays it without paying for it and it makes sense. If I have to "purchase" it they will be notified when I go through with it and thus being able to see how many used/pirated games there's out there. This might not be the case, but it's an interesting thought.
Still, Hitman online doesn't make sense to me... so why should buying things for free make sense?
To get an idea on the state of the used games market without being assholes about it maybe? Sounds like a last minute realisation that online passes are a dick move.
Nah Square Enix shouldn't be driving home. They are too drunk. They should just crash here tonight.Bhaalspawn said:
Maybe they're doing it to try to gather data about how many copies of the game get pirated, by comparing registrations to sales numbers?
Although that wouldn't really explain why it's only outside the US.
Although that wouldn't really explain why it's only outside the US.
Its a weird move, and I'd love to know the reason for it. If I were to guess: from what reviews I read the game hasn't been scoring too well as a hitman game (still a good game the reviewers said, but takes steps back from the last good one), and maybe this is a last minute price change to not piss off even more people. IDK, just specululation, but I'm sure the reason will come to light eventually.
I think you're missing the point here.Entitled said:
If person #2 bought a used copy from person #1, person #1 is no longer using it.
That's what the conversation was about. The used copy was bought by someone, and only 1 person at a time is using it, so it's no different from a used car.
So... this serves no purpose except to be a hassle to both programmers and customers, while failing to provide you any security?
Escapists! Join me as we dance the dance of incompetence.
Escapists! Join me as we dance the dance of incompetence.
To those who say this is a way to determine the used sales market:
Although the argument is enticing, this just wouldn't be a good way to do it. Purchasers of online passes have to be
a) from outside the NA region
b) interested in the multi-player mode of the game
Point a means that they would be cutting out one of the largest and most important demographics from the study, and point b means that they would, again, cutting down the usefulness of their data because not everyone who buys the game second hand cares about playing online. On top of that, you have the possibility of people buying the game, only playing the single-player, and selling it with an unused code. In the end, you end up with a large number of second hand gamers not buying a pass.
Any data gathered with this system would be at best heavily biased, and at worst completely useless. I can't imagine anyone with the intention of measuring used games sales designing such a flawed system. Further, I'm sure game stores have plenty of ways to track used games sales. Though that data isn't perfect either (you could sell a game directly to a friend) it's readily available and more complete than anything that could be generated by this system.
I think it's best to go with Occam's Razor here, and chalk this up to plain incompetence. They were probably planning on charging but had a change of heart at the last minute. If the decision came after units were shipped, then it's possible that this "feature" stayed in the game because the only other alternative would be an expensive mass recall. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets patched out eventually.
Although the argument is enticing, this just wouldn't be a good way to do it. Purchasers of online passes have to be
a) from outside the NA region
b) interested in the multi-player mode of the game
Point a means that they would be cutting out one of the largest and most important demographics from the study, and point b means that they would, again, cutting down the usefulness of their data because not everyone who buys the game second hand cares about playing online. On top of that, you have the possibility of people buying the game, only playing the single-player, and selling it with an unused code. In the end, you end up with a large number of second hand gamers not buying a pass.
Any data gathered with this system would be at best heavily biased, and at worst completely useless. I can't imagine anyone with the intention of measuring used games sales designing such a flawed system. Further, I'm sure game stores have plenty of ways to track used games sales. Though that data isn't perfect either (you could sell a game directly to a friend) it's readily available and more complete than anything that could be generated by this system.
I think it's best to go with Occam's Razor here, and chalk this up to plain incompetence. They were probably planning on charging but had a change of heart at the last minute. If the decision came after units were shipped, then it's possible that this "feature" stayed in the game because the only other alternative would be an expensive mass recall. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets patched out eventually.
It seems like they were going to do the 'project $10' aproach of having to either put in a code or pay to play online, however they have changed their mind (probably recently) and decided to just give it away for free to everyone, but without time to remove the coding in the program that asks for the key. Honestly its actually a good sign that they did decide to dump the EA system, I for one have just had my intention to buy the game asap boosted by this move. Good move Square Enix.CardinalPiggles said: