Rage Cuts Single-Player When You Buy It Used

[EternalFacepalm]

Wouldn't this just end up with modders unlocking it really easily anyway? I mean, they can't remove it from the disc, and it isn't always-on DRM...

Also, it's a sewer level. Who the fuck likes sewer levels anyway?

 

[mirror's edgy]

I think the issue here is that blame is being placed on the wrong parties. The developer is, indeed, screwing over anyone who buys the game used. I buy games used because I don't have a job and they get expensive. Game retailers could give the same fraction of used game profits to developers that they do with new game sales, but they choose not to. This is to allegedly keep their prices competitive, but people seem to be in unanimous agreement that companies like Gamestop would be nowhere without developers, and they deserve a portion of the used game sale money.

This DRM situation would be vastly improved of retailers stopped taking 100 percent of the used profits. Developers could make more games and not have to rip any content out of the hands of anyone who had the sheer gall to try and save money. Even if this did not happen, developers still have no excuse. Extra Credits covered this perfectly; no matter how you try to keep your content exclusive to new copies, the Internet is full of hackers ready and willing to rip the DRM out purely because they hate to see companies mutilating their games for the customer this way. If they would add BONUS content for regular customers or people making new purchases rather than just giving incomplete games to secondhand buyers, the market would be healthier and we wouldn't have a few dozen offended people in this very discussion deciding to pass the game up entirely.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Oh well, I've bought it new, and on PC... so oh well...

And this is going to stop modders from unlocking the content how?

Umm, it is on console...? I've never heard of mods on console, or PC games being sold used...

 

[lonercs]

Bethesda just ensured that their game will be pirated to all hell. Congrats Bethesda, not only are you suing Notch, now your make the biggest "WHAT NOT TO DO" instance of DRM.

You must really want to ass rape your PR, don't you?

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

If you buy it used, you ain't supporting the developers, just like the pirates do. Don't see anything wrong with it, as long as this new little feature doesn't affect the legit buyers.

Used sales help support the people who buy it new. kill the used market, i think will effect the pocket of the new purchase crowd enough to effect the developers

 

[Callate]

Every day, the gravitation towards older games seems less like a nod toward so-called "retro" aesthetics and more of a conscious choice not to play guinea pig to "can we get away with this?" marketing tactics.

 

[Ian Caronia]

Next time I want to buy a used Mercedes, I'll call official Mercedes dealership to ask them if they're gonna cut my brakes if I don't give them a piece of that action.

This is fuckin' stupid. Used games market should be no different than any other market for used stuff. This kind of behavior can only increase piracy. There should be a law against this.

That's a good point, actually. I'm the type who buys games new from my favorite company (Atlus), but even then I'm not going to demonize gamers who can't afford to pay the full price (and I only do so because most of the company's games are on the cheaper side and because the folks at Atlus never pull this kind of stunt with their fans!).
_I get that the devs don't get a cut from used game sales, but if this is how things are going to be between developers and/or publishers and their consumers then:
1. Stop used games sales entirely. Make Used Games the same as piracy: a criminal act. Since the way companies make it seem, it pretty much is. The only reason it's legal is because we're paying somebody "legit" for the copy. Hence why some coin it "legal piracy".
Or, for those with an intellect: 2. STOP WHINING ABOUT IT!

You want to know how to get games sold new? Make the deals that much sweeter. For example: Pre-order swag. I love it. Lots of folks love it. Thus, we buy the game new.
Want to know how to have games not sell much at all? DRM and this kind of abuse.
Id exec: "Just stick to giving them a bonus OST (a real one, not that digital download horse crap), an artbook, or even a simple map for swag persuasion? Bah! BAH, I say! We'll strip content from the game and make it Swiss cheese! Surely they will worship us then."

I get the feeling Mass Effect 3 is going to have something like this happen. Watch. With EA and the newer, shytsier Bioware behind the wheel, ME3 will be ruined for used game buyers.
If I'm wrong then I'll smack my Collector's Edition copy of Dark Souls against my face.
...By the way, that Collector's Edition? I 'll be getting that from simply pre-ordering the normal game. Yeah. Walkthrough, Making-Of, and some other intersting thing all for just pre-ordering.
I want to see what people who support this kind of thing say to companies who act like that. No excuse for this.

 

[DataSnake]

This definitely isn't the right way to go about DRM.
I'm going to argue that the best DRM is NO DRM.
DRM doesn't stop pirates it actually causes more piracy.
DRM hurts legitimate customers and doesn't hurt pirates at all.
DRM DOES NOT do what it is meant to do.

Personally, I think Steam is a pretty good deal. Yeah, you have to register with Valve, but it's actually worth the trouble. I've had quite a few games where over the years I either lost the disk or it was scratched beyond recovery, but since they were Steam games, I could just download them, hassle-free. Also, the automatic patching is pretty spiffy, and it remains possible to play offline.
EDIT: Basically, it's the right approach because there's something in it for the end user, other than the "privelege" of being allowed to play a game they ALREADY PAID FOR.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Sooooo, can non-online player players try the single player?

[HEADING=2]I GUESS NOT.[/HEADING] (I could be wrong)

This is dropping my hope in video games. I hope Valve doesn't catch on.

 

[Inkidu]

That's not fair! That's not fair! God damn it that's not fair! The only way to enforce that is to use a one-time pass code to unlock the single player. A code which you have to enter on Xbox Live. I don't have Xbox Live. I can't get a hard line to my house, I can't get it on wireless. Even if I went and bought it new I still wouldn't get the entire single player experience.

Wake up, you're not punishing pirates, you're not punishing second hand people, you're punishing me. People just unfortunate enough to not have this magical perfect internet that Ted Witless thinks everyone owns. I'm going to go write a letter to id now.

I really think I could cry, and not because I'm not getting my game. I could cry because I'm being punished for doing nothing wrong.

EDIT: If any people or Escapist staff have id Software's email address (for complaint's or fan mail or whatever). Please PM me it. I want to save myself postage if I can.

 

[omegawyrm]

Well that's another game I won't consider buying. I guess I'm not the common sort of gamer, but I have a massive backlog of games I've collected and barely touched that I'm perfectly happy to spend time playing, so when a developer or publisher does anything to even "slightly" deter me from getting a game, whether it be an always-on internet connection, or locking some content, it just makes it easier for me to decide what I want to play next. They do realize they have to compete with other games, right?

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Next time I want to buy a used Mercedes, I'll call official Mercedes dealership to ask them if they're gonna cut my brakes if I don't give them a piece of that action.

This is fuckin' stupid. Used games market should be no different than any other market for used stuff. This kind of behavior can only increase piracy. There should be a law against this.

That's a good point, actually. I'm the type who buys games new from my favorite company (Atlus), but even then I'm not going to demonize gamers who can't afford to pay the full price (and I only do so because most of the company's games are on the cheaper side and because the folks at Atlus never pull this kind of stunt with their fans!).
_I get that the devs don't get a cut from used game sales, but if this is how things are going to be between developers and/or publishers and their consumers then:
1. Stop used games sales entirely. Make Used Games the same as piracy: a criminal act. Since the way companies make it seem, it pretty much is. The only reason it's legal is because we're paying somebody "legit" for the copy. Hence why some coin it "legal piracy".
Or, for those with an intellect: 2. STOP WHINING ABOUT IT!

You want to know how to get games sold new? Make the deals that much sweeter. For example: Pre-order swag. I love it. Lots of folks love it. Thus, we buy the game new.
Want to know how to have games not sell much at all? DRM and this kind of abuse.
Id exec: "Just stick to giving them a bonus OST (a real one, not that digital download horse crap), an artbook, or even a simple map for swag persuasion? Bah! BAH, I say! We'll strip content from the game and make it Swiss cheese! Surely they will worship us then."

I get the feeling Mass Effect 3 is going to have something like this happen. Watch. With EA and the newer, shytsier Bioware behind the wheel, ME3 will be ruined for used game buyers.
If I'm wrong then I'll smack my Collector's Edition copy of Dark Souls against my face.
...By the way, that Collector's Edition? I 'll be getting that from simply pre-ordering the normal game. Yeah. Walkthrough, Making-Of, and some other intersting thing all for just pre-ordering.
I want to see what people who support this kind of thing say to companies who act like that. No excuse for this.

So you understand how good Atlus treats it's fans *looks up and sees my special edition SMTevil Summoner 2 box*. I can't think of another company (Besides NIS(A)), who gives you extra goodies for buying new/first shipment. I mean for 40 bucks I got that box for Devil Summoner 2, for 35 bucks I got Strange Journey with a soundtrack (which was busted but Atlus fixed) and a mini poster, with Izuna 2 you get a cool mini poster extra, the persona 1 remake had a TWO DISC SOUNDTRACK for free for buying it new. Almost every Atlus game I own on the DS has a mini-CD soundtrack that was given with it for free, and when Atlus ported Knights in the Nightmare to the psp they gave away Yggdra Union for FREE (both are great games).

Why is it Atlus/NIS(A) who are smaller companies and can't print 1000000000000 copies of a game can gladly do this kinda of thing but no one else? EA and everyone else seems to want to with hold stuff and when they give it to you puts on a stupid smile and say it's a extra for buying it new when it was a advertised feature that is under the cloak of "extra".

 

[Reaper69lol]

And they wonder why piracy rates are going up....

 

[The Virgo]

This was my reaction:

That's is motherfucking bullshit. You can fucking lock-out content just because I bought it used! I mean, I can understand trying to prevent piracy, but this is over the line. Our rights as gamers are being trampled by these assholes!

Hey Id, you can take that game and shove it up your ass!

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Well Rage just dropped down on my list of what I'm going to buy now. I mean they're doing a pretty poor job of supporting this ("If you don't buy it new you'll miss this entire section! ...But don't worry, it isn't important anyway."), but I still don't like this idea. Used games probably don't have that big of an affect on profits a game makes because there's still only one copy of the game going around. Of course if I do buy it, I'll probably buy used, simply to show that I don't like this idea.

 

[Omega Pirate]

I will buy this game used just so I don't have to go though the obligatory sewer level.

 

[Irridium]

Next time I want to buy a used Mercedes, I'll call official Mercedes dealership to ask them if they're gonna cut my brakes if I don't give them a piece of that action.

This is fuckin' stupid. Used games market should be no different than any other market for used stuff. This kind of behavior can only increase piracy. There should be a law against this.

That's a good point, actually. I'm the type who buys games new from my favorite company (Atlus), but even then I'm not going to demonize gamers who can't afford to pay the full price (and I only do so because most of the company's games are on the cheaper side and because the folks at Atlus never pull this kind of stunt with their fans!).
_I get that the devs don't get a cut from used game sales, but if this is how things are going to be between developers and/or publishers and their consumers then:
1. Stop used games sales entirely. Make Used Games the same as piracy: a criminal act. Since the way companies make it seem, it pretty much is. The only reason it's legal is because we're paying somebody "legit" for the copy. Hence why some coin it "legal piracy".
Or, for those with an intellect: 2. STOP WHINING ABOUT IT!

You want to know how to get games sold new? Make the deals that much sweeter. For example: Pre-order swag. I love it. Lots of folks love it. Thus, we buy the game new.
Want to know how to have games not sell much at all? DRM and this kind of abuse.
Id exec: "Just stick to giving them a bonus OST (a real one, not that digital download horse crap), an artbook, or even a simple map for swag persuasion? Bah! BAH, I say! We'll strip content from the game and make it Swiss cheese! Surely they will worship us then."

I get the feeling Mass Effect 3 is going to have something like this happen. Watch. With EA and the newer, shytsier Bioware behind the wheel, ME3 will be ruined for used game buyers.
If I'm wrong then I'll smack my Collector's Edition copy of Dark Souls against my face.
...By the way, that Collector's Edition? I 'll be getting that from simply pre-ordering the normal game. Yeah. Walkthrough, Making-Of, and some other intersting thing all for just pre-ordering.
I want to see what people who support this kind of thing say to companies who act like that. No excuse for this.

So you understand how good Atlus treats it's fans *looks up and sees my special edition SMTevil Summoner 2 box*. I can't think of another company (Besides NIS(A)), who gives you extra goodies for buying new/first shipment. I mean for 40 bucks I got that box for Devil Summoner 2, for 35 bucks I got Strange Journey with a soundtrack (which was busted but Atlus fixed) and a mini poster, with Izuna 2 you get a cool mini poster extra, the persona 1 remake had a TWO DISC SOUNDTRACK for free for buying it new. Almost every Atlus game I own on the DS has a mini-CD soundtrack that was given with it for free, and when Atlus ported Knights in the Nightmare to the psp they gave away Yggdra Union for FREE (both are great games).

Why is it Atlus/NIS(A) who are smaller companies and can't print 1000000000000 copies of a game can gladly do this kinda of thing but no one else? EA and everyone else seems to want to with hold stuff and when they give it to you puts on a stupid smile and say it's a extra for buying it new when it was a advertised feature that is under the cloak of "extra".

There's also CD Projekt Red with their Witcher games.

The "Normal" edition includes a game guide, map, papercrafts, soundtrack, making-of, and a couple of other goodies. Yeah the game included DRM, but after a week they removed it when they learned it brought down performance. Of course if you bought it from GoG, it had no DRM to begin with. Oh, and if your in a country and have to pay a stupid amount more than other places, if you buy from GoG they give you a couple of free games to help make up the difference.

Straight from their Witcher 2 page [http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_witcher_2/]:

Since customers from Australia, New Zealand and the ones paying in Euros pay more than the rest of the world, we give back the price difference (roughly $26 and $16, respectively) in free GOG bonus codes, as a form of store credit. Please read this FAQ for details.

Every other company just goes "tough shit buddy".

I love CD Projekt Red. So much.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Seriously? Just...seriously. You are making it really hard for anyone to support DRM or anything like that. This is just....stupid. Cutting out a portion of the single player? What if someone doesn't have access to internet? That's unlikely I know but still...

This is one hundred percent bullshit. It only punishes legit players and gives your game a bad rep. Pirates will always pirate your game. Used game sells will always happen. Get. Fucking. Used to it.

 

[Dogstile]

Eh, I was going to get this as well >.>

Well damn, sticking to your guns is annoying. Suppose I won't pick this up after all.

 

[Keepeas]

This definitely isn't the right way to go about DRM.
I'm going to argue that the best DRM is NO DRM.
DRM doesn't stop pirates it actually causes more piracy.
DRM hurts legitimate customers and doesn't hurt pirates at all.
DRM DOES NOT do what it is meant to do.

Personally, I think Steam is a pretty good deal. Yeah, you have to register with Valve, but it's actually worth the trouble. I've had quite a few games where over the years I either lost the disk or it was scratched beyond recovery, but since they were Steam games, I could just download them, hassle-free. Also, the automatic patching is pretty spiffy, and it remains possible to play offline.
EDIT: Basically, it's the right approach because there's something in it for the end user, other than the "privelege" of being allowed to play a game they ALREADY PAID FOR.

I completely agree with you there.
Steam actually has a very good system.

It's non-intrusive
No download limits
You can still play your game offline
It basically doesn't try to screw the costumer.

And you even get some added benefits, the most noteworthy being a strong community feeling. (and I love that in game shift+tab thing)

The main goal of steam doesn't feel like DRM. (Even if it is...is it?)
And that is how it should be...