SOCOM 4 Holds Features Back from Pre-Owned Purchasers

[Lt. Vinciti]

....

Why is it so wrong to buy preowned (Flameshield: Yeah so COMPANY doesnt get the full $60)
some of this shit isnt worth the $60 you pay for it (Bulletstorm IMO).

So say you buy it used...(IE Gamestop) you would drop $55 used and then have to drop $15 to pay the "subscription" too?

 

[Nerf Ninja]

Why punish the end user like this? When poeple buy games they expect to have some kind of ownership over those games, preowned games are a symptom of £40-£50 being a BIG investment for many people.

If they want to sell more new stock they need to reduce the cost to a price people are willing to pay.

Extactly. If you look at Blu-rays you hardly ever see used sales of those at retail outlets (and never hear big companies bitching about them). Why? Becuase a bluray is only around £10-£20. I can walk into GAME and see as much floor-space dedicated to used as new and yet HMV and other movie/music retailers don't really stock used of any other media. £45 is too much for many games which have become generic in nature and stunted in length, for a 5-7 hour experience and inconsistant multiplayer made for padding who can blame customers for being turned off by modern gaming pricing.

The main problem would be of course, that if the price of new is reduced so will the price of used. Until the price is reduced to so low that it is equal to buying a DVD or Bluray that it's not worth trading in any more, people will still be able to get them used.

Most people trade in games simply because they can't afford to buy the next one they want, so have to sacrifice the older one. Imagine having to do that with DVDs/Blurays? I can't believe the film industry would survive in such a market.

I personally think the games market is overdue for a new crash and things like this are small attempts to hold it off, don't really think it's going to work though.

 

[Baresark]

I love the bit where it tells you the the membership won't be available till a week after release... If your game is showing up used in less than a week, then you have a real piece of shit on your hands.

OT: This was inevitable. And as soon as the Gamestop gets a used copy in, they will be selling it for $55, so it won't even be worth going pro from a used copy for a while. If Gamestop were smart though, they would sell it for cheap enough that it's only $55 with Pro membership, so we can get the game even cheaper if we don't give a crap about pro. Meh, it's been like this on the PC for a long long time, it's impossible to buy used games unless they are really old.

PS. This only enforces the $60 game model though, it forces you to stay within that model, and if games keep selling then it's like saying you're ok with them charging that much for them.

 

[Snax]

Buy pre-owned games = The developers that work their asses off get nothing
£10 for full content is fair.

They already got the money from the guy who bought it originally.

If they want to sell more new stock they need to reduce the cost to a price people are willing to pay.

Not a bad point, but at the same time the reality is we're not talking huge savings here. We're talking losing sales to companies selling used copies for $5 or, at most, $10 less than a new copy. I may be wrong, and I know everyone likes a deal, but I would imagine most people willing and able to spend $55 on a game would be able to spend $60 on it too.

Wow I wish I lived in America. New games cost around $100-110 new over here, and yet pre-owned can drop $30-50 off the price. Here the discount is worth it. It seems like a good idea as the person who sends back the game has already paid the full price for it and I fail to see why the game needs to be purchased twice. Am I missing something? No new product is being created and the user base is staying the same size...so why the added cost for pre-owned?

 

[WanderingFool]

wait, why would you want to have the m16 and ak 47 of all things in a game?
those guns are literally in every shooter set after ww2 and before the advent of pew pew laserguns(and in the case of fallout even laserguns did not stop the ak from appearing)

Thats what I was thinking...

Not much to say here but whatever, probably wasnt going to buy SOCOM 4 anyways. Though I can never fully be against a practice like this, as it is aimed for making money off of used game sales.

 

[ionveau]

oh another shooter exits thread

 

[Cipher1]

Starting to get a little tired of being treated like a thief by game companies.

 

[Mahorfeus]

I can understand the idea behind this. I mean, used game sales essentially hurt company profits, however little. Not long ago, there was little to no incentive to buying a game new, especially with used newer games where disc damage was unlikely and the price is 5-10 dollars cheaper. It can be interpreted as greed, but they have to get their profits back somehow.

However, the 15 dollar price tag is just far too steep, especially for lackluster DLC. For Dragon Age, as much as I loved her character, I sure as hell would not have paid 15 bucks just to get Shale on my party. This game's content at least seems to be worth the investment, though I wouldn't hold my breath until I know the game is actually decent.

 

[googleback]

this is bullshit because they've left it so late to tell us. I bet they'll make a lot more off of this game by doing this than they would if everyone bought new. this game isn't going to sell as it is so people will be picking up preowned copies left right and center.

 

[UnderCoverGuest]

"The pass also grants access to two new weapons: the M-16 for Navy SEALs players and the AK-47 for Insurgent..."

You know, I can't wait for Duke Nukem forever. A none-too-subtle return to games that let you use new and innovative ways to blast alien pigmen apart. It's so much better than military games, where standard weapons soldiers are outfitted with on their first day of training AREN'T CONSIDERED #%@&ING "UNLOCKABLES"! $&%#ing hell.

And "two new weapons"? Why do game developers feel any weapon made nearly half a century ago needs to be 'unlocked' and considered 'new' in order for its divine brilliance to illuminate the digital battlefield. Who in the world is their 'military information adviser' or whatever they call that position, AND WHY AREN'T THE DEVELOPERS LISTENING TO THEM.

Got to work an hour early, so I'm spending my time *%@#ing on the boards right now. Fun fun.

 

[MattRooney06]

The studio said that the Pro members would also receive new content further down the line, like exclusive multiplayer maps, co-op options and dedicated leaderboards

Knowing todays video game market, we'll still have to pay for them

And let's face it, if anyone's going to play multiplayer on an FPS, they are going to play Black Ops.

agreed, regardless of your views on the game black ops is king of the FPS market....followed closely by Halo

 

[Andaxay]

Fantastic. Yet another company jumping onto the too-far-up-their-own-arses EA bandwagon and eliminating yet more pre-owned sales. Which is bad news when you work for a video game company that RELIES on pre-owned sales for a good chunk of their profit.

 

[Adzma]

The principal of the matter is they want more money.

No they want some money for their troubles. Everyone knows developers and publishers get no money from pre-owned sales. It's only fair that they'd seek to make some money out of it.

OT: I've already stated in topics for different games that I don't mind this sort of stuff. I only ever buy new anyway.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

wait, why would you want to have the m16 and ak 47 of all things in a game?
those guns are literally in every shooter set after ww2 and before the advent of pew pew laserguns(and in the case of fallout even laserguns did not stop the ak from appearing)

Is it wrong my objection to this was actually.
'Would Navy SEAls want a large and unwieldy service rifle?'

 

[tehroc]

Buy pre-owned games = The developers that work their asses off get nothing
£10 for full content is fair.

WRONG! Developers get paid on salary, they get paid whether you buy the game or not. Their available royalties are minuscule just like in the recording industry. Buying preowned games only screws with the publishers and publisher can just go fuck off for all I care.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Platform: PS3. Deal breaker right there.

I wouldn't buy a game that would remove features for being used. The principal of the matter is they want more money. I frown on greed on matters like this. Like with paying for DLC minor changes to characters appearances.

Me neither.
I wont buy them new anyway. The same goes with Mortal Kombat and LA Noir too.
They have to really stop taking their anger at gamestop out on the gamers because this shit is starting to make me hate gaming.
This is coming from someone who doesn?t have to buy used anymore but schemes like this only encourage me to do so again.

 

[Koroviev]

I thought that said 'pre ordered' for a second and I was like: this is the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard of.

but...yeah.

Same here. Still, it bothers me that the video games' industry thinks itself to be so damn special. If certain people cannot afford the new price, then I don't think they count as "lost sales" if they eventually buy used. Used books aren't missing pages, used cars aren't missing parts, etc. I have a feeling that the next console generation will entail virtually all digital distribution and, moreover, that each and every publisher is still going to demand $60 for each game. The difference will likely be that the price simply doesn't drop, or if it does, not by a significant amount. After all, who else are people going to purchase from? [/rant]

 

[Koroviev]

Platform: PS3. Deal breaker right there.

I wouldn't buy a game that would remove features for being used. The principal of the matter is they want more money. I frown on greed on matters like this. Like with paying for DLC minor changes to characters appearances.

Me neither.
I wont buy them new anyway. The same goes with Mortal Kombat and LA Noir too.
They have to really stop taking their anger at gamestop out on the gamers because this shit is starting to make me hate gaming.
This is coming from someone who doesn?t have to buy used anymore but schemes like this only encourage me to do so again.

I don't know about Mortal Kombat, but the deal with LA Noir is just plain rotten. Release-day DLC? They don't even have the tact to hide their greed anymore. I mean, the least they could have done was wait to announce it for a month or two.

 

[Aura Guardian]

I think if this didn't happen, this wouldn't be in effect. Oh well.

 

[Irridium]

Its funny you mention project $10, because it seems EA is scrapping that idea. Since Dragon Age 2 instead of giving the two pieces of DLC to new owners for free, you had to pre-order the game before January, and everyone else had to buy them separately.

So yeah, seems they're not using that anymore.