Sony Erects Online Pass Barrier Around Uncharted 3 Multiplayer

[DannyJBeckett]

The Uncharted 3 paywall is designed to tackle pirates, Sony says.

Sony forgot to add 'and used sales' to the end of their statement.

 

[jboking]

How many people actually pirate games nowadays? first thought is that was a save face for fighting used sales customers.

Exactly what I thought. Not only does, to my knowledge, very little pirating go on via the PS3(at least when compared to the PC), but if it did one would have to EXPECT there to be no online play - as you would have a modded console and going on the PSN would get you caught.

This is clearly an attack against used game buyers, which is going to either destroy or at least radically change that market. For example: I went to gamestop recently and noticed that a used copy of Resistance 3 was $55. I brought up the online pass to the manager and he said that he didn't get to set the price, but he knew full well about the online pass. He also said he had sold very few of those used copies because of it. The price on those used games is going to have to drop to accommodate for the online pass, I suspect.

Of course, for those of us who love single-player over multi-player, this may just mean cheaper games.

 

[Valencrow]

Well this just kills any desire I had to purchase this game. I was considering it as a gift for my little brother ( big naughty dog fan.) I personalty can't stand the way Sony has been conducting itself lately. I feel like the helpful people I respected don't work there anymore.

I remember when my ps2 had problems I would call their help number and they would go out of their way to help me. Now a week doesn't go by that they are not doing something completely amoral.

I hope NIS stops working with them so I don't have to keep buying their systems. ( yes Disgaea is the only reason I have a PS3)

 

[bue519]

Another one? Jesus...

How many people actually pirate games nowadays? first thought is that was a save face for fighting used sales customers.

Glad I don't have a PS3 then.

Your right X-box owners just have to pay $60 a year to play online, instead of $10 if they buy a select title used. What a deal!

 

[clankwise]

That's a lie pirating on consoles is super low. I understand for PC where its super easy but PS3 games are nearly impossible to. They just don't want people to buy it used. Shame Sony shame lying to your customers.

 

[ph0b0s123]

So pirates just have to stump up $10 to get the multi-player option added to their pirated game, whereas used buyers pay for the used game then have to add on $10. So used buyers are worse off than pirates. Well no incentive to pirate there then.

That is unless this has nothing to do with piracy and they are using that as a smoke screen to kill off the used game market. A market every other industry has to accept. Just so we all understand what is going on then.....

 

[irishda]

This won't kill the used game market. And, dare I say, if you aren't going to buy this game because it punishes pre-owned video game buyers, then you probably weren't going to buy the game anyways.

 

[Epona]

If you resent the extra ten dollars on top, why don't you just demand Gamestop lower the price?

Think about it - Sony are offering exactly what they've always offered - the single player and the multiplayer, all for $60. The person who's now selling you the inferior game is Gamestop - they're selling you the game without multiplayer. Therefore, why not demand they take out the price you have to pay for the multiplayer, since Gamestop aren't providing it? Pay the price for what you recieve.

The battle of preowned games is not between publishers and gamers, its between publishers and retailers. Gamers need to stop taking retailers sides and letting them get away with providing an inferior product. The publishers have given you these amazing games over the years - the fuck have Gamestop given you apart endless hassles about a subscription to their magazine?

No, it's between publishers and gamers because this move won't hurt Gamestop, only consumers.

Here's how. When you go to trade in Uncharted 3 you will get atleast $10 less because Gamestop will have to charge $10 less than they would have without the online pass. Who gets hurt? The gamer who bought new. The used buyer pays the same price as before, less if they don't want the multiplayer.

 

[AlphaEcho]

What they do not realize is that most pirates do not pirate there game because buying it is a second option. It is either A. They want to try it out, B. They can not buy it or C. They really do not like you. This will not change anything. At all.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I couldn't care less about multiplayer... in any game. I shall still buy this preowned and you shall not see a penny from me Naughty Dog! Bwah ha ha!

I kid, I kid! Seriously, I love Uncharted and will buy this on Day One for its full price, no doubt about that. But I'm sure there are other people like me who would still buy it preowned and not even touch the multiplayer. How do they tackle those people?

Besides, who pirates console games anyway? I thought that was mostly a PC thing.

 

[Epona]

I couldn't care less about multiplayer... in any game. I shall still buy this preowned and you shall not see a penny from me Naughty Dog! Bwah ha ha!

I kid, I kid! Seriously, I love Uncharted and will buy this on Day One for its full price, no doubt about that. But I'm sure there are other people like me who would still buy it preowned and not even touch the multiplayer. How do they tackle those people?

Besides, who pirates console games anyway? I thought that was mostly a PC thing.

So, here's some math if you only care about single player.

Gamestop would normally sell a used new release for $54.99 (minus $5.49 if you have the power up card). So, you could normally get a used copy for $10 off. However, since the publisher has lowered the value of it's own game, you now can save $10 more. So $20 off on day one if you have the power up card (and who doesn't since it's the cheapest magazine subscription you'll ever buy).

 

[PhoenixKing]

I don't really see the point in this as the PS3 hack was already patched... so where is this piracy coming from?

 

[JdaS]

This must've been ninja'd by now but: what fucking piracy Sony?

I for one am getting Uncharted 3 new. I won't be playing the multiplayer because I never did see the point in it. Still, please don't go about your new found dirty money-grabbing and lie to my face about it.

This shit is getting out of hand.

 

[Baresark]

snip

snip

In the end, I think it boils down to this; Whether or not one is willing to accept the online pass (or day 1 dlc, but that isn't exactly the same thing) as being a separate product from the game disc (or download).

In every case so far, even if I haven't been exactly thrilled about it, I've been willing to accept the conceit. With that in mind, I'm wary but not upset with the online pass not transferring with a used game. It is just the nature of that particular product (like an MMO subscription, or renting a movie)

If the two are fundamentally linked in a person's mind, I can see how it starts to become a moral issue. The company would seem to be overstepping there bounds, and breaking some inherent pact with the creation, sale and purchase of the game. As you say, the company would be attempting to block the sale of your property.

I guess it becomes a choice between a more literal view of what a game is, and a more conceptual view.

I find the dual nature of the gaming industry very interesting. This is not a debate point, for in the end we are in agreement on a lot of things. Companies like Sony for their video game division, EA, Ubisoft, etc., they all rage against the second hand sale of games, making their biggest competitor Gamestop and the like, but there would not really be a game industry to speak of without store chains like Gamestop. It's interesting because they want to stop the resale of games, the way they could probably do this would be to stop allowing store chains who deal in second hand games to sell new copies of their games, but they can't do that simply because most companies would flounder and die without them. Even the might of EA relies on stores such as these to prosper. I'm sure giant stores such as Walmart move quite a bit of software, but not having a dedicated area to just video games reduces the, I'm sure, copious amounts of advertising done within the Gamestop, for instance. I mean, no one would be lining up to pre-order games if not for them.

 

[mjc0961]

According to Jiménez, the pass is supposedly a buffer against piracy, with no mention of it being an attempt to claw back a few bucks on pre-order sales.

And we're supposed to believe that? At least be honest about it, Sony. It's clearly a way to get money back from used game sales. How exactly would the pass stop pirates? Assuming they can pirate the game and still play it online somehow, the total cost to a pirate ends up being $10. So, let's see. $60 to buy it new or $10 to pirate it and buy an online pass. Yeah, I can really see why the pirates would not pirate due to the $10 online pass, nice job Sony.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I couldn't care less about multiplayer... in any game. I shall still buy this preowned and you shall not see a penny from me Naughty Dog! Bwah ha ha!

I kid, I kid! Seriously, I love Uncharted and will buy this on Day One for its full price, no doubt about that. But I'm sure there are other people like me who would still buy it preowned and not even touch the multiplayer. How do they tackle those people?

Besides, who pirates console games anyway? I thought that was mostly a PC thing.

So, here's some math if you only care about single player.

Gamestop would normally sell a used new release for $54.99 (minus $5.49 if you have the power up card). So, you could normally get a used copy for $10 off. However, since the publisher has lowered the value of it's own game, you now can save $10 more. So $20 off on day one if you have the power up card (and who doesn't since it's the cheapest magazine subscription you'll ever buy).

Wow, that was confusing on so many levels!

For a start I live in England, so our prices are a little different over here. Also, I buy all my games through Amazon.co.uk, which is by far the cheapest way to buy any digital media in this country.

On Amazon, Uncharted 3 will apparently cost me £38.91 which quite frankly is a bargain as it would be around £45 - £50 brand new in shops. As far as I can tell, the core product itself has not been reduced in price, certainly not beyond normal levels anyway.

Either way it doesn't affect me. I get the single player for about the normal price of a game. If it's good enough I doubt I'll trade it in anyway, so I don't expect any sort of rebate on the price I pay.

It saddens me that all this protection has to be applied in the first place. I enjoy playing games and I'm more than happy to pay the developers in exchange for a great experience. It's not really punishing people like me, just kind of denting our trust a little is all.

 

[Epona]

I couldn't care less about multiplayer... in any game. I shall still buy this preowned and you shall not see a penny from me Naughty Dog! Bwah ha ha!

I kid, I kid! Seriously, I love Uncharted and will buy this on Day One for its full price, no doubt about that. But I'm sure there are other people like me who would still buy it preowned and not even touch the multiplayer. How do they tackle those people?

Besides, who pirates console games anyway? I thought that was mostly a PC thing.

So, here's some math if you only care about single player.

Gamestop would normally sell a used new release for $54.99 (minus $5.49 if you have the power up card). So, you could normally get a used copy for $10 off. However, since the publisher has lowered the value of it's own game, you now can save $10 more. So $20 off on day one if you have the power up card (and who doesn't since it's the cheapest magazine subscription you'll ever buy).

Wow, that was confusing on so many levels!

For a start I live in England, so our prices are a little different over here. Also, I buy all my games through Amazon.co.uk, which is by far the cheapest way to buy any digital media in this country.

On Amazon, Uncharted 3 will apparently cost me £38.91 which quite frankly is a bargain as it would be around £45 - £50 brand new in shops. As far as I can tell, the core product itself has not been reduced in price, certainly not beyond normal levels anyway.

Either way it doesn't affect me. I get the single player for about the normal price of a game. If it's good enough I doubt I'll trade it in anyway, so I don't expect any sort of rebate on the price I pay.

It saddens me that all this protection has to be applied in the first place. I enjoy playing games and I'm more than happy to pay the developers in exchange for a great experience. It's not really punishing people like me, just kind of denting our trust a little is all.

What was confusing about it?

I'll try again though in case anyone who does buy used at Gamestop is also confused.

So if you only care about single player, you are better off buying used and you may be able to do this on day one. Here's the math:

A new game without an online pass: $60

A new game with an online pass: $60


Now here's where it get's interesting:

A used game without an online pass and with a 10% off card (Power up card for Gamestop): $49.50 - That's $54.99 - 10%.

A used game with an online pass and with a 10% off card (Power up card for Gamestop): $40.50 - That's $44.99 ($10 less so you can buy the online pass and not pay more than a game without the online pass) - 10%. Since you only care about single player, you won't be paying that extra $10 for the online pass.


So you see, if you won't pay the extra $10 for the online pass, then you can get the game for almost $20 off by buying used. Wonder if Sony thought this through all the way.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

What was confusing about it?

I'll try again though in case anyone who does buy used at Gamestop is also confused.

So if you only care about single player, you are better off buying used and you may be able to do this on day one. Here's the math:

A new game without an online pass: $60

A new game with an online pass: $60


Now here's where it get's interesting:

A used game without an online pass and with a 10% off card (Power up card for Gamestop): $49.50 - That's $54.99 - 10%.

A used game with an online pass and with a 10% off card (Power up card for Gamestop): $40.50 - That's $44.99 ($10 less so you can buy the online pass and not pay more than a game without the online pass) - 10%. Since you only care about single player, you won't be paying that extra $10 for the online pass.


So you see, if you won't pay the extra $10 for the online pass, then you can get the game for almost $20 off by buying used. Wonder if Sony thought this through all the way.

I guess I'm just thick, that makes more sense now. Thanks for clearing that up! I see what you're saying though, it's still cheaper all round for everyone to buy the game used. I guess the idea is that every $10 online pass that is bought with a used game, is another $10 that Sony didn't have previously.

 

[DiabloBub666]

Good bye, Uncharted. I will miss you.

Nah, jk. I think I can afford to miss out on the multiplayer (no pun intended); hearing this news absolutely ensures that I won't buy this game new. Speak out with your wallets, people.