Sony Erects Online Pass Barrier Around Uncharted 3 Multiplayer

[I Max95]

well sony just lost sixty bucks
i sure as hell wont be buying it now

and i urge the rest of you not too either
this is a situation where the customer cant win, this is the developers TAKING AWAY from the customer, there is no excuse for it

 

[T-Bone24]

The only people that Sony are "screwing" are people who buy used. If that is the the case, don't buy used, buy new. When I buy anything used, and that includes hardware and such-like, I don't expect it to be fully featured, I expect it to be slightly inferior. A scratch on the case or maybe it skips a bit, but I got it for much cheaper, so I don't mind. If I could pay a fraction of the cost to repair my used DS' wobbly screen, hell yes I would but I bought it expecting there to be some catch, otherwise I wouldn't have bought cheap.

Buy it new: full product.

Buy it cheap: there's a catch.

That's how it is and always has been with everything but software. Now they're just realising that they can get a bit of money out of used game sales, where they would normally get absolutely nothing.

 

[Royas]

They do deserve to get some cash from second hand sales.

And why is that? Games are the only item ever where the maker claims to "deserve" cash from second-hand sales, while every single argument I've heard in favour of it so far either is greed, or shared with multiple other products where imposing a tax on second-hand sales would be universally ridiculed.

I call bullshit.

I think I've not made my point well enough. I know that the whole reason for these online passes is greed. My point is that companies can and will do whatever they want to maximise profits. From their perspective this is a good choice. I can see that from their point of view. From my point of view as a consumer, I dislike it greatly. Also applicable is what I say to Royas further down. Hopefully that explains my stance more clearly.

How do you figure they deserve any cash from the second hand market? No other industry gets money from the used product market, how in the hell do the game publishers rate special treatment? Not only does it defy logic, it also goes against the traditional view of the used market. Namely, I bought it, I get to sell it if I want, boo-hoo if you don't like it. They already got what they deserved, legally and morally. They got their money from the initial, new sale, and that's all they should get.

It's pretty clear that this move has nothing to do with piracy, and everything to do with fighting the used game market. On that topic, I have no sympathy for the publishers, I'm pretty tired of hearing them cry like babies over the legal uses of the capitalist system. Somebody give them a frakkin' pacifier already!

Fortunately for me, all that they are keeping out is the multiplayer, and that's about as unimportant to me as is possible.

To the company, second hand sales must be about as useful as piracy. Maybe deserve is the wrong word, but it is obvious they would try earn a little more money. No other entertainment costs as much as games to make.

However, that said, I feel I should make sure you know what my stance on these pay passes is:

I hate them. I think they suck. I will not pay for a pass if I buy a game pre-owned, because the DLC is never good enough to be worth the amount it costs. I believe whole-heartedly in the trade in, second hand market. I use it all the time. I almost never play games twice, so I usually complete them then trade them in straight away, allowing me to buy more games. I also, very often, buy cheaper second hand games. If I really want a game, I'll buy it new, if not I will wait till it's at least sub £20, so half price. Often I will only buy 2 for £20, which is a permanent offer in GameStation.

I fully believe it is our legal right to sell our games on to some one else, and I also believe that these ten dollar passes do nothing but harm to consumers and publishers. However, they are going to try make as much cash as possible, because that's their deal. And the same capitalist right that allows us to trade in our games is what gives them the right to try and charge us for doing so.

I'd like publishers to get involved in the trade in market, because that would benefit everyone.

Fair enough. In this case, "deserve" was definitely the wrong word, as it gives the impression that you supported their efforts to get more money. So, if I came off as too aggressive in my reply, that would be why. Now that you have clarified your position (very clearly I might add) I can see that I had the wrong idea on what you were saying.