Ubisoft Prepares "Uplay Passport" - UPDATED

[Epona]

I really think that all the gimmicks we have seen since the the DS are a sign of failure. The DS is great but what about the 3DS? I think they are out of ideas. Likewise, the Gamecube was great. It was a powerhouse in a small package and it had the best loading times of the three consoles that gen. However, the Wii is a gimmick and so is the Move and Kinect. Deep games don't exist where the primary control method is a gimmick. The 3DS is a part time handheld because even Nintendo tells you to take a break every few minutes. Why would they design a handheld like that unless they knew they had nothing else to offer?

Ask yourself, would you rather have Phantom Hourglass or Wind Waker? Would you prefer the Gamecube library or the Wii library? How do Kinect and Move games compare to controller driven PS3 and 360 games?

Thing is, what if Nintendo was right? What if a Game Boy Advance 2 or Gamecube 2 was not what the market wanted? What if gimmicks are all they have left to offer because we have improved every generation to a point where we can't go much further on current technology at an affordable price? Isn't that why Sony and Microsoft wanted a 10 year lifecycle, because they knew that it just can't get much better while still being affordable?


I'm rambling so I'll stop now but what if the gimmicks are all the industry has left? I believe a crash is coming and it will be caused by gamers getting angry and turning their backs on the game industry. They deserve it too, treating your customer like criminals and trying to destroy the market value of their products once bought is unacceptable. The gimmicks, yeah, people are tired of those too.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Wouldn't it be great if stores like gamestop made some sort of deal where they purchase these passes en mass at a cheaper price and pass the savings onto the consumer.

That's hilarious. It took me 10 mins to stop laughing...
Or are you serious.

I'm sure gamestop will still be selling used copies for $2 short of new because there will be plenty of suckers who will pay it.

Ubisoft games are so crappy online, that this really only encourages me to buy used...but still not from gamestop.
Actually, every time I hear about one of these schemes, it makes me want to only buy their games used. In fact, it seems that now-a-days I always buy new games unless someting like this is encouraging me to buy used out of spite.

Same with Mortal Kombat, why would I want to play that online? I want my opponent to be on my couch.

I completely agree with you. I could care less about having multiplayer online. However, I do think you will see used game retailers for the most part do something to get around this passport feature. Yes they will get a few people in the first little while but eventually people will start buying new because when games first come out there will be no point in buying used when it in fact costs 5 dollars more (new game=60$ used 55+10 dollar pass). I think I might have been a bit idealist when I said they pass the savings to us; but I bet you they will make a deal with these companies to sell these passes in the store. It only makes sense. Gamestop contacts ubisoft, ea whoever and says sell us these passes for 5 dollars or whatever, and they add it to the used game automatically. That way instead of taking a chance that the person will pay 10 dollars for an online pass they have a guarantee that all used games will bring in 5 dollars (a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush). Gamestop is not going to sit back and not react to these new online passes, it threatens their largest revenue; maybe not today but once this becomes common practice (and it will) people will know about the added costs of buying used.

For sure (or maybe fo-show) they'll have to do something eventually but I don't think it will be anything that will lower prices or benefit the consumer in any way. I just hope they keep doing this with games that I don't really want to play online.
The funny (but not ha ha funny) thing is that a lot of people use to play console games because it was a simple plug-n-play affair when compared to pc gaming. It seems that those days are behind us.

 

[stuhacking]

I'll stop buying 2nd hand when someone publishes a game worth buying. $50-$60 for 5 hours of content? There's your thief right there.

Of course, I'm not talking about buying 2nd hand on release week. There are plenty of good games already out there. I can wait months for yours.

 

[Briney-]

I know I don't mind waiting a few months to buy a new game at a reduced price. If I'm not sure that the game is going to keep me sufficiently entertained at a cost of $60, I wait for it to come down to $30-$35. That way, the publisher still gets my money (albeit less of it), and I'll have had enough time to make an informed decision on whether the game is right for me. I know this doesn't necessarily bode well for the publisher's initial bottom line, but I'd rather take a "wait and see" approach instead of blindly forking over money on release day for something I may not like.

I've been burned in the past by buying something that "looked good" on release day. And the idea of turning around and selling that product to a company like Gamestop for a fraction of what I paid for it ultimately leaves a sour taste in my mouth.