EA sports to lock out multiplayer in used games

[Soapy]

Right. Trade-ins used to be something that was convenient for gamers, but now it's become GameStop's primary means of revenue. Now their entire business model is based on getting gamers to trade in their games so they can re-sell them at 100% profit. They frame the whole process like they're doing you a favor, but they're screwing over developers and publishers and more importantly they're screwing the consumer.

As to why publishers give GameStop exclusive preorder items I have no idea. Live and let live maybe? GameStop isn't doing anything illegal, and for now publishers need to have their games on GameStop's shelves so they might as well play nice.

 

[Addendum]

I don't buy that "used game sales screw developers or publishers" ********. Used car sales do not "screw" the car makers. Used book sales do not "screw" book publishers or writers. Used clothing sales do not "screw" clothing manufacturers.

And if any of those "are", then to me it only shows that the original makers are doing something wrong.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Right. Trade-ins used to be something that was convenient for gamers, but now it's become GameStop's primary means of revenue. Now their entire business model is based on getting gamers to trade in their games so they can re-sell them at 100% profit. They frame the whole process like they're doing you a favor, but they're screwing over developers and publishers and more importantly they're screwing the consumer.

GameStop has become a pawn shop chain.

 

[Havok83]

As to why publishers give GameStop exclusive preorder items I have no idea. Live and let live maybe? GameStop isn't doing anything illegal, and for now publishers need to have their games on GameStop's shelves so they might as well play nice.

Seriously I dont get that either. Gamestop always has deals that if you sell them your old games for a preorder, that they will give like 10-25% extra credit. The publishers give GS preorder bonuses which makes this look even more attractive to gamers. They are apart of the problem, which they are trying to fix. It would be better for them to say screw GS and not give them anything. Keep that stuff to the other retailers and give people an incentive to go elsewhere for their gaming

 

[Tron Bonne]

Seriously I dont get that either. Gamestop always has deals that if you sell them your old games for a preorder, that they will give like 10-25% extra credit. The publishers give GS preorder bonuses which makes this look even more attractive to gamers. They are apart of the problem, which they are trying to fix. It would be better for them to say screw GS and not give them anything. Keep that stuff to the other retailers and give people an incentive to go elsewhere for their gaming

It's part of business. GameStop pays for those pre-order bonuses, and it's one of the biggest chains in their departments. You're thinking far too black and white with this situation, business can be a very gray area.

I don't buy that "used game sales screw developers or publishers" ********. Used car sales do not "screw" the car makers. Used book sales do not "screw" book publishers or writers. Used clothing sales do not "screw" clothing manufacturers.

And if any of those "are", then to me it only shows that the original makers are doing something wrong.

Depends on your definition of "screw". When you buy a used product, you are don't support the maker, that support goes to the retailer in full. To the companies, I'm sure it seems like the consumer 'screwing' them, just as much as I'm sure this move seems like 'screwing' to gamers who buy used. Seems to me like there's a bit of 'screwing' on both ends of the candles.

 

[Addendum]

As a customer, I only have an obligation of spending my money in a means that benefits me. Finding deals and whatnot. More often than not, buying a used game is a deal for me. Just like EA thinks this is a "deal" for them.

However, none of EA sports titles, let alone ANY sports video game appeals to me. So I avoid this screw.

 

[KALEL114]

Just read up on the Online Pass policy at Gamefly. Rented games do not come with a pass of course, but there is the 7 day free trial that comes with the game you get. I believe that is standard for all EA games. All games purchased new and used will of come with the Full Online Pass. So if I need to buy a game used, I'll just get from Gamefly rather than Gamestop. I see EA's point of view, but to start doing this now after all this time, just seems a bit greedy. Oh well.

 

[Havok83]

It's part of business. GameStop pays for those pre-order bonuses, and it's one of the biggest chains in their departments. You're thinking far too black and white with this situation, business can be a very gray area.

And this ius exactly why I dont feel abd for the game publishers. They are apart of the problem they are trying to combat. When they support GS in any shape or form by accepting money for preorder bonuses and cater to them bc they are the biggest chain, then its like you made your bed, now lie in it. They are obviously benefiting by doing business with them whcih is why they havent cut them off. Its why I dont get why they can feel they are being screwed over by Gamestop's used gaming business model when they inadvertenly suport it through their business dealings with the company

 

[Soapy]

Also, I feel it should be pointed out that EA shuts down a game's server one year after release, so you're not really missing out on that much.

I don't buy that "used game sales screw developers or publishers" ********. Used car sales do not "screw" the car makers. Used book sales do not "screw" book publishers or writers. Used clothing sales do not "screw" clothing manufacturers.

You can bet that if book publishers or car manfacturers had a good way to police used sales they would do it.

And I don't have a problem with the concept of selling and buying used stuff. But GameStop goes about it in such a shady way. Spidey-Bat isn't too far off when he compares them to a pawn shop. Their whole business philosophy is to train gamers to buy a game and then trade it in a week later so they can sell it back to someone else for basically full price and get 100% of the profits.

It's like an episode of The Office where Dwight offers to buy Andy's car. Dwight makes it seem like he's doing Andy a favor by taking it off his hands so Andy lets him have it for a low price. But then Dwight turns around and sells it for a lot more than he bought it for.

"Yeah, well...seller beware."

Also, I just noticed these:

 

[Addendum]

I don't have a problem with pawn shops, nor do I have a problem with someone selling a car for more than they paid for it.

 

[Tron Bonne]

And this ius exactly why I dont feel abd for the game publishers. They are apart of the problem they are trying to combat. When they support GS in any shape or form by accepting money for preorder bonuses and cater to them bc they are the biggest chain, then its like you made your bed, now lie in it. They are obviously benefiting by doing business with them whcih is why they havent cut them off. Its why I dont get why they can feel they are being screwed over by Gamestop's used gaming business model when they inadvertenly suport it through their business dealings with the company

You're just looking at it wrong. This isn't an EA vs GS issue; this is an EA wanting to try and stop customers from buying used games. It's not as black and white as 'they against them'. Business tends to be a gray area principle wise.

And, I disagree they are supporting GameStop's used game sales, inadvertently or otherwise. The fact that they're doing something like this shows that they are trying to stop it and therefore against it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

GameStop is the #1 culprit when it comes to them being screwed. To entice customers to buy new games, they make preorder bonuses (BF:BC2 had one) that they sell to GS (which I'd like to get some confirmation on). And how does GS get you to buy it? They offer an extra 20% or $20 off when you trade in games toward the reserve of a game. And what do they do with those games? Sell them used for more than twice as much as they "bought" them from you. I say "bought" b/c you don't real money, just store credit. If they wanted to hurt GameStop, they shouldn't do any deals with them. Give the preorder exclusives to Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc. Or just make it DLC. Or, better yet, include it in on the disc like they should. Especially if it's some **** like a weapon (like with SC:Conviction).

 

[Soapy]

^Before Mass Effect 2 came out I asked one of the Bioware developers how that preorder stuff works, and he/she didn't mention anyone paying for anything.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I'm sure there's some kind of money deal or something that's signed between GS and the publishers with pre-order bonuses.

I don't understand why the restriction to EA vs GameStop. It's not that. If you want to boil it down to a so-and-so vs so-and-so, it's EA vs the used game market. Earlier, I was just using GS as an example of how big and profitable the market has become. GS is part of it, true, but that's not the only place to get used games.

Besides, pre-order bonuses and the such give people incentive to buy new games regardless of where they're sold. In the end, this is what EA is trying to accomplish, not taking out GS, but getting people to buy new copies as opposed to used copies anywhere

 

[hippie_hunter]

And Id have to disagree with you that buying used games is screwing over the game companies

Yes it is considering that the publishers and developers get no money whatsoever whenever a used copy is sold.

 

[Havok83]

Yes it is considering that the publishers and developers get no money whatsoever whenever a used copy is sold.

And how about the many times developers/publishers "screw" over gamers with overpriced games/DLC, faulty selling games that are broken with glitches, and bugs and in some cases, never get fixed, laggy online which ruins the gaming experience, etc... As for as "screwing" the different sides, it all balances itself out

 

[Fading]

I know I said I pretty much said I had nothing more to say on it. However there's soooo much Gamestop hate going on (to the point of ignoring others like eBay, or ignoring that after the initial purchase that developers don't see profits from rental stores like Blockbuster or Gamefly either).

What about EA who is selling you half a game and giving you a 1 time free pass? What if Final Fantasy VII only let you play until Aeris's death, then made you enter a 1 time code to play the rest of the game. Then anyone who borrowed that game after you, or bought it from you had to pay $10 to play the latter half of the game.

To many ppl, online play is just as important as the single player experience (especially in sports games or FPS's). At the moment this only affects used purchases, letting friends or family borrow a game, or rental services. However if this works, EA won't just stop at sports games. In fact eventually they may take bolder steps.

I do like to let my friends borrow my games. If other developers follow suite, I may have to tell them tough luck unless they want to shell out cash. I just don't like that idea. That in an effort to hurt used sales, they are in turn telling me I can't play my entire used copy at a friends house unless I bring my console with me, or log onto my account. EA is one of the industry leaders, and others are far more willing to follow their buisness practices than an Ubisoft.

Ok, now that's the last I have to say on it lol.

 

[Havok83]

I know I said I pretty much said I had nothing more to say on it. However there's soooo much Gamestop hate going on (to the point of ignoring others like eBay, or ignoring that after the initial purchase that developers don't see profits from rental stores like Blockbuster or Gamefly either).

Both have been mentioned in this thread. I dont think rental stores are much of a factor to game sales bc people that rent are most likely not those who would have purchased the game anyway. Thats the point of renting. I primarily use Ebay and online trading for my games. I think GS is whats being focused on bc they are the primary source of used game sales in the country. They dominate it and the publishers want a chunk of their large profits.

 

[Addendum]

Yes it is considering that the publishers and developers get no money whatsoever whenever a used copy is sold.

They are not entitled to any money from a second-hand sale.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I know I said I pretty much said I had nothing more to say on it. However there's soooo much Gamestop hate going on (to the point of ignoring others like eBay, or ignoring that after the initial purchase that developers don't see profits from rental stores like Blockbuster or Gamefly either).

GameStop profits off selling used games. Unless it's something rare or valuable, you're not going to make a profit from selling a game on eBay.

Both have been mentioned in this thread. I dont think rental stores are much of a factor to game sales bc people that rent are most likely not those who would have purchased the game anyway. Thats the point of renting. I primarily use Ebay and online trading for my games. I think GS is whats being focused on bc they are the primary source of used game sales in the country. They dominate it and the publishers want a chunk of their large profits.

And there's no way to punish them without punishing the average person who sells or trades their games.

 

[Addendum]

GameStop is the #1 culprit when it comes to them being screwed. To entice customers to buy new games, they make preorder bonuses (BF:BC2 had one) that they sell to GS (which I'd like to get some confirmation on). And how does GS get you to buy it? They offer an extra 20% or $20 off when you trade in games toward the reserve of a game. And what do they do with those games? Sell them used for more than twice as much as they "bought" them from you.

When they buy it, it's theirs to sell for however much they can to make a profit. Just like any business. And no business sells stuff for what they paid for it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

It's pretty ridiculous when they'll give you less than $20 for a relatively new game and sell it for only $5 less than MSRP (ie $45-55).

 

[Addendum]

Ridiculous for you. For others, all they care about is trading in the games to go for the next one they buy.

 

[marvelman2006]

They are not entitled to any money from a second-hand sale.

I rest my case. I dont see how anyone can defend gamestop or EA sports in this situation. This is american greed at its finest, pure and simple. nothing more then one franchise trying to get over on another.

 

[venom892]

Ok so when I go to a comic book convention and buy a bunch of back issues from various dollar bins from various retailers around the convention are Marvel or DC supposed to get pissed they aren't getting a cut?