The Gaming Lounge: Beyond - Part 5

[ProjectPat2280]

Good to see someone doing well. And funny how games like GTA IV are still big contributors in 2013 lol. Just shows that sometimes real quality pays dividends.

Yea i cant wait to see GTA V's numbers.

 

[Iceman]

Whats the deal with that game? Just another post apocalyptic shooter? Or is there something more than that?

there are elements of survival horror in it like if you played F.e.a.r. with some of the creatures you meet in it and ammo resource management for some of your weapons. But there's a little more to it then that.

Yeah, and the Eastern European setting just gives it a very different feel to many other PA shooters I've played.

 

[Iceman]

Yea i cant wait to see GTA V's numbers.

Hopefully out of this world and I think like IV & Red Dead it will keep selling really well for years. I think it will be the landmark game of this generation (even though GTA has never been my traditional favourite).

 

[Iceman]

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/rubin-metro-last-light-budget-was-10-percent-of-competitors-6408406

Rubin: Metro: Last Light budget was 10 percent of competitors

More on Metro

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Damn, good to see they were able to release a well received game after those conditions.

 

[Nathan]

That is ****ing amazing. If I weren't low on cash, I'd buy the game just to support them.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

EA getting rid of Online Passes

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

 

[SpideyForPrez]

EA getting rid of Online Passes

Good riddance and good move, EA. I can't tell you how many time I heard a buddy say, "I was gonna buy that game used but I think I'll just forget it since I wouldn't be able to play online." I can't recall the last time I bought a used game (that wasn't retro or something) but plenty of my friends do or at least borrow games and thus can never play online.

 

[Iceman]

EA getting rid of Online Passes

Wow, this is massive, massive progress! They have a new CEO and of course you hear the normal crap about a new direction for the company etc. I really hope this is true and we see EA make strides to improve their relationships with consumer (fans!). With the properties they have, their ridiculous sports coverage and all the games by the excellent studios they've bought, it's only their negative practises over all these years that have stopped me being their biggest fan (& instead made me one of their biggest detractors). I'll give them a clean slate if they can keep this kind of thing going. Regardless of whether they do they have my full support for this new Star Wars game.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I don't buy used so this never affected me. Wonder if other publishers will follow suit?

 

[Iceman]

All the focus was pretty much on EA, of course they were the worst offenders but now maybe people will take a look at the other guys. Although the thing with EA was that it was combined with servers shutting down a month or 2 after you bought the pass which is the unfair part. I don't even think online passes are unfair if you're buying used and have guaranteed access to the multiplayer for a set amount of time. Games that are to shut reasonably soon should no longer require the passes.

Also I didn't know Sony used them. Although I'd only be buying their best exclusives and in that case would be buying new.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

All the focus was pretty much on EA, of course they were the worst offenders but now maybe people will take a look at the other guys. Although the thing with EA was that it was combined with servers shutting down a month or 2 after you bought the pass which is the unfair part. I don't even think online passes are unfair if you're buying used and have guaranteed access to the multiplayer for a set amount of time. Games that are to shut reasonably soon should no longer require the passes.

Also I didn't know Sony used them. Although I'd only be buying their best exclusives and in that case would be buying new.

How were they the "worst" offenders? THQ did the EXACT same thing.

 

[Iceman]

How were they the "worst" offenders? THQ did the EXACT same thing.

By having the most games with online passes.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

By having the most games with online passes.

Lol. I'm sure those other companies wished they coulda released as many titles as EA did

 

[Iceman]

Lol. I'm sure those other companies wished they coulda released as many titles as EA did

I'm sure they do wish that.

But yeah, worst offenders like I said. Not that them being worst offenders was the point of my post.

 

[jacobed]

Ubisoft also had the online pass. Curiously Ea's big mp shooter this year so far Crysis 3 had no online pass

 

[Fading]

It's definitely a good move for EA. A lot of these "anti-piracy" DRM's end up hurting their actual customers more than the pirates. In fact, some of them border on making a game unplayable, or severly hurt the enjoyment factor.

Take Capcom's Dragon's Dogma. Fun game, great gameplay. Problem? Online tied account that only allows one character per game/console owner. It's a freakin' RPG. I always like to make multiple characters, or start a new save and play from the beginning again. To start a new game you either have to delete your old save, or back up your save (negating future trophy collecting), delete it from your console, then start again. Sure, you can play through new game + with your uber character, but IMO it's not as much fun as having multiple saves. It's caused me to play the game a lot less than I would have otherwise, and think twice about getting the sequel which would normally have been a no brainer.

No doubt some of EA's change of heart is from the backlash from the cluster **** that is Sim Cities launch. Activision Blizzard's Diablo 3 backlash probably didn't hurt either.

Hopefully other companies will get the hint that A) Not everyone has the internet, nor should they be required to have an internet connect to play a single player game (SP =/= MMO's). B) **** happens, and if you underestimate demand, your game can become worthless to millions for over a week costing you money. (let alone what happens if the company takes the servers down) C) If you don't treat your honest customers as the enemy, they tend to come back, give better word of mouth, and enjoy your games more. I'd think these things were common sense, but it seems it had to get pretty bad before some of the companies got the hint and started to come around.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

It's definitely a good move for EA. A lot of these "anti-piracy" DRM's end up hurting their actual customers more than the pirates. In fact, some of them border on making a game unplayable, or severly hurt the enjoyment factor.

The online pass wasnt really to counter piracy but the used game market. By purchasing the game new, you were given a pass that would unlock all the online features. If you were to purchase the game used, youd be forced to spend an extra 10-12 bux if you wanted to unlock the online content.

 

[Nathan]

It's definitely a good move for EA. A lot of these "anti-piracy" DRM's end up hurting their actual customers more than the pirates. In fact, some of them border on making a game unplayable, or severly hurt the enjoyment factor.

Take Capcom's Dragon's Dogma. Fun game, great gameplay. Problem? Online tied account that only allows one character per game/console owner. It's a freakin' RPG. I always like to make multiple characters, or start a new save and play from the beginning again. To start a new game you either have to delete your old save, or back up your save (negating future trophy collecting), delete it from your console, then start again. Sure, you can play through new game + with your uber character, but IMO it's not as much fun as having multiple saves. It's caused me to play the game a lot less than I would have otherwise, and think twice about getting the sequel which would normally have been a no brainer.

The ****. Seriously? I never knew about that. Well, there goes any chance for me to ever buy that game.

 

[Iceman]

Just on the general topic of piracy I'm totally in favour of companies taking measures to prevent this as long as they don't impact the experience for people who bought their game fairly.

 

[Nathan]

There really aren't any effective measures to prevent piracy. Anyone who wants to pirate a game, won't be stopped by any DRM in the world. It's so easy to download a patched game that takes care of the DRM, and just burn it on a disc. In the end, it will always be the consumer who suffers, while the Pirate is pretty much laughing, because he doesn't have to deal with an always on connection.

 

[Havok83]

The online pass wasnt really to counter piracy but the used game market. By purchasing the game new, you were given a pass that would unlock all the online features. If you were to purchase the game used, youd be forced to spend an extra 10-12 bux if you wanted to unlock the online content.

The online pass was first started as a measure to combat piracy. The first use of it was with Sony and the PSP as piracy was rampant with the handheld so they introduced the online pass. I beleived the very first game was Socom Fireteam Bravo 3, which made extensive use of online play and features, which someone who pirated the game would be locked out of without the pass, which also served as a means to collect money from those who didnt purchase the title. Other companies followed suit after that, bringing it to home consoles where its been more prevalent in the past year or 2

 

[ProjectPat2280]

The online pass was first started as a measure to combat piracy. The first use of it was with Sony and the PSP as piracy was rampant with the handheld so they introduced the online pass. I beleived the very first game was Socom Fireteam Bravo 3, which made extensive use of online play and features, which someone who pirated the game would be locked out of without the pass, which also served as a means to collect money from those who didnt purchase the title. Other companies followed suit after that, bringing it to home consoles where its been more prevalent in the past year or 2

That might of been the case to start, but by the end of EA's run, it was pretty much the sole means of countering the used game market. EA, THQ among others had even said as much.

 

[Iceman]

There really aren't any effective measures to prevent piracy. Anyone who wants to pirate a game, won't be stopped by any DRM in the world. It's so easy to download a patched game that takes care of the DRM, and just burn it on a disc. In the end, it will always be the consumer who suffers, while the Pirate is pretty much laughing, because he doesn't have to deal with an always on connection.

Are you talking pc games, 'cause anything is possible there but consoles are a very controlled environment. On XBox hacked consoles work fine offline with hacked games but are banned as soon as they go online. If Microsoft wanted it enough and had the resources spare, I think they could stop a lot of the piracy but probably not without inconveniencing legitimate buyers. And I don't mind if they try.