THQ will charged used game buyers a fee to play online

[Fuel The Fire]

I just read this from another web site and thought I would share some info on this.

THQ, the popular publisher, has said today that it will become the latest company to force used game buyers to pay a fee to play their purchased games online.

The first title to use the practice will be UFC Undisputed 2010, which has one-time use codes for online play, and therefore will require second hand users to buy a new code.

Used game buyers will have to play $5 for a new code and access to "Fight Camp" mode, which lets 40 players train together online.

Says the company: "This multiplayer content for UFC Undisputed 2010 will be available via a one-time code included with the game at purchase. Codes for accessing the content will be available for second-time buyers for an additional $5."

THQ's move follows that of EA Sports which recently announced that used game buyers will be charged $10 for an "Online Pass" that allows access to multiplayer functions. Ubisoft says they are actively considering a similar structure.

So with that being said what do you guys think? I think it kind of sucks but it does not surprise me at all. 5 bucks is not that much and i think its a reasonable price.
but then ea sports is going to charge 10 bucks and i dont think thats bad also because I love to play ea online. So if it comes down to it , im willing to pay for it because i have a ps3 and online play if free threw that. But for the 360 users it kind of sucks.

 

[Loveless]

Hmmm I read about EA introducing this yesterday and frankly I'm dismayed as it's designed to kill the 2nd hand market. That means less credit for me on trade-ins and it'll cost me more to buy if I want to play online. I had 20 years of gaming on my own so in all likelihood I'm simply stop playing online, screw these companies.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I went through the same thing in college with used books, where you had to pay something like a $25 access fee for online materials (and of course the online material made up a part of your grade), so it was like at that point, you should just buy it new. You also wouldn't get as much for the book when you traded it back in.

It sucks, but it's a business. I think it's also a way to crack down on piracy too. I wonder if you have to enter in the UPC code or your proof of purchase when you buy your designated code.

 

[Fuel The Fire]

I went through the same thing in college with used books, where you had to pay something like a $25 access fee for online materials (and of course the online material made up a part of your grade), so it was like at that point, you should just buy it new. You also wouldn't get as much for the book when you traded it back in.

It sucks, but it's a business. I think it's also a way to crack down on piracy too. I wonder if you have to enter in the UPC code or your proof of purchase when you buy your designated code.

I hope not then 90 percent of the games i have would not work.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

It sucks, but it's a business. I think it's also a way to crack down on piracy too. I wonder if you have to enter in the UPC code or your proof of purchase when you buy your designated code.

Yep, its just business, the second hand market has been hitting the game industry pretty hard for the last 6-7 years.

 

[Ty Burna]

Yeeeup because getting $60 for the game just isn't enough for some companies. Meh whatever, the only THQ game I really ever buy is SVR, and I buy it new.

 

[Alex]

I see why they're doing it but why. People buy pre-owned games because it's cheaper than buying it brand new, if you can afford to buy it brand new fair enough but what if you can't you have to pay to go online, it's just greediness.

 

[Lee]

It's only if it's second hand. Game companies make no money off preowned games, so it gets people to buy new games. Logical really.

 

[Lee]

I see why they're doing it but why. People buy pre-owned games because it's cheaper than buying it brand new, if you can afford to buy it brand new fair enough but what if you can't you have to pay to go online, it's just greediness.

Then you do what we used to do back in the day and save up.

 

[Alex]

Then you do what we used to do back in the day and save up.

It's ok for me to save up and buy a brand new game, but what about the guy who has to support his family and when he want to relax and play a game he realises he has to pay to go online???

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

It's only if it's second hand. Game companies make no money off preowned games, so it gets people to buy new games. Logical really.

Exactly, it makes total sense.

 

[Razor]

Blizzard is going to charge people a monthly fee to play Starcraft 2. You'll have to pay to play the campaign, solo matches against the computer, or multiplayer. That's on top of the $50+ dollars you'll end up spending on the game itself.

So $5 to play a used game online isn't going to hurt you. Companies are doing much worse, like Blizzard here.

 

[Lee]

It's ok for me to save up and buy a brand new game, but what about the guy who has to support his family and when he want to relax and play a game he realises he has to pay to go online???

Then he plays offline. Not that hard a concept, he's not being 'robbed'

 

[Turd Ferguson]

It's ok for me to save up and buy a brand new game, but what about the guy who has to support his family and when he want to relax and play a game he realises he has to pay to go online???

If he has a family to feed, buying a video game should be the last of his worries.

Good to see that in this hypothetical situation, you'd starve Billy and Sally because you needed to pick up a video game.

Way to go, Potential Father Of The Year.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

Blizzard is going to charge people a monthly fee to play Starcraft 2. You'll have to pay to play the campaign, solo matches against the computer, or multiplayer. That's on top of the $50+ dollars you'll end up spending on the game itself.

So $5 to play a used game online isn't going to hurt you. Companies are doing much worse, like Blizzard here.

Please say you're joking.

 

[Alex]

If he has a family to feed, buying a video game should be the last of his worries.

Good to see that in this hypothetical situation, you'd starve Billy and Sally because you needed to pick up a video game.

Way to go, Potential Father Of The Year.

No I'm just saying if a guy works his ass off to put food on the table, if he wants to relax and play a game he shouldn't have to pay to go online.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I just realized this is going to kill the rental market too.

That blows.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

I just realized this is going to kill the rental market too.

That blows.

Oh wow, that's true... Blockbuster is close to tanking entirely any way. That does blow.

 

[Lee]

I just realized this is going to kill the rental market too.

That blows.

No they have a one week trial with rentals, that way they can go online during the rental period.

 

[Lee]

No I'm just saying if a guy works his ass off to put food on the table, if he wants to relax and play a game he shouldn't have to pay to go online.

How many people do you know who work fulltime, have kids, get home and play video games online? Not many. The online market is generally the 13 to 30 male demographic. If someone can't afford $10 they shouldn't be buying video games really.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

No they have a one week trial with rentals, that way they can go online during the rental period.

Hmmm, seems they thought this one through pretty well.

 

[DirtyJosé]

No I'm just saying if a guy works his ass off to put food on the table, if he wants to relax and play a game he shouldn't have to pay to go online.

Sure, but THQ isn't in the business to make this a fair and just world; they are in business to make money. They make no money when this guy buys a used game, and they lose money when he plays on their servers. I'm not excited about this, but in a sea of anti-piracy and pay-for-play strategies this isn't the harshest one out there. Nintendo did similar things with the WiiSpeak when it first came out.

And seriously, if Razor is correct, fuck you very much Blizzard. I would've bought SC2 simply for the solo player stuff, but making me pay monthly for that? Ha, I think not. I'd rather play Magic the Gathering Online.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

meh, This is one of the many reasons why I don't play online. This makes me wanna puke. You're going to tell me I have to pay to play online when I'm buying a used game that I didn't want to shell out 60 bucks for? FUCK YOU VERY MUCH. Though I can understand them wanting to turn a profit on those games but seriously. this is too much.

 

[Razor]

Please say you're joking.

Nope.

Remember Diablo II? In order to play a solo campaign you had to get on Battle.net and start a solo multiplayer match, right? Just make it password protected and you're good to go. But the key is that you were on Battle.net.

Well, they're thinking about making Starcraft 2 completely dependent upon their new Battle.net servers. Meaning in order for it to start up you have to be on Battle.net.

And what is Blizzard going to do? Start charging for Battle.net when they get it set up the way they want it to (basically have enough people on the servers at the same time to prove that they can stand the user load that Starcraft 2 is going to bring along). If you want on Battle.net, you have to pay for it. Monthly.

So in order to do anything on Starcraft 2, you have to have a standing subscription to Battle.net. In order to get that, you have to pay for it.

But good news! They probably won't have the pay system set up for Battle.net until about a year after Starcraft 2 comes out. So buy it, play for a while, then jump away before they start charging you $15 a month to play the game.

----

How is anyone upset that you have to pay 5 dollars to play a used game online? If I get a used computer game from my friend, in order to play online I'd most likely have to get a new CD Key. That would require a whole new purchase of the game, which could range up to $60.

So $5 to play a used game that you got for a cheaper price already, or $60 for a computer game CD Key because you got it from your friend?

 

[Minor League Brian]

I heard it was EA, and it was coming with the 11 series of Sports titles. 10 dollars for the online uses.

Its because Gamespot alone raked in 2 billion+ dollars in used games last year (I think it was one year) and the Gaming Giants got NOTHING out of that. They just want their cut.