"Online Pass" system to screw over resellers

[SplashChick]

Gamestop cries in a corner, Wal-Mart cackles with glee.

It's the latest trend in the gaming biz: Throwing money into an idea to screw over resellers in the hopes of making a little extra money, while not having to tell anyone that you're screwing them over. BUSINESS!

[jfrost]

IMO, that's gonna hurt Mortal Kombat badly. People are very skeptical of the new game, and they're not even gonna allow people to rent the game and take it online.

[AznKhmerBoi]

well looks like i wont be buying MK lol. No thanks its good fighting game but i dont wanna support something stupid like that.

[rainnyx4]

Online pass stuff is BS. Imagine if a hundred people bought a game new, played it online for a while, got bored and sold it off. Then a hundred different people bought the game used and played it online. Wouldn't it always just be a hundred people using the servers regardless? They act like used games put more stress on them than is fair. Shouldn't they be able to handle the theoretical of all of their copies being bought and used at the same time?

[brunoafh]

IMO, that's gonna hurt Mortal Kombat badly. People are very skeptical of the new game, and they're not even gonna allow people to rent the game and take it online.

Ouch... MK has requires an online pass?? That really sucks.

Anyone know if online passes get locked to your PSN ID? By that I mean, if my system gives out and I have activated MK's online on that system, can I activate my PSN ID on another system and still be able to play online?

[dsheinem]

tbh, I don't blame the companies who do this one bit. What's wrong with adding incentives for buying new? The project $10 thing that EA does works well too - damn straight I'll buy the new copy over the used if I care about those features. They aren't "screwing" people so much as "rewarding" those who buy something when it is brand new.

Besides, MK will be $20 new by Xmas if not sooner. That will be the time to buy it (new)!

[swiftzx]

Besides, MK will be $20 new by Xmas if not sooner. That will be the time to buy it (new)!

Haha, agreed!

Also, about the online, it is something we take for granted nowadays but I view this as a bonus, like a code or an incentive.

[Betamax001]

Huh. Wasn't planning on getting Mortal Kombat, was planning even less to play it online. Maybe I haven't the older games a chance. Eh... I don't care.

[SplashChick]

IMO, that's gonna hurt Mortal Kombat badly. People are very skeptical of the new game, and they're not even gonna allow people to rent the game and take it online.

I doubt it. EA has already done it without suffering losses in sales numbers, apparently. That's what makes this so bad, they don't tell anyone about it. There's no info on the boxes that have this.

tbh, I don't blame the companies who do this one bit. What's wrong with adding incentives for buying new? The project $10 thing that EA does works well too - damn straight I'll buy the new copy over the used if I care about those features. They aren't "screwing" people so much as "rewarding" those who buy something when it is brand new.

Besides, MK will be $20 new by Xmas if not sooner. That will be the time to buy it (new)!

That doesn't make any sense. This is only one step away from total circumvention of the First-sale doctrine. It's borderline illegal, and it would be a good day to see them sued for this. If you don't know what that means, read up on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

[dsheinem]

tbh, I don't blame the companies who do this one bit. What's wrong with adding incentives for buying new? The project $10 thing that EA does works well too - damn straight I'll buy the new copy over the used if I care about those features. They aren't "screwing" people so much as "rewarding" those who buy something when it is brand new.

Besides, MK will be $20 new by Xmas if not sooner. That will be the time to buy it (new)!

That doesn't make any sense. This is only one step away from total circumvention of the First-sale doctrine. It's borderline illegal, and it would be a good day to see them sued for this. If you don't know what that means, read up on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

Very informative - I didn't really know about this, so thanks.

After looking it over, though, I still don't see how my point is "ridiculous"...the Wiki entry suggests that this whole area of the law is unclear and a gray area when it comes to software. That means that my view is shared by many, but also has a strong, reasonable counter-argument. I agree a suit would be good to get it all sorted out...