Why did we allow online pass to happen?

[Doppel]

Earlier this year part of the gaming world jumped down Microsoft's throat with a grenade over their disallowing of selling used games for the XB1, which they back-tracked on. Sony proudly had their video proclaiming how easy it is to trade games on the PS4.

So, you can imagine my surprise, when I went to load multi-player on The Last of Us yesterday (a game I bought used) and was informed that since the code was already used I could get a new one for $9.99. How about...no. Put it up on Amazon and sold it.

This is likely old hat to many of you, but i've not done much multiplay gaming in a long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_pass

starting in late 2013, companies such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have discontinued the use of online passes for their flagship titles such as Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag respectively.

This is good. Do you think we'll move away from these things? It is obviously, unequivocally and undeniably only used to make purchase of a used game less attractive--something both MS and Sony now "officially" are okay with (per my first paragraph).

 

[KaOTiK]

It seems to be dying out. It was like a couple of years experiment that didn't pan out it looks like. EA/Ubi/Sony have all dropped them from all new titles going forward.

We didn't really allow it to happen since it died off at least. But as a whole, gamers in general don't seem to stand up for much and really only care about themselves. It is why the industry tries and picks or pocket any chance they get now to see what they can get away with.

 

[purbeast0]

smart on their end if people are paying for it. i never even used my code for the last of us.

 

[futurefields]

if the kids keep convincing their parents to buy the DLC then the companies will keep doing it

personally i think you should be 18 before you are even allowed to play a video game. kids dont go outside enough these days, and im sick of them driving the demands of the market.

 

[BrightCandle]

There was an attempt to stop this sort of rubbish from occuring, at the time most gamers were not against it and hence the campaign never really got going. Of course as time went on more and more people started having issues with online DRM checks and now most customers are against it having been burnt by it. Unfortunately it seems most did not heed the warnings of the experts 5 years ago and that apathy had the entire industry drive DRM down a road no sensible customer wants to be on.

Things are gradually turning around in some areas, but people are still apathetic to a lot of other types of DRM that will also end up burning them in the future. I have little faith that anything but the worst case scenario is going to come to fruition at this point, I just can't seem to reach most people that DRM in all its forms is a big problem for the future.

 

[rockyct]

Personally, I'd prefer the Steam way of buying games if I meant I could get games cheap during sales. However, I never buy a new game when it comes out so even if I am done with a game, trading it in wouldn't get me much money anyway. I just bought GTA5 over the weekend for $34 and that's the most I've spent on a single video game in years.

Eventually, we will end up in the Steam sales model for consoles. The XB1 just jumped the gun a bit for console gamers and was a bit too restrictive but it'll happen eventually. If the games are priced right, it benefits everyone except those buying the latest games at $60 and trading them in a few weeks later. Steam was a nightmare when it first came out and forced HL2 owners to use it but it's been out for ten years now and I would gladly accept it on the Xbox/PS as long as it kept the same sales and cheap prices for indie games.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The difference is Steam is not a monopoly. There are other digital vendors or you can buy the disk. On the PS4 and XB1 there is no option except to go through Sony or Microsoft. Even when you buy a digital code for the PS4 from Amazon you are still going to be at the mercy of Sony because you use PSN services. If there were other ways to obtain digital games without requiring going through the PSN store, we may eventually get what you suggest.

 

[Anteaus]

Earlier this year part of the gaming world jumped down Microsoft's throat with a grenade over their disallowing of selling used games for the XB1, which they back-tracked on. Sony proudly had their video proclaiming how easy it is to trade games on the PS4.

So, you can imagine my surprise, when I went to load multi-player on The Last of Us yesterday (a game I bought used) and was informed that since the code was already used I could get a new one for $9.99. How about...no. Put it up on Amazon and sold it.

This is likely old hat to many of you, but i've not done much multiplay gaming in a long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_pass


This is good. Do you think we'll move away from these things? It is obviously, unequivocally and undeniably only used to make purchase of a used game less attractive--something both MS and Sony now "officially" are okay with (per my first paragraph).

All this proves is that EA won't be handling it themselves in the future. MS and Sony are going to be actively handling all of the DLC/microtransactions as well as multiplayer for developers. Instead of paying for an online pass from EA you pay for PSN-Plus, which all developers can then piggy back on. Don't be lured into a false sense of security. If EA releases a new game with free DLC that is unlocked via one time code, they are simply saying PSN/XBL will regulate it. I love how EA does something they were pretty much forced to do and somehow made themselves look good while doing it.

From the link above:

"In mid-2013, many publishers began to phase out online passes; in May 2013, Electronic Arts announced it would, due to customer feedback, discontinue its future use of online passes in upcoming titles, and retroactively remove the online pass requirements from existing titles. On November 1, 2013, Ubisoft followed suit by discontinuing its Uplay Passport system for future titles, and making the pass for its recently-released Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag be free. Sony specifically forbids the use of online passes by developers on PlayStation 4 titles; as users now must have a PlayStation Plus subscription to access online multiplayer, Sony did not want publishers to add additional DRM designed to charge users further".

 

[cmdrdredd]

What I find even more annoying is pre-order bonuses in the form of DLC. Depending on what retailer you pre-order from, you get a different DLC. That is super annoying if you are a completionist. I am not but often times you find out your bonus isn't as good as the one from the other retailer and it's not offered any other way.

 

[Anteaus]

The difference is Steam is not a monopoly. There are other digital vendors or you can buy the disk. On the PS4 and XB1 there is no option except to go through Sony or Microsoft. Even when you buy a digital code for the PS4 from Amazon you are still going to be at the mercy of Sony because you use PSN services. If there were other ways to obtain digital games without requiring going through the PSN store, we may eventually get what you suggest.

The Steam discounts didn't come becaues of competition though. Valve was able to prove that reduced prices spur sales and ultimately lead to far higher revenues over short periods of time. The catch is that generally only do discounts on titles that have been on the market at least 6 months and have lost steam (pun intended!).

For example, every PS4 game sold from Day 1 is also going to be offered via PSN. In 2 years if the bad games will be available even if out of print. By offering a deep discount at that point they can monetize a game that had been virtually stagnant at say $20.

A few times a year Steam get's developers on board and drops prices into the floor, but they sell so many units that they run out of keys with some titles.

It sounds counter intuitive but Valve proved it is highly profitable and I can only imagine that over time Sony and MS will adopt similar practices. My guess is that it will come after specific games are out of print and they can maximize digital sales of that particular game.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Or they can keep the price high because you can't get it otherwise. We will have to see.

 

[mmntech]

Online passes didn't really die, they just became micro-transactions. The big publishers have been looking to establish a subscription model for ages. Micro-transactions work better psychologically than monthly payments or online passes.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Online passes didn't really die, they just became micro-transactions. The big publishers have been looking to establish a subscription model for ages. Micro-transactions work better psychologically than monthly payments or online passes.

It's a good thing they are optional too. Most games are complete enough to me out of the box.

 

[rockyct]

The Steam discounts didn't come becaues of competition though. Valve was able to prove that reduced prices spur sales and ultimately lead to far higher revenues over short periods of time. The catch is that generally only do discounts on titles that have been on the market at least 6 months and have lost steam (pun intended!).

For example, every PS4 game sold from Day 1 is also going to be offered via PSN. In 2 years if the bad games will be available even if out of print. By offering a deep discount at that point they can monetize a game that had been virtually stagnant at say $20.

A few times a year Steam get's developers on board and drops prices into the floor, but they sell so many units that they run out of keys with some titles.

It sounds counter intuitive but Valve proved it is highly profitable and I can only imagine that over time Sony and MS will adopt similar practices. My guess is that it will come after specific games are out of print and they can maximize digital sales of that particular game.

Not to mention that piracy becomes much harder with Steam, if possible at all. I'm not aware of the latest trends in video game piracy but my gut feeling is that it's gone down because of Steam, both because it's harder to pirate but it's also now very cheap to buy a game a year after it comes out. Console piracy hasn't been much of an issue in the last generation (except maybe for the Wii) but a Steam style marketplace would probably just about kill it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Not to mention that piracy becomes much harder with Steam, if possible at all. I'm not aware of the latest trends in video game piracy but my gut feeling is that it's gone down because of Steam, both because it's harder to pirate but it's also now very cheap to buy a game a year after it comes out. Console piracy hasn't been much of an issue in the last generation (except maybe for the Wii) but a Steam style marketplace would probably just about kill it.

Nah it's still just as easy to circumvent any checks.

 

[mmntech]

It's a good thing they are optional too. Most games are complete enough to me out of the box.

That's really the magic behind them. They're optional but they make the game a lot easier. Has a lot of psychology behind it. Sure you could grind to get that 5000 gold, or you could pay $1 and get it now. Instant gratification. So people are basically paying to cheat these days. Imagine how rich Konami would be if they charged a buck everytime someone got frustrated at Contra and entered the code.

The fact that it is optional is what separates it from subscriptions and online passes. People don't feel obligated to pay. Yet they will pay. All you have to do is look at the top grossing apps section of the iOS app store. Of the top 50 highest grossing games on there right now, only one was a paid app and all of them have micro-transactions.

I think it is a much tougher sell though on console than it is for mobile. Especially when you're already paying $60 for the game up front. I think the bulk of gamers attracted to the Xbox One and PS4 are still the traditionalists who grew up with offline consoles. So we'll have to wait and see if this actually succeeds.