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DRM, Online Pass, Project Ten Dollar and the like


Yantelope
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Personally, I think EA has been around for far too long and has too many franchises and studios for that to happen. Worst comes to worse, EA brand goes away, they start calling everything something else. They're too huge.

 

You have absolutely no reasoning or evidence to indicate that things are going downhill for them at all. They've been shutting down servers for years.

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It's not 1%. It's less than 1%. It's also not 1% of the total player base. It's less than 1% of the Peak Simultaneous Users on EA's network.

 

For an example where I know some of the numbers, Battlefield 1943 is still running and (last I heard) had server capacity for fewer than 3000 people.

 

Yes, every consumer is a unique and beautiful snowflake and EA cherishes every one of them blah blah blah, but really, when you drop below a certain level it's simply not practical to keep the servers ticking over.

 

I agree that it's not good business to piss off your fanbase, but I can assure that is not what happens when a game is sunset. CS are not flooded with angry calls, letters are not sent by people venting their frustration. The people who ( a ) give a crap and ( b ) know what has happened have already moved on to the latest title anyway, the others either don't know, or don't care and as Ethan says will go out and buy the next game in the series. That's not even the newest game. FIFA 10 was just shut down.relatively recently. FIFA 11 is still going and will be rather inexpensive by now, so it's not even a matter of EA forcing customers to buy the latest iteration (before someone plays that card).

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://arstechnica.c...rnia-online.ars

 

Gamestop loses lawsuit with regards to games advertised as coming with free DLC.

 

Which is a bit of a bitch, because Gamestop aren't the one advertising the free $15 DLC included, the publisher that made and printed the game covers are the ones doing that:

http://www.covergala...l-cover-dao.jpg

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But Gamestop put that game up for sale used, knowing full well that it said that DLC was included and that the code may have already been used.

 

They also mark games down only $5 used, while knowing it's missing the $15 DLC. So fuck them.

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What are they meant to do? Just put everything with project $10/online pass (i.e a large chunk of games these days) in boxes like this? Yeah their prices on used games sucks, but they don't make the box covers that claim it comes with $15 of DLC. They could make the games $65 used if they wanted, I'm pretty sure the price point isn't the issue the lawsuit had with them, it was displaying boxes that claimed the games came with DLC, despite the fact they don't.

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Also, the fact that they didn't make the package is completely beside the point. They're still selling it, with it displayed in a package that they KNOW says it includes content that it doesn't, that's misleading to consumers. Even if it were a brand-new game that had false statements about the content they wouldn't be allowed to simply keep selling it like that, they'd have to either pull the game or put some kind of warning on it.

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See there's a problem, some do, some don't. Even with new games there's a chance the code won't work. So why not just have some blanket "not all games come with advertised DLC" and be done with it? (I've a feeling that'd cause even more issues though, since it'd be like putting out bags of crisps and saying "some might not be the advertised 30grams, sowwy".)

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Id just state that NO used games come with dlc. If you find an unused code in your used game, then good for you.

 

Not only that, but NO gamestop ive ever been take out the dlc codes from their new "gutted" games. You can totally buy a new game without a used code or with no code if youre not careful.

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When you buy a used game on Amazon it comes with the statement "DLC and preorder bonuses may have been redeemed." Gamestop simply needs a catchall sticker to slap on used games or simply a sign on the door or above the register. Pretty simple really I'd think.

 

The core issue that gamestop got into trouble on I believe is with online pass where they're selling a used game for $55 and the online pass costs $10 so if you want to play online it costs you $65 so essentially they've made a game more expensive and they're advertising that you save money by buying used and I believe the courts found that deceptive. I guess I can see that argument. Also, once again, consumers caveat emptor.

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  • 10 months later...

Yes, because surely it will stay entirely optional, and won't at all impact the play of those who want to avoid it.

 

Besides, some games that are heavy on atmosphere are injured merely by having mention of the transactions in the game, it breaks immersion.  Like Dead Space 3 and Dragon Age: Origins.

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In Dead Space 3 there are fucking magic benches and machines that combine weapons, you can buy weapons from, and can completely charge your armor. But yeah, micro-transactions, shit's totally unrealistic.

 

I have zero recollection of micro-transactions popping up in DA: O. The only DLC I can even remember was a bunch of lame quest lines.

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In DA:O it wasn't microtransactions, it was DLC, but there were characters in game that would ask you to buy it.

 

And the point isn't that it's unrealistic, it's that it's outside of the game world.  THAT'S what's immersion-breaking.  The benches exist in the game world and have a hand-waved explanation, but the micro-transactions are explicitly OOC communication.

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I agree with Ethan. Yes there are things in game that make the game not realistic, but once you are in the game you are in the world of the game. The rules of the game are the rules of the world. When a game asks you to go to the Xbox/Playstation/Origin market place to purchase new items to get through this locked door, thats when the immersion becomes lost.

 

One is suspension of disbelief while the other is actually stopping the game/ telling you to stop the game to purchase new material.

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