PSN Pass Program: Sony's Answer to Used Game Sales?!

[NJ5]

twesterm said:

NJ5 said:

twesterm said:
I really don't understand the big gripe to this, or, well, I understand why people gripe but I don't understand why they feel so entitled.

Is it really so hard to even show a little support for the people that brought you a game whether by paying $60 used or an extra $5 when you buy it used?

If you have the disposable income to buy a $54 used game and have a PS3 to play it on, you can probably manage to muster up that extra $5.

There are plenty of legitimate gripes about this. They are taking away something of value from games (the ability to trade them, give them to friends/family when you get tired of them, etc.), and attempting to squeeze out more revenue at the same time.

Here's the other side of the coin... why do developers feel entitled to get more benefit from used game sales than they already do?

Developers don't really get any benefits from used games...

I'm totally for used games so don't take this as an argument against them.  I do think used games do encourage people to buy more games in the long run which is good for the games industry, but that doesn't help the individual studios a lot. 

If you buy Super Mario Galaxy new and then sell it to make your used copy of Resistance 2 cheaper, that doesn't help Sony or Insomniac at all.  That helps Nintendo because you bought SMG new and it helps Gamestop.  Well, it does help Insomniac and Sony some so I shouldn't say at all since you are playing their games which could encourage you to buy them later, but you get my point I hope.

They're attempting to squeeze more revenue because they need it.  Game are redicuously expensive and risky to make, that's just the nature of the business and it's totally within a studios right to ask for that online pass. 

In the end, you really don't have to like it at all.  If you don't like, simply don't support the online pass.  Buy the game used and don't get a pass or just don't buy the game.  This isn't Sony trying to have its cake and eating it too, it's the customer wanting the cake and eating it too.  People think the pass is wrong because the system itself has been so wrong that when someone tries to fix it, it seems like they're wrong.  They aren't, they're simply trying to get paid.

It helps Nintendo for that particular customer, others will supposedly do the opposite so it helps the whole industry.

I do agree that studios need more revenue to fund ridiculous development budgets, but this doesn't seem like a customer friendly way to do it. It would make more sense to reduce the ambitious budgets, make games with more value so that people don't re-sell their games so quickly, etc. Or maybe the industry just needs to get less crowded in other to concentrate revenues on fewer studios.

I believe there are legimate complaints about this though, that's all I was trying to get at. They're killing one more console advantage over today's PC games, the ability to trade games easily... That can't be good for the people who care about console multiplayer.