Every week the editors at GamingCapacity sit down to debate some of the hottest topics in video games, from the industry defining to the minutiae, anything in gaming is up for discussion. This week, we talk about Online Passes, Used Games, and Piracy.
Sam: Did EA introduce the online pass? What are your issues with online passes?
Milo: If they didn’t actually introduce it, I think they at least popularised it with games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Need for Speed: Hot pursuit. I feel that online passes are fine for games that have an online component in them, but when you start putting the online pass in single player games, it becomes a problem.
Sam: At the end of the day all the publishers support online passes. EA might of started it but the majority of the publishers followed suit. That doesn’t make them better does it?
I don’t buy games second hand so it really doesn’t affect me.
Milo: No, but EA were the first to introduce the online pass into single player games (e.g. Kingdoms of Amalur) and the concern is that as well as taking content out to use as pre-order eye candy, they will also take out more content you will miss if you buy pre-owned or borrow it from a friend, and while you may not buy pre-owned games, a great majority of people do, myself included.
Andre: I don’t think that makes them a worse publisher, it makes them an incompetent one. The intentions are to fight piracy, and while it could be seen as anti-consumer, and I guess it is, it exists for a noble cause. It just doesn’t work, and produces negative effects for legal buyers. The problem is that it doesn’t work, and EA’s problem is that it can’t find a better solution. It doesn’t exist solely for them to destroy any positive in the industry. So it’s a problem with the action, not the intentions behind the action.
Sam: I thought it was used to get a slice of the profit from the second hand market, not to combat piracy.
Milo: I would agree on the anti-piracy goal, but all this content is already on the disk and is only being locked away, most pirates will just enter the games coding and take away the restriction (this has been a big problem with Street Fighter X Tekken).
Sam: Let’s not forget that piracy on PS3 is nonexistent on ps3 but PS3 users still pay for online passes. I think it’s purely to make more money, and this is just an excuse like the overuse of map packs and add-ons.
Milo: Piracy on PS3 isn’t non-existent, it’s simply harder to do than on other platforms, but if people are willing to open their system and use a homebrew hack they can still do it.
Andre: Disagree, because even if piracy on the PS3 was non existent, it’s there to combat used game sales as well, even more so than piracy probably.
Sam: I agree it’s there also to combat the second hand market but it’s a market they shouldn’t be earning from.
Milo: Team Ninja said that they could make all their DLC free, and will do so as long as the game continues to sell new copies. Gearbox have done this too, giving DLC for free to those who buy new, but not punishing those who don’t buy new.
Andre: The issue they see with that market is people are getting their games without paying them anything, and wanting to stop that is understandable. People are buying their products, but they aren’t profiting from it. That said, I think what gearbox did is a better way to go about it.
Sam: If I buy a car and sell it, I don’t expect to have a car manufacturer wanting a cut.
Andre: If car manufacturers could find a way to end used car sales, I’m sure they would do it.
Milo: But attacking the loyal fans who do buy the game legally isn’t the way to go. I think that Ed McMillan did the best thing, he encouraged people to pirate super meat boy, knowing it would spread the word and that most people would just find it more convenient to buy new. I think this is one of the best ways to go around this.
Read the rest of the debate here!
