THQ "doesn't care" that its one-use code for online play in Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 might upset its consumers. The publisher is waging war against the used games market, and if customers get pissed off, well boo hoo to them, apparently.
"I don't think we really care whether used game buyers are upset because new game buyers get everything," says THQ's Cory Ledesma. "So if used game buyers are upset they don't get the online feature set I don't really have much sympathy for them."
"That's a little blunt but we hope it doesn't disappoint people. We hope people understand that when the game's bought used we get cheated. I don't think anyone wants that so in order for us to make strong, high-quality WWE games we need loyal fans that are interested in purchasing the game. We want to award those fans with additional content."
Additional content? Where's the additional content? Since when did online play count as "additional" content? Don't get me wrong, I don't think THQ doesn't have a right to tackle used games, just as I don't think GameStop doesn't have a right to sell them. But stop talking shit, and stop trying to garner sympathy. When developers and publishers stop cheating consumers, maybe consumers can feel a little bad for "cheating" developers and publishers just because they want the best deal possible.
Maybe game makers should work on providing real additional content to reward new customers, rather than focus all their efforts on lazily punishing used buyers. Grow a pair of balls, developers, and tackle this properly. Making your own customers feel like criminals for lawfully buying games and trying to save paying $60 every time is not the way to win.
Pre-owned 'cheats developers' - THQ [CVG]
Contest:
8:00 AM on 08.23.2010
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The nerv of these developers is astonishing. Make a shit game, blame the players for not wanting to pay 60 bucks for it.
Stupid game companies like this are going to kill themselves in the end, unless they all go to 100% digital download and just not use retail companies to sell their products anymore.
Calm down. Let these people think or do what they want. I can't blame them nor do I feel any anger towards any company that provides any incentive to buy new over used, regardless of whether or not some folks think that what they're using should be a standard feature of most games.
Online multiplayer is not a given and it's not some sort of right. Withholding it isn't that harsh if it makes it preferable to buying used.
Besides, it's not like they're trying to make used game sales illegal, although I'm sure they would if they could.
I used to blame it on game publishers for being greedy. I used to think that they should solve the problem with the retailer, not cause problems for the consumer. But, over recent months my opinion has changed.
I now feel that it is our fault.
We as consumers are causing this to happen. Not because we buy used games. In fact I am pro-used game sales. If you cant afford to spend £50 for 6 hours of entertainment, then be smart and wait until its in your price range.
But, the reason I think it is our fault is because we are too fucking lazy to do anything about it. Big corporations only interest is profit and they will do whatever is in their power to make profit. Whatever stupid idea they come up with we all adhere to. Everybody likes to say that DLC, locked content and license keys are bad and we dont want them. But, who actually does anything about it?
Nobody.
We need to create some kind of consumers union and stand up to these companies! Activision decided to up the price of modern warfare 2 in the UK just because they wanted more money. It offered nothing more than any other game. Did I read somewhere that it is now the biggest selling game?
Stop talking and start doing.
Simply put, If you want the game badly, you'll buy it at release or in the month after.
If you kind of want the game, you'll look for it cheap and then consider buying it.
Pre-Owned 20, New 40 after 4 Months? Not a hard choice.
Pre-Owned 20, New 25 after 4 Months? Go with the New and it's a game in good condition and the developers get full funding.
They want their cake and to eat it. People are too smart to spend money when they can save some.
Coincidentally, I'm just about to trade in my copy of '10 towards a Mafia II preorder. That game looks awesome.
You want to stand up to them? Stop buying videogames.
Greedy is when people start breaking rules and laws to make money. This is all perfectly legal and acceptable.
I agree with you, but I also see this downward slope of theirs hitting a tree at the end. The big companies are trying to muscle out other game retailers from selling used games (Which will utterly kill their sales drastically), I don't see why companies couldn't just, i don't know, stop selling the games from that company. I would if I was in that position. If I'm going to have to take a huge hit for selling only their new games instead of used (no profit in that), then why bother selling it at all?
Had buddies here that owned SwapUSA stores and they basically went out of business because of this reason. They sold new games, barely anything used. Retailers buy games a few bucks less then the average consumer and sell it for like 1-3$ profit. Once that game company decides to drop their price, the retailer loses out on that money. Retailers cannot afford to take constant hits like that.
If there were no more used game sales, would the prices of regular games decline?
This may be a retarded question, but I'm too tired to think it through
I agree with you, but I also see this downward slope of theirs hitting a tree at the end. The big companies are trying to muscle out other game retailers from selling used games (Which will utterly kill their sales drastically), I don't see why companies couldn't just, i don't know, stop selling the games from that company. I would if I was in that position. If I'm going to have to take a huge hit for selling only their new games instead of used (no profit in that), then why bother selling it at all?
Had buddies here that owned SwapUSA stores and they basically went out of business because of this reason. They sold new games, barely anything used. Retailers buy games a few bucks less then the average consumer and sell it for like 1-3$ profit. Once that game company decides to drop their price, the retailer loses out on that money. Retailers cannot afford to take constant hits like that.
*Original comment*
OK, so way to douche up an article there, Jim...
For starters, if you shop at GameStop, you probably shouldn't be here anyway... you should be reading your "game news" on Fox News or AOL Games or something like that.
Secondly, they are trying to get people to buy new games. If you don't want to pay the $60, then don't. Either wait for it to go down in price, or just don't buy it. Get off your high horse already. It's what...a $5 difference for the first few months anyway right? Is $5 that much to you where you need to cry about it online?
That makes sense, right?
Your right..
"Nobody is forming a fucking union to stand up to greedy oil companies, and that's a product most people currently can't live without. "
We should do that too. Your attacking me from the angle of: People don't stand up for themselves when it comes to other things, so why should we stand up for ourselves over videogames... dur!
The reason that we need to stand up against them is because if we don't then what is going to stop them pushing more & more? The reason i'm talking about videogames and not oil is because we're on a videogame blog and not a fucking oil blog?!
"You want to stand up to them? Stop buying videogames."
I think you think the problem is with the consumer buying used games, when in reality it is your sub-par releases. If your WWE games weren't consistently reviewed and rated between 6.0 - 8.1 maybe they would be worth buying new. As of right now though you offer very little.
Trading in a game allows someone to get a little something back for the mistake they made in buying it in the first place. Apparently you don't feel that buying your game could ever be a mistake, but guess what, it is. Even at $5 new, I feel I made the mistake of buying Smackdown Vs Raw 2007.
Sincerely,
The guy who will no longer buy a THQ(To Hell with Quality) game.
P.S. Way to look greedy.
You look and sound like a child. An idealistic and foolish child.
Game companies happily do what they can to cut costs and make a buck, and yet they stomp their feet and cry when other companies do the same thing. You can't revel in capitalism when it makes you a profit and then want it to go away when it doesn't work in your favor. The very system that makes used games possible is the system that game companies exploit regularly.
Used games can be an issue for publishers, but they need a better way of dealing with it. Actually offering real bonuses like Gears of War 2 did, rather than take features away, is the way to do it. Pre-order bonuses and one-time codes for *real* additional content work. As does the perception of a quality game.
People will pay $60 for a game that's worth it in their mind. If it's not worth it to them, they'll wait for a price drop. If one doesn't come, they'll get it used. I don't think holding online play to ransom will work. If they don't think the game is worth full price to begin with, forcing them to pay it will just turn them off completely.
There are a lot of games competing for your money, and people don't have enough cash to buy loads of games at once. Considering UFC 2010 got its ass kicked by Red Dead Redemption, you'd think THQ would have realized this.
Trade-ins are a crucial part of the business. Half the reason I can even *buy* so many new games is because I traded in older ones. If you kill that market, I guarantee it'll help destroy the entire industry.
Again, if you dislike these practices then don't buy the fucking games. It's quite simple.
As for the people saying console games are too expensive, well, that's what happens when you've got to pay MS/Sony/Nintendo anywhere from 7 to 11 dollars in licensing fees for each copy sold. Remember, they're selling the games to stores for 48 dollars, so if they're giving even 7 bucks in licensing fees then they're already down to 41 bucks a copy.
Frankly I don't blame them for being like this.
Again, if you dislike these practices then don't buy the fucking games. It's quite simple.
As for the people saying console games are too expensive, well, that's what happens when you've got to pay MS/Sony/Nintendo anywhere from 7 to 11 dollars in licensing fees for each copy sold. Remember, they're selling the games to stores for 48 dollars, so if they're giving even 7 bucks in licensing fees then they're already down to 41 bucks a copy.
Frankly I don't blame them for being like this.
No, your coming across arrogant and as if your opinion is the only one that matters.
I am not entitled to videogames for free. they are not a god-given right. My point is that videogame publishers could make deals with retailers to sell their product used. Percentages. But, they dont want to share ANY profit with the retailer, the person out on the street selling the product for them. So, instead we the consumer, the person who gives them all the money, are the people that feel the effect.
Why the fuck shouldn't i be able to pass a game that i paid full price for to a family member so that they can enjoy it? why the fuck should my younger brother who doesn't work because he isn't old enough have to pay more fucking money, on top of what i have already paid, to play the game online with his friends?
And you sound like a communist.
Boom
And life goes on. No need for unions to be formed or people to "stand up for themselves".
Seriously, How did game companies think people were buying their games? Do they really think people have an arsenal of games lining the walls of their closets? No, people bring in games they don't want anymore to put towards games they want. It's the way of the world. If we can no longer trade in our games to pay for new games, how are we going to afford them?
I'm not going to pay a resell fee to the guy who made my sofa if I sell it. I already paid for it. I own it. I am selling my right to sit on it.
Now on a different yet related note; the fact that people are stupid enough to trade their games to Gamestop is beyond me. People you can get a lot more money on Amazon or Half.com by cutting out the middleman.
We don't need a 'consumer union':
1. People need to vote with their wallet against half-baked business schemes
2. Industry magazines/review sites need to start prominently calling companies out on cynical business practices.
The game industry has two major negative issues going on. One is structural. The bigger the industry has gotten, the more like Hollywood (in it's cost model) it's become. Budgets and expenses are higher for legitimate reasons, but like Hollywood there is a lot of 'bloat' on the expense side. Every ancillary vendor, service, or contractor raises their prices to catch a piece of the markets profit, leading to obscenely inflated production costs. This phenomenon is why Hollywood largely produces bland, PG-13, 'catch-all' movies, as just the act of making a movie is so expensive that making more niche pictures is often off the table. In the video game world, this translates as even though budgets are bigger the ever, the core 'gaming experience' (length and complexity of games) has seen very small (or negligible) advancement.
The second issue is a profit model problem: ie. the greedy reaction to the above issue: the pushing of 'top-down' release schemes, notably online/multiplayer and DLC. Don't get me wrong, there's obviously a place for multiplayer and DLC content, but their prominence in the game market isn't due to consumer demand. It's owing to the fact that for various reasons, multi-player/DLC are good for publishers/console makers/game designers, rather than a response to legitimate demand. A step down from that, you begin to see crude 'ram downs' on the consumer, like the article's focus.
The structural problems are something the industry is going to have to address. However, the issues with self-serving business models is an issue people need to vote with their wallets on, and industry pubs need to start challenging.
wut?
First of all, i am far from a retard. My entire point is that we SHOULD talk with our wallets. But, everybody says it. nobody does it.. Have you just picked one comment out of the whole thread and called me a retard? read back through them and don't resort to name calling.
Developers and/or publishers have no say in what people do with the games once they buy them. I can buy and sell books, dvd's and whatnot, games simply aren't an exception.
Quite frankly they can stick their first sale reward codes up their jacksy. I'll live without it, like I do with the removed content that's regurgitated later as paid dlc. These kind of statements make me want to go out of my way to make sure they get as little of my money as possible.
So, yeah. Call it "stupid" if you want, but some of us don't bother with that kind of petty crap. w/e
That is the joke.
Smackdown vs. Raw 2011..... really ? Does anyone care?
Sounds an awful lot like "we made a shitty game and it sold poorly and if we don't BS our way out our boss is going to fire us" to me.
Try making a game that is worthwhile and people give a damn about and you will see them buying new and holding on to their games instead reselling/trading.
Translation: QQ Moar Nub