Sony looking into charging second-hand buyers for online play

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The second-hand market is a tricky beast to tackle. On the one hand it's every gamer's desire - and right - to pick up a bargain-priced slice of digital delight. But at the same time second-hand game sales mean than an increasing amount of players' purchases are of no benefit whatsoever to game developers' livelihoods. With game budgets spiraling this generation and game studios dropping out of the industry like rot-riddled teeth collapsing out of a tramp's mouth, loss of revenue is obviously a big problem nowadays.

Rather than try to stamp out the second-hand market altogether, the current flavour-of-the-month strategy within the industry is to monetise online play for second-handers by including single-use online access codes in game boxes. The idea is that when the original buyer has used the code, subsequent owners will have to buy a new one if they want to take their play to the tubes. EA is already using the model, but it could be set to become a much bigger phenomenon. Because Sony has revealed that it's thinking about implementing it too, for its first-party titles.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe President Andrew House has told that the House of Sackboy supports third-party publishers' use of the system and is exploring the option for its own content. However, he also said that a blanket charge for all online play was something that Sony would "struggle with", due its pride in the PSN's free-to-use policy. Sigh of relief.

To me, the online pass idea currently seems the best compromise for all concerned. However much we might not like it, game developers do need to be paid, whether we choose to buy our games at full-price or not. If that doesn't happen, studios disappear. Or games get more expensive. Or both. Whether you balk at the idea or not, I think allowing discounted second-hand sales to go on while recouping a small amount of cash for online features is a pretty fair deal, and realistically, something that's necessary for the health of the industry. And it's infinitely preferable to the hideous Kotick-touted idea of online subscription fees by default. That one would go down like turd-cake on a hot day with already-paying Xbox Live users.

But what do you reckon? Is the online pass idea an insidious money-grabbing affront to a free market? Or a fair compromise for the benefit of gamers and game makers alike? Let me know.

http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/playstation-3/news/sony-looking-into-charging-second-hand-buyers-for-online-play-fair-deal-or-massive-rip-off/a-20100825153936302094/g-20060314115917309058

What about for games that aren't even in production anymore? Like ME1 oalot of other Early generation games? I bought ME1 for 15 bucks last year USED because there were no more new copies.

Alan1994 wrote:

What about for games that aren't even in production anymore? Like ME1 oalot of other Early generation games? I bought ME1 for 15 bucks last year USED because there were no more new copies.

Its saying that upcoming games that are first party and will have online(like Resistance 3) will more than likely have an online pass like what EA is doing. I don't get the point of your Post because ME1 is only on 360 and PC and it has no online aside from DLC.

bull shit i aint paying shit and ms is cheap lol

I wouldn't get too worried about this. I remember a few months before PS3 came out, there were rumors that Sony was going to marry their games to the system. Meaning once you bought a game and installed it on your playstation, it could never be used on another PS3 again.

Guess how true those rumors turned out to be.

Invincible wrote:

I wouldn't get too worried about this. I remember a few months before PS3 came out, there were rumors that Sony was going to marry their games to the system. Meaning once you bought a game and installed it on your playstation, it could never be used on another PS3 again.

Guess how true those rumors turned out to be.

Or like when it was rumored that Sony was going to bring cross-game chat, a Steam Cloud-like feature, and a ton of others things to PS Plus. And they didn't.

Good its with Sony. Cause I pay for XBL and dammit if I buy I used game I should be able to play it online.

Not a good idea.

And if only Sony do it, that's gonna be bad for their sales and amount of online players.

Second-hand? Could someone please explain?

PhunkGamer wrote:

Second-hand? Could someone please explain?

Used games. If you buy the game used, you'll be charged to play the game online.

Now I know...THAT IS BULLSHIT!!!!!
Why are they doing that? Its just used. Nothing big here like PIRATING or COPYING or any of that crap. Sooo...WTF Sony? You already have a great service but ur probably gonna fuck it all up.