Most DLC I've bought can be used by multiple gamertags as they are registered to the console and not just the gamertag. My GF pays for her own gold account, so of course she doesn't want to have to be forced to play on my account. Every other game I've bought DLC for has worked for every gamer registered to that console until now.

 

We got that here with the PS3 Dragon Age Awakening. 360 and PC got disc versions, PS3 is download only. Slightly annoying actually, I like to own a physical copy of something.

What is more annoying is that the games never go on sale this way. Most of my PS3 games have been bought brand new, but I've got the majority from retailers offering discounts of one kind or another. This kind of move will cut out the discounts and the competition, but I doubt the prices will be reduced just because the "middleman" fees are now gone.

I wonder if that will be the undoing of digital distribution. The lack of competition in the delivery of the content?

Over here that wouldn't work. All the game stores locally remove ALL paperwork along with the disks. Sometimes also the copies on display are display boxes, so when you buy a new copy you get a fresh one from out back / behind the counter, still in the polythene. Obviously not an option for all stores, but you would think that stores could just outright remove all the paperwork to get around this. And I'm sure that's what they'll have to do in future.

 

At Gamestation they take game manuals and discs out of the cases. They just stuff them back in when you buy it. I would rather have them sealed when I buy them...

But it sounds really stupid to leave the manual and other things inside the case for anyone to take (not that they're valuable but still).

 

Weird. For Mass Effect 2, I played through the game on two separate gamertags on the same system and had access to all of the DLC each time. Strange that it isn't working for your girlfriend. Even though she is using her own gamertag, is she using the same EA account? I made sure that the EA account, for their servers, was the same on the different gamertags and the DLC worked. (Basically, I have two Xbox gamertags tied to the same EA account.)

 

Hmm, I may have to try to change it since she made an EA account of her own- I don't think she would care about using my EA account. Thanks for the tip.

 

Here's the problem with this for EA. While there's certainly a used market that exists for recent sports games, the majority of people buy it new, play for a year, and then sell it right before the next year's version comes out. It's not like a Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed where you play it, beat it, and sell it a week later; the majority of people I know who play Madden ONLY play Madden, and they play it for a whole year.

Then you have someone like me. I like sports, but I can't justify a new game price tag for something that's just a tiny bit improved over something a tenth of the price. I don't buy new sports games, ever, because I can buy them the next year for $5. Making me pay $10 to play online doesn't encourage me in the least to spend $60 to buy them new instead. I'm not paying $55 extra to keep from paying $10. Truthfully, I'll just keep buying the $5 used copy a year late and just not play online. I can deal with that.

So most people who buy EA Sports games either already buy them new, or are like me and buy them used but spend so little that punishing us with a fine to play online just means we won't be able to justify playing online OR buying new.

 

yea EA is just getting worse and worse and worse. if any of you play the game NASCAR 09 and have been keeping track of what theyve been doing to it. I for one refuse to pay full price for a new Madden game that is basically the exact same as a game I could get for like $5. the only EA Game I ply online is N09 (id play Mercs 2 as well but they already shut down those servers, and yet NBA live 08 is still active....) and those servers are going dead later in the year (which is complete BullS***)

it does officially prove that they are really only in it to make money. ive said it b4 and ill say it again F*** You EA

 

I'll be honest, as long as they have something to deal with mineraljane's comment regarding the "sharing among multiple systems in the same house" thing, I have no problem with this. It seems fair to me, you get what you pay for.

Oh, and I said it before, I'll say it again:
People complaining about the price of video games where you get hours and hours of play per game + Board where people will spend money on $40+ toys that they'll transform once and then put on a shelf or keep MOSC/MISB = Does not compute.

 

Ah, and the EA Games people wonder why people go to, how shall we say, "alternative" outlets.

 

Well, to be honest, from the video game industry's perspective, "you started it". Piracy on games is what led to anti-piracy measures, which lead to more piracy, which led to stronger anti-piracy measures... etc. The profit margins on games for developers are thin enough without dumping piracy and used games on top of things.

 

I'm not worried about this at all. No more EA or Activision games for me. I will show my distain for their policies by no longer purchasing the products.


NOW, I hope everyone complaining about these new fees join me by no longer purchasing these products. I can't for the life of me understand why everyone complains and then rush out to buy the exact product they hated.



As far as EA having a right to make money off used sales? Really? That makes no sense to me. Its like buying a used car and then having to contact the dealership to activate it. Online gaming is bigger than it ever has been and more important to the success of a game. People buy Madden to duke it out online, not to play the regular season offline.

I hope this bites EA in the butt.

Take a stand people... if this is successful, its only going to get worse in the long run. Ask a PC gamer how times have changed for them....

 

No no, we complain about company policies and dealings, but that doesn't mean we in any way hate the product. The whole cerberus network thing sucks, but Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games I've played this console generation and will put up with it again to play the 3rd if I have to. I may ante up the cash but I still can complain, as little as that might do.

That's not to say it won't bite EA in the ass though. I may buy the new Mass Effect, but for games that I'm more on the fence about, I will probably fall on the "not buy" side.

 

lol, and the cycle continues. Sacrifices must be made in order to make your voice heard. Again, this is only the beginning and it will get worse. Otherwise, Its called the snowball effect... Yeah EA may start with small 10 dollar fees but whats next? They will only go as far as you let them.

 

First of all, most people don't complain about the price of games when the quality is justified. $60 for a Mass Effect I have absolutely no problem with. $60 for a shovelware title like Facebreaker or something is a different story altogether.

Second, your comparison is based completely on assumptions and generalizations. You don't know who here owns transformers toys and who doesn't, and for that matter how much enjoyment one gets from the toys over another. Just because one person may never touch their toys doesn't mean someone else doesn't play with them hours every day. If you're trying to take jabs at people those are pretty flimsy points to use to do it.

 

  this has no relation to this discussion at all. Nor does the "omg new games are expensive" for that matter.

 

If you're having trouble, it's ok, we can help ya. It's the part where the discussion moved to future implications when this carries over to the rest of EA games and when other developers try to follow suit.

 

Facebreaker is not available yet how do you know if it is shovelware or not? It's not even an EA title so it would not be affected by this story.

 

Maybe you should google it bro.

 

Sorry you are right I was thinking Backbreaker, my mistake I apologize.

 

And THIS is why 2K is better than EA Sports. 2K allows people to buy used games with no consequence (minus the nostalgia factor), while EA likes to fuck us up the ass.