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Pay To Play: How Greed Will Kill Gaming
Jon Ireson | May 12, 2010 | Comments 12
Recently the readers have asked us to delve into the topic of the new Electronic Arts Online Pass and what it means to video games in the future. Not only does this new “feature” attack used game sales, limit the user’s rights, and generally betray the sacred relationship between gamer and game, but it is also a belligerent act that will put pressure on other publishers big and small. We already pay a hefty fee to pick up a game, now EA has made sure that if you don’t pick up your EA Sports games brand new you will have to pay even more to get it online. This means more than just attacking used games, which is bad enough in itself to most gamers; this is about attacking the entire industry. Allow me to explain how this recent action by EA is a symbol of how greed seeks to destroy gaming as we know it in a very active, calculated, and deceptive manner.
GameTrailers cites that when Electronic Arts created Mass Effect 2’s Cerberus Network it was a step towards this Online Pass type of thinking, but it additional add-on content to the game. As everyone knows, online multiplayer, franchise mode, and the types of features EA’s Online Pass will limit access to are not additional content or “bonus” content as they have re-labeled them, but have actually been mainstay features in their sports franchises dating back to the earliest eras in online gaming. Games like World of Warcraft are often criticized for their hefty online fees. I’m one of the people who often say it is an unreasonable amount of money to pay to play online. But even I have to stop and think each time about the thousands of updates, tweaks, fixes, and overall additional content being added to the game every week, month, and year. Beyond that, I have to stop and think about the thousands of dedicated servers and their likely outrageously high specifications as well as the enormous electricity bill for housing so many millions of players in virtual worlds together at the same time. Do EA Sports games? Oh that’s right; they have no dedicated servers or substantial additional content via updates. Instead EA has taken the route of delivering a typical game every year and charging for micro-transactions from everything to cheat codes to actual regular unlock-able content already in the game for people who just want the achievements not to actually play the game!
Games That Are Sold Used, Soon Incomplete EA Sports Games Join Them
The great excuse here is that used games are cutting into EA’s sales. They will tell you that this Online Pass is nothing to be afraid of, it is necessary for the good of the industry, it is for your own good little Johnny, don’t make me tell you twice. Well the fact of the matter is this is a boldface lie. When you buy a game brand new and sell it used, does GameStop say “Hey EA some one came and sold this back to us we want our money back for buying it from you.”. The answer is absolutely not. Will you ever hear an executive at EA tell you they lost money from the situation? Yes sir. So where is the disconnection occurring here?
The disconnection is from the assumption that if x amount of people buy a game used they would have also bought it new, and thus those potential new sales instead only went to GameStop’s benefit, and not EA’s. I have several problems with this type of thinking including the fact that there is no evidence to support such an assumption. I’ve heard plenty of people say things like “I would buy that game, only if it was used.” and felt the sentiment myself enough times to know that just because a person bought a game used does not automatically mean they would buy it brand new. Lots of EA Sports fans only buy their sports games used because of how little they change year to year, so EA has some foundation in their argument, but they are assuming these people will be capable and willing to buy all of their games at top price now. Thinking this will not have long-term ramifications is short-sighted to say the least. We all know that Electronic Arts rakes in plenty of revenue and has no need to attack the used game market, this is not an act of self-preservation it is an act of greed defended by basic capitalistic ideals.
Let’s face more cold hard facts, I seem to be in the mood for those today. The world economy has seen better times. Jobless claims are at all-time highs and this move is a dual-edge sword that will help and hurt Electronic Arts at the same time. On the one hand, their plan will appeal to many who already buy new games because there is no change needed on their part. On the other hand, many gamers will scoff at the ridiculous idea of paying for what has always been free and instead of converting used-EA Sports fans to new-EA Sports buyers EA will have a lot of boycotts and lost sales on their hands. While this occurs, the competition for such games becomes much pressured. While eliminating a risk for themselves, Electronic Arts will be creating more risks and worries for other publishers and developers big and small. As if EA Sports games didn’t have enough going for them, they will now hit players with the “Pay full price or go home” attitude which will leave wallets more drained than ever. That means less chance you might spend on a Backbreaker or Tecmo Bowl and certainly little to no chance left for titles like Hot Shots Golf, that I have yet to meet a fan of.
The fact that this business practice of separating online as a “bonus” service will not catch on still doesn’t help these companies. While they will be doing the best to provide their greatest online experience, there will always be that voice in the back of your head telling you the EA version might be better. It’s a big company, they have big development teams, they have lots of money, and they have the sanctioned, guaranteed, mediocre-or-better sports experience at all times. Supporters of EA’s new Online Pass should keep in mind the overwhelming psychological effect Electronic Arts already has on consumers and realize that this is just more propaganda in the long run. The existence of an Online Pass in itself is suggestive that EA’s online experience in sports is better than yours and there’s really nothing you can do to combat that because adding more cost to unestablished intellectual properties will only produce flops.
Will Every Non-EA Sports Game Be The Next Beyond Good & Evil?
Bad economic conditions are leading to dog-eat-dog survival tactics. In the end, this is not about cutting costs, gaining back lost sales, providing for the gamer anything new/better, or even maintaining the past level of quality. No, in the end this is nothing more than a strong-arm tactic similar to Activision’s price gauging of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and now Call of Duty: Black Ops. Instead of trying to help gaming stay alive in the recession these companies are leading by example through greed and muscle from the highest levels down. If you can only afford a few games a year and you enjoy a good football game and a good shooter, how long until you only buy Madden and Call of Duty games exclusively? There may be a time when that is all that is left because greed is in a position to kill gaming.
Sales run a lot of this industry, so when the people with the most sales tell you they don’t have enough it is time to question what these people are telling us. Does everyone so quickly forget the fact that last-gen we only had to pay $50 for brand new titles? If prices continue to soar like this for games and gaming modes cost extra, there will be no room left for any creativity or originality. I hope gamers out there understand that competition breeds quality and monopolies breed fat, rich, embarrassing companies that do not know when enough is enough. You pay to play, but some day you may end up having a distorted sense of what is good because you are afraid to venture away from big names like EA and Activision who will take your wallet over by force.
$$$ You Could Of Bought A Better Game Instead Of This $$$
On the other side of the fence, GameStop’s reaction to this is yet to be seen in full. IGN Reports that Dan DeMatteo, Chief Executive Officer of GameStop Corp., is “excited” to work with Electronic Arts in selling downloadable content such as the Online Pass. If Electronic Arts was making up for lost sales it appears they are providing GameStop a cut for any customers they sell Online Passes to who may of not known they needed one. It is a bit early to judge how far out of their way GameStop will go to educate gamers about the new Electronic Arts Sports Online Pass policy, but likely it will vary from store to store. One thing is for sure, we should be seeing much cheaper price tags on EA Sports used games. Consumers are now getting an incomplete game so GameStop will hopefully; finally give a better deal to the buyers of used games.
Views: 746Filed Under: Editorials • Featured • Microsoft • PlayStation 3 • Posts • Sony • XBOX 360
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MMOs are a completely different beast, they have different business models and target audiences than console games, so I wouldn’t really go so far as to say Blizzard has been criticized for their monthly fees. Fifteen dollars per month is the standard monthly fee of the MMO genre. Although, you do point out all the extra content you get for that money. To be honest, even with buying the initial game and an expansion every couple years, it is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment available anywhere.
That all being said, that business model doesn’t particularly transfer over to individual console games in any way, regardless of how it is implemented. Sure, Microsoft charges you $50/year to play games online. But that isn’t just one game, that is access to the entire service. Now EA is saying that if you don’t buy the game new, you’re going to have to pay an EXTRA $10 ON TOP of that? Get real EA. That just makes me want to avoid any of their games, period.
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@Chad
When I say criticized here I’m talking about PC Gaming purists. No one payed for online gaming until stuff like Ultima Online blew up unless you were chipping in for a server with some one. Games have traditional been free so yes WoW has been heavily criticized by certain crowds for it’s online fees. They are standard to MMO’s now but MMO’s were once not in existence right?
I totally agree with you about the extra $10. The thing is that’s per each individual game. GameStop already charges near full price for the EA Sports games used, even if they drop it lower $10 more they will make you buy the $10 Online Pass and get a cut from EA for it.
I could see this as purely business, and not personal and even dismiss it entirely, but for the fact that they will deceive the end user into thinking this is bonus content and that they are getting the bargain here. This is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing and though it may seem minor millions of people buy EA Sports games used. These games come out every year and they don’t really change much.
About Xbox Live, you are absolutely right that is a service and not a single game access fee. It is not even comparable. If EA had some sort of network I would be much more open to such an idea but this is just greed in my eyes.
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i agree with you some what but if gamers are really upset they should group together and buy shares so they influence management at these big companies becuase at the moment these companies are not growing and the shareholders want growth. which means the only way to make growth is by charging these stupid extra charges.
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This is a nice piece of article man, but we must understand as consumers that we have the power, if our f$%&ing adiction to games make us pay this damn $10 dlls., they will win, but if we stand against them, eventually they will take off this chargue and everything will be the same again, they are just trying to see how stupid we are, just like MS with Live, its hard to recognize that we as costumers are the stupid ones, sometimes its better for some people to just pay and keep going with their lives, instead of fighting back a little bit and get a better deal, anyway without us the game companies are nothing, but they are trying to make us think the other way, just like the government and religous leaders, we are the power not them, but people are too lazy to think and just prefer to obey, remember Nike ads : JUST DO IT.
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I hate to say it but I can see the Video Game Industry going under with all the greed and ways they are looking to charge extra money for EVERYTHING!!! I’ve been reading stories lately about all kinds of ways they can charge extras for things such as…
- Activision wanting to charge more $$$ for games in general
- EA wanting to charge for Demo’s
- Sony & Nintendo wanting to charge for the ability to play games online or make gaming better overall like Microsoft
- Paying more money for DLC which extends gameplay,extra costumes,Cars,Paintjobs etc…etc…etc…
Now let me give my opinion on each of these things…
- Activision wanting to charge more $$$ for games in general.
Games are expensive enough and the Single Player Modes are getting shorter & shorter and, being replaced with small Multiplayer Modes that require additional money to expand it with the Downloadable Content.
- EA wanting to charge money for Demo’s
Simple answer is, demo’s are short advertisments that show me weather I will buy it or not, pay the full price or wait for it to go down in price because it isn’t really a good game. I will never pay for an advertisment, if they do that I guess I will be using Gamefly for a lot longer then I had originally planned.
- Sony & Nintendo wanting to charge money for the ability to play online or make gaming better overall like Microsoft.
While this is a hard one as we as gamers don’t just deserve everything on a free platter. To play a game online, we have to pay for…
- The Console ($199.99 – $399.99)
- The Game ($49.99 – $59.99)
- The Internet ($30 – $100) Aprox
- The DLC (Optional) ($1.99 – $5.99) Aprox
- and in Microsoft’s Case the ability to access the service ($50 per year)
Now we all have to pay money for at least the 1st three. The DLC being optional and unless you own a Microsoft XBOX 360 you don’t have to pay Microsoft’s fee to access the service.
So Soon if they have their way I will be paying $59.99 for a really short single player experience because I won’t spend another $50 to access the online multiplayer. I remember a time when Multiplayer meant your friends coming over & hanging out or you bringing over your console to friends house and just having a great time playing in the same room, but now multiplayer has become more of a online only experience. I wonder why??? hmmm….
and simply when it comes to making the online experience a better one, why seperate people because if you do that it will end up like any hardware add-on’s barely supported by any of the developers. In fact it’s already like that for most of the PS3’s features such as the Youtube support, custom soundtrack support. etc…etc…etc…
and then the envitable DLC well you all know how that is, Nickle & Dimed for everything from Character’s,Cars,Skins,Paintjobs,Game Modes,Levels etc…etc…etc…
with all these charges adding up gaming is becoming to expensive for me. I may just have to start spending my money on old school games on the Wii’s Virtual Console to feel like I got my money’s worth.
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After reading your article I have one question.
Why is it so bad that gaming companies are trying to make money?
I thought that’s why we all work? Do you think gaming companies are places on clouds where people travel to by unicorn? 3 years of work for some teams of 50 people who have to support families, companies that have to cover overheads – publishers, advertising… then still deal with low life pirates and thief’s. All the while these hard working people are also affected by this recession you seem to think affects only some people. Inflation is another concept you appear to have neglected. Don’t see you complaining about the price of milk and bread increasing.
You say GameStop doesn’t ask EA for money when they buy a game back. GameStop ensures they cover their costs when they sell the games new. Whatever else they make is over and above. Do you really think GameStop loose when they buy your game back and re-sell it, because that seems to be the case.
I can agree that there is greed in my opinion. DLC offered for sale before the game is released is one! Activisions pricing for the map pack is another.
But charging people for a feature in a game because they didn’t want to buy it new or pirated it. I have no issue with that.
But… In defense of your argument (to a degree) if more people start buying original games I would hope that we as loyal paying customers we start to see the benefits like the Cerberus network and some free content or a gaming price drop.
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@Kale
They already got paid a salary while they were making the game. The companies often do not hand over **** for royalties. Case in point Modern Warfare 2.
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@Kale: There is nothing wrong with a company wanting to make money. However, there is something inherently wrong with going overboard on trying to charge for every little thing, which alienates the consumer. That consumer is where these companies get their money. They need to learn to let the little things slide and focus on making the consumer happy.
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I think this article misses the whole point: Gamestop and used game sales are the cause of “Project 10 Dollar.”
Its as simple as that really. Since when did games companies benefit from Gamestop used sales? The ONLY way they benefit by used game sales is through DLC! Get it? Good. Project 10 dollar is one more means to take away sales from Gamestop. If people didn’t trade in their game as soon as they “beat” it, games would have more value overall and perhaps prices wouldn’t begin at $60. Its really the consumers fault. We buy used games and perpetuate a war on Gamestop by game publishers to add value to NEW games.
I never read any complaint about Steam btw…you can’t sell your downloaded game back can you? Let me reiterate: any downloadable game is one game you cannot sell back. Where is the Steam/downloadable game rant and how it HURTS us so?! Steam games benefit from better prices, and really nice sales from time to time. Overall, much better than retail. I wonder why….? No used game sales.
To summarize, game companies are as greedy as their shareholders make them. They put all of their energy into making the best product possible. Games are a product you see…The more you sell, the better your companies financials…and the better chance you have of keeping your job in the game industry. Your little rant about greedy EA is crock. How about your direct your article at all the individuals at EA that don’t hold the title Executive or CEO. Call them out individually as greedy as an open letter on gameindustry.biz. I dare you. Also, by extension, your writing about the game industry and EA’s greed, I can think of some way you benefit from project 10 dollar sir.
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@Dale and Kale
Maybe some of what your saying makes a lil sense. But, EA is greedy, and they make me want to spit at them. Im a gamer to the core, and I used to love EA back in the SNES days, and PS1 days.
But then something happened. NBA 2K and NFL 2K was released for the SEGA Dreamcast, and they made EA look like noobs. It took EA a couple of years just to catch up with them graphically, and in my opinion they never ever caught up to the 5 star gameplay that 2K offered.
The point I’m getting to is: The NFL 2K series was my favorite game ever! And the EA scum bags took away a piece of my soul, when they felt so threatened, they bought the NFL license.
Since then, I have never purchased a Madden or NBA Live game. Because I really didn’t like that BS. It effected me so much that I even lost interest in the NFL for even allowing such a thing…………
You guys are talking about jobs, could you imagine how many jobs were lost because of that? That was the most selfish move EA could have done, which proves what this article is saying. Companies like EA will kill the gaming world. Soon, the only people that will be playing it are the blind sheeps, that wont even realize what has happened to them… When that day comes, I’ll be doing thing clubbing and chill’n out with my friends… Peace.
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every company required Revenue from their product than how can you say that they have no need to make profit…. it’s pure business man… don’t get upset….
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Look guys… they were going to get to this eventually. Being a business major and understanding product life cycles, these passes are just a way for the company to increase the revenue later on in the life cycle.
Why would you be upset to pay 10 bucks extra to play online when you get a full game used for 20 or 25 bucks. I dont play all of my games online and at that point it is up to the user to determine if they want to play that game online or not. Especially if they give you a trial period to play before you decide to buy the pass.
I would be pissed if they tried to charge my 10 bucks a month, but a one time charge, no big deal. Besides, most of the games that you will want to play online, you will buy new anyway, like COD, Halo, Sports, BF…etc.
Dont be upset about it, this is the state of the world that we live in… As gamers we have had it great for a long time. But play has become work for a lot of people including these developers and they are in it to make money.
I dont agree with alot of their business practices to eliminate competition but that is the way the story goes…