General Game Gabbin'

[Shad]

I do agree that I don't like having to buy separate multiplayer keys and all the DLC, but I don't see anything inherently wrong with it.

[D-vid]

As long as they say up front what you get from buying and what from DLC it's no difference from real DLC where you download the stuff, really. Still feels weird to have something right in front of you, inside something you bought, yet you are not allowed to use it.

Anyway. Humble Indie Bundle 4, with Cavestory+ and Super Meat Boy.
Do I want to buy it? Hell fucking yes I do. To be precise I already did.
Now that I think about it I could have asked someone of you for it as a birthday gift. Oh well.

[Madican]

The World of Warcraft example doesn't work because you can't buy it used, only new. Same with the other MMO's. They're a subscription-based model that doesn't leave any used copies to be a valid comparison. And with that model the game isn't even on the disc. There are no used copies because the entire thing is on the company's servers. All the disc does is download a door to those servers. The same door every other disc of its kind downloads, which is why the disc is worthless.

Multiplayer is a standard feature. Buying a used or new copy doesn't change the fact that the game has been programmed for multiplayer. It's built around it, like for a fighting game, the single player tends to take second place to the multiplayer. Locking it away is like giving a drumstick to someone who ordered a whole bird. It's a new business model that I really hope either doesn't spread or stays confined to the fighting/shooter genres as it seems to be doing.

Trying to get more cheddar out of your pocket than what the game costs just to play a core feature is wrong. As I said before, no other business does that. Buying used is something that has been around for a very long time. It means the company has already been paid in full for the game's use and has no right to seek out even more cheddar if the game trades hands.

And no, I don't think all companies are just out for the cheddar. In fact, I think the best ones are in it to make good games, with cheddar being the payoff for doing so. When a company focuses solely on acquiring as much cheddar as it possibly can then game quality takes a backseat to everything else. That's what's helped cause the perilous state of employment in the game industry, the cheddar grabs, and the glut of countless shooter clones, sport game clones, and licensed IP pieces of shit as said company throws everything at the wall and sees what sticks. However, the companies dedicated to their games, like Valve and Bethesda, turn out solid gold that stands alone among the other gold bars they've made. Yeah there's still DLC, but that's more like an expansion than a key piece of the game. And Valve has Steam, which is a legitimate way to counter the "threat" of used games, without underhanded tricks, by making them digital.

[Shad]

It's not a standard feature if the company doesn't decide it to be one.

[Madican]

When the entire game is built around that feature then that's what I'd call a standard feature. To try and word it otherwise is trickery and underhandedness.

[BurntToShreds]

And example of this would be BF3:
BF3 needs an online pass, and the majority of people bought it for the multiplayer. A person buying the game used has to pay for the used game and the online pass.

[Chaossebba]

And I'm pretty sure there's plenty of people buying those, as otherwise EA wouldve abandoned that idea long ago.

It's also a sort of reason to not buy it used, ensuring another _actual_ sale. From a business perspective side it's a strong argument to make, but I can't disagree that it still sort of is a dickmove since not everyone has the cheddar to go buy everything new, and I'm sure with a game like BF3 - If you buy it used, and then need to get the online pass you may as well have just bought a new copy instead

TL;DR - No matter how many people voice their complaints about it, valid or invalid - the numbers they're getting will speak louder. I don't really like it either and we can still go NO SIR I DONT LIKE IT, but for every one that does there might just be 5 people buying a pass so they can get online. So yeah, I don't really approve - but I get it

[Fatehehhhh]

Anyway. Humble Indie Bundle 4, with Cavestory+ and Super Meat Boy.

Oh God. I need this so ba--

HUMBLEBUNDLE.COM BLOCKED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON: GAMES

fffffffffffffffffffffffffff

[Syobon]

@Madican, you keep talking about companies wanting to wring cheddar out of their customers pockets, but they actually get nothing from used sales. It's pretty daisies common sense for them to encourage people to buy it first-hand. Be glad they don't just slap install limits on the disc.

Also, can you give an example of DLC being "a key piece of the game"?

but I can't disagree that it still sort of is a dickmove since not everyone has the cheddar to go buy everything new

Yes, let's feel sorry for people who can't afford their precious vidya. What a tragedy.

[Madican]

I'm not talking about DLC being a key part. I'm talking about multiplayer passes people need to buy if they get the game used.

And again, for there to be a used copy then it had to be bought. The company got the sale already. And for it to change hands, the original owner no longer has it. Nothing has changed except who's playing the game. The company has lost nothing.

[Shad]

Yes.

[Syobon]

@Madican, The company loses the sale it would have gotten if the customer had paid full price.

And why would a company hand out free unlimited multiplayer passes?

@Ame, the company will base it's decision on what customers are willing to buy. If companies start selling crap games without features, no one will buy them.The economy forces them to put out quality products, else a competitor will come along and push them out of the market with.

[KevTehNev]

Humble Indie Bundle 4 already?

Wow.

It's beautiful~ I want to get it but I already got my xmas cheddar and got a new PSU instead of just spending it on more games I couldn't play.

[D-vid]

@Madican, The company loses the sale it would have gotten if the customer had paid full price.

IF the person would have bought it for full price. I know I try getting the cheapest price I can find if possible, used or not.
Also if you buy it in retail the company already got the cheddar for the game from the retailer who sells it for a higher price than they paid for the game.

[Valbrandur]

So Bioware kinda flopped (from how the community sees it anyway) on their early game access thing for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

They send out waves of e-mails rather than trying to make sure everyone gets access as soon as possible.

On the first day, they did 5 waves and there are about 600 pages, 2 threads (one got locked for going over 1000 posts), mostly filled with angry customers complaining about it.

I personally think they should try and get everyone access as soon as possible rather than making waves but then again, I don't know how many are supposed to get EGA.

Also, those who pre-ordered early are acting snobby and entitled, saying they should have priority over those who pre-ordered later on.