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Online pass
15 years ago
It's amazing how video game companies are looking more and more like oil companies lately. The latest move, after a $10/game MSRP price hike, is this Online Pass thing that's being pioneered by Electronic Arts. Now before this I avoided EA's PC games because of spyware encoded into the games themselves, however they're now doing something on consoles that is even more heinous.
Now, when you buy a product used, should you have to pay a fee to the original manufacturer to see all of that product's features? Pawn shops, used car dealers, and trade-in shops have been selling used products for ages. EA, along with other companies now want people that buy a game used to pay an additional fee in order to access it's online content. THIS IS ON TOP OF EXISTING XBOX LIVE GOLD FEES. What's worse is that the test market for these games starts with the sports line, where the people are willing to bend over for the latest Fuck Me Over and Overcharge me Madden 2011 (really should be a $15 DLC to the game 3 years previous). No wonder the idea is going over so well, your test market is a bunch of sheep.
So I'm wondering if makers of Automobiles, TV sets, and other products are taking notice. Sony is already a part of this on the gaming front. In two years we might see DVDs and Blu-ray discs that won't let you watch the last three chapters of the movie without a code. I'll see this 5 years in the future that TV's will be built with lockout chips that require a new code to be entered each time it's connected to a new cable/satillite box or DVR, and the only way to get it is to shell out a $100 used TV fee. Perhaps in 10 years you won't be able to buy a used Ford unless you pay a $1000 used vehicle fee out of pocket. This looks like a slippery slope, however this is all related to how companies think.
Buyer Beware
Now, when you buy a product used, should you have to pay a fee to the original manufacturer to see all of that product's features? Pawn shops, used car dealers, and trade-in shops have been selling used products for ages. EA, along with other companies now want people that buy a game used to pay an additional fee in order to access it's online content. THIS IS ON TOP OF EXISTING XBOX LIVE GOLD FEES. What's worse is that the test market for these games starts with the sports line, where the people are willing to bend over for the latest Fuck Me Over and Overcharge me Madden 2011 (really should be a $15 DLC to the game 3 years previous). No wonder the idea is going over so well, your test market is a bunch of sheep.
So I'm wondering if makers of Automobiles, TV sets, and other products are taking notice. Sony is already a part of this on the gaming front. In two years we might see DVDs and Blu-ray discs that won't let you watch the last three chapters of the movie without a code. I'll see this 5 years in the future that TV's will be built with lockout chips that require a new code to be entered each time it's connected to a new cable/satillite box or DVR, and the only way to get it is to shell out a $100 used TV fee. Perhaps in 10 years you won't be able to buy a used Ford unless you pay a $1000 used vehicle fee out of pocket. This looks like a slippery slope, however this is all related to how companies think.
Buyer Beware
