In Episode One of The Show Danny spoke about the rising cost of downloadable content off the back of the unprecedentedly expensive Insurgency Map Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. A few months later, it seems like the next phase of publisher attempts at bleeding gamers dry is right around the corner.
Not satisfied with the billions of dollars made from the insanely popular Modern Warfare 2 map packs, Activision overlord Bobby Kotick has recently bemoaned the fact that his company doesn’t receive any income from Xbox Live Gold subscription fees despite “60 per cent of Microsoft’s subscribers are principally on Live because of Call of Duty”.
“If we are going to broaden our audiences, we are going to need to have other devices” he said to the Financial Times. Recent indications and predictions have pointed to the heavy weight publisher looking towards a subscription-based future for the Call of Duty series so it can remove regular sums of money from the bank accounts of its players.
The market for games is changing rapidly. Let’s take a moment to remember the income publishers and developers are genuinely losing out on due to the likes of used game sales. Retailers are pocketing millions by buying back titles from consumers for a fraction of the cost before slapping them back on shelves at a massive mark-up, cutting into new game sales while keeping one hundred percent of the proceeds.
Electronic Arts has already taken steps to make some money back from used game buyers. Additional content is locked behind one-use codes that only ship with new copies of games. People buying used can only access this content via Xbox Live Marketplace or the Playstation Network for an additional fee. This method not only encourages gamers to buy new but also draws money from the used buyers who would otherwise contribute nothing to EA’s bottom line.
Dubbed “Project Ten Dollar” by EA, the system has largely ducked the ire of gamers. This is probably due to the fact that Project Ten Dollar content in games like Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 consist of optional missions and map packs that don’t seem like they were purposely left out of the game to begin with.
Such new initiatives become more objectionable when the developers lock away core features that gamers are used to being free. EA Sport’s upcoming “Online Pass” system looks to do exactly that, preventing gamers from playing their titles online unless they buy new or pay the additional cost. In this case, it would seem Xbox Live Gold members in particular are getting shafted with this initiative since they’re already paying a premium fee for the privilege of playing online.
While this is a one-off payment it’s important to note that it’s on a per game basis. Every time you buy a used copy of a FIFA or a Tiger Woods you’re going to have to splash out another Online Pass. And that counts for every year’s new version too. Don’t expect your online pass for Madden NFL 2011 to work with Madden NFL 2012.
If you’re the type of gamer who exclusively buys new copies, you’re probably not that bothered by the Online Pass and Project Ten Dollar concepts. Activision’s rumoured plans of Call of Duty on the other hand might be more cause for alarm, especially if they plan on asking gamers to pay a subscription fee on top of the usual price of the games.
Thankfully, subscription fees probably won’t expand outside of the “Triple A” franchises that are already proven hits like Call of Duty. Microsoft published games on the Xbox 360 will probably never be subjected to similar extra fees since gamers are already paying the company to play online.
But what do the Citizens think? Are these new methods of draining gamers’ expendable funds justified? Is Online Pass a step too far for EA? Would Call of Duty users accept a monthly fee on top of their £10 map packs?
James Day
The industry is in danger of following Hollywood’s broken model of big budget/low chance of profit. It shouldn’t be the consumers footing the bill when the developers’ budgets get out of hand.
Like Danny touched upon, these methods are also another blow to the sharing culture of gaming, both amongst friends and through rental services.
A massive company like EA I have no sympathy for, but the more money the publisher makes, the more money the developer gets (I assume) so it means that hopefully the standard of games will increase.
This online pass stuff is really going to piss off gamers who have multiple accounts on their Xbox. Imagine 2 kids in a household who both play FIFA online with their own XBL accounts. I’m sure it’s the minority, but it’s kind of shitty. Totally fucked up rentals too.
I have no sympathy for games companies – it’s just another way to grind out a profit. They care little about gamers and we should care less about their profit margins.
Since I predominantly buy games new the whole concept of project ten dollar doesn’t concern me.
However subscription based features seems somewhat unscrupulous and underhand. More so when you consider the premium price we pay to access Microsoft gold service.
One result of all these measures is that borrowing games from friends is becoming less and less attractive, especially if online play becomes a feature I will have to pay for.