Epic Games is all about cutting down on the second hand market. You know, the used copies and game rentals market that publishers and developers don't see a dime of profit from. Well, Epic's Mike Capps has an idea that'll aid in getting gamers to buy new copies versus used. His solution: downloadable content.We already have seen Epic use DLC to help urge customers to buy new with Gears of War 2 and its Flashback Map Pack. But Capps wants to go one step further, he thinks the industry should use DLC to unlock a game's ending. "I've talked to some developers who are saying 'If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free.'" Interesting idea, but we don't even want to get into the logistical problems with DLC (must be connected to Live, etc.) and how much the gaming community would hate a developer for doing this. Good idea or bad, it'd be a hard sell to the gaming public. Maybe a good PR department would help.
[Via Binge Gamer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
11-10-2008 @ 3:21PM
skfireboy said...
Yeah, good luck with that one............
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11-10-2008 @ 4:06PM
Kev. Not flaming anymore said...
for real
gosh this is just horrible.
11-11-2008 @ 6:26AM
Charlie said...
Make every game worth buying and we'll talk. I rent because half of new games are crap!
11-10-2008 @ 3:22PM
BerNasty said...
This is horrible. I can understand the frustration that the developers are facing but, this is extremely selfish. What about all the gamestop employees? You want a little more profit at the cost of thousands of jobs? But what do I know im just a brainless consumer.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:50PM
Benjamin09 said...
Thousands of Gamestop workers gone? They wouldn't have a job without the game studios. So if the game studios cant make money, they fold up shop or if they cant grow they wont make as many games. In turn Gamestop will not have any games to sell new OR used cutting into their profits and then they will have to lay off workers.
Your logic is flawed, its like communism. Great in theory.... but not in the real world.
I doubt it will ever get as far as "Hey, 20 bucks to fight the final boss/get the ending." Gamers as a whole will never stand for this. The map pack in gears 2 and songs in RB2 are great incentives.
Companies should find a middle ground with big dogs like gamestop. Maybe an incentive to hold off on selling used copies of games but something. But on the other side of the coin if I was Gamestop, I would call up epic "ah yeah I need codes for the maps or I wont push your product" or something like that.
Its an endless fight, weird that someone would say something this stupid about restricting a game....
Sigh. its tough being in the middle between retailers and manufactures... I know. I live it every day but it pays my bills! WOOT!
11-10-2008 @ 9:18PM
Highimpact1 said...
Wait, wait, wait. Um what was this that whole communism comment? What are some of the major communistic countries right now, and are they doing well? You bet your capitalist ass they are!
I'm an American living in Ohio, but that was a pretty outrageous comment.
11-11-2008 @ 8:43AM
BerNasty said...
I believe the flaw in your point is that you fail to acknowledge how much profit the game studios are already making. Maybe I should have stated my assumptions in my comment. I was assuming that the studios did go the route of saying, "pay up for the final boss". It is my personal opinion, that if this were to happen gamestop would be in a lot of trouble due to the fact that their core business is the selling of used games.
* Please note that this is my personal opinion, any comments made here are not the personal views of X3F and its affiliates. (In a really fast low voice)
11-10-2008 @ 3:23PM
keebie said...
Go ahead and try that, I wont even buy the game new then. Ill just ignore it and play a game from a developer that isn't trying bend me over and butt rape me.
Make a game people want and they will buy it brand new on the day it comes out. Make a game that isnt so great, I will wait til it drops in price and get it used.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:23PM
MuDvAyNe said...
Most of the games I play are rented from Gamefly. I only purchase a select few from Gamestop. This would kill the local shops as well as others who rent games to people.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:24PM
OptimumEDGE said...
WTF? That is taking shit way too far. Just be f'in happy people are buying retail copies in the first place, no need to get ass hurt about what people decide to do with THEIR games when they decide to sell 'em.
I wouldn't buy any game from a developer who would do something like this. It sounds f'in greedy to me.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:26PM
Octantis said...
Rather than putting the burden on the backs of the consumer perhaps a game studio should withholding their product (gears) from resellers unless the resellers cut the studios in on a piece of the used game market.
I would much rather see something along the lines of RB2. Where you get some bonus content (20 songs) because you bought it new. I'm not sure how that could translate to other games though.
Rough situation in which no one wins.
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11-11-2008 @ 12:03AM
Phour ZwanZig said...
Easy, those who bought new can download the first DLC pack (which most devs charge for) for free... Give more insentive.. Devs want more, more, more.. For less.. Really IMO I think anything that they release as DLC, should have been in the game from the start.. DLC is letting them make less of a game, and charge more in the end..
Thats what Id do.. But Im with everyone that says they will boycot the Devs who do something foolish as they claim they are lookin to do...
11-10-2008 @ 3:26PM
DJCUEBALL said...
Can everyone just stop nickel and diming the consumers already? Games and other things are expensive as it is. Just stop.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:30PM
Jonman said...
Well duh. If you want to know how to cutback on 2nd hand sales, look to Criterion, and what they've done with Burnout. Free DLC that keeps on coming for months after the game releases. I'm not trading that sucker in until they're done giving me free stuff.
Mind you, I got my copy through Goozex :)
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11-10-2008 @ 3:30PM
Gemini Ace said...
I might just skip Gears 2 completely thanks to that comment.
Can no one learn from Valve? Or Criterion? This is as bad as when Sony batted around the idea of making a disc only play in one console.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:35PM
DBoyFlex said...
Gears 2 is good. Sure this is kinda a lame idea, and buying the game would be promoting their ideas maybe, but either way it is great. Borrow it or rent it or buy it used, but you gotta play it at least. Unless you didn't care for Gears 1.
11-10-2008 @ 3:30PM
Octantis said...
Another possibility: 2 versions of the game.
Version 1: Live enabled you get it for $30 instead of $60 but it is linked to your gamertag or console like an arcade game.
Version 2: You pay $60 for it but the game can be sold and resold.
I think a lot players would be willing to jump in on a border line game if only $30 were on the line rather than $60.
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11-10-2008 @ 3:57PM
Jim Halpert DM said...
You stole the words right out of my mouth. Although 40 or 50 dollars seems like a more likely price.
11-10-2008 @ 4:25PM
Jonman said...
Precisely. Part of what makes $60 an acceptable price for a game is the knowledge that I can recoup part of that fee when I'm done with it.
So in the end, the cost-of-ownership weighs in at $30-$40. If a new game costs that, I'm in. In fact, look at Banjo coming out this week. Brand new at $40. I pre-ordered it weeks ago, thinking that it's a freakin' bargain, especially as I get the XBLA game tossed in for free.
11-11-2008 @ 7:38AM
EdgeOne said...
Listen up developers, these are all better ideas than the one in the story!