THQ introduces its own 'Online Pass' in UFC 2010

I don't care what everybody says, this does hurt the consumer in this modern era. You see this would be fine for those who purchased new copies of the game as along they are the only ones who are going to play the game. Problem is games get played by multiple people. So are you going to let your sibling, child, cousin, or buddy play under your Gamertag/PSN ID? Not if you care about your record or reputation. $5-$10 for each additional account that they want you to pay to be online. Not good for multi user households.

They can easily fix this by given at least a 3-5 user count limit before having to purchase another online pass. Until they fix this issue, I am boycotting these games.

Within a week two other publishers have jumped on EA's idea. Saw this coming. As an Xbox user, this is completely antithetical to why I pay for Xbox Live, regardless of whether or not bandwidth comes from them or the developer.

For all you people who stick up for this idea, where were you people while Grin and other companies went out of business because people weren't buying their games? They don't go out of business because they were losing money hand over fist because of their online operations. They went out of business because their games were garbage, and no one bought them, new or otherwise. So far, the only companies to implement these ideas are companies that have franchises that guarantee them (relative) financial security. Madden is a million plus per year game. Hell, every EA sports game is. That's what those franchises are for. The money makers, so they can step out and try new IP.

I could understand indie developers using this idea, but companies that are already in a lucrative position with their (multiple yearly) franchises hardly deserve more money from me.

$5 is a brilliantly manipulative price. So if someone buys the used game for that much less at Gamestop without a discount card and realizes they can't play online (if no warnings are given by a sticker or, more likely, an informed employee), they may return it and get a new copy instead. And if a person knows about this, they'll just buy it new immediately instead of waiting a bit for a used copy to come in.

I'm not sure how well this will go, just as I am not sure how well EAs version of this online pass will be received, but THQ certainly has a shot at manipulating the market in their favor (and I'd bet EA is going to watch like a hawk to see if it works).

Good thing I don't care about UFC stuff.

@banstyle

it doesnt matter if developers see money from used games it has nothing to do with them. just remember that in order for a game to become "used" it was bought "new" that means developers have already made their money now they just want to make money twice on the same copy of a game.

imagine if you had to pay the manufacture of things every time you bought something used. that would be like buying a used cd from a friend of yours and still having to pay the band themselves before you could listen to it.

Just like EA, if more than one person plays on one console, like brothers for example, you have to pay more to play on diffrent accounts on the same console? Great move THQ :(

oh THQ .. just when you were really highly praised for Not doing something EA is going too do you had to turn things around and pull a EA over our eyes. i didn't buy UFC 2009 cause i borrowed it but i thought hey why not buy he 2010 edition when it's out ! but yea sorry i just don't wanna support an idea like that ( even if you gain $0 for used sales )

So if I rent it and there's no instruction manual to jack the code, I got to pay 5 bucks to play online then if I'm on xbox live and not gold, I go to pay again. WOW That's alot to get to play online. I wonder what will be next?

Sorry THQ, expect to see ZERO of my money on this game and future games with this included.

I buy most of my games new, and there is no way in hell I am going to boot up my PS3, pop in a new game and then have to search around and try to type in a code. I will just use put my money where my mouth is and not purchase games that have this ridicules price gouging. BTW I own 2 PS3's because I travel and what the hell am I going to do. Pay for two games? If they advertise online play then they better just pony up otherwise they have a big lawsuit on their hands.

i'm gonna copy these from above. this is mine:

*sigh*

i feel like some of you would throw yourselves in front of a train to save a game developer's dog. news flash: YOU are THEIR customer. it's THEIR obligation to serve YOU, not the other way around. you don't owe them any favors. i simply can't fathom why people are crusading against used games in the name of developers. you know what i bet Bungie would say about used games? "Cool, that's just more people playing our game." i mean seriously, people have already pointed out that a used game doesn't add strain to the online network, and there is already DLC for most games that a used game buyer might get. i can't understand why anyone would like this idea.

"Altairio @ May 20th 2010 11:23AM

He may not be contributing to their bottom line directly, but they are losing out on potential sales from people he might have persuaded to buy the game because he had such a great time with it. They lost out on potential revenue from future DLC he may have purchased for that used game. Also the negative word of mouth from him will likely travel further than the positive buzz they may have received had they not adopted this strategy.

I'm not sure why publishers feel they're entitled to an infinite revenue stream from each disc they put out. They're trying to work around the rule of first sale. Does Ford deserve a cut from that car you sold in the Sunday paper? Maybe they should include a one time pass for the brake system.

We don't OWE them anything. If they want more new game sales, don't penalize, incentivize."

and don't try to pull the "maintenance" card. the dev/publisher is paid to support online play for one player for each disk for the life of that disk. it doesn't matter if that disk ever changes hands.

Hopefully they'll stop this when it fails just like every other attempt to block used sales.

Just to switch it up a bit I want to say this about trading in games, DON'T! I went in there to Gamestop and they offered me $17 dollars for God of War 3. They then sell it for $54.99 . So now I'll do what I usually do, put it on craigslist for $35 which seems to be the sweet spot. Please don't trade in just for the buttraping principles alone.

At least we can confirm that THQ isn't going to adopt Ubi's policy in riding games of their instruction manuals.

This won't last long. Most games are bought used. We can all see that by looking at the money blankets that Gamestop sleeps under. The purchase of used games boosts franchise popularity which increases sequel awareness and sales. How many of us have overlooked an awesome game when first released and bought it used later? A game like Dead Space 2 owes a crap load of its growing popularity to the used purchases of the original.

The Devs most likely already know this and are only trying this to see if it works. I don't know if anyone notices but so far only sports games have been subject to this. That's because the next installment relies minimally on the former game. This is an experiment. As long as we don't fall into the trap we'll be fine down the road.

I smell a class-action suit coming. I can understand some type of content not being included but a whole gametype?

Well, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I was intending to rent UFC 2010 and EA's MMA game to figure out which I enjoy more. Then I will buy the one I like better as a used copy at my favorite local Gamestop, because I only intend to play the game hot-seat with friends.

On the other hand, I hate the very concept of this sort of thing.

However, if we do the math, just make sure you buy it used for less than (retail price -$5), and you'll be fine

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=116706781702473

Boycott EA and THQ...and most likely soon Ubisoft

join up and let them know ...WE WILL NOT BUY THIS!

I think this is where I stop playing video games in any serious amount for a while. This is a trend that's probably going to branch off into a much worse, and I honestly think it could bring down the industry if it's not controlled.

really though nevermind ebay, gamestop or eb games or any other way.. i have 3 xbox 360's and we all like to play in the comfort of our own room and share our games , my 2 kids and I, why the hell can't we play any game online for 360? This is ridiculous and to go another step further, THQ did such a crappy job on the first UFC online why would I ever consider paying for online play? THQ can go to hell I'm going with EA even though EA might do the same I'm going with them because I've never had such an awful online experience like I have with UFC 2009 Undisputed! I really hope THQ and any other company looking to tack on another service charge to play their games online read this and understand this is BS and I will not buy or support any company that goes this route!