Dirt 3's 'VIP Pass' can't be disabled for PS3 owners

by JC Fletcher on May 25th 2011 12:30PM

WB and Netherrealm earned some goodwill from PS3 Mortal Kombat owners recently, by disabling the "Kombat Pass" and allowing players to fight online without redeeming the one-time-use code in the PlayStation Store (which is down). Unfortunately, such a concession won't be possible for Dirt 3.

"We've looked into doing something similar for Dirt 3 but it's not technically possible," a Codemasters rep told Eurogamer. "It's hard-coded into the game." Removing the VIP pass requirement would involve a patch, the publisher explained, which would likely take longer to push through than it will take for the Store to come back online.

An alternate solution to this problem (though not for Dirt 3, since it's already out) would be to cut out Online Pass schemes in general. We wonder if anyone has suggested that.

Source: Eurogamer

Tags: codemasters, dirt, dirt-3, online-pass, playstation, playstation-store, ps3, psn-outage-2011, vip-pass

Reader Comments (77)

This whole "online pass" crap really had my respect for Codemasters take a nosedive.

@PointlessPuppies

Since these companies are there to make money the online pass is damn smart. Personally I don't buy used games so I'm not affected by them. I don't know how people get so upset over them. It's not hard to figure out why they are using them. It's because they are losing money off of their sales rights by places like gamestop selling them used. I mean in the end they probably lose millions of dollars on used game sales. This is huge considering how much it cost to make games nowadays. Even if you buy that used game for 20 bucks and then the online pass for 10 your still saving 30 dollars more than if you bought it new.

I didn't know this game had one of those VIP Passes. I guess I won't be buying it.

(I don't buy second hand games, but I also don't willingly support practices I don't agree with)

@Banksyliveraa
I don't see how buying second hand video games is so bad. Take for example, I wasn't interested (or had money and time) when the original Dead Space came out. After hearing so much about it, I decided to buy a cheap $15 used copy at Gamestop.

Now fast forward, I own Dead Space 2, the DLC, Dead Space Extraction (Wii version), and Dead Space on the iPad. All those I bought first hand. This is money in their pocket that I would not have had had I not bought that used $15 copy.

I've downloaded music in that way... Torrent some music just to try out an artist, then I legitimately purchase all of their music because I enjoyed their music. Of course, not everyone is like this... I was just expanding my point.

Sometimes that "income loss" that so many industries talk about could potentially turn into profit later on down the road. I don't like Online passes... though I understand them.

@Bewoulf
It's not bad is why. The developers were paid, and the only servers used beyond that are manufacturers. It doesn't cost them a penny to run (beyond licenses). So yeah, second hand isn't bad and these publishers are trying to make out that it is bad.

So that's why I'm not support any developer or publisher who goes down this route.

@Banksyliveraa

Well I don't support practices I don't agree with either, but let's be honest - we only do this to a very limited extent - we basically won't do this if we really want something.

I mean if the PS3, 360 and the Wii implemented this type of thing as a system wide policy from the beginning, I'm guessing you wouldn't be sitting here without any of these systems.

@JasonA
I would yes.
But my gaming tastes are interchangeable. I'm happy on a Wii, Xbox, PC/Steam and handheld consoles. If one of those were "to fall" then, ho hum, next machine please.

@Banksyliveraa Well... the devs were paid once when they could have been paid (at least) twice. That's still a loss, no?

The timing for VIP passes just seems exceptionally bad -

@Supino

Same for any pre-order bonuses that require the store. Anyone who got one of the extra cases from L.A. Noire pretty much just has a useless piece of paper for the moment.

@ColdHeat

Or you can scratch the foil covering the code and pretend it's a scratch card where everyone is a loser, GUARANTEED!!!

You can´t blame Codemasters (or any developer) for Sony problems....

@Vidaluko

You can blame them for including consumer-unfriendly PITA's that also rely on services out of their control.

@Vcize All the games with a pass like this one, I have them in the 360 (I dunno why, I get games for both consoles) and I have never got a problem, besides the fact you need to input the code, that takes 2 minutes....

@Vidaluko

You have them in the 360, eh? Like ... At the same time?

I just got a great deal on MoH recently and can't play online because of the code you need to enter. Project $10 is a nuisance right now.

@Kyle4 mmm, which plataform?? MOH online pass is not required for online gameplay, it only unlocks some weapons and the Hot Zone DLC for PS3 users, it also gives you early access to the BF3 beta.

@jmr1986 Didn't know that, I thought it also unlocked online gameplay. Guess I'll just wait to unlock the two shottys and the bonus map then.

Amen.

I dream of my own gaming project (one that will almost certainly never come to fruition) pretty frequently, and I had a goofy idea pertaining to this VIP pass trend... instead of robbing someone the ability to play online with a used copy, force them into watching a mini-documentary on the drawbacks of buying used each and every time they enter multiplayer until they acquire a "VIP pass."

I don't see anyone taking that approach, but if it did come to pass, I would laugh. A lot. Perhaps too much.

@darkinchworm

I dream of never buying this product that will almost certainly never come to fruition.

@Dismissile

Asshole, much?

Hey i got a crazy idea ! toss this online code crap in the garbage and let people play without one like the good old days from last year ! or was it the year before it ?

They're probably going to just keep doing them. I doubt the PSN outage is going to have much impact on them unfortunately. They're probably thinking "Oh we can keep doing that. What are the odds it would happen twice!?"

DRM = 1
People = 0
Really, is there any consumer that actually want this online pass's?

@Trogdorwhore

Yes. I see them as a perfectly reasonable way to get a little bit of money from people who buy used games.

@BlueXArmed

So, if you bought a used Corvette, would you also feel like it'd be perfectly reasonable have say the radio locked out until you paid GM $500 for an "entertainment pass", or perhaps only have access to first and second gear until you buy a "highway pass" for another $5000?

Why is this supposed to be acceptable in video games? Do publishers get a cut when you buy used books? Movie studios get a cut when you buy used DVDs? Record labels get any money when you buy used CDs? No. No. and No.

"Oh, but what about the servers we maintain for people to play? That costs us money, those people buy used games didn't contribute to tha and now we have another person stressing the network!"

Yes, the person that bought it new and resold the game... remember the money you received from them? Yeah, you still have it, and that's what paid for one player to use your servers, and yeah, the original user is no longer using it because they passed the game along to someone else, so it is still one PAID player causing no additional server stress.

Cash grab is a cash grab is a cash grab. I don't mind if they call it what it is and trying to charge for it, but hiding behind "We are losing money because we have to maintain servers for all these used game players", is at the least misleading if not dishonest even.

@Hsuchi

I like the used car example, and I think your points are valid, but I, myself, hate buying used games. When I go into Gamestop to pick up a game, and they don't have a new copy, I feel bad when I buy the used copy. This is just me; I'm not trying to speak for anyone else. I want the publishers and developers to get as much money as is reasonable for the games I enjoy, because I want them to make more.

I just played Enslaved. I loved it, and I wish there could be another game like it. But there won't be, because it didn't sell well enough. If everyone who bought it used had bought it new, would there be another Enslaved game? I don't know, but the chances would have been better.

@Hsuchi You've obviously never needed to buy replacement parts and the like from the manufacturer. :-) The Online Pass stuff is pretty benign as stuff goes if you think about it--it does nothing to block someone copying the game without buying it as long as they're only playing solo, but if you want to add to their network load (which is *not*, as someone else claimed, without cost to the company), you contribute a little to that. 'F2p' games do similar, by making their games a PITA to play unless you pay for little things here and there like bag space and the like.

@Hsuchi
When you buy a used car you still have to buy new parts from the company. So, they still make a lot of money. As I've had to buy plenty of parts for a 1993 GMC truck and it costed well into the thousands, and this was just minor fixes.

Seriously it's taking advantage of the consumer we already pay for the game, the online service, the console, the extra content I mean it's ludicrous to think all gamers are made of money.

VIP passes are craptastic

Am I the only one OK with online passes? The devs have to pay to keep the servers up for that game. So, if they give online to people who didn't give them money, they are losing money. And it's not like pc gaming that whenever someone wants to play, there will be a way.

@DarkSan00

Not on Xbox, they don't...

@DarkSan00

Well there's the flaw in your logic...

"So, if they give online to people who didn't give them money, they are losing money."

A game bought used was once bought used. Once they sell that game, they can no longer go online. The next person who buys it (used) should be able to go online and play since the person who bought it (new) can no longer play online. Unless copies are being pirated, there will always be one user per one sale online. Once you start getting 4 sales for 1 retail disc is when the company starts padding their pockets with illegitimate practices versus making compelling games that draws in fans.

@DarkSan00
i agree with you completely... game budgets are getting ridiculous and now every game needs to be online, so not only do they have to develop a whole other dimension to the game but now they have to pay for servers.... come on its $10's and you probably save 20-30 by buying used!!

if the publishers and developers dont push this, then they will lose money, developers will close and we will have less product and then you will all be bitching about that.

@DarkSan00 They already got the money with the guy that bought the game new. They already covered those expenses with the people that actually buy the games brand new.

Maintaining servers? Again, the dude that bought the game brand new, already paid for that. Is not like people have 2 copies of the same physical game (piracy), the dude SOLD his copy. There is only one physical copy of that game. Got it?

Everything after that is just extra money for them, which I dont support.

@ObiAlKenobi
The idea that "the game was paid for so that server space is paid for forever" is incorrect. All businesses factor in a time when something will stop being used. Either the item wears out, or people lose interest. Games never wear out (with normal use). So it can be resold indefinitely, and that means the same copy will utilize the servers long after it was budgeted for.

Consider the example of a bottomless soda at McDonald's. Using the same logic, you could say that your $1.50 paid for all the soda you could possibly drink (true). So that means you are not doing anything wrong by reselling that cup over and over to everyone else who walks in, ultimately drinking gallons and gallons of soda for $1.50. Because all of that soda has already been paid for with the initial $1.50 (false). Same thing with the $10 pass. It addresses the fact that a single new copy of the game gets played far beyond it's projected lifespan.

If people don't like the VIP pass, I see two solutions. 1) Figure out how many times a game is normally resold and charge that much up front. If a game is resold 5 times, charge the first person $300. 2) Design discs to wear out just like every other used item. Each time you spin up the disc, it degrades. So after maybe 30-50 hours of play the resolution drops a bit and the colors fade. Maybe certain features stop working. Then used sales will be more like every other used market. ;-)

@DarkSan00 Uh most of these games don't have servers thier peer 2 peer so they are not losing money at all in the whole grand scheme of things they are just raking in money hand over fist. And correct me if I'm wrong but don't retailers buy the copies of the games from the publisher if thats true then they made theyre money already ? Im guessing this is why they are so big on mentioning units shipped rather then units sold cause retailers like GS BB are the ones making sales. I could be wrong.

@Zippon Your logic regarding the bottomless soda fails. If I walked into a McDonald's as it opened and ordered a pop I could refil that all day long if I choose to sit in the store that long.

And McDonald's has no transfer of ownership in its food. Try something more similiar, such as a CD, book, movie, car, or home.

@TRTX
Actually, you're asked to leave after so long of sitting there and drinking. As my friends and I had that happen when we used to skateboard around town. We'd stop at a fast food place and order sodas for all. We were eventually asked to leave, or pay for more drinks.

@ColdHeat
Let me guess, you've never held a job or even taken an economics course?

Game prices are pretty much capped. Some games cost millions more than others to produce, but they all cost about the same. Why? Public perception. People think games should cost X number of dollars. Period. Watch someone create the most awesome game ever, using 3x the staff and 5x the budget of a typical AAA title. And they charge $62 instead of the $60 standard. You can bet this forum will be filled with posts talking about how "evil" and "greedy" they are and how everyone will just steal the game instead. So no, it's not their fault for not pricing the game as high as it should be.

Let's flip it around and say it isn't the developer's fault if you can't pay $10 to play their game online. Since you bought used, you didn't pay them anything, so why should they care about you? Let Gamestop provide your online pass. They are making all the profit.

People can downvote me all they want. It just shows I'm one of the few adults on this forum who has business experience. I understand that there is more to this than "evil, greedy corporations" stealing money from poor, underprivileged gamers. If people can't see the plain truth of Gamestop's BILLIONS in revenue as a middleman versus game studios closing their doors left and right, then they need to open their eyes.

I don't know..I guess I've become used to these online passes..buy new game, open new game, see slip of paper with code, enter code, its easy. Bought the game used? well if you bought it at least a month after it came out, you probably already saved $10, so buying thru PSN or XBLA for $10 still saves you money off MSRP launch price.

Really not that big of a deal people, its not DRM by any means either. But I agree, b/c of Sony's problems and these codes coming out with some popular games, does suck for people who want to play multiplayer..however, you still got the game, you will be able to play online shortly..

@ToKeN2k6

It would be less of a big deal if it worked consistently. There have been several major games (Madden and NHL) who's authentication servers were broken on launch day, meaning that even if you had an online pass you couldn't enter it.

Now, we've seen another shortcoming with the PSN/XBL stores being down.

Coming up with a system to punish people for buying used is one thing. It's an entirely different thing when that system is so poorly implemented that it affects people that are buying the game they way you want them to (IE: new).

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I dont support this aproach of companies trying to squeeze more hard earned money off from the hand of the gamers.

What I would do is make this "online pass" turn into an "ad-free pass", in which, developers place many ads in their multiplayer or single player games or both if games have both components.

Then, if you pay $10(or buy the game new, which include a code for enable this), all those ads will be removed, otherwise, if buy it used and dont have the code or you refuse to pay those $10, you will be flooded with ads in your online component.

Online passes are such an awful idea. Instead of taking away something from used purchases, why not add something nice to new purchases? Maybe a free DLC episode, or a free gun, something so that there is more incentive to buy new but less punishment for buying used. Online is a part of the game regardless of how much you buy it for. DLC and add-ons are not.

@RasenganFury

While I agree totally with your idea of giving incentives to buy brand new instead of punish, I'm not sure about DLC and add-on not being a integral part of the game itself.

The new studio's tactics are: cutting content from the game developed during the standard development time, then sell it as if was "brand new content" developed after the game was finished, which is not true otherwise 1st day DLC's wouldnt exist.

In fact, many companies goes further and they make people believe that they spend time AFTER the game is finished by releasing that content that was cut 1 or 2 months after release date, when in reality they already had the content since long time ago.

@nerdydesi At least we still have handhelds, right?

...right?

damn Sony get your shit together. How long does this shit take. I'm a Network Admin and just can't understand how a multi-billion dollar company can have their system down for so long, it's crazy.

BTW: I support these online passes, want the devs to make all the money they can to keep making games for me.

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DiRT 3

Dirt 3's 'VIP Pass' can't be disabled for PS3 owners

Reader Comments (77)

Posted: May 25th 2011 12:37PM PointlessPuppies said

Posted: May 26th 2011 11:59AM thered said

Posted: May 25th 2011 12:40PM Banksyliveraa said

Posted: May 25th 2011 1:01PM Bewoulf said

Posted: May 25th 2011 3:43PM Banksyliveraa said

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Posted: May 25th 2011 3:33PM Hsuchi said

Posted: May 25th 2011 4:37PM BlueXArmed said

Posted: May 25th 2011 6:10PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 25th 2011 6:39PM The Aquacharger said

Posted: May 25th 2011 12:52PM ROORHighness said

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Posted: May 25th 2011 1:32PM ObiAlKenobi said

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