Catwoman unlocked in Batman: Arkham City through online pass

@The Aquacharger That's how they get you.

@The Aquacharger no she isnt. you dont need to buy her to get the platinum. she does have her own set of dlc trophies just like robin and nightwing though.

@Tommy758

Meh, or I go on not caring about how many magic trophies I have in fairy-town on the intertubes.

I play games on the hardest difficulty because I want a challenge, and I want to have fun. The joy of getting an achievment is gone only seconds after I got it.

@The Aquacharger

Great!! more payments for stuff that is on the disc........

@The Aquacharger

So what happens if your console doesn't have access to the internet?

@Kimchi Kommando

Don't even say that, that's every company's worst nightmare.

@The Aquacharger

People still care about trophies and achievements? Really?

@AltairArcanum It should. You can't give away PC games and no one bitches about that. They're all tied to you Steam account and people love the service.

@TheTorch

but thats digital distribution and nit PHYSICAL MEDIA which really sucks...

@AltairArcanum

I still don't get why gamers promote this type of behavior.

This is different from games like Alan Wake, which included a DLC chapter via code. I considered that a bonus, as the game without it is fully complete, and the DLC chapter came out after the fact.

But this is kinda BS. Catwoman was frequently advertised as a main component of the game. Making those missions only unlockable via code is simply sticking it to the consumer. There's no way around that.

@DaDiddles

Um, it says in the article that the code for Catwoman comes FREE in new copies. So... free means no extra money, other than the cost of buying the game at retail price. Which you would do anyway if you want to play the game.

@JonahStein

Renting, borrowing from a friend, buying used, there's more ways to play a game than just buying it new.

It's just a cash-grab and nothing more. If publishers really hated used game sales so much, why do they always give pre-order bonuses to Gamestop? It makes no sense.

I hate these types of practices out of principle. I was looking forward to Batman, but I think I'll just wait until Gamefly offers it during a sale promotion. Pick it up nice and cheap and still get the download code.

@BFBeast666 Don't forget the pre order bonuses.

@BFBeast666

Gamers only have themselves to blame. Publishers will keep doing it if gamers keep buying it. Simple supply and demand. If you really want to send a message, don't buy games with these passes.

@bxgt

Especially the retailer specific ones...it's like upgrading from original recipe to extra crispy.

@BFBeast666
Just to play devils advocate, extra money incoming means more staff hired meaning bigger and better games. Well, bigger for sure.
Hey it's the free market. Buy it or don't.

@Alex Oglitchkin The PS Vita will have games in physical format, in tiny little cartridges.

@BFBeast666

..... almost to the point where the consumers need to unionize just to avoid being screwed. Viva la resistance!

@Alex Oglitchkin I buy all sorts of games new. But if I have less incentive to trade in games I'm finished with to mitigate the costs, guess what? That means I buy less new games than I do now.

@BFBeast666

Yeah! How dare those publishers try and make money to stay in business during a recession! Self-preservation makes you greedy now! Yeah!

@gordogg24p If you honestly think that EA is in danger of going under I have a bridge to sell you.

@Faceless Troll

A troll bridge?

@dogmaticatheist

At first I thought i was going to agree with your statement, about gamers having themselves to blame. But then it went a different direction.
Yes, it is the fault of gamers... who buy all their games USED instead of new. It's amazing how people will buy somebody else's used game for like $5 cheaper than new, and then complain about having to pay $10 for extra content.
Duh, it's called "incentive". See, it's actually cheaper to buy the game new, and also the money actually goes to the developers. If any of you want to support a great game from a developer you like, you owe it to yourself and the rest of the gaming community to buy your games new.

@dogmaticatheist

Yeah, "vote with your wallet" strategy rarely works.

Plethora of idiots + money / x = soon departed.

@Alex Oglitchkin For a person who buys games new, the online pass is the minor evil. And since i usually don't trade in my games, I actually can live with it, apart from the bit where I have to spend my quality time squinting at badly printed unlock key sequences instead of playing the actual game.

And if the publishers need to squeeze all that extra money out of the customers to stay afloat, it's about damn time they trim down the fat. Anyone read the credits sequence of any given AAA-game lately? Two dozen people doing the creative work, easily thrice the number doing management duties. It's not that EA and ActiBlizzard are in danger of going into the red actually, it's only the fear of looking bad on Wall Street or losing investor cred. I bet you any kind of money that EA or Acti have more than enough operating capital to stay afloat even without in-game adverts, ridiculous DLC schemes and whatnot. It's just about getting EVEN MORE. I'm the last person on earth to deny a business it's right to make money, but there are limits. And in my book, we're already past that limit and still accelerating. I don't mind paying 50 Euros for a new game. But I DO mind paying 50 Euros for a game where at least a third ist obviously cut from it to sell it piecemeal afterwards. I DO mind that my 50 Euro purchase does not give me access to all the game has to offer, no, I'm supposed to shell out another 40 Euros for a season pass and another 40 for weapon skins (haha!). Not happening.

And there is enough evidence available that shows that a good game will sell like mad, even without five different studios sharing assets. Minecraft. Nuff said.

@BFBeast666
Nintendo doesn't require you to buy DLC and have online passes to get the complete experience from their games.
Just wanted to throw that out there...
That's actually one of the main reasons I still like them as a company

@JonahStein

By your logic, the auto, book, music, and movie industries should have gone out of business a long time ago.

There is no evidence whatsoever that used game sales harm the industry, but plenty of arguments to be made that it helps the industry.

@Alex Oglitchkin

Why downvote him? He's 100% right - physical medium is already halfway out the door

@dogmaticatheist Yeah, but like EVERY DAMN GAME is doing this these days. Do you really expect gamers to just stop buying new games altogether?

@BFBeast666 yet gamers , cry that they should have the right to buy games used and resell there games , and that these online passes devaule when you resell a game. if you should get the right to buy used , then why can't they put online passes , season passes , ect.

@BFBeast666

I'm glad I'm not the only one...I think this gen I bought maybe 25% as many new of what I used to last gen.

The rest are ..well.. last gen games released in a new format....at least I know where to go if I want to play FPS games.

@AramanTSG

Yup. If you still buy the games than you can't complain because by giving them your money, you are letting them know you find their practice acceptable.

@dogmaticatheist

I wish it was that simple.

Whenever something becomes an industry wide trend your only alternative as a cosumer is to exit the market completely, few people are willing to go that far and publishers know it. It is actually very easy to shove things down the consumers' throats. Capitalism ho!

@dogmaticatheist

Yeah, used sales helps the Gamestop industry. But I'm talking about the developing community. Just recently, Joystiq posted an article about Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream guesstimating how much money was lost on their title from used sales. If that money had gone yo the developer, then sales of that title would look better, and the corporate funds might be allocated for work on a sequel, or another game from that developer.
There are lots of other examples. Every year Gamestop posts larger profit margins, and the publishers have to come up with these stupid ways of getting paid for the product they are selling.
I know used game sales will continue, people want to get money for old games. I'm just saying the $5 you are saving buying used only hurts you more in the long run. The evidence is plainly written in this post. EA's "project ten dollar", and almost every other publisher's own version of it isn't going anywhere soon, either.

@The Cole Train they are talking about the specific dlc challenge maps that catwoman has.

@8bitartist

No, these are story missions that are part of the single-player campaign. The boundaries of what publishers are willing to lock out with an "online pass" are rapidly dissolving.

I do not like this. First off, I am purchasing this game for full retail price on day 1, paying extra for release-date delivery, so my issue is not that I'm trying to avoid paying the developers.

Here's the thing: if you want to stop all used-game sales for your title, then make it a digital download title. DONE. PROBLEM SOLVED.

Why won't the publishers do this? Because many consumers don't want to pay $60 for a digital download.

Why are consumers willing to pay more for a retail disc than a digital download? Because the retail disc has valuable extra features, like PORTABILITY and RIGHT OF RESALE.

So the publishers are trying to create an artificial economy here. They want consumers to pay retail disc prices for the game, but they only want to give the consumer digital download features of the game. No portability. No right of resale.

They are trying to "punish" (or tax) secondhand users, but I'm going to be inconvenienced as a day-one purchaser. I have to enter codes to get my game working properly, and I get reduced value if I end up selling the game because I don't like it (Ha!). As with DRM, I despise schemes that penalize the people who play by the intended rules in order to get at the ones that don't. It's called negative reinforcement, and it's a dumb strategy.

@The Cole Train Maybe they'll do it like they did with Dragon Age. "Hey look, here's a guy offering you a shiny new quest! Want to go on the quest? BUY THE DLC!"

@copa

Well put. I dislike being inconvenienced after spending $60. I want games to just, y'know, work.

@Faceless Troll

That was the first thought that entered my head, too.

Having a DLC salesman in game (in an area you return to constantly, no less) soured me on Dragon Age and BioWare so much more than I would've expected.

There's something to be said for expansion-like content extending the life of a worthy property, but when you're a few hours in to a brand new game on the day you purchased it and they're already letting you know that you don't actually own the full game, it just feels like betrayal.

If you're going to try to nickel and dime me, fine. Go for it. If you're going to rub my face in your efforts, then there are infinite dicks which you should be eating.

@mywhitenoise

that's what I'm doing. I don't like this at all. This is part of the game and they making a pass for it? I'll wait another year or two

@mywhitenoise

Good idea...I think I'll catch that train of thought too.

@MrMonochrome

Hefty price for Catwoman then, Robin and Nightwing would be 3 bucks cheaper.

@(Unverified)

But Nightwing and Robin don't have boobs... BOOBS

@(Unverified)

Pussy ain't cheap.