Ubisoft Nuking Used Game Sales with Uplay

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@Alidan and others.

If you are purchasing the game at full price this issue does not effect you in any way shape or form.

If you are a 2nd hand purchaser you are NOT a "REAL PAYING CUSTOMER" as the developers make no money from your purchase. Therefore boycotting their range of games makes no difference to them as they were NOT recieving income from you anyways. They wont go bankrupt. And if ya boycotting due to the "principal" of the matter then I believe your just looking for trouble.
 
Ugh, I've skimmed these replies and it seems asthough no one here has gotten the obvious reason why companies are doing this. Yes they make profit from the first game sold, but the used game industry is still cutting into their profits. Here's the reason:

The first person buys the game, and Ubisoft profits. That person sells the game (either direct, or through Gamestop it doesn't matter) Ubisoft has now lost the chance to make money off of that second person. By doing this they are either forcing the second person to buy the game new, or they're making sure they get something off of the used sale.

 
[citation][nom]gcons[/nom]You're all forgetting that when you purchase a game, you are actually paying your part in a contract with the publisher licencing the game for your use. Any CD/DVD/Software are only the means for achieving your right under the contract. Any reselling should be licensed by both parties, i.e. you and the publisher. It's the same way with an all day pass at an amusement park. You can't go for half a day and then resell your pass for the other half.[/citation]


this argument is like tryign to hold water in a strainer , it jsut doenst work.

when you buy a book it is technically teh same case , you are buyign the right to read the written book , not take it modify or use any part of it in your own writing ,HOWEVER you can resale said , book , adn the author never sees a dime of that resale , you don't hear novelist crying about sued book sales killing thier pockets , nor do you hear them crying about how they should some how come up with a way to force the used market to still pay them.

so yeah game companies are being greedy douche bags with this mentality that they soem how should have a right to stomp on used games sales and piss on US law of right to sale.
 
[citation][nom]Hotobu[/nom]Ugh, I've skimmed these replies and it seems asthough no one here has gotten the obvious reason why companies are doing this. Yes they make profit from the first game sold, but the used game industry is still cutting into their profits. Here's the reason:The first person buys the game, and Ubisoft profits. That person sells the game (either direct, or through Gamestop it doesn't matter) Ubisoft has now lost the chance to make money off of that second person. By doing this they are either forcing the second person to buy the game new, or they're making sure they get something off of the used sale.[/citation]



did they really loose money ??? consider this fact , most gamers taht buy just used games , tend to be on the poor end of society (or theya re students) and don't have money for a 50-60 dollar game so, in all reality they would NOT buy teh game in teh first place if it was not availbe used. sure this isn't true of all consumers but it is very true for alarge portion of those used gmae sales. so really how much moneya re these guys relaly losing here? your guess is as good as mine , because ther is NO real way to measure , but i can guarantee you taht ubi soft smudges thier figures to say "sued gmaes hurt us " jsut so they can pass this crap on consumers and expect peopel to believe.

Now here is the reality

used games are NOT a new thing. comanpies crying about used game slaes hurting thier sales is realitivly new.

consider this now , when games went main stream the audience for video gmaes increased exponetially , as more and more people began to play games. consequencly the used market also increased exponetially as well.

back in say 1992 ther were maybe 2 milion gamers in all of US , and maybe out of thos million or so , say about 200,000 thousand gamers bought mostly used games , that's abotu ten percent... fast forward to today , there are over 30 million gamers in the us today and about 3 or 3.5 milion of thsoe gamers buy mostly used games but guess wahat that is Still ONLY TEN PERCENT of the market that is buyign only used games , just now that the number appears so much bigger , these ceo's can point a finger and say "Hey we are loosing money there" when really they arnt. and bleive it or not , it is rare to find a gamer that buys only used games,So really even the idea that 3 milion gmaers buy only used games is a bit ludicrous. i buy some games used myself but i just as often buy brand new games as well , so again the numbers are really fuzzy and this is all just bs excuses for publishers to rake in more money than they already do.
 
@Hobotu

You don't get it. Ubisoft is not entitled to money every time the game is sold. We live in a free market where if you want to sell something used that is your right if you own it. If Game Stop chooses to make an industry around the buying and selling of used games that is their right and they are doing nothing wrong. If the software company thinks they deserve to be paid every time their product is sold used they are wrong. Go look at what is for sale on Craigslist, all kinds of products from washing machines, to cars, ice cream makers, and most of it used. None of the companies that have made any of those products are entitled to more money just because their used products are being resold. Why is a video game any different?
 
/rant
Why the hell are game publishers so greedy? I heard the game industry is more profitable then the movie industry right now, that's saying something. They make millions off of each and every game anyway, so why annoy people so much? Doesn't greed stop anywhere?
To answer my own question, I guess it's because whatever they do, they can get away with it. It doesn't matter if its outrageous prices, unnecessarily complicated DRMs or retarded games (or the same games, re-branded) the sales only grow and grow, people keep buying and buying game after game, no matter how dumb the games are or how mean the companies act with their costumers. Boycot is impossible so they can get away with anything.

/endrant

Oh, and how is this any different from buying a used book?
 
There is no greed here. They don't think they are entitled to money for each 2nd hand purchase. They are giving you the option to purchase the online services that requires upkeep to maintain, this service is given for free if you purchase the game new. The idea is you have a CHOICE!
 
Everyone needs to stop whining. If you were the ones making that game, and you weren't getting the full benefit because people were selling it used, you would be upset too. Now I'm not defending EA because I don't like their business practices, what I am defending are the video game designers and animators whose pay and bonuses are directly influenced by the game being sold.

Intellectual property is different than a piece of equipment. Just buy a new game and stop being such tightwads.
 
"You can buy that used iPhone but it will no longer work until you perform unspeakable act of carnal pleasure on Steve Jobs."

Isn't this already the case?
 
@Anaxamenes

Please see my previous rant.

A video game that is sold retail to a customer is not IP, it actually is considered property, i.e. a piece of equipment.
 
It is very disturbing that so many people think that a video game that is sold retail at a store is still Intellectual Property. The amount of ignorance that people have is sometimes astounding, even to me, and I'm a bitter cynic.
 
So let's see:

1) Ubisoft requires a permanent Internet connection to play their games. Your internet goes down, no games for you.
2) Ubisoft deletes your transaction history, so in some cases if you didn't download the game, or you have to wipe your hard drive and reinstall Windows, you wouldn't be able to download it and thus have to repurchase the game (see http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/ir5z9/scumbag_ubisoft_delete_everything_make_you/ ) for details.
3) Ubisoft forces buyers of used games to pay them extra cash.

Maybe Ubisoft should be called Ubiscum. If there was any company worthy of having all of its software pirated by everyone, it's this one.
 
Used game sales subsidize new game sales. Remember, most people that sell used games do so to fund their purchase of new games. By attempting to kill off the used game market, how many new game sales will be lost? Many people are not willing to lay out $60 for a game when they know they will be unable to recover any portion of it later.

The real question should be, "Will the increase of new sales due to the lack of used availability outweigh the loss of new sales due to the lack of the used market subsidy?"

It is a false premise to assume that each used sale will become a new sale.
 
@ArgleBargle

Your 3rd point is wrong. They are not forcing you to pay them extra cash at all. You have the choice to pay for online services and additional content they they decided to bundle with the game brand new.
 
Used products are part of life. Some people prefer to purchase new products, and some people prefer to hunt for deals on used or refurbished products. These companies have already sold the games. It is none of their business what the consumer does with the game later on. If they want to add special features or additional content exclusive to members who purchase new games, that is all fine and dandy, but implementing restrictions within the game that require unlocking through one-time (or paid) registration is less than tasteful.
 
Very crappy they are doing this. My family is on a budget so the kids play used games that were one time purchased new so they got their money. I will for sure not be purchasing any NEW titles from any game makers doing this crap until they stop as I will not support the greed and BS.
 
Will be fun to see how this goes over from a legal perspective. Every country and even different states have different outlooks on the legality of EULAs.
 
Unlike something like a lawn-mower there are no parts to degrade so that people have to shell out money for parts. Plus, all you are losing is some extra content, and maybe multilayer access, which is an ongoing cost that needs ongoing income (wondering when online play will be a separate cost to consumers). The thing I like most about these kinds of movements by developers is that it will, hopefully cause used game seller(s) (Gamestop) to lower their ridiculous prices. $5 dollar difference between new and used is absurd.
 
[citation][nom]SmileyTPB1[/nom]You can buy that used iPhone but it will no longer work until you perform unspeakable act of carnal pleasure on Steve Jobs.[/citation]

I thought that was how it worked with a NEW iPhone. Or any other Apple product, for that matter. If they found out you bought one used, they'd probably try to have you executed.
 
It baffles me that if they wanted a piece of the used software market, then why not buy out gamestop and others? Then they can actually profit on other studio's games as well (especially nintendo resales, by far and away the highest sold used games).
 
[citation][nom]daniel123244[/nom]I would like to propose a boycott.[/citation]

I'm In. I buy all my games, and now the people who pay for their games legitimately are being screwed on the resale because of hackers?!?! I bought the game, I should be able to sell it if I want. No thanks. I'm not gonna buy any more games from any company who incorporates this technology.

What about the people who sell there games, to make money to buy newer games?? SCREWED!!
 
I like that Ubisoft made sure to mention that there will be a logo on the packaging of games that utilize this system. This will make avoiding those titles so much more interesting. Once a physical copy of a game is sold the publisher has no more claim to any revenue generated by the title transfer of said game. They like to complain about the cost of hosting servers and 'continuing support costs' but in reality this argument is deeply flawed. Every publisher pumps out DLC for their titles which is a constant source of post sale revenue and many games let people PAY to have servers hosted. Look at what EA did with BFBC2 - you have to rent servers from EA if your clan/web site wants one. This is just a cash grab and nothing more. This adds no value to the customer and actually decreases the overall value of the product. If these companies really want a slice of the re-sale market I suggest that negotiate terms with GameStop and the other major game re-sellers. These stores are buying titles used for a song and then turning around and charging folks decent money. Maybe a royalty system similar to how iTunes operates would be a reasonable solution. The publisher/Developer makes money on resales, customers still get a good value, and the re-sellers are able to continue to operate. If this trend continues on to envelope all publishers - you can kiss game stop good bye.
 
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