Thankfully, the auto industry doesn't follow video game trends, or else every used car you bought would require you to buy an engine as well.
Famed publisher EA Games is spearheading the effort to milk customers for every penny they've got. This unneeded attack on gamers' wallets is twofold. First, by packaging new games with multiplayer keys in order to access online play, and secondly, by offering downloadable content (DLC) that could have been incorporated into the game's release.
Recently, we ran a review of EA Sports' latest release, Fight Night Champion. The game, while packaged with an online pass, clearly discriminates against those who game on a budget. Players who pick up a used copy will be forced to drop an extra $10 to compete online.
Plus, those who invest in other EA Sports titles will pay an additional $10 on every game, as the pass does not carry over. That's some way to treat your customers.
While we commend EA for trying to grab its share of the used game market, all it's doing is hurting the gamers that give the company its hard-earned cash. Why should gamers be forced to pay extra for a mode that has been a standard in the industry for years when they already have to shell out for Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus?
This is purely an attempt at increasing profit. While this is the main purpose of any corporation, EA is doing so in a way that alienates a large portion of its fanbase. There needs to be a balance between revenue and customer satisfaction.
Even after the online mode is unlocked, various map packs and other DLC continue to berate gamers' bank accounts. A good example is 2009's Dragon Age. The game's developer released a title and proceeded to provide DLC on the day it was released, which more or less violated a cardinal rule in video games: don't charge gamers for something that should have been included in the game.
DLC, when properly spaced and rationally priced, is a great way to keep games feeling fresh long after their shelf lives have expired. But when it's released mere moments after a game hits the shelf, that's pure extortion.
A company that's always done DLC right is Bethesda Studios. By releasing Fallout 3 expansions at logical intervals, they produced a product that literally felt endless and kept us coming back time and time again.
Hopefully, in the near future, the corporate tyrant that is GameStop will become a cheap gamer's savior if it can strike a deal with the powerhouse publishers to package online passes at a discounted price. Or EA could just eliminate the online pass initiative in its entirety and stop taking advantage of its customers.
E-mail: james.twigg@ubspectrum.com
nicolas.pino@ubspectrum.com
