EA Responds To Complaints About Dragon Age DLC Scheme

EA/Bioware plans to make it worthwhile to buy Dragon Age: Origins brand new. Introducing a new scheme that is bound to rub a few individuals the wrong way, the company has announced that anyone opting to pre-order or purchase a brand new copy of its upcoming role-playing game will receive with their orders a free DLC entitled "The Stone Prisoner".

The move has since received a barrage of complaints, prompting an EA/Bioware employee to make a response, which can be read in the article.

[ElementX]

I think this is a good move... Give new game buyers something extra. Why buy a used game from Gamestop? They reduce the price by $5 on newer games, might as well fork over the few extra bucks and get it new anyway.

Also, you can find good deals on new games on Ebay, Amazon, and Half.com

@ 2
What are you saying "the moment you sell a game you should have to guarantee a way to pass your DLC along with it out of the box." I'm not following you.

What about new cars??? Say a dealer gives you $1000 cash back on a new car. Do you think they're going to give you $1000 back on a used car of the same model?

[TheHater]

I agree. I think this is a great idea and I will support this. More developers/publishers should do this to get people to purchase games new rather than used.

[Tony P]

It's not as if they're making the DLC itself exclusive to new orders only. You can still buy it later even if you get the full game used.

[raztad]

As long as this DLC is just something extra, I dont mind. I never buy DLCs, I prefer to save some money for other games. If game is good enough EA will have my money regardless the dlc.

[FreeMonk]

Epic did this with Gears of War 2 and the 'Flashback Map Pack', and no one moaned about that?

[bmw69]

I think should be illegal, or considered by law some sort of foul marketing. You can't discourage second hand market cheating this way. In my opinion, the moment you sell a game you should have to guarantee a way to pass your DLC along with it out of the box.

[TheHater]

I disagree with you. So is it fair for developer not to get a cut of the pre-owned market? Do you have any idea how much developer looses because of the used market industry such as Gamestop?

Do you have any idea of how many copies of MGS4, Uncharted, Halo 3, Gears of War 2+1, COD4, and other multi-million selling games looses to the USED game market? All those used game sold, developer/publisher do not get a cut on it.

That why I am supporting the bestbuy used price matching for gamestop used game price. That way, developers still get a cut of the game.

[ElementX]

I meant to agree with 2.1

I clicked agree on 2.1 but it added it to 2 :(

*EDIT*
Weird. I clicked 2.1 agree, the screen refreshed and it showed my agree for 2, but now I scroll back up after commenting and it's back to an agree for 2.1. What a messed up site

[StillGray]

I don't think it should be illegal. I mean, why? You can always vote with your money if you do not like it.

[creeping judas]

[creeping judas]

I agree with you 100% on your 1.1 post. But not to this one.

Let me ask you does GM, FORD, CHRYSLER receive kick backs or money from used car dealerships when one of their products is sold as second hand??

[Nihilism]

they shouldn't get a cut of the second hand market because that's not how to world works, do car companies get a cut from second hand car sales?, if i sell a cd second hand does the record company get a cut?

this cheap ploy at conning gamers into buying new is b.s, and is a result of unimaginable greed.

once a person buys a game they own it, if they sell it they get some of the money back, and with that money from trading games they get new games, i don't think the thick heads of the E.A and activision execs realize that alot of their new game sales come from money that was gained by trading in games, it's a cycle that continues sales, not stops it, and it's not like everyone who buys a game new trades it in, i never trade games..unless they were absolutely horrific

edit: @2.7
i agree, but car companies don't go crying saying, but teh second hand sales are taking our moneyz, like game publishers do, car companies know that buying a car second hand is a consumer choice, what E.A is doing isn't giving out incentives to buy new their creating drawbacks for second hand

[TheHater]

no they (car companies) don't. But buying a new car, you sometimes get a year worth of gas, free XMB radio for a year, and other services for a year. I do not see people who buy used cars complaining about not getting any of those service. The same thing can apply to the gaming Market. If developers/publisher give people who buy the game new something extra, then people who buy it used should not complain.

[iLoki]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing incentives to buy something new vs used. The developer doesn't get any money from a used sale whatsoever.

I think this is a brilliant tactic to support and bolster new software sales.

[Poopface the 2nd]

you can still trade in games exactly the same. This still rewards you if you use your trade in value toward purchasing a new game as opposed to a used one. Gamestop only lowers the used game price 5$ anyways. This free DLC is worth 15$ so its still worth it to buy the new copy.

AHAHAAHAHA at the first guy. Why should this be illegal? You cant sell other dlc used anyways unless its on a disk. They are giving a majority of the customers 15$ of content for free as a reward for supporting them. If some chaep azzes really need to save 5$ by buying it used thats their choice. If you want to save money I wouldnt buy it a GS as you will only save 5$ and loose 15$ of content.

You can still trade in games and put that money toward a new game and get the content. If your worried about getting ripped off you shouldnt be trading games in a gamestop anyways.

[creeping judas]

Ok maybe I misunderstood what you meant. But I agree. No one expects the $1000 of free gas, or XM satelitte subscription when they buy a used car.

And like wise, if I pay premiuim for a game, and then sell it. I dont want the person buying my game at a reduced price to get the same DLC that I paid a premiuim for???

[Sarick]

A well managed game disc can last hundreds of years. If taken care of the content always remains the same. If it's new or been played by 50 people in doesn't matter because no wear is made to the digital content. A car on the other hand has wear and tear and loses value over time because of it.

If you buy a used car chances are it has a lot of wear and tear. Also take note how fast the value of a car drops.

Games don't really lose value from wear and tear. They get played and the owner decides they're not interested in keeping the game anymore. It's devalued by the owner. The thing is that when it's traded in the new owner gains the 90+ benefits of the software as the original owner for a slight discount.

When the used copy competes with the new factory sealed product the developer loses sales to each used copy sold. It's not like that money is lost to no one. The company's that buy the games for $5 and then sell them for $50 are practically ripping off the developers.

Has anyone noticed this generation the games are trickling as a slow pace especially the RPGs? I Have about 100 PS2 RPG's shelved right now that could be resold for big $$ on ebay. In fact I just recently found a fresh unopened RPG Granda III factory sealed in my collection. Been playing it for a week.

So to put things simple when we've finished playing our games they don't lose value, and the content isn't consumed. The person who picks it up can enjoy it just like a new copy. The only difference from new and used is the dev gets doesn't profit from it. The 3rd party used games seller makes more money selling used games then they do selling new games. The reason is because they can buy them for pennies and sell them for near full retail.

I don't see what the problem is with this external content. You get it free if you by it new. The only people that this should hurt are the people buying used games for pennies and selling them for retail. Then again this could backfire on developers and actually force the used games to be reduced to compensate for the $15.

[koehler83]

I see nothing wrong with this incentive.

[divideby0]

"scheme"....is the word....

[ballsofsteel]

i don't really see a problem with this reserve or buy it new and you get DLC buy it used and you get no DLC. EA would lose so much money for used game so they give you an incentive to buy new rather than used

[RadientFlux]

smart move, and I think more developers should go this route. If anything it will also improve the used game market by making it harder for GameStop to sell used games for $5 to $10 dollars cheaper.

[STICKzophrenic]

Epic did this with Gears of War 2. You buy it new, you get the Flashback map pack.

If you still want to buy a used copy, then by all means, do that. They're just giving you an incentive to buy it brand new.

[timestoby]

i might have missed something here,but is it that big of a deal nowdays. DLC is here to stay and these companies will introduce such things as this to make abit of more money. id rather have had a figurine for my pre-order lol

[Toenado]

I already planned on buying a new copy so this is just a bonus. I don't understand why people are complaining. I guess some people just expect stuff to be handed out for free.

[Poopface the 2nd]

screw Gamestop and anyone cheap enough to cry over the 5$ difference. They are giving away free DLC and some deuches complain?? Its valued at 15 dollars. I guarantee you wont save 15$ by buying it used. Anyone who complains is bad at math.

geez some people will cry over anything.

[GameOn]

Leave it long enough and that DLC will cost more than the game second hand.

[kingme71]

They can toss in whatever incentives they want to get you to buy new. How is this greedy or underhanded? This is just simple business 101. They want you to buy it new, so they give you an incentive to buy it new. They want you to preorder to lock you into a new sale, so they give you a preorder incentive. They want you to buy the collector's edition by selling you over priced bonuses, so they create a boxed set. How is this any different?

[UltimateIdiot911]

As long as is with line and reason, it's acceptable business. As long as companies don't cross the lines and start extorting customers like Activision.

[Horny Melon]

"EA did not cut shale from the main game" They are the guiltiest party that does this. NFS, Sims 3, Spore, the list goes on the number of games that have content already locked on the disk or DLC released a few weeks after the game ships.....

This is why I've gone back to PC gaming...I'd rather get the mods for free

[Taz X14]

I actually think that the market would be better off with this if every game company did it. All they're doing is adding an extra freebie. So long as it isn't game breaking like it includes a super important piece of the plot or the ultimate sword of pure awesomeness, lol, I see it as an extra freebie.

What might annoy me is if this isn't included inside the game. I hate places like gamestop using things like this as incentive cause it forces me to shop there, which I absolutely hate. Great business practice that annoys the $H!T outta gamers by forcing them to shop there to get "the whole package", otherwise I just buy it somewhere where I don't get so bothered by the employees harassing me to preorder etc.

[FantasyStar]

Developers, get it straight. If your games don't suck, then people will buy new to support you. If your games provide bang for the buck content, then I will recommend others buy it new too to support you. If your games are too expensive for what's offered, I will buy used. If your games suck outright, I'll persuade everyone to buy used.

Get it straight EA, you don't control the market. We consumers/gamers do. And if we like your games, we'll buy it to support you. Give us a reason not to trade in your games. Give us a reason to keep the game in our disc-tray for more than a month. How simple is that?

[kraze07]

" Give us a reason not to trade in your games. Give us a reason to keep the game in our disc-tray for more than a month. How simple is that?"

I think that's what they're doing by giving people who pre-order the game or buy it new free DLC. Oh, and if you're trading in any of Bioware's games then somethings definitely wrong with you.

[Ellessdee]

this is not a big deal. at all. were talking about a 100+ hour game here. this dlc is maybe 4 hours tops? yeah its not like they are giving you an incomplete game if you buy it used. they are just giving you the first DLC pack for free if you buy it new. no big deal at all. its not a tactic to destroy used game sales, its a tactic to promote new game sales. how is it greedy for a company to actually want to make money on their own damn game? grow up people.

[PS360PCROCKS]

What's wrong with this?! Epic did this as well, it's just to stop pre-owned game buyers. Bioware/EA worked hard and they deserve to see the profit. At least their not like Activision announcing DLC map packs for MW2 3 months before release.