We posted previously that EA currently had no games in development for the Wii-U which I took as a sign that Nintendo is failing. Then we heard that EA were stopping their online pass fee which took us all by surprise.
They said at the time that they were doing this due to negative customer feedback. Which didn’t make much sense as the only people it affected were the people buying used games, people who weren’t their actual customers in the first place. But we rarely look a gift horse in the mouth so we took the good news and moved on…
Hindsight however is showing us a different view. Now that Xbox has revealed that they are not going to allow you to swap or sell your used games it makes more sense why EA is dumping the online pass. But they wouldn’t do this unilaterally because obviously everyone will simply then jump on the PlayStation bandwagon.
Which leads me to believe Sony are going to announce a similar plan with their PlayStation 4 at E3 2013.
But then gamers will need a new console to migrate to, one that allows us to swap and sell older games and the obvious choice becomes the Wii-U… but I can’t play FIFA or Battlefield on the Wii-U since EA has largely pulled support for the console.
Now I may be adding 1 and 1 and getting 3 but from where I’m sitting this looks like corporate blackmail and collusion from the gaming giants. If Sony announces a similar plan then I would want the competition board in every country on the planet to investigate how the two companies have colluded to screw the customer.
And if EA are withholding games to prop up Microsoft and Sony then they truly are more evil that we ever imagined. But there is another evil gaming monolith out there and surely Activision wouldn’t hold Call of Duty: Ghosts from the Nintendo Wii-U? Well during the recent press tour that question was put forward to them and the official response was “no comment”.
There are some retailer listings for the Wii-U version but nothing official has been confirmed yet.
So is this entire disaster a conspiracy by the main gaming players to force their ideals on the gamers and is Nintendo the only gaming company who refuses to buy into it?
Last Updated: May 23, 2013
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:15
I believe they are all in bed with each other. Otherwise we would have had a console totally beat out the other with its better hardware. Why did the CELL processor and its Blue Ray drive end up looking exactly the same as the XBOX games?
Even now the insides of the next gen are on PAR with each other.
So expect more of the same with the same looking games on both systems.
I WANT A WHITE WASH I want one console to show off a 1st party game that the other cant come close to. Then we will have a WINNER.
But there never is a WINNER. The console war seesaw just keeps rocking backwards and forwards.
Are they scared that they are going to lose 3rd party support because the 3rd party will jump ship knowing that they will not get sales because they basically LOOK SHIT.
We have seen this every gen so expect the same shit again.
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:27
If SONY do the same and stop second hand games from being played and charge for PSN, THEN WE KNOW THEY ARE IN BED WITH EACH OTHER.
Otherwise SONY have already won and they know it.
Just watch them pull the same shit as MicroArtsTVBox.
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:30
one
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:30
This article makes me sad for Nintendo though, they really do seem like the sweet lil innocent console in this world filled with greed
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:32
Its their fault for allowing Willie Wonker to run things over at Paper Clip HQ.
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:35
Indeed …. I feel like a lone ranger hoping for the comeback of wiiU…seriously after Xbox One I am very disgusted with this industry man and EA and Activision being the top publishers, bloody hell, I feel like throwing up man.
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:40
NOT A SINGLE GAME has been spoken about. YOU KNOW? The one that makes us all act like giddy schoolgirls.
It was Gears of War that got my panties in a twist.
It is all about the $$$$$$$$$$ now. FAT CATS.
I Kind of see why people are predicting a GAMING CRASH because It is not about the GAMES anymore but who can rake in more money by providing the greediest SERVICE to play the GAMES that are all so fucking boring and generic anyway.
COD makes 1 billion in 15 days. Explains why the industry is run by the fucking mafia.
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:47
Disgusting I tell ya!!I’ve written off MS, I hope Sony will bring it back man….I really do, or ninty … I hate fat cats, they’re ugly
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:52
Let them all do their shit. I AM MORE than happy with what I have. We have very good games right now with GTAV to look forward to.
Not to mention the other 1000 games that I passed over the last 5 years.
SECOND HAND baby here I come.
PLAY BEYOND the next gen WITH old gen.
I am as HAPPY as I have ever been in my hobby with my 360 🙂
Rince an repeat
May 23, 2013 at 12:59
You see man, you are enraging OVG, if he is not murdering his workmates this Saturday, he’ll be over at mine, either/and/or murdering me and some necromorphs! I think I need to buy @360Mirror:disqus another copy of Gears so he can kill some grubs and let out his anger in a world where I don’t have reap the scars! trolololo!
Anon A Mouse
May 23, 2013 at 13:20
I will pay good money to come over on a Saturday and just watch you and OVG’s performance. I expect that to be the ultimate giggle fest.
That Tall Twit
May 23, 2013 at 13:32
I second that idea.
Rince an repeat
May 23, 2013 at 15:56
I don’t know man. Firstly, saying ” watch you and OVG’s performance” scares me to death, we are brothers man, BROTHERS! And secondly, there ain’t nothing like an OVG foaming at the money holding a Tomb raider controller asking you to agree with everything he says! ‘Shudders’ The horror, the horror…
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 14:08
Whoops at least I gave him extra fuel for saturday
Wyzak
May 23, 2013 at 14:01
I’m of the opinion that the Wii and now the Wii-U have always been in a league of their own. The regurgitated Call of Duty and battlefield or whatever games sucked on the Wii because it was identical games to the other consoles but dumbed down because of the Wii’s weaker hardware specs. Then when the sales tanked it’s suddenly the Wii’s fault and not the fault of the developers who didn’t make any adjustments to make the game worthwhile on the Wii.
The best games on the Wii are the Mario / Sonic / ZombiU etc games which were designed for the Wii. Those are the games that will lead Nintendo forward and not Call of Duty 734, and Battlefield 13.
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 14:12
Agreed though, Nintendo’s strength lies in their first party but with just a bit more 3rd party support and better marketing , nintendo is gonna boom forward
Yobokkie
May 24, 2013 at 08:54
Awww yeah I am totally rooting for ninty to make a strong comeback. I reckon a well timed price drop and release of new games will do the trick, right around the time the new consoles launch. Especially if the new consoles cost a lot. (Which I’m pretty sure they will)
Brady miaau
May 23, 2013 at 12:20
You raise a good point: Who is driving the 2nd debacle with Xbox one release and Sony keeping mum on the story of used games?
Rince an repeat
May 23, 2013 at 12:46
Agreed. I have been saying that from the start. We all bitch at MS, but I am pretty damn sure that SONY is going to say and do the same thing, only they are going to coat it in pretty games at E3. It’s going to be like accepting a nice icecream from that man opposite the school gates, only to figure out that once you are back in his house, he’ll whip off his mask and Adam Dorf will plead with you to be his best/only mate.
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:47
I do hope that you are wrong sir….I really do 🙁
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:54
LOL
FoxOneZA - X-Therminator
May 23, 2013 at 13:50
This could backfire on the console market and games will have to go for ridiculously low prices like what we see happening on the PC market.
Brady miaau
May 23, 2013 at 13:56
I think you are right, but the publishers are the ones that stand to make or lose money, not the console suppliers. So E3 it is then
Who also happen to be publishers.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 23, 2013 at 12:20
The plot thickens… Dun dun duuuuuuuuun
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:25
Wow this is some intense shizz!!!
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_litifscFve1qzztv7.gif
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 12:28
lol
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 12:29
It kinda loses effect without the dun dun dunnn music
Anon A Mouse
May 23, 2013 at 12:25
I still see the reason why EA jumped ship to MS is because of $$$, but I think there will be some sort of middle way from Sony as well. Fact is the gamers are being shafted for a few years already and since every one and their uncle still go out and buy games makes the gaming industry just greedier and greedier.
Reminds me a lot about “the how to boil a frog” scenario.
Ultimo_Cleric_N7
May 23, 2013 at 12:30
“Which leads me to believe Sony are going to announce a similar plan with their PlayStation 4 at E3 2013.”
Agreed. If I remember correctly it was Sony who was first to talk about getting rid of Used games or at least charging for them. not Microsoft…..
Admiral Chief Commander
May 23, 2013 at 12:36
O_O
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 23, 2013 at 12:41
hehehe
Admiral Chief Commander
May 23, 2013 at 12:36
O_O
fred
May 23, 2013 at 12:40
EA will do a similar thing on ps4 , that is for sure , and Sony will put the ball out of their court by saying , it is up to the publisher to allow or not. We are all screwed.
CaptainNemo42
May 23, 2013 at 14:32
That’s just Online Passes again. We have it already.
Gregory William Wampler
May 23, 2013 at 17:09
Wrong. It’s worse. This is now a “play pass.” Meaning even for single player, you need to pay to play. Hence why EA got rid of online passes. A play pass is much better…
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
May 23, 2013 at 21:10
EA truly deserve those two golden poos. Hopefully they win again. Make it three in a row.
Lord Chaos
May 23, 2013 at 12:46
Money talks. And with software it’s all nice and controlled.
Simply put: You take your car to be traded in for a new one knowing the dealer is going to sell it for double the price he paid you, so why are game companies not allowed to make at least a small percentage on second hand games?
Tbone187
May 23, 2013 at 13:31
Errrr!!! Coz the initial price paid is sky high…And your comparison has it’s shortfalls. You aren’t forced to trade your car into the dealership. You can very well sell it privately and get this double price you refer to but the convenience of a trade in makes it viable…Freedom of choice mate…freedom of choice…
Lord Chaos
May 23, 2013 at 13:39
Like I said, Software is a controlled environment, thus cutting out private selling.
As for freedom of choice, you can now choose to pay double on XBOne, possibly same scenario on PS4, or… do the same on PC.
Anon A Mouse
May 23, 2013 at 13:39
If you trade in your vehicle the dealership doesn’t have to pay the original manufacturer a fee to be able to buy your trade in. Also the new owner of your vehicle doesn’t have to pay the original manufacturer a fee before being able to drive away with the vehicle.
As a side note: I wish dealerships can sell vehicles at double the price they pay, I’ll start a second hand dealership in every town in this country today.
Lord Chaos
May 23, 2013 at 13:41
And where does the new buyer buy parts or have the car serviced?
Agreed, the car analogy has shortfalls, that being the reason I stated software is a controlled environment.
Anon A Mouse
May 23, 2013 at 13:50
Where ever they want. You get your Boss Service centers that are able to service almost any make of vehicle and you get your Midas group where you can buy OEM parts. OK you will lose your warranty but still you’re not locked into using the dealership where you bought the vehicle.
I really do not see why the original developer wants a cut in the second hand market, I don’t know of any other industry where that is happening.
Lord Chaos
May 23, 2013 at 13:54
Not saying I agree with any of it, but there is nothing I can do except for not buying… and even if I and a thousand other people don’t buy, they’ll still get their profit.
Anon A Mouse
May 23, 2013 at 14:05
But at least they won’t have my money. I am very happy with my current consoles and there are still 1000’s of games that I did not buy. I’ll be set for a lot of years to come on what I have now.
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 13:19
I had to cut and paste this
NobodyImportant
I think Microsoft will be fine. And I wouldn’t
be surprised if they sell the most units next gen. They are going to
take the Wii’s place.
Kinect, voice control, all the multitasking, skype etc will capture peoples imagination like the Wii waggle controller did.
I’m a gamer, I’ll be buying the PS4, and I don’t care about TV, Sports
and gimmicks, but you’d be surprised how many people eat this stuff up.
They are selling to the fickle general public now, just like Nintendo did.
Remember when the iPhone first came out. No video recording, rubbish
camera, no 3G, but the touch screen captured the public’s imagination.
My wife would be impressed with the X1 if she saw it. To her the PS4 is
just another games console. But a proper games console is exactly what I
want and I bet what all you other guys on N4G want, but that isn’t what
Joe public wants.
I’m calling it now. XBox One will kill.
Tbone187
May 23, 2013 at 13:39
I don’t think Sony want any part of it as well hence why EA ran to MS…Seems like an east vs west thing going on here…
CaptainNemo42
May 23, 2013 at 14:35
It could maybe be. But I don’t think it will be so clear cut.
FoxOneZA - X-Therminator
May 23, 2013 at 13:39
While all of this plays out at E3 in June, Adam Orth will be giggling from a hammock somewhere.
FoxOneZA - X-Therminator
May 23, 2013 at 13:42
Hey Gav, here’s another conspiracy theory to look at; why is FIFA 14 on the PC not coming with the Ignition Engine. That’s basically funneling PC FIFA fans over to the next-gen console market right?
Wyzak
May 23, 2013 at 13:58
Not like we need any more reasons to hate EA, but I guess they would like to cast their worst company in America award in stone.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
May 23, 2013 at 21:09
I had a similar thought earlier on, and I think that’s exactly what’s happening, the big two are colluding with publishers and trying to curb second hand. Nintendo might just be the only shining light left in gaming, which means my PS4 fund might just turn into a Wii U fund. I’ll gladly skip an entire “next” generation to become a PC and Wii U gamer.
Orange Lada
May 25, 2013 at 04:37
Wii U is actually pretty nice. That and a PC with Steam should easily allow you to drop MS and Sony for a generation.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
May 25, 2013 at 09:03
I’m strongly considering it. Also, I have such a huge collection of old games, I could easily just become a retrogamer.
Azhar Amien
May 23, 2013 at 22:08
I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person…but I don’t buy this really.
EA (bastards) have said they are in fact developing for the Wii U, but far fewer titles than PlayStation and Xbox. The source is here: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/408381/ea-is-developing-games-for-wii-u-says-cfo/
Furthermore, Sony confirmed almost directly after their event that the console will:
A) Not require an always-on internet connection, and can be used totally offline. Source is here: http://www.shacknews.com/article/77929/playstation-4-doesnt-require-always-on-connection
B) Not (by itself) block used games.
Source 1) http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-21-sony-tells-eurogamer-playstation-4-will-not-block-used-games and
Source 2) http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/02/sonys-yoshida-playstation-4-wont-block-used-games/
EA most likely dumped the online pass because of Microsoft’s new system, as there is absolutely zero reason to require an online pass if the console already blocks used games.
I think you’re adding 1 and 1 and getting 3 here a little bit.
Of course all will be revealed in time, but right now Microsoft is leaving an absolute PR disaster in its wake.
If PS4 does announce a similar plan, not only are they going back on what they’ve already told us, making them liars, but all the great reputation they’ve built over the last three months will crash in an instant. I do not believe they’re that stupid.
Orange Lada
May 25, 2013 at 04:35
Uhm – yeah … sure they are.
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-21577_102-364230/sony-conspiracy-to-rip-off-consumers-is-in-play-sony-greed/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal
Azhar Amien
May 25, 2013 at 15:23
I can’t tell if you’re trolling or what.
Orange Lada
May 25, 2013 at 04:32
The results are in for the XBOX 1 scheme:
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Xbox-One-Used-Game-Fee-Has-Gamers-Raging-Angry-Joe-Fights-Back-55945.html
PS4 – you’re next.