EA servers and Paying for access

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 09:58

Hello

Just wanted to ask why the hell EA have started to make people pay for access to multiplayer and why are the servers so **** even though you now must pay!

Prime example is Battlefield 3, if you buy this game second hand (most people do for multiplayer) you have to pay for access to multiplayer, but the servers are laggy and sometimes you can't even find a game. Not only this but they have introduced rent a server that means you can play but you might get kicked by the host for killing him 6 times in a row because he's not very good, and theres no other alternative as they havent put up general servers for everyone else.

When you think about all this it looks like EA are just cashing in, yes we want to play your game, we have bought it 2nd hand but don't want t pay you extra for access to multiplayer... we bought the game ... all of it, not just half.

I really don't understand why there isn't a lawsuit going on, when a company sells a game, you buy what it advertises on the box even if its second hand it should still apply...

I bought BF3 brand new and so don't have the problem but i sold it when they started selling servers and i couldent get a match without someone kicking me because i beat them or with some stupid rules.

What do you guys think ? Is this EA cashing in on thier grip on the market or do you think us gamers should pay extra for something the game advertises on the box...

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:01

I imagine you'd get a better response in the console gamers forum as you're obviously talking about the console version of BF3:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=23

Gimpymoo · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:02

ANGRY.

Pirate is ANGRY

It was inevitable the console users were going to get upset when the second hand market was nerfed.

They should be asking why the second hand market is so important on the consoles in the first place.

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:08

Damn Right

Firstly sorry for posting about an Xbox version game in PC Games but i thought they were basically the same.

You damn right i'm angry...

I'm guessing the Pc members don't have to buy online capabilities when you buy second hand... or has this been happening for along time ?

I mostly play free MMORPGS when on PC..

GympyMoo- They should be asking why the second hand market is so important on the consoles in the first place.

It's because everything is sooooo overpriced, but the PC gamers know this and wisely use PC's

Divinious · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:15

Excuse my ignorance but is this rent a server issue only a console thing or is it on PC as well? (I have not played Battlefield on PC for a while)

iamtheoneneo · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:18

renting servers for pc games is a non issue - the system has been in place since the dawn of time.
Though typically renting a pc game server has 101 benefits over that of a console since you can actually tailor it to suit your spec and not that of the company in question.

Xiler · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:19

Never had a problem with laggy servers on PS3 always loads of servers to join aswell.

As for host kicking just favourite ones that dont and play them. Yes its annoying but its fine once you find decent hosts.

If your having problems finding servers or laggy servers might want to check your side or switch to PS3/PC as there are hundreds that come up for me with full bars.

cwhitehead · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:21

Id be pointing fingers at your own connection before the servers, if you cant connect.

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:22

Gimpymoo said:
ANGRY.

Pirate is ANGRY

It was inevitable the console kids were going to get upset when their precious second hand market was nerfed.

They should be asking why the second hand market is so important on the consoles in the first place.

There's no reason that people on consoles shouldn't be able to play their games and then sell them on. I'm pretty shocked that you're defending this kind of cack behaviour from publishers tbh.

iamtheoneneo said:
renting servers for pc games is a non issue - the system has been in place since the dawn of time.
Though typically renting a pc game server has 101 benefits over that of a console since you can actually tailor it to suit your spec and not that of the company in question.

The problem with the model now employed by EA and the like is that you can't host your own servers but instead have to rent them from a GSP. Pretty underhand way of extracting more money from players - I pay £60/month for a dedi box to host my own games servers (amongst other things) and paying an extra 30-40 to host just one game is a ridiculous expectation.

KaiserDJG said:
Firstly sorry for posting about an Xbox version game in PC Games but i thought they were basically the same.

You damn right i'm angry...

I'm guessing the Pc members don't have to buy online capabilities when you buy second hand... or has this been happening for along time ?

I mostly play free MMORPGS when on PC..

GympyMoo- They should be asking why the second hand market is so important on the consoles in the first place.

It's because everything is sooooo overpriced, but the PC gamers know this and wisely use PC's

Your problem with connecting to servers is most likely a connection/NAT problem I'd guess but I think your point about the second hand market is perfectly valid. PC gamers have indeed been shafted on this point for a long time and we've pretty much come to accept it. It doesn't stop it being really unfair to consumers though :/

El_Commi · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:27

FrenchTart said:
There's no reason that people on consoles shouldn't be able to play their games and then sell them on. I'm pretty shocked that you're defending this kind of cack behaviour from publishers tbh.

The second-hand market has been non-existant on PC since the introduction of serial codes.
It was inevitibly going to happen on console. You mention about having to pay the developer "again." Simple fact of the matter is, when you buy second hand- the developer doesn't see a penny from those sales. It's an unsustainable business model.
The question you sohuld be asking, if why are game stores selling preowned games - at crazy high prices. (I bought Rayman Origins for PS3 last week brand new for 17.99 in HMV. Preowned it was £16.99).
- Selling preowned games without informing the customer the online pass will likely not work and they will have to pay more.

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:29

FrenchTart said:
There's no reason that people on consoles shouldn't be able to play their games and then sell them on. I'm pretty shocked that you're defending this kind of cack behaviour from publishers tbh.

Exactly.. my question i guess was more about whether this kind of behaviour from one of the top developers is morally appropriate ... We the gamers are thier lifeblood, should they be treating us this way by hiking prices and then adding additional charges on top...

Buying a game second hand and then having to pay extra for something it already offers... Is what their doing actually correct by law or is their a case that could hypothetically be fought?

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:44

El_Commi said:
The second-hand market has been non-existant on PC since the introduction of serial codes.
It was inevitibly going to happen on console. You mention about having to pay the developer "again." Simple fact of the matter is, when you buy second hand- the developer doesn't see a penny from those sales. It's an unsustainable business model.
The question you sohuld be asking, if why are game stores selling preowned games - at crazy high prices. (I bought Rayman Origins for PS3 last week brand new for 17.99 in HMV. Preowned it was £16.99).
- Selling preowned games without informing the customer the online pass will likely not work and they will have to pay more.

Yes, I mentioned that PC gamers have suffered from this for a long time.

The "unsustainable business model" argument is pretty ridiculous. You've been reading too many shill posts and believing them. The publishers make more than enough money as is and they have no more right to expect additional cash from you selling your own property than Ikea do if you sell one of their tables after a week or two of use.

In regards to your comment on pricing I guess like any business, highstreet retailers will attempt to extract as much money from customers as they think they can get away with. Much like publishers trying to extract additional money from second-hand sales.

KaiserDJG said:
Exactly.. my question i guess was more about whether this kind of behaviour from one of the top developers is morally appropriate ... We the gamers are thier lifeblood, should they be treating us this way by hiking prices and then adding additional charges on top...

Buying a game second hand and then having to pay extra for something it already offers... Is what their doing actually correct by law or is their a case that could hypothetically be fought?

It's not appropriate behaviour by them but keep in mind the differences between a publisher a developer. All you need to do is look at some of the awesome Indie titles that have come out in recent years on PC to see the difference in attitudes and business models when a publisher (which is purely a profit-making entity) does not have control of the release process.

In regards to it being legal. It kind of is, or at least isn't illegal enough for anyone to care/do anything about it. However, some recent rulings may mean that things change in coming years (probably not though): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/jul/05/eu-used-digital-games-market

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 10:58

FrenchTart said:
In regards to it being legal. It kind of is, or at least isn't illegal enough for anyone to care/do anything about it. However, some recent rulings may mean that things change in coming years (probably not though): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/jul/05/eu-used-digital-games-market

Thanks for this, very interesting stuff... its one of the reason im leaning more and more towards the PC market, I think consoles are good but they become outdated quickly, i only bought a xbox360 because all my mates got one and it's either buy one or play alone. The Xbox by the way is such a pile of rubbish... all the changes recently have increase content most people don't use and are just advertising.

The other thing is PC's are expensive regular updating and possible crashes/ technical errors ward me off but i suppose these things are fixable and you guys can point me in the right direction of being able to back up saves online and get a decent setup for me.

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:14

KaiserDJG said:
Thanks for this, very interesting stuff... its one of the reason im leaning more and more towards the PC market, I think consoles are good but they become outdated quickly, i only bought a xbox360 because all my mates got one and it's either buy one or play alone. The Xbox by the way is such a pile of rubbish... all the changes recently have increase content most people don't use and are just advertising.

The other thing is PC's are expensive regular updating and possible crashes/ technical errors ward me off but i suppose these things are fixable and you guys can point me in the right direction of being able to back up saves online and get a decent setup for me.

Yup. There's plenty of help to be had for PC stuff on these forums and if you mention to people that you're trying to move away from consoles most of them will fall over themselves trying to help you

Also lots of community games/servers and of course the OcUK Steam group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/Overclockers_UK

dreigns · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:14

Me

KaiserDJG said:
Thanks for this, very interesting stuff... its one of the reason im leaning more and more towards the PC market, I think consoles are good but they become outdated quickly, i only bought a xbox360 because all my mates got one and it's either buy one or play alone. The Xbox by the way is such a pile of rubbish... all the changes recently have increase content most people don't use and are just advertising.

The other thing is PC's are expensive regular updating and possible crashes/ technical errors ward me off but i suppose these things are fixable and you guys can point me in the right direction of being able to back up saves online and get a decent setup for me.

a lot of console users seem to thick pc players have to upgrade once a year which is just not true most people buy a good pc for 800 to 1000 pound and it will last for a good 5 years no problem after that it normaly only needs a gfx card update to get a few more years only ppl who want the very best looking games upgrade every year

Yes pc sometimes crash but fixing problems can be just as fun as playing a game

Also pc games last a lot longer then console one u can still find people playing games that are 10 years old plus a lot of old games still work

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:16

dreigns said:
Me

a lot of console users seem to thick pc players have to upgrade once a year which is just not true most people buy a good pc for 800 to 1000 pound and it will last for a good 5 years no problem after that it normaly only needs a gfx card update to get a few more years only ppl who want the very best looking games upgrade every year

Yes pc sometimes crash but fixing problems can be just as fun as playing a game

Also pc games last a lot longer then console one u can still find people playing games that are 10 years old plus a lot of old games still work

Very valid points. Though personally I prefer to spend slightly less on my PC and upgrade it more frequently. I usually will spend a couple of hundred at a time - upgrade the cpu and mobo one time, then the graphics card 6-12 months later and so on. I usually find this gives me best value for money as your old parts hold value and can be sold on ebay or MM here. Using this method you can keep your upgrade expenditure really low.

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:18

dreigns said:
Me

a lot of console users seem to thick pc players have to upgrade once a year which is just not true most people buy a good pc for 800 to 1000 pound and it will last for a good 5 years no problem after that it normaly only needs a gfx card update to get a few more years only ppl who want the very best looking games upgrade every year

You see i've had my xbox for 4 years now no problems and it cost £300, i think £1000 is very expensive for something you need to update, i get that you may only spend £200-£300 updating it but thats whatever new console comes out and the rest of the £1000 on games for it... that can get you a lot of games.

FrenchTart · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:24

KaiserDJG said:
You see i've had my xbox for 4 years now no problems and it cost £300, i think £1000 is very expensive for something you need to update, i get that you may only spend £200-£300 updating it but thats whatever new console comes out and the rest of the £1000 on games for it... that can get you a lot of games.

The Steam summer sale is a great source for cheap games. 50-75% off normal prices for new games is not unusual so it works out very cheaply.

You really don't need to spend £1000. I just built a PC for a friend and it cost about £350 for the parts (and we didn't go for all the cheapest stuff) and then another £100 for the graphics card. The graphics card was second-hand but you could get a reasonable new one for that price that would still run games in nicer settings than you can on a console.

There's definitely a slightly higher initial investment with a PC but overall the price difference between PC and console is somewhat exaggerated.

ANN1H1LAT0R · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:26

KaiserDJG said:
Firstly sorry for posting about an Xbox version game in PC Games but i thought they were basically the same.

You damn right i'm angry...

I'm guessing the Pc members don't have to buy online capabilities when you buy second hand... or has this been happening for along time ?

I mostly play free MMORPGS when on PC..

GympyMoo- They should be asking why the second hand market is so important on the consoles in the first place.

It's because everything is sooooo overpriced, but the PC gamers know this and wisely use PC's

PC gamers havent been able to buy second hand games for a long time. With PC games you need a cd key to install that locks the game to you once registered with steam or origin

KaiserDJG · 25 Jul 2012 at 11:52

ANN1H1LAT0R said:
PC gamers havent been able to buy second hand games for a long time. With PC games you need a cd key to install that locks the game to you once registered with steam or origin

I see, The last real PC game i player was Diablo 2 and the CD key worked over and over after sale.

So sad that things have changed... consumerism will ruin everything... glad theirs usually way around it