Yes folks, that’s right EA games are again attempting to use the Xbox live marketplace to its full extent. This time they have put out "new" content for Need for Speed: Carbon, a game which was released today.... yes TODAY!
But in an interesting twist it appears as though this content in its entirety weighs in at 108KB. This means that the content that you are downloading must already be on the games disk.
Oh and by the way I added up the marketplace points for all of the "new" content and then changed it into "real" money, would you be surprised to read that all of this content comes in at a grand total of *drum roll* $50 or €40 or 65 Australian dollars or £26. This is without a doubt the biggest rip-off on the Xbox live marketplace to date, and what scares me is that EA owns so many of the games that are yet to be released that this is just going to get worse and worse. The content they are releasing seems to be getting pricer and pricer as they release each game.
More after the jump
DO NOT BUY THIS CONTENT!
The only explanation for this is that people are actually buying this content or else they would not still be releasing it. So please people use your heads and speak with your wallet.
This is not like other marketplace content... like say Project Gotham Racing 3 (the most active creators of marketplace content) the content they release was not in the game in the first place, it was not locked nor was it unlockable via playing the actual game. EA is selling cheats and pulled content and Microsoft needs to step in and stop this but I will not hold my breath for that too happen anytime soon.
So below is a list of the "new" content on the marketplace:
- The Collectors Edition Upgrade - 800 Points
- Performance Drivetrain Bundle - 400 Points
- Performance Engine Boost Bundle - 400 Points
- Performance Handling Bundle - 400 Points
- Ultimate Performance Bundle - 800 Points
- Muscle Car Autosculpt Body Kit - 300 Points
- Autosculpt Tuner Body Kit - 300 Points
- Autosculpt Exotic Body Kit - 300 Points
- 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 - 80 Points
- 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago - 80 Points
- 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 - 80 Points
Right this is it. major nelson and microsoft need to address theis ASAP.
EA are gonna kill the marketplace completely.
Hawkes, I'm gonna make that Seaman chugging award and we can delivery it together.
By the way ford have a new car. optional extras are wheels , lights, engine, and seats.
XD at fords new car...also optional is the steering wheel and pedals...
The worst thing in reading the purchases is that many of the cheat type functions say that "Most" of the parts can be obtained through unlockables in the game.... Not all. So if you want the FULL game, you have to pay extra on top of your $60. This is getting retarded.
Paying to unlock content on the disc is complete bullshit.
However, this had to be planned much sooner than Tiger Woods and Godfather were released with a similar pile of BS. This is not a testament to people actually buying the content, it is just a testament to their new business model.
I think that business model may be summed up with the following simple pic.
B======D(_*_)
EA_______Gamers
My Dad had once told me a story that, years ago, his friend went to buy a car and the steering wheel was, in fact, an extra. I guess it's just time to see if such a tactic will work again in a different industry.
only EA game i have is Burnout Revenge 360, I do not plan to buy another EA game unless it is absolutely fucking brilliant and does not rape me in the A$$ for extra funds for content.
I made that Charge for Everything Logo and I'm glad its being put to good use! EA is ruining Marketplace.
About the logo...I was going to contact you to say I was going to use it but alas you found it before I got to you...
its a great logo...
Bend over!!!!!!
By the way, ina lisghtly related note EA just released their "EA Link" user download system, sort of like EA's version of Steam, which now replaces the old EA Dowload program. While there's no new paid content available (aside from old standbys like the BF2 expansion packs) it does indeed seem that EA is looking to expan this practice.
If I were Microsoft, I would swiftly implement a policy of anti-lockout for game approval for non-subscription games. This ruling would basically require that companies could not lock out content from their game disks unless the game itself was a subscription poduct such as Final Fantasy XI, or if the content was not intended to be utilized during the life of the title. Otherwise, titles would not recive approval status. Every time something like this happens, the Marketplace concept is cheapened and sullied as a legitimate storefront and real gamers are conned out of real money. How many gamers purchased this content already not knowing that the material already resided on the game disk? If the description for the material explicitly explained that it was not adding any new material to the game, but instead just making material available to players that they had already purchased, would anyone have made this purchase?
Could someone clarify if all this content is unlockable just through paying the game? And if you want to pay for it you can but you can also just earn it, like with the Tiger Woods example? Either way it's stoooopid but one is downright sleazy and the other lazy.
I'm following Mr. D's lead by boycotting my purchase of any EA product. I'm considering putting my Madden 07 disc in the microwave because I hear it summons Satan himself.
To help spread the word I went to go Digg this, but I found a Digg for it did not exist. So I made one.
http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/EA_Now_Charging_360_Owners_For_Content_Shipped_On_The_Disk
You are a bunch of cry-baby retards. I might buy this game and all EA dlc on the marketplace just to piss you all off.
I have reported EA to the bbc watch dog, I suggest anyone else in the uk does the same. They are locking content on the game disk that we have payed for so they can charge us for it later. As this is the case the box should have a warning on it stating, that an extra charge will be nessecary to use the disk fully.
care to comment on this one major nelson.
The spin on this from EA and MS is gonna be the south park attorney.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_Defense
I just hope hawkes is on the podcast tonight, I can just imagine the rant caused by this..
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
You are a bunch of cry-baby retards. I might buy this game and all EA dlc on the marketplace just to piss you all off.
When you can use a real user name please come back and tal to me...
Brian,
I was using the freddy Kruger , method from the first film.
If we ignore him we take away his power and he vanishes up his own arse.
yeah I suppose
If you are going to rant against EA, at least have the decency to get your rants straight. They are NOT charging you for content they have included on the disc but locked out of the game. They are charging you for cheat codes. ALL of this content is available to you, FOR FREE, by playing the game. If you have extra money and/or want to cheat yourself out of the experience, then you can buy these and get ahead without working for it.
Not saying that is any better, but some of you will look less ignorant if you take the time to get your facts straight before commencing to rant and rave.
Or we could go "jay and silent bob" on his ass and turn up at his door, and beat hell out of him.
their are parts of each pack that you cant get in the game via playing it.
yes they are cheats but their are bonus parts added for buying the content. So dude why don't you research it.
from major nelson.com:
Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career
"Many" is not all my friend
This whole thing leave a nasty taste in my mouth. Rather like Major nelsons mouth after his night out with an EA exec.
That's too vague of a statement to be taken for gospel. For example, I'm playing through Bully and one of the unlockables requires you to collect rubber-bands found lying on the ground. Many of the rubber bands can be found by playing through the story line. All of the rubber bands are available in game, but you have to go above and beyond to get some of them.
Not saying my version is fact, but it's not even close to being beyond reasonability to assume that this is just marketing double-talk to convince you that you need these packs. Microsoft gets money from these purchases too, and a Microsoft employee isn't exactly an unbiased source above reproach in this case.
News by fat ass idiots, for fat ass idiots.
As much as I don't like EA and have boycotted them since the lack of Dreamcast support, don't be a fucking moron and post stupidity.
Cause now you have made me defend EA cause you are a complete moron.
EVERYTHING mentioned here can be unlocked in the game. This is for cheaters and lazy people only. I have the game and can confirm this is true on the PS2, PC, XBOX, and 360 versions of the game. Please stop crying about this.
Well guys, there is a problem here, and I will show you how they have locked content out of the 360 version.
First off, at least one of those payments is for new vehicles. That means that at only 108kb, ten new vehicles--in high-definition graphics--are magically added to the game. That doesn't add up. With modern polygon counts and textures, those vehicles should be at least several megabytes--EACH. Then we add in new tracks. That's (theoretically) additional graphic resources, and maps commonly rank around several dozen to a few hundred megabytes apiece.
Further, they need that content to be able to show up when you say, race a Koenigsegg CCX in online multiplayer. I mean, it'd be prety annoying to have to download or upload your car and map content every time you wanted to race a player with a different game version, wouldn't it?
Now, even if you accept that the bonus content should be paid for, can you honestly come to the conclusion that EA hasn't locked out content from its game that it is forcing users to pay to unlock? they've done this beore, mind you. Players of the Battlefield 2 series are forced to pay to get new weapons and maps, and a map auto-update feature was conveniently left out as being "too dificult to implement." (note that Unreal Trounament and Counterstriek have been doing this for about five to seven years now, and it was one of the most requested features by fans even before launch).
In short, EA is forcing you to pay extra to unlock all the in-game content on your $60 game puchase. It's undeniable and ultimately unconscionable.
How about certain people in here stop being complete asses...dwho.
By the way the collectors edtion stuff is on the disk but is locked until you buy it, and no you casnt unlock it in story mode.
The same goes for the level 4 weapons in godfather. they are only available by paying for them in the marketplace.
EA are getting as low as sony/Jack johnson/
I hope Microsoft does nothing about this kind of thing.
I hope GamerAndy.com, its fans, and other gaming sites, and their fans, voice their displeasure and decide not to buy this "content." I hope there is an organized boycott of this type of marketplace "content."
That would end this type of thing in a far more permanent and meaningful way than Microsoft banning the practice outright. Sure if this stuff sells and people buy it in droves we'll all be irked, but it's our constitutional right to be offended by ridiculous marketing and products (TMK Elmo anyone?).
There will be people buying this "content" (cheat codes really). This is readily demonstrated by the sales of guides, magazines, and websites that contain cheat codes. The only real difference is that the profits are going directly to EA and not to Prima, through sales, magazines, through sales and advertising, and websites, through advertising. Mind you, a google search will save you money when hunting for cheat codes, and Gamefaqs has been great, but cheat codes have sold in formats other than XBox Live Marketplace.
Kalroy
Josh, you are referring of course to the Collectors Edition content. Of course it is already on the disc, but you aren't paying extra for it UNLESS you bought the standard edition AND you decide you want the limited content later. The collecors edition bundle is just the extra stuff that comes with the Collectors Edition pack in stores. So no, EA is not forcing you to buy it any more than they force people to buy the Collectors Edition pack in stores. And how convenient, it costs the same as the price difference in the two SKU's!! That's the only one of those items that makes sense to me. At least it allows you to get it a later date. In short, you can buy the collectors edition for $70 or buy the regular for $60 then add a $10 DLC, it's the same thing in this instance.
Brian, see my response to Josh it applies to your comment too, except for the addition of 'The other platforms don't get the Limited Edition stuff for free either, and they don't even have the option of adding it later. So your point is moot.'
My friends and I all saw this coming. Microsoft planned on making the XBL Marketplace a big source of revenue. The only way to stop this is NOT to BUY the shit they put out. JUST DON"T BUY ANYTHING! Hell, if EA games don't sell, they will STOP this.
But Twisted,
Sinc when do collector's editions come with game content? Collector's Eds are game tine, extra DVDs and cloth maps and silly coins and they like. They are not game content. Paying to unlock content that is already on the disc you have purchased, which is free on the other platforms is bullshit.
Maj, it would be bullshit if it were true.
Companies can put any extras in they want and call it a Collectors Edition. You as a consumer do not get to decide what constitutes THEIR Collectors Edition. You can decide to buy it or not, but you cannot dictate the terms of what makes it a Collectors Edition in their eyes. Dark Messiah of Might & Magic includes in game content in the Collectors Edition. Auto Assault, Guild Wars: Factions and Lost Planet also have in game content in their Collectors Editions.
And for the last time. I'm going to capitalize it so it stands out and even the reading impaired can pick it out. THE COLLECTORS EDITION GOODIES ARE NOT INCLUDED ON THE OTHER PLATFORMS FOR FREE. THEY ARE INCLUDED ON THE OTHER PLATFORMS COLLECTORS EDITION FOR $10 MORE.
As I've already said, rage against EA all you want. I'm in your camp on that one. Raging against the Collectors Edition bundle, however, goes back to my post about getting the facts straight. That is not the one to rant against. It makes sense, and if anybody else did it you would be fine with it. You aren't paying for something everybody else got free. You are paying $10 for stuff everybody that bought the Collectors Edition pack, regardless of platform, already paid $10 for.
Oh, as for already being on the disc. I'd be willing to bet the Collectors Edition includes a code to unlock it instead of it being already unlocked. It's cheaper to make one disc and package it in 2 SKU's than 2 different ones. Any company interested in operating in the black would do it that way and you are kidding yourself if you think differently. That is not EA bullshit, it's good business practice.
It's good business practice to rip gamers off by charging them the price of an entirely new game for unlockable content? Give me a break!
This microstransaction rip-off agenda that is overtaking our games needs to end, and it will only happen when gamers start to use their brains and stop giving their money to these blood sucking greedmongers.
See scrubking, you prove my about reading comprehension. I was talking about the Collectors Edition bundle. $10 is not the price of an entirely new game, and the content being paid for in that instance is not unlockable. Feel free to participate in future conversations as soon as you get a clue.
Maj Malfunction: "Sinc when do collector's editions come with game content?"
Since Jade Empire.
Kalroy
Don't insert words into my mouth that I would be ok with this if it was not EA.
I don't care who does it, if its on the disc, its part of the price of the game in my opinion. If you are paying extra for content on your disc, how do you draw the line as to what content should be included?
I wouldn't even consider this to be piracy if you used a gameshark type device to unlock this content to use. It is on a disc that you have paid for. When you buy a game, you are under the assumption that you have access to all that you have paid for on said disc. If that is going to be different, then the disc should have a disclaimer on it stating that some features require additional purchase for use.
I don't know how they can differentiate what development costs deserve the extra $10.
I really don't cae if its Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Activision, or anyone else. I thinks its a load of crap.
Then once you start throwing game balance items in the game for pay, it gets that much worse.
I have supported EA with my wallet a lot more than probably most people on this site considering I have been purchasing EA products since my Commodore 64 was new. I never had issues with EA until they started ripping me off on XBox by witholding online play then giving me feature stripped next gen version on the 360, followed by the new microtransaction rip-offs.
I don't even care about the cheats thing, that is even ok to me, its unlocking on disc content that I can't abide.
One final note, how about having intelligent arguments that don't dive into insulting people just because they don't agree with you. (Re: comment to scrubking).
So, by your own words, if EA had not included it on the disc and required you download it you would be fine with it. The fact that it is already on the disc is what is giving you fits?
One problem is you may want to take the time to read a EULA. You aren't paying for the game. You are paying for a license to use the software. You aren't buying the resources, the code, the executable, nothing. You own nothing about that disc except the physical media that is included in the box. Every piece of content belongs to EA. The extra fee grants you a license to use the extra content. As actual owner of the content, EA has the right to charge you extra for extra use. Similar to companies charging you more to use the same software you bought on multiple computers.
"I don't know how they can differentiate what development costs deserve the extra $10."
The same way they can determine that the PS2 version is only worth a fraction of the price. They set the price of the license. The same way they determine that additional DVD's should cost more. The same way Bethesda determines that DLC is worth X amount. It's a non-arbitrary amount that the market will take.
And my final note. I don't insult people becuase they disagree with me. Notice that I haven't directly insulted you. I insult people when they don't show the capability of understanding civilized, intelligent discussion. (re: scrubking's response about unlockable content when my contents clearly mentioned we were not talking about the unlockable portions)
Yes, if the content was not already on the disc, and they charged $10 for it, I would not be pissed off.
FYI- EA's 360 titles do not have an EULA in the box, in the manual, nor anywhere else visible to the user. Therefore, one can assume that the data on said disc is paid for as there are no statements to the contrary.
"Yes, if the content was not already on the disc, and they charged $10 for it, I would not be pissed off."
Interesting. I'm not an unreasonable jackass all the time. I can understand that position, to an extent. It's more cost effective for EA to put it on the disc and unlock it rather than store it on servers, but I can see where you (and others) would have a problem with it. I don't have a problem with it, but I understand where the hang up is coming from.
Of course, I don't have a problem with them selling cheats either. The cost is exorbitant, but if it's unlockable in the game and some people want to cheat themselves of the experience that's fine. My position is from the view that actual cheat codes are very rare now. It used to be that you could look them up in mags or on the net, now you go to find cheat codes and and most of them are of the type "complete the game on X difficulty" or "complete the gaming using all characters". So I'm assuming there is not a way to unlock them on other platforms without playing the game or using a device such as a Gameshark (which adds a cost to unlocking it).
I still don't care much for EA and buy very few of their games, and none of their DLC. For me to boycott would be pointless. I've only owned 3 of their games in the past 10 or so years, and I actually bought none of them. One came with my 360 (NFS:MW), my dad bought NASCAR for the PS2, and Sharon bought NASCAR for the GC so Dad could play when she had the PS2. I guess I've been boycotting them for years.
What 'will' we do when Spore comes out?? :(
I have less of an issue with the cheats being charged to use. Unlike most 360 cheat codes, theirs still let you get achievements if you use them. That itself could be seen to require a premium. I think its a bit overpriced, but, if that is what they need to do to get their bottom line, I guess that is what they will do. Unfortunately for EA, it hurts their already sullied image more everytime they toss something else up on the marketplace. Even worse, people blame Microsoft.
I think the turds are going to hit the fan when this starts up on the PS3 and Wii in full force.
Unfortunately, I have been a pretty strong EA customer, I just looked in my cabinet and for the 360 alone I have 6 EA titles. I won't say I will boycott EA completely either, there will be titles I want to play at some point as well. Just because the management who want the cash at EA are dickheads, they still have some very talented developers working for them.
Its a shame that this is hitting at a time when their quality is at a very low point and their online services are complete crap. So it makes the greed even more damaging.
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