In an attempt to stop people buying their games from the pre-owned section, games publishers often slip a code into the packaging of their latest games that will be required should you wish to play online.
We already know that Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition does not require a pass in order to play the game online, which is strange as Namco Bandai did ship the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions with a code.
It's now been revealed that FIFA 13, Mass Effect 3 and Assassin's Creed III will also come without an online pass, in this case meaning Wii U owners won't have to redeem anything in order to play online. This of course means that those who buy the game second-hand will also be able to play online as well, without having to buy a code from the game's publisher.
It seems strange that third parties are doing this considering that they are currently pulling out all the stops in their attempts to strangle the pre-owned market. It could be that Nintendo won't allow them to do it, or perhaps they are attempting to get as many people as possible playing core games on Wii U.
What are your thoughts on this? Does this news make you consider buying them pre-owned? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
[source videogamer.com]
Comments 16
yes this is awesome no more buying the used game for cheaper then getting home and discovering it's 15$ to get an online pass so now you actually payed more
Another reason why I'm a big follower of Nintendo.
Online passes suck for gamers, but used games are bad for developers. Its a really tight balance.
But for me personally this is great news
This sounds like excellent news for second-hand buyers. It's nice to see this positive change in multi-platform games coming to the Wii U.
It's an incentive but a bit of a bribe.
Odd.
@iroxyorsox Why would you buy a game without at least a quick google search though? "[game name here] Online Pass" gives you plenty of results.
That's good news and I think the most likely explanation is Nintendo putting restrictions on what they can do. My only worry is that may drive potential games away from the platform if they're not careful, as we've certainly seen in the past.
I personally would love it if all the console manufacturers would get together on this one point and lay down the law regarding how 3rd parties can treat their customer base. If they were all signed on, no one console would suffer and the 3rd party companies would be forced to play by the rules. Unfortunately I don't see Sony or Microsoft taking that kind of risk anytime soon.
It HAS to be Nintendo refusing to allow Online Passes. After all, it goes against Nintendo's general stance on DLC and flies in the face of the online integration they're trying to achieve with Miiverse. So in all extreme likelihood, Nintendo is simply refusing to host Online Passes on their eShop, which of course forces developers to do without.
@Stuffgamer1 I was really hoping this would be the case, and it looks like it indeed may be. This could give Nintendo a distinct advantage, considering how much people hate being forced to input codes to unlock things on the games they own.
@SkywardLink98 Have you never been in a store that sells preowned games and decided to buy one you liked the look of there and then because the price seemed good?
As for no online passes for Wii U games....it may not last forever so I wouldn't get excited about it just yet. Another thing is that with the achievement/trophy system on Xbox 360/PS3, you often get achievements for the multiplayer portions of games as well, and many gamers are OCD about getting them all and will pay the extra cash just so they can get the extra trinkets if they buy preowned. Game developers know this. On Wii U games, there's no concrete achievement system so the same incentive isn't there.
this is actually nice cuz at rare time i do buy some used games or at least mint condition ones
but at the same time it doesnt really bother me since i mostly buy my games new and use the code if it has one if not is all good would be nice for dlc codes instead of those code passes xP
If it is Nintendo refusing to allow online passes, then I look forward to the third-party retail support for the Wii U to plummet.
Publishers would rather publish games where they get revenue, not just the retailer. Good on Sony and Microsoft for actually supporting the industry.
I think this is a smart move that could help out everyone involved. I'm sure Ninty and the 3rd parties are quite aware the Wii had significantly weaker multiplayer support than their competitors last gen, and any steps they can make to grow and develop a strong player base as soon as possible will be a real help going forward.
I can imagine passes eventually becoming a thing down the line, but it'd make little sense at the moment unless the developers were intending to cripple the service at birth.
Just buy the new games when they go on sale.
This is good news! Online passes are just wrong!
Cool, only i dont get it why a devolper dont want a pass on a game.
For users its good news for sure.
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