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View Full Version : Rumor: Warner Bros. joining 'online pass' camp with Mortal Kombat



jkipp82
03-30-2011, 02:09 PM
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/mk.032911-530px.jpg

Warner Bros. may be following in the (very large) footsteps of Electronic Arts and THQ when it comes to discouraging -- or at least profiting from -- the sale of used games. Joystiq has learned from a tipster that when Mortal Kombat hits shelves on April 19, its box will include an "online pass" token that must be redeemed before playing online. At present, WBIE evidently intends to do the same for its high-profile releases F.E.A.R. 3 and Batman: Arkham City. Since the latter won't feature multiplayer, though, the token would have to unlock some other (equally attractive) content.

According to an email obtained from our source, which appears intended for retailers, WBIE won't be promoting the pass -- in fact, no reference to it will appear on the game's packaging. Instead, it is apparently providing retailers with details on the pass, including how to purchase a new one if you're buying a used copy of the game. Unsurprisingly, a new pass will run 800 Microsoft Points / $10 for Xbox 360 and PS3, respectively. We've contacted WBIE for comment on this information. You can find an excerpt from the retailer email past the break.


Mortal Kombat, available on April 19 for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, includes a one-time-use registration code that gives players access to all online modes in the game. Players who do not have a code will get a free two-day trial of the online play and then be able to purchase the online modes for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and $9.99 on the PlayStation Network.

Mister Epic
03-30-2011, 04:32 PM
I pray this is just an April Fool's joke, this rumor...

jkipp82
03-30-2011, 05:31 PM
I doubt it.

13Dannyboy13
03-30-2011, 05:41 PM
If they wonder why so many people pirate games they have to look no further than their greed. Whether or not they actually go through with this, it's disappointing that these companies are trying to ruin the used game market with their greed. I buy a lot of my games used, but have decided against more than one because I didn't want to have to pay another $10 on top of what I already payed. It's disappointing to see these companies withholding content and having it as day 1 dlc that you can get with a code only if you buy the game new, otherwiae they'll charge you for what really should be the full game.

Mister Epic
04-02-2011, 09:17 PM
Was it ever found out if this was an April Fool's joke or not? I haven't seen anything about it on Ed Boon's Twitter. Not sure about the MK Twitter.

lickerout
04-02-2011, 10:31 PM
If they wonder why so many people pirate games they have to look no further than their greed. Whether or not they actually go through with this, it's disappointing that these companies are trying to ruin the used game market with their greed. I buy a lot of my games used, but have decided against more than one because I didn't want to have to pay another $10 on top of what I already payed. It's disappointing to see these companies withholding content and having it as day 1 dlc that you can get with a code only if you buy the game new, otherwiae they'll charge you for what really should be the full game.

it's something like what it cost to make the game (production wise) plus manufaturing cost and devide it by the amount of unit's they expect to sell (which probaby only cost about £10 per unit), their probably charging about double that to the retailers taking it to £20 and then the retailers likely double that for the price of the game in stores taking that to about £40 for the regular versions (not the collectors editions which cost more because of the extra's added to the regular game),
then you can add to that the price of ms points (the cheapest i've seen was about 400ms points worth about £3.50 give or take and most of them being about 800ms points around £7 worth some costing 1200ms points around £11 worth for some) for dlc most of which being a "token dlc" already being in the game's programing when it's sold to you (most of the money for those so called "token dlc's" prices would likely be going straight into ms' pockets),

take a game like mass effect 2 (initial cost at launch was about £45) which now has about 5 game addon's for extra missions (each at about 800msp each), about another 3 for appearence packs (around 600msp each) and i think about 4 extra weapons packs in total (about 400msp each), not to mention who know how many avatar items on the market place, so i have probably spent over £100 for the dlc after buying the game so far, so yeah i would say alot is pure greed.