Quick Jump Daily Digest

Thank you for your interest in the Quick Jump Daily Digest. Get notified of all new content on QJ in our free Daily Digest. To subscribe, enter your email address below and click the subscribe button.

Cancel and Return to page

Epic's Capps: some devs want to make game endings DLC... say what?

Posted Nov 10, 2008 at 7:03AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 Tags: Epic Games, Europe, Michael Capps, Microsoft

You know how we reported before that some developers are fighting video game rentals and second hand sales by offering DLC to only new copies of the game? (The list includes Gears of War 2.)

Well take that idea to the extreme.

Epic Games president Michael Capps says that some developers are talking about making game endings DLC. Meaning if you didn't buy the game direct from retail, you'll have to pay extra to download the ending. Here's his own words on it, when asked how he saw DLC evolving in the next few years:

I'm not sure how big it is here [in Europe], but the secondary market is a huge issue in the United States. Our primary retailer makes the majority of its money off of secondary sales, and so you're starting to see games taking proactive steps toward that by... if you buy the retail version you get the unlock code.

I've talked to some developers who are saying "If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free".

We don't make any money when someone rents it, and we don't make any money when someone buys it used - way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it...

This is a bad idea. WTF. Seriously. I get that devs want to make as much money as possible from game sales, but if they're seriously considering this as an option to make gamers cough up the cash, it's a sad, sad day for gaming. Not to mention there are poor saps who don't even have Internet.

Thanks to PacoDG for the tip!

Via GamesIndustry.biz

This story sucks? This story rocks!

Vote Now!

(0)

(0)

First of all "WTF" is not news article lingo. Act more professional.

Secondly, I can see exactly why they "want" to do this. It won't happen, but I know why they want to do it. It won't happen, as there are very poor people who can't afford the new games and have to (or choose to) pirate or or buy them.

Renting and buying used is the exact same as pirating the game; the devs make nothing from all 3.

However some games are soo crappy, or really short, that renting is the only logical option.

What they should be doing is making their own Online store where you can rent the game for a week directly from the Devs by downloading it to your system (Even LIVE and PSN have the ability already).

But then you have those poor people again with basic DSL who would take 6 days to download 6-12 GB.

You can't please everyone. But making the boss unlockable my be good for the devs, bad for the gamers.

# sounds like dev all want 2nd hand/rental market... — lavino 2008-11-10 08:25

To not exist at all. Sounds familiar? Yeah look no further than WinXP (SP2) and Vista. This is sad....

# Hmm — Guest 2008-11-10 08:30

WTF is indeed not news article lingo, but this is a news blog, we're more relaxed on the jargon here.

I like your idea for an online rental where proceeds go directly to the devs, that way it's a win-win situation... well, except for rental places and guys without Internet. But it does show there are proper alternatives rather than an extreme solution like making game endings DLC.

# lol coming from Epic Games.. creator of the worst end boss ever — phiyuku 2008-11-10 08:33

For god sakes that ending is definitely not worth it if they charged for it. You shoot a Brumak about 5 times with the Hammer of Dawn and then it explodes and it attacks you maybe once or twice but they are so far apart from each other it is impossible to die.

# "WTF" — Soily 2008-11-10 08:44

"WTF. Seriously."

That's exactly what I thought.

You're right, it may not be "news article lingo", but that's coming straight from the guts, and it perfectly expresses the feelings of most of the people who will read this article.

Second, I'm sorry to say that, but you're completely wrong when you say that "Renting and buying used" games is the same as pirating. When you buy a game, it becomes OWN PROPERTY. You're free to sell it when you don't want to use it any more. Just like a damn car. Are you gonna tell us that selling used cars should be forbidden? This just doesn't make sense, seriously.

Besides, game publishers/developpers who think like that and do that kind of things (for example : Electronic Arts and their famous DRM's in Spore...) only end up shooting themselves in the foot : players with at least half a brain will be pissed off and will look down on that company from that day on.

Honestly, I don't like what the video game industry is becoming. Loads of cheap to make, sold at full price remakes of old games, downloadable content designed to make players pay and pay again, and now this utter bull*****?

Where are they going? What will their next idea be to milk more money from players? Oh wait, I have an idea ! Make all games "pay to play"! Every time you start playing a game, 1$ or 2$ is automatically deducted from your bank account. Game over? Don't worry, you can resume playing for 1$! And when your bank account is dry, you get a nice "INSERT COINS" message. Yay, arcade at home! -_-

# heh — Esaar 2008-11-10 08:45

Rent the game. Watch the ending on Youtube. Simple as that. If these dumb devs think this is going to rack up sales they are sorely mistaken.

When will they learn that instead of forcing us to do something if they actually cared and made good games to please us, THAT would rack up sales. Probably never gonna happen because it takes a little something called 'effort.'

In any case, yeah, I just posted a simple solution in under 3 seconds. Rent game, watch ending on youtube. Done.

# BullS — cory1492 2008-11-10 09:06

"We don't make any money when someone rents it, and we don't make any money when someone buys it used"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the person who trades it in initially had to _buy_ it somewhere - same goes for the rental stores. If there is not rental/after use trade because of this kind of crap I could easily see them _losing_ sales and not just on the aspect of "people know about the scam"

c'mon, how many of you haven't gone into a rental or used place and seen 5+ copies of some junk game no one wants anyway?

# WTF!?!?!?!?! — ISOHaven 2008-11-10 09:40

I can't believe people are taking this seriously.

To begin with, while devs do not make DIRECT sales off rentals and used sales, both of those markets HELP DRIVE sales for the dev. Word of mouth alone is GOLD.

Secondly, to do as this article suggests would be death to the dev and publisher. One, they are killing sales based on bad form and two, they are killing sales based on the markets I already mentioned.

Capps is an idiot. He's only doing this to see "HOW" the industry explodes from the news..... and explode it will.

# I'd never buy such a game — cizzar 2008-11-10 10:39

With every new generation, consoles & games get more and more expensive and these billion dollar companies can't get enough, it's just about €€€ ...

Next time I'll buy the console where you can play pirated games on and a 2 TB HDD ...

# Short and sweet — Rooker156 2008-11-10 10:47

Make me pay extra for buying second hand? I WILL pirate your game instead.

# Lame — platon 2008-11-10 11:08

Nobody would buy a game where you pay contless times to finish it. It's like those collectors stuff where you buy the 1st pieces of something to asssemble for 1.99$, but you need like 40 of those to finish the thing, and the price is always going up (to 6$ and more per piece), at the end, you paid 300$ for this is thing you though was "cheap", for only 1.99$ for the 1st part, wow!...

# WTF!?!?!?!?! — ISOHaven 2008-11-10 13:00

Well, the whole point here is that it would be FREE for the original purchaser.

# Exactly — RommelTJ 2008-11-10 14:06

Thank you for bringing up this point. I also WILL pirate the game if I have to pay extra for an used game.

Besides, this whole thing is unconstitutiona l.

# I see both sides of the coin. — ch13696 2008-11-10 15:19

They do make since. They can't make money off of rentals or used games. Yeah we all hate GameStop. Pre-order this, pre-order that. I feel for these companies. I believe that Gamestop should make a contract with them stating that Gamestop should give the developers a certain percentage of the used game.

Now as far as the other side. Aren't the developers already making money off of the rental companies? I mean they do have to purchase the games before they rent them out, right? And the used games. Apparently they already made money off that particular game before it was traded in.

Anyone agree?

# lol so true — Master Chef 2008-11-10 15:25

Very disappointed with the end boss on Gears 2. Easily one of the worst ever

Shoot a big bad guy with the hammer of dawn. Gee I've only done that say, 100 times over the course of Gears 1 and 2... Boring

# I felt I contributed — ch13696 2008-11-10 15:26

Yeah I think I helped a lil.

Check it out

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/?page=2

Look for ch13696

# oops — ch13696 2008-11-10 15:27

Sorry this one...

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/new-game-incentives-make-em-matter/488/

# do this and i'll chip my console — fingahs 2008-11-10 22:48

if devs do this i'll just chip my console. if you dont show me no love why should i show the devs any. i refuse to buy dlc full stop, as dlc allows devs to sell games in bits, this is not fair to poor people and encourages devs to sell smaller games on disk with the advantage of selling dlc in parts. i've read that the next next gen consoles may be dlc only, well if that does happen then this gen will be the last consoles i'll be buying. dlc creates classism in gaming between the have's and have nots. i absolutly refuse to buy dlc. second hand game endings as dlc will see me leaving the gaming culture behind totally. as gaming joins the rich/poor divide with dlc. the more dlc we buy the more this stands a chance of becoming a reality. theres a game out now or due that has a map pack available to all retail box versions on day 1 release. i cant help wonder why it wasn't put on the disk. profit increase anybody. plus second hand games have been sold once already so apart from losing sales on new copies the devs lose jack as it's still one person owning a copy of a game that's already been sold. f,u dlc f,u

# me agree — fingahs 2008-11-10 23:18

here here m8. yes maybe second hand games should have a percentage go to the devs especially when GAME plc pay peanuts for a SH game and whack it out 2 pounds cheaper than a brand new copy. why dont devs break Game plc's extortionate back, for revenue, not us gamers. the only second hand games that are cheap in the uk are old or crap i recently saw ut3 second hand for £27.99 in gamestationn while new was £34 it's the game shops ripping everyone off, including the devs go after them cuz dlc endings will just make me feel ripped off by everyone. the devs and the retailer. then i'll just stop buying games altogether.

dvd r + mod + why should i let u rip me off. when we the people can actually rip you off and on mass could close down your software houses. capeche or caput which war do the devs wanna fight. pirates are ruthless dont make me become your enemy kai xlink and modded console and who needs your online services too. dont be greedy on us gamers, or you might just lose the war against the pirates as more of us turn our backs on main street for a cosy walk up a dark but fun alley. nuff said.

# Oh those funny funny devs — Cydonos 2008-11-11 04:29

Maybe next they'll want per-seat licensing. What about those evil pirate families where 2 or more kids are sharing the same game? All that lost revenue! Give me a break.

I AM a game developer, and I recognize that you drive sales by making good games, not by making enemies out of your customers. When we sell a disc with one of our games on it, we give up the right to control that disc. As long as the end user isn't making copies of it, he or she is free to do with it as they please.

If our games are really good, then there's nothing to worry about, because customer A won't want to wait to buy the game from customer B. Unless customer A really really can't afford it, in which case we never would have sold that person a disc anyway.

This isn't rocket science. I'd love to have a 10 minute conversation with the devs that are saying this.

# WTF!?!?!?!?! — ISOHaven 2008-11-11 05:44

"this whole thing is unconstitutiona l"

Oh really? Care to back that up?

# WTF!?!?!?!?! — ISOHaven 2008-11-11 05:48

You are both NUTS! How the hell would that work?

1. GameStop is no different then YOU.

2. Video games are a consumer product, making them no different then any other consumer product.

Every time YOU sold a game to YOUR buddy down the street, YOU would have to write a check to the game publisher.

Every time YOU sold a TV to YOUR buddy down the street, YOU would have to write a check to the TV vendor.

This is what you call a half baked idea. Try explaining to us HOW IT WOULD ACTUALLY WORK.

# Rental companies buy thousands of copies of each game. — yworob 2008-11-11 07:12

A sizable percentage of all video game sales are to rental companies be it either Gamefly, Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video. I bet Gamefly bought at least ten thousand copies of Gears of War 2 and to say that they dont make any money off of rentals is bulls***. Most games really are not worth buying because the majority of games that come out are poorly done. Even most of the ones that are good are only worth beating once so why waste $60 on only 10 to 12 hours of entertainment when you can rent the game for less than $10? I usually only buy games when they have good multiplayer.

Refresh comments list

Add comment

JComments

HOT GAMING NEWS | LATEST GAMING SEARCHES | FORUMS

QUICK JUMP DAILY DIGEST

Welcome to QJ.Net!

If you want your comments to go live without waiting for moderation, you need to be logged in. Being logged in has its benefits:

Logged in members do not wait for their comments to be approved.
Logged in members can create Profiles to be seen by other users.

So why wait? Create an account or login now! It's easy, quick, and free.

To get started, use the LOGIN boxes, or the REGISTER link below!

Want to learn more about the team who brings you the QJ news?

Read about them now!

HOT FLASH GAMES

QJ.NET Categories
• Apple • E3 • Featured Articles • Gadgets • Games for Windows • iPad • iPhone • MMORPG • Mobile • News • Nintendo 3DS • Nintendo DS • Opinions & Analysis	• Photography • PlayStation 3 • PoV • PS Vita • PSP • Rumors • Science • Site News • Tabula Rasa • Wii • Wii U • World of Warcraft • Xbox 360

Sitemap

Newest Downloads

05/22/2012 - 05/31/2012

XeBuild GUI 2.061	05/30/2012
edicpopDS v0.3.01	05/29/2012
RGLoader 0v290 Beta	05/27/2012
WiiMod 3.2	05/27/2012
WiiMC v1.2.7	05/25/2012
True Blue Firmeware v2.7	05/24/2012
3DS Video Converter v2.3	05/24/2012
Mobile Assault 1.8.2	05/24/2012
PSP Tools Alpha 0.1	05/22/2012
Newton War	05/22/2012
DaedalusX64 r766	05/22/2012
PSPMarble	05/22/2012
The Undead 4 - Nazi Zombies	05/21/2012
3DSExplorer v1.2.1	05/21/2012
J-Runner v0.2 Beta 275	05/19/2012

Most Comments this Month
Sound Off: On Game Expirat..	(58)
Say Goodbye to the Xbox 36..	(31)
EA Blames iOS Rock Band Ex..	(28)
Flash0 Contents Of Vita's..	(27)
Sony Had a Rough Year; Vit..	(26)
PlayStation 3: Now Featuri..	(23)
Sound Off: Toughest Game C..	(20)
Apparently You Can Pre-Ord..	(19)
Love It or Hate It, It's A..	(16)
PoV: This Collectors Editi..	(15)
You've Been Up in Arms Abo..	(15)
Pre-Order Generic Shooter..	(15)
Metal Gear Solid For Vita..	(14)
PoV: Paid MMOs are Dead	(14)
PoV: You Are Wrong about C..	(14)
Get Off Xbox Live, You Ped..	(14)
This is Next Gen?	(14)
Stop Your Whining, Start C..	(13)
PSP Is Back, Whiter, Cheap..	(13)
Pokemon Liquid Crystal! K..	(12)
Wii Will Be U	(12)
OK, So Maybe Microsoft Can..	(12)
Does Microsoft Ever Have a..	(12)
Operation Raccoon City Pro..	(12)
Diablo III Getting Mauled..	(12)

Top Jumps this Month
Naruto Shippuden: Ul..	(172)
Pokemon Liquid Cryst..	(105)
neur0n Knocks Out An..	(103)
Bust Out Your PSP Fo..	(91)
PSP homebrew - LameC..	(72)
Wii homebrew - WAD M..	(54)
PSP Comics Reader v2..	(53)
PSP Homebrew: 6.xx P..	(44)
Hellcat Working On R..	(41)
PSP Homebrew - PSPDi..	(41)
PSP homebrew - DSonP..	(38)
neur0n Gives You Mor..	(37)
Sound Off: On Game E..	(36)
PSP GBA v1.2: Gamebo..	(33)
Latest Left 4 Dead 2..	(31)
Another CFW Goodie F..	(30)
Soywiz Releases PSP..	(30)
Sound Off: Should Ap..	(29)
GTA IV patch 1.0.6.0..	(29)
Download full Sid Me..	(28)
Homebrew - PSP/PS3 P..	(26)
PSP homebrew - Mario..	(23)
DS homebrew game - S..	(21)
Brian Lara Internati..	(21)
Metal Gear Solid For..	(21)

HOT GAMING NEWS TOPICS

Quick Jump Daily Digest

Epic's Capps: some devs want to make game endings DLC... say what?

Related Stories:

Comments

Add comment

Newest Downloads