As a special thanks to loyal fans, five favorite Gears of War maps have been updated and made available to download and play in Gears of War 2 through this exclusive offer.
That's the text on a card you'll find in the box when you buy a copy of Gears of War 2. You'll probably thinking, "How nice! A little something extra from the developers at Epic." You tear the tab off the back of the card, type the code into Xbox Live, download the maps, and don't give it another thought.
What you probably don't think is "Why didn't they just ship the maps with the game?", "How "exclusive" is an offer when it comes with every single copy?", and "What's with that bit about "loyal fans"? Are there disloyal fans?"
This is another salvo in a quiet ongoing war waged by publishers like Microsoft and Electronic Arts against game rental services like Gamefly and the sales of used game. By adding special maps, weapons, or other downloadables via a one-time code, the resale and rental value of a game is partly hobbled. If you play Gears of War 2 by getting it from Gamefly, you won't get these maps. If you wait a few months and get a used copy from Gamestop, you won't get these maps. If you borrow your buddy's copy when he's out of town for the weekend, you won't get these maps. The implication of the message inside Gears of War 2 is that you're not one of the "loyal fans" (i.e. "fans who paid $60 into the normal retail channel").
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editor@dvice.com
By ax09001h at 3:54 PM ON 11/12/08
Sounds Fair! Better perks should be the status quo for loyal fans.
By eliteace at 4:24 PM ON 11/12/08
personally, I pirated this game so I can't say anything. However I severely hope that someone who comments on this will correct ax09001h in his logic and shove that statement up his ass.
By Memphis87 at 4:37 PM ON 11/12/08
I think it sounds reasonable. Its a business world, and when people go to trade the game in to a gamestop or ebgames etc. they receive money for it, then the company sells it for a gain while none of that money is going to Epic because the used copies are taking the place of new copies which epic is trying to sell. So by doing this Epic will make money from the used copies because if the player wants the new maps they have to pay for it. Its a smart business move on epic and other game developers part. And Eliteace ...i guess your to broke to afford anything REAL
By CoolProducts at 4:44 PM ON 11/12/08
We are in a competition based economy. Nothing is "fair". This is a smart move on Epic's part and none should hold this against them.
By GameFly at 4:59 PM ON 11/12/08
Anyone that does a "keep" or "buy" from GameFly will receive all of the original materials that come with the game. This includes the unused map codes. Since we always sell our used games with the original case and manuals this is never an issue for our buying customers.
By i1patrick at 5:49 PM ON 11/12/08
GAMEFLY above wrote "Since we always sell our used games with the original case and manuals this is never an issue for our buying customers."
Maybe he doesn't understand what the publishers are doing. Each new copy will include a ONE-TIME-ONLY code that the original game owner will be nearly 100% likely use. Yes, it will affect GAMEFLY's used games market. A lot. Personally, I have no problem with any publisher doing this. It might even cut back (a little) on piracy for those who want but cannot unlock additional content otherwise.
By ReeyferMadness at 7:12 PM ON 11/12/08
Better perks should be provided for loyal fans? Why? That is the dumbest socialist bs I have ever heard. They should strive to make a good product so that it sells well and they make money. All this is is a grab for a bit more cash... the idea that they actually give a flying crap about loyal customers - beyond the guaranteed base of buyers who will get their product no matter how much it sucks because they're fanbois - is retarted. They want a one time, one user arrangement for games. They want, basically, to sell the service of playing the game not to sell the game itself. Since that's not... well, legal, they do this to surreptiously attack those who don't directly fill their coffers.
Oh, and at EB you pay about 5 bucks less for a used game anyway.
All I gotta say is thank god for keygens :D I mean, I don't even buy used games but this makes me want to. It's such a pathetic and childish attempt - these companies are so blatantly... I dunno what word to use, I guess grimy. They're like a drug dealer you might meet in the projects, sitting in the back of your car nervously glancing from side to side and wondering if he could just jump you and take your money w/o selling you anything. I'm really glad that there are software pirates out there hurting these people - hopefully they will lose their businesses in this economic collapse and gaming can go back to being a user created business like it was at its inception.
By Kubiak at 12:03 AM ON 11/13/08
1Patrick you don't seem to understand what Gamefly was getting at, they don't rent out the manuals or anything that would have the one time use codes on them, so they would still be good when the game is purchased used, and they are included in the package. So no, this does not hurt Gamefly in the slightest.
By murc at 12:15 AM ON 11/13/08
I dont like this.
I know a lot of people who buy there games used, I mean come on...games are 60 freakin bucks a pop.
To: Gears of War Developers - .......................................................................................................................EPIC FAIL.
By you at 4:00 AM ON 11/13/08
Smells like a lawsuit.Looks like GOW makers are beating themselves with stupidsticks.
By GoW2 yeaaa at 10:04 AM ON 11/13/08
wow gamefly your retarted no you don't give the codes out retard..
By Reign at 10:49 AM ON 11/13/08
I do not think this will destroy the trade market in the long run. Even if the box stores go away another method of game trading will gain popularity.
Besides how is this a real issue now. In the past before gamefly and gamestop, I could rent games at the local video store. Then after a period of time those stores would sell them. Unless they had to pay a fee to gaming companies, why are complaining loudly now. It because the secondary market and Gamefly-like companies are either making more money, or perceived to, as an industry than the original game publishers and sellers.
Eventually I could see the gaming companies offering those perk items for a small fee to recover some money from the game trade market. If that works for them then I even see fees for new perk items that were not shipped with the original game, to nickel and dime the player, and to earn some profit as the game continues to its life-cycle after release.
By i1patrick at 10:51 AM ON 11/13/08
KUBIAK, if Gamefly does not give out the codes with the rentals (holds onto them until the used game buyer gets them), won't the people who rent from Gamefly miss out on the extra levels, etc that they can only get with the codes?
I was incorrect in how I said it above, but in the end I don't think Gamefly can say they would be unaffected by this. They will still be putting rental game in customers' hands and those customers will not have access to all the game content (since Gamefly will hold onto the codes for whomever they sell the used game disc to).
By Bob Saget 101 at 1:40 PM ON 11/13/08
Epic made this exclusive map pack to encourage poeple to PAY FOR THE DAMN GAME instead of downloading the thing online. Epic is also a COMPANY who, like most companys, main goal is to make more money. you dont like there marketing stragedies, then stop bitching and dont buy the stupid game
By Gam3r at 4:39 PM ON 11/13/08
I1PATRICK, yup, thats exactly what Gamefly will do. They will hold onto the codes until someone buys it (USED), and the result, it ended up just what Epic trying to do. I have to agree with KUBIAK, Gamefly isn't affected, Gamestop is the one hurting.
Since we're RENTING at Gamefly and not BUYING, it make sense we don't get the exclusive map. You want it, buy the game. Personally, I buy it from Gamefly used after they done milking it with rentals.
By lionsden201 at 6:04 AM ON 11/14/08
Ford, GM, Chrysler, Home builders, Walmart should all get a cut on something if you bought it from them and decide to resell it? that goes for any thing. I am tired of hearing these publishers cry. Half of the garbage they bring to the market is not worth 29.99 and they sell it for 59.99.
By sinfire at 1:29 PM ON 12/20/08
this is cheap, an attempt to make more money on forcing people to buy the game unused in order to use maps(that without will probably hinder online play drastically), dont they realize that this angers fans and hurts their distributors, for example, if EB sells the game, and it sucks because they only cared about making more money then keeping fans happy, then someone returns it, EB then has to return the money to the buyer, now EB is stuck with a game that they purchased from the developers that no one wants to buy because it no longer provides full satisfaction, the only fair thing to do is reimburse EB for the game since it wont sell, and if you agree with EPIC then your just as cheap as them, what they are doing is the equivalent to selling a keyboard to someone, have them take the space bar then return it for someone else to buy, you now have 1 person with an incomplete keyboard and another person with a useless space bar