THQ Tired of Being “Cheated”

by
Posted August 25th, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Last week we got news that THQ was expanding its version of the “online pass” from its original debut in UFC Undisputed 2010 to the next release from the company WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011. Their games going forward will come with the one-time-use code to access online functionality and for those who don’t buy the game new they’ll be stuck paying $10 to reach the online features.

This “online pass” tactic appears as though it will be the standard in the future with EA Sports already using it and now even Sony beginning plans for a program of their own. What isn’t expected is to get an explanation as direct as the one given by THQ’s WWE creative director Cory Ledesma.

Interview with CVG: “I don’t think we really care whether used game buyers are upset because new game buyers get everything”, THQ’s creative director for wrestling titles told Gamasutra. “So if used game buyers are upset they don’t get the online feature set I don’t really have much sympathy for them. That’s a little blunt but we hope it doesn’t disappoint people. We hope people understand that when the game’s bought used we get cheated”.

I’ve always understood the reasoning behind implementing the “online pass”. The issues that have cropped up along with it started with the deceptiveness around UFC including such a program and then its poor implementation and EA’s desire to use it as a bridge to additional downloadable content and microtransactions.

In the case of THQ and Sony they have to understand that the online performance has to live up to the standard of online play being framed as a “value add-on”. Games like MLB: The Show, UFC, and SvR all have a history of providing terrible online play experiences and consumers will not continue to accept that given the new circumstances.

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  • JKE

    Oh THQ lol. If only you didnt try to cheat gamers by putting out the same shit WWE games every year and trying to rake in on UFC just because people liked the first one.

  • ninnyjams

    You hit the nail on the head. If online play is to be a premium feature that a company deserves to see returns on, it should be reliable. I pay an extra five dollars a month for an extended calling area with my local wireless provider, and if I went into that area and it didn’t work, I’d have my five dollars back so fast. I can name ten games this year alone that were absolutely abysmal when it comes to online play, and more than a few of them had those online passes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1279852421 C.j. Duncan

    THQ needs to quit cheating us with their crappy games. I flat out refuse to buy anything from THQ no matter how promising it looks..i.e. Homefront

  • Anonymous

    Online Pass is cool. Paying for Online Pass and getting shitty internet service is wack as fuck.

    Anyone bought that new PS3 internet upgrade.? Does it improve online performance?

    • daleyISgay

      The new PS3 internet upgrade is probably useless. You just get some free full game trials, demos, and avatars. If only they made it like XBL where you can have free cross game chats and parties.

  • Anonymous

    I can’t believe that this Cory Ledesma guy would even let that come out of is mouth given the history of how terrible his complany’s online servers are. I don’t know how they are on the WWE side but I know that the servers on the UFC side are garbage. But it doesn’t really matter because it gives THQ a bad name as a whole. I usually buy games new but I can’t believe that he would say that. How dare him be so insensitive to the people who support you by paying money to even let you make the games and play on your crappy servers. This guy needs reprimanded for that. You guys can’t even get your server issues together,,,,Do you even care what we think about that too????

  • Anonymous

    Just like I figured….

  • Dr. Hardin Thicke

    …I commend them for someone finally saying something honest…even if they were a total dick in the process.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1279852421 C.j. Duncan

    Smackdown vs Raw 2010 servers were terrible. Long load times and a whole lot of lag.

  • Newt

    ironic….i feel cheated when i by a THQ game for $60

  • Fiddy14

    how about this, these companies stop making half assed games and maybe the guys that buy used games would buy it new.

  • BCKixAzz

    Wow, what a bunch of crybabies there are here! They’re a company that wants to make money. They don’t want to spend a year working on a game and then not make money on it because you wanna save 5 bucks buying it used. I don’t fault them at all for doing this, in fact, I’m glad they’re doing this now. I always bought games new anyway because I wanted the company’s to make money. Sorry if you guys are so spoiled you can’t see the reality of capitalism.

  • Mike34

    Pasta, How have SVR sales been in the past? Im pretty sure they will see a pretty good drop off this year just like UFC.

  • Darrendabeast

    Nobody cares about a company that puts out garbage products to begin with.

  • Iceburn

    I am a customer that refuses to buy crap games for 60bucks. How about they lower the price back to 49.99 and I’m sure they will see a 7%(number from my ass) increase. Don’t tell me to rent before I buy, because then i will end up spending $72 if I like it.

  • Iceburn

    If you are tired of hearing people complain about things that they will or will not spend their money on then how about YOU spend YOUR money for me to get a crap game since you obviously have so much to waste on…you know, crap games. Its so sad, I didn’t even buy Madden. It looks like the only sports game worth paying 60bucks for is fifa. I prefer football, but its obvious fifa is a million xs better.

    • accidmav

      try ncaa 11. i bought it for the first time ever this year, and it is far superior to madden. (ive had every madden since 2001 with eddie george on the cover)

  • Xcef2008

    Id be interesting to know as well. However since WWE has moved to a PG product, Im sure mindless kids will ask their parents to buy them the game regardless of how good or bad it is. That’s what worries me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/DeVion-Xavier-Hinton/1161943623 DeVion Xavier Hinton

    since im an aspiring business man i understand how they feel “cheated” but it sucks for us as videogame buyers

  • http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

    My understanding is that sales have been pretty consistent. If it were to drop-off this year that would be an indictment on THQ it would seem.Not sure if evidence is there of it yet though despite frustrations from gamers who pick it up every year.

  • Anonymous

    That’s an interesting comment to say the least. They say they feel cheated when people buy the games used, but I could say the same thing about buying a game that has game modes I don’t play. There are a lot of games with an online option that I don’t use, so I should be able to pay $10 less for those by this logic. They feel cheated that someone buys it used, but that obviously means they didn’t release a good enough product to warrant keeping to the original buyer.

  • The Kid

    This crap kinda makes you wish you had a PS3 fellow 360 gamers. We are paying $50 a year for XBL already. Now we have to pay $10 for every game we don’t get brand new. That’s BS. Next thing you know it’ll be $ 20 for online pass. U know what screw it, I’ll start playing offline if that happens. I don’t have a hook-up to this game like I did NCAA 11 and I really wanted this game used after the price drops a little. Oh well, it’ll serve offline.

  • http://twitter.com/DaveDQ David D.

    Somebody needs to explain how they get cheated. It’s not like the original purchaser is still playing the game online under the same code. This isn’t piracy. This is consignment shop 101. You own the product, the product no longer has a purpose for you, you bring it to a consignment shop and get a small profit on its resale.

    Nobody at Levi Jeans is bitching about how one pair of jeans switched hands. THQ, the game simply switched hands. The number of online users is the same. It didn’t duplicate. Why exactly are you being cheated?

  • philly

    So the same companies that make pre-order deals with places like Gamestop (aka places that sell used games) would rather us buy a game new and just let it sit around instead of saving money, buying it used, and quite possibly ACTUALLY get our money’s worth? Just because said billion dollar company doesn’t get any money itself? Makes perfect sense guys…

  • Anonymous

    dont these game guys understand or even give two shits that, when we buy a game for $65 bucks and its shitty we get “cheated”? fuck them! make better games. most of the games made in the past three years have been god awful w/ crapy servers.

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  • FredCarbonara

    What your seeing is an epidemic of these game companies seeing their sales go down, and instead of taking responsibility, they are blaming everything and everybody but themselves.

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  • Tapper

    Imagine a world where buying and selling used cars and houses. You would have to pay extra for your roof, wheels, etc.

  • Anonymous

    Are u stupid or something? These greedy fucks already got paid when the “used” game was originally bought. Online pass is pure evil.

  • Anonymous

    Online pass = pure greed and evil

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  • John O

    Pasta, you couldn’t have said it any better. So in all, we are paying damn near $75 for a game, all because of this $10 dollar online pass. Are these game companies hurting this bad for money? Or are they just being down right greedy? It pisses me off to see how irrelevant and out of left field this bullshit tactic is. The only games worth paying online for these days are the Modern Warfare and Battlefield games. Other than that, I played just about every game online and if they are asking for $10 bucks to play online, tough shit from me. I aint budging. I suggest all of you as consumers do the same. Do you really want to pay $10 to play Madden online when it’s the same glitchy and buggy bullshit, same overused, arcadey style gameplay against other players? Is that sim football to you guys?

    Consumers need to stand up and fight this shit. Next they’re going to tell us we have to pay for the instruction booklets too that are inside! Don’t give in. We need to show them we’re the Alpha males, not them. They need us in order to survive.

  • John O

    And btw, the “creative director” for THQ needs to be reprimanded for calling out consumers like that. That is absolute bullshit to question the consumerism of video games. Stupid capitalist monkey. Just wants to up his salary I guess.

    People, especially the younger generation who wasn’t there for the days of Atari, Sega, Nintendo, etc, in laments term, the days of no internet, will buy into this bullshit regardless. That guy could’ve said the consumers are morons for buying their game and these kids will still ask their mommy and daddy for the game. Shits disgusting.

  • John O

    Lttle boy, the internet doesn’t like you. Go do something constructive like going back to playing your buliding blocks or Lincoln Logs. Obviously playing video games made you stupid. Go back to school and study hard. If this is evidence of your education, I am sad, very sad for the Canadian Schooling system.

  • http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/member.php?u=32366 lost

    Nice site. I just bookmarked you on my bloglines.

    Sent from my iPad 4G

  • http://twitter.com/WilsonWCF joekim

    I say if online is suppose to be a premium for online play then I want to be able to have total freedom with created wrestlers online, and I want all match types online, along with Royal Rumble. having online play cost $10. It damn sure needs to be improved from what we got in the past. And it shouldn’t be made up for by giving people a few DLC wrestlers, who at best should be on the game anyway, and wouldn’t be worth getting for a DLC other wise.

  • crossingthedon

    “We hope people understand that when the game’s bought used we get cheated”.”

    i hope THQ understands that when they release a crappy product that they tried to disguise before release, that we won’t get fooled again.

  • crossingthedon

    “We hope people understand that when the game’s bought used we get cheated”.”

    i hope THQ understands that when they release a crappy product that they tried to disguise before release, that we won’t get fooled again.

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