PSN Pass Leak Was “Way Ahead Of Sony’s Schedule”

TSA Staff 84 Comments

The PSN Pass leak earlier in the week apparently wasn’t planned, at least it wasn’t meant to be revealed yet – that’s according to Insomniac’s James Stevenson.

The Community Manager for the developer spoke out today on the Insomniac forums.  “As soon as we can announce more details about how it works, we will,” he said, suggesting that we don’t know everything about the service, despite Sony’s press release.  That could be good news – will it be per console rather than per PSN account?

“Obviously the box art from Europe leaking out early was way ahead of Sony’s schedule for discussing how this would happen,” he also commented.  Looks like no-one was supposed to see that particular Resistance 3 box.

It’s a “game-specific” paid for online code system, which means that second hand or rented copies of games will have features locked out until the player pays for an activation code.  “This is an important initiative as it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhancing premium online services across our first party game portfolio,” was the official word from Sony.

PSN Pass is a hot topic here, just two stories on TheSixthAxis have attracted well over 200 comments.

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84 Comments

  1. I am completely against it!
    What happens if you have 10 games that use it and your PS3 breaks? You’ll have to fork out £100 to buy new passes?
    Of couse this could be solved by linking it to an account, I hope so, because I’m on my 5th PS3 already.
    I’d hate to have my account stolen though!

    • It will be user related mate.

    • The PSN Pass is tied to your PSN account, not the System, that would be stupid.

    • of course linking it to an account has problems too, in that if more than one person in the household plays the game, you have a problem, because these things tend to only work with one account.

      • Me and my brother both own ps3s. When there is a game we both want which is mainly for online like cod or battlefield dya know what happens, we both buy our own! So again this ps pass won’t be affecting this household,

  2. This is not bad compared to Capcoms one save funtion to counter Pre-owned games… Google the one save thing, to lazy to explain :p

    • sadly, it’s looking like capcom aren’t the only ones using this deplorable technique.

  3. I think that if they combine the pass with some exclusive content it might sit a bit better with folks.

  4. Stupid idea. Make me want to keep your game and I won’t trade it in. Simple really, but it’s less work and more money to just chop out half a game; as that’s what multiplayer is nowadays.
    Won’t be buying Resistance 3, new or preowned, regardless but it’s still a shitty tactic.

  5. It can only be a good thing for the future of gaming its just going to upset a lot of people on the way. Soon it will be a industry standard.

  6. Although I have no problem paying for online, I do have a problem with paying £8 for every online pre-owned game. It just doesn’t seem economical, and it would be a shame if I were to miss out on new game releases and not be able to enjoy the entirety of a game.

    That being said though, apart from a few TSA meets, id rather play on some old Xbox 360 and PS3 games, my Dreamcast or on Steam. I don’t feel like buying a console game is an enticing proposition anymore unless it’s downloadable games like Journey or Fez. :(

    • Instead of paying £8 for each game online, guess what! Just buy the game new.

      Simples,

  7. ” I do have a problem with paying £8 for every online pre-owned game. It just doesn’t seem economical, and it would be a shame if I were to miss out on new game releases and not be able to enjoy the entirety of a game.”

    Instead of paying £8 for each game online, guess what! Just buy the game new.

    Simples,

  8. awful tactic.

    @ Fattyuk, not everybody can afford to buy all their games new, i know i cant, in november when UC:3 Cod and TLG are out, thats £120 there which will go to new games, Resistance is an average game that i wont buy new, and if i was to buy preowned 4 months down the line for about £15 and then be hit with a needed online pass, i know i then wouldnt buy resistance titles anymore, and then i also have no gauge of where the developers are going with their games so i wouldnt buy any of their games new to be honest.

    Make top class games that people will want at launch and then you wont have a problem with the pre owned market.

    When i sell my house that ive payed for, the next owners wont have to pay £10000 to the builders aswell because they made it.

    When i sell an old movie on ebay, the makers of the movie dont go chanting about a cut of what i have made, and they are also hit with a massive piracy problem on top of that, i dont know of anybody who pirates ps3 games and only 1 who pirates xbox 360 games.

    Jeez :/

    • Sorry mate but I’m a big believer in, can’t afford it, can’t have it.
      My parents could never afford a n64 or mega rive for me when I was a kid, and guess what! I went without!

      As for comparing this to selling a house! Well I’m not even gonna go there as that is a real silly comparison,

      • it’s no worse than some of your excuses for this being a valid practice.

      • Right ok?

  9. there is something that needs saying on this issue, that i don’t think has been addressed yet.

    we all agree the publisher and developers deserve to be rewarded for their work, and they are, they get their fair share
    but that’s not really what this comment is about.

    i ask, what about the people who worked hard for the money to buy the games, some working harder than somebody sitting in front of a computer all day and doing jobs more important than making games.

    do they not deserve to own the games they buy?
    is that not their reward?
    being able to buy and own things.

    and does ownership of a product not convey certain rights?
    one being the right to transfer ownership of that product? by selling or giving it away.

    • “one being the right to transfer ownership of that product? by selling or giving it away”

      You can do what you like with your game!! LOL Sony aren’t trying to stop you from selling it on, just that if you do sell it on, the next person has to pay some money to them for the privilege of playing online.

    • You’re opening up a real can of worms suggesting that people with desk jobs don’t work hard for their money.

      You had a long discussion with Kovacs the other day where he tried unsuccessfully to point out the difference between a product (the game) and a service (the remote components of any online support).

      Unlike him I am not employed within the gaming industry but having been writing software for all my working life I can see where the devs and pubs are coming from and can’t understand why some gamers can’t see why books, movies, cars, houses, etc., are different to games.

      • Well said was thinking how to say something similar but didn’t happen.

      • Online services have to be paid for and upkept, but none of the other things mentioned will cost the manufacturer money.
        Patches, online security and server costs do cost real money though, and it’s got to come from somewhere.
        When you buy a second hand car, you still have to get parts replaced, and service the car regularly.
        There’s a reason houses cost so much to start with. Of course, there are still plenty of fees and taxes involved in that market which specifically apply to non-first time buyers.
        Books and movies obviously will never cost the publisher anything after they’ve sold it to you, so they simply don’t have the right to come after you for that.

        Single-player games would be a whole new issue, but multiplayer isn’t free to provide, or servers for old games would never shut down, would they?
        Games haven’t really increased their ‘new’ prices too much over the years, but I bet development costs have.
        That means that there is a smaller profit margin, which means that where before the online servers could have just been written off as a cost, but now? The recession hits everybody…

      • I can remember when megadrive, Saturn and n64 games would cost £40-£50 brand new and always were! And if you take into account as you say how much games cost to produce these days compared to back then! The overheads are huge. And we’re in the first real online home gaming consolses ATM!

        All people have to do is to buy a game new! It doesn’t have to be £39.99 on day of release! ESP these days games are down to £20-£25 within a matter of weeks, and sorry if you can’t afford prices like that then youll have to live without,

        I buy new but can’t always afford every game I want! just come back from holiday and still have to buy red faction,duke and infamous 2! Can’t really afford them but will wait until I can until I purchase, which is sensible really as the prices are plummeting anyways!

      • I know- new games tumble in price quite quickly in most shops.
        The only catch is, it’s the pre-owned market forcing the new game price drop. Get rid of one, get rid of the other…
        I’d prefer to have the online pass system rather than no pre-owned market.

      • @Colmsham

        Yes, servers do cost, and they are payed for with the copy initial purchase, it costs them no more for bill to play bobs copy when bob isnt playing it. as the server still holds the same number of players, if 80000 new copys sell, they will only buy servers upto about 80500 or where ever the next bracket is, and it will cost them the same amount year round from online costs even if every once new copy was traded and bought pre owned, and then played online again.

  10. I am not a online player but if i fancy messing around with a few mates online and i have brought the game preowned then i would have to pay which i don’t want to do as it would not be worth it.

    This will punish those who either can’t afford it brand new or can’t find a new copy of the game. I think companies should try to increase the amount of replabilty in their games as that would less likely to be traded in. Also this will reduce the trade in price of all games. Say i pay £40.99 for a game that is utter tripe. Not many retailers will allow you to get a refund so i would have to trade it in and i would also use the cash generated from that to buy another decent game.

    I use the preowned market to help catch up on any games released last year or a few years before whenever i have the spare cash and if that game is near impossible to get brand new or if a certain retailer want’s £40 for it despite it being out for a few years. What Sony should do is use the PSN pass as a master pass that allows any preowned game that requires a online pass to allow the user to use the online portion. They could charge a yearly fee or even put it in a a feature of PSN+. For non-plusers,£25-£40 a year. Or make mandatory that all games that have an online mutplayer have a trial. I also hope that Sony will tell devs to give their games 2 plats.single player and mutliplayer.

    • “This will punish those who either can’t afford it brand new or can’t find a new copy of the game”
      – Can’t afford it can’t have it sorry, I want a new TV but can’t afford one so cant have it.

      ” I think companies should try to increase the amount of replabilty in their games ”
      -Seeing as psn pass is about online, how can you not have replayabilty from online?

      “For non-plusers,£25-£40 a year”
      – Have a day off mate! How on earth would Sony a) be able to advertise that and b) If you can afford to pay this why not just buy you’re games new.

      “Sony will tell devs to give their games 2 plats.single player and mutliplayer.”
      – Why would you want an extra platinum trophy for LOL.

      • Yeah,but if they can only put aside enough cash for preowned copy then why not get it. Unless the price of new copies come down to the same price as preowned.

        I am not a big online player so for me that has very little replay value for me. I only have the odd online session with a few TSAers. For me the pass would be a waste of money.

        I will not take a day off from TSA unless i am employed.^-^
        The person may have enough to pay £40 for a yearly fee and can only afford to get preowned games for the rest of the yaer or can’t find a new copy anywhere. Sony don’t dp advertising.:p They probably use their blog.

        One for single player for those who don’t play online and the other for mutliplayer trophies. :)

      • il sell you my old 42″ sony bravia for £75.. would you not take it since you want it but cant afford the full retail price?

        this cant afford it cant have it is tripe, maybe when you were a kid, where the likes of ebay, amazon wernt there, but now, second hand is great, it also helps the environment, as its really a form of recycling!

        also another point with online pass, as many have mentioned, multiple acounts, if its acount linked, there kids/siblings cannot play online, if its system linked then fair enough. but the only game i can see making big money from this would be Cod, battlefield, and other massive games. whenever i played resistance online (twice maybe?) it was always pretty dead.

        On a side note, i think its a cover up after they have read online comments about how many people hate the feature, and this is their chance to pull it. Though thats purely specualtion :3 i have no idea

    • No just no mate.

      • Ok, then what do you think Sony should do to solve the preowned online pass?

      • Simple. Buy the game new if you can’t afford it on release or then wait till it drops which it always does is this Market, and sorry but if you can’t afford £20 for a new game then so be it! Or buy it pre owned an pay the pass.

        SORTED

      • So you would not take advantage of a cheap price for a game then. Sorry, but not everyone can afford it brand new it could be months before the price drops which i would not wait for if i really wanted this game. I always take advantage of a good deal when i see one. If i see two preowned copies of two games that i have been meaning to get then i will get them both as they can be cheaper then buying them both new. I would rather pay £20 for 2 excellent games then pay £40 for a new copy and wait untill i can afford to get the other game.

      • What planet you on? It doesn’t takes months for game to price drop lol! more like weeks if not days.

        look no offence but this conversation isn’t going far as I’m a buy new kinda of person, you’re a buy 2nd hand person. I respect,enjoy,show appreciation and invest my money into my hobby!

        all these people knocking me for saying if you can’t afford it can’t have it…… You do understand that I’ve got 3 Games that I wanna buy but can’t afford so even myself have to wait until I’ve got the money for them!

        If anyone could sort out an up to date example of what a newish game costs new and 2nd hand with online pass costs and an oldish game with the same details would be muchly aprreciated! As that whati find strange to understand! What’s the monetary difference between the both! Oh and obv were only taking about games with online!!

      • Oh and lonesteven this 2 for 20 deal you speak of, is this online games you’re talking about? Examples with prices would be nice!

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