Look you Peeps at EA games its a simple concept. for your online games once a cd is used and the cd key is put in that should be a done deal. no reuseing the cd key. And to play it on line you must register it and all registered users are locked into that game. the key can not be used to resiter under another user name, nor can the key be re-registered a second time. so in since if your PC goes down on you, and you lose all the info on your pc, which happens and is not cool, but if it does, well guess ya have to buy another copy of the game cause once its updated under your user name and registered, you can not use that same cd again ever.

I'll do you one better--don't play video games...save thousands of dollars over the course of three or four years. Invest the money elsewhere. What a novel idea, I should write a book!

JW are you serious.  Once you buy  an item you should be able to reload it on your computer. If Mr. Gates wonderful system crashes and takes out your system as the legal owner of the program you have the right to reload it.

I hate being F-Ing nickled and dimed by these gaming companies.

It's one thing to have a game that's online only or make an entire expansion a-la oblivion "shivering isles". How freaking tiresome is it to buy a game and a week later they're selling "extra maps" or an extra character or a freaking weapon that should have been part of the game in the first place?

That's such Bull****!! I hate the fact I just spent my hard earned money on your game and now you want to charge me extra far a (technically) incomplete game.

you must be rich J.W to afford a new set of games if your pc goes down

Yeah - too bad thats illegal huh?  Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS used to come on Diskettes, that once installed on a PC - couldn't be re-used.  And if the PC crashed, oh well for Joe Consumer.  Joe on the other hand-decided that was B.S. so sued Lotus and won.  Many software companies DO have other ways of limiting use of software to 1 computer, but thats not the way to do it.  And making it illegal to re-sell is in violation of many consumer protection laws.

DW

EA provide online service for their games, then after a year the service is terminated so you buy the new version of the same game for the present year and use the new software (game) on the new server. Repeat every 12-16 months. It's not a forced upgrade, it's being forced to buy the new version of a game every 365 days so you can play online because hte previous version of the game's server goes kaput when the next is released. With sports games or some on the EA Big label, every fall the new version comes out. Every fall you have to buy the new version or you won't be playing online against humans.

And as far as second hand sales undermining the new games industry, the videogame retail market is pretty much a monopoly with EB Games taking up the majority of retail spaces. They have no offline competition anymore. You are forced to go to EB Games, have limited selection of new games, they will not order you a title that is not in stock because they don't want to be on the hook for it if you don't pick it up and it sits on their shelf for six months. Anyways, my point is in a retail store like EB Games, they only have a limited amount of stock. Some titles are just not a priority to them for ordering, so you browse the used shelf which is always full of used copies of the games that EB will not carry/restock/order for you. Not to mention games that have gone out of print.

EA shouldn't be complaining. The industry is set up for limited productions of some games, and after a short amount of time, you only have the option of buying used. And like I said, not all games are stocked on store shelves anymore, regardless of whether or not they have gone out of print. They order what they want to. And that means not carrying anything that isn't a best seller, even if it is still in print. If it's not a popular item they won't hold a single copy in the store. Used shelf.

Hey JW, why would you want to give EA suggestions about how to rip us all off. I'm pretty sure they can think those up all by themselves.

And the Key idea for PC games is good in theory. The problem is if you replace your PC or redo your OS or do a sytstem restore, or for some reason have to reinstall it then your key is no longer valid. It'd never work. I would be forced to use a pirated or patched version. Once a person buys software, they use it. When they don't need it, they either give it or sell it for a reasonable and discounted price to the next person. Who do EA or any corporate media company think they are telling me what I can do with their products after I have legally paid for and purchased it. It's in the same state as it was when it was purchased, unmodified and original.

First off J.W, you can't buy a used PC game at any retailer, so that is not an issue. Second, if you had to buy another game just because your PC crashed, you could just say good bye to that companies' reputation and sales. Third, when you do buy a online game of any sort you do have to register it in your name with your email and that cd key is locked to that information.

As for people buying used games, that's just a fact of life. People (including myself) are always looking to spend less of their hard earned money. Over the years I have purchased many games for $50 - $60 and have been very angry to find out I just paid that for a game that was thrown together just to make money. Those game creators had no intentions of creating a quality game for me or anyone. They simply wanted to make a buck. Because of those reasons I rent or buy used. Even "MIGHTY" EA Games is guilty of such sins. The Battlefield series for instance, are not a completed product. Patch after patch after patch after patch after patch after patch................still not working properly for the $50 I spent on each title. Not to mention the fact that BF2142 is more than likely just a $50 mod of BF2. The moral of my story is, if you want me to be loyal to you and your wallet, RETURN THE FAVOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!