Comments on: MMO Resell: Why Not?

By: ha

ha — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 01:45:46 +0000

“I think it’s mostly because if you didn’t need a key they wouldn’t be able to sell the boxes. When you walk into a store and pick up an MMO, you’re not really buying the software, you’re buying an account. The software is just required to make use of the account (and thus many games allow you to download the software for free and then buy an account key online). But you can’t expect a retailer to stock a box that’s free and then make the purchaser pay when they try to make an account, and you also can’t skip the retailers entirely or you miss out on exposure of your product. ”

See: Eve Online, Darkfall Online.

both games have downloadable installs, so even if you bought it in store, it wouldn’t link your account to a CD. The MMO makes it’s money off the sales of accounts and subs, not the CDs. The “account” you buy in gamestop with the code IS just a way of tying CDs down. Look at it this way, how are you buying an “account”, if you could simply buy an account online and then use CDs or download to install the software? the CD tied to the account is for the sole purpose of rendering CD resale useless. that makes more money for them because you are required to purchase a new box of CDs.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:16:50 +0000

Good point and when I said the account was bound to the disc, I was actually more speaking in generalities towards the account is bound to the box. Which it is because of the CD key. While you may be able to buy a CD key from any of the dev websites out there I am sure you’ll find that most charge the exact same amount to buy just the key as they do to buy the box at a retail outlet.

By: Random Poster

Random Poster — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:47:39 +0000

First of all, the account isn’t bound to the disc. It is bound to the ID Key that comes in the box.

Some MMO companies (SOE) let you buy online ID keys, and then download the software from their website.

You can if you want give away the discs if you want (why would you though?) but without a license to create an account I doubt anyone will take them from you.

I’ve had friends lose their installation discs and I’ve let them borrow mine. In no way are the discs bound to the account (in most MMOs I’ve played.)

Like Graktar said, you are mostly paying for the license, the discs themselves are just freebies if you would. Since they’d likely charge you the same amount if oyu downloaded the client software from their hosting websites.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:05:40 +0000

I understand the reasoning behind not wanting people to create a new account and then sell the disk to others so they can do the same. That makes perfect sense. A business wants to make a little retail profit, and if this were the case then they might be hard pressed. This is largely why I can see why PC games still require the disc to be in the PC to play.

However, when you are done with that PC game, and you no longer wish to play it you can sell it. With an MMORPG you can’t because to prevent the previous they linked the disc to the account. Thus preventing everybody from being able to resell an MMO.

So I ask this? Why not just make it so you need to have the disc in the PC to play an MMO like with other PC games? Problem solved…

P.S. I’ll talk to Mike about the spacing…

By: Graktar

Graktar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:51:36 +0000

Umm, where did my paragraphs go?!

By: Graktar

Graktar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:51:11 +0000

I think it’s mostly because if you didn’t need a key they wouldn’t be able to sell the boxes. When you walk into a store and pick up an MMO, you’re not really buying the software, you’re buying an account. The software is just required to make use of the account (and thus many games allow you to download the software for free and then buy an account key online). But you can’t expect a retailer to stock a box that’s free and then make the purchaser pay when they try to make an account, and you also can’t skip the retailers entirely or you miss out on exposure of your product.

The real question shouldn’t be ‘why I can’t I resell my MMO disks (they are essentially worthless after all)’ but rather, ‘why I can’t I sell my account to someone else when I’m done with it’? That’s when you reach the answer of ‘greed’. MMOs want new players to have to make a retail rather than resale purchase (more money for the MMO) and start from the beginning of the game to remained subscribed longer (more money for the MMO). The whole ‘sale of our intellectual property is prohibited’ thing is a bunch of bullcrap. If everything on a game server belongs to the game company and is just ‘leased’ to the players, if I sell my game account to somebody else all that intellectual property STILL belongs to the game company and is STILL on their server, it’s just now being leased to somebody else. The MMO company loses nothing, except the opportunity cost of a new sale, but hey, guess what, the same thing happens every time a used item is sold instead of a new one. I don’t see car companies having a hissy fit about someone selling their car to somebody else. Heck, you can even transfer a lease.

I’m waiting for an MMO to experiment with account sales. You get tired of X MMO and decide to sell your account. You contact the game company and they put your account up for sale on their website. Game company takes 50% of the sale, other 50% goes to the player. Easy, sanctioned, and profitable to both people. Maybe that will be the next special server for EQ2 :p