Sherlock Holmes, eh? What a film. I loved it at the cinema, and enjoyed it more than I did Avatar, I have to admit -- Although, I am writing as a seasoned Guy Richie fan.
So now that I have been out an bought the 'triple threat' Blu Ray, DVD, and Digital version, I get to enjoy it whenever I like - although, a tiny piece of small print has got me a little worried. On the CD that contains access to your 'Digital copy', it contains a warning that you only have a year to download it - after that it is no longer valid. Now this alone doesn't worry me - I mean, I procrastinate, but that's rediculous - what worried me most was that they had made such a big deal of printing it on the disk so that no-one missed it. Why? Why not just stick it in with the rest of the small print, or on the website?
Well a little research and about 10 Google minutes later, I had my answer - piracy, and second hand sales. I won't discuss the obviousness of how a doanloadable copy of the film can help to pirate the film, but I will discuss where the second point took me - Warner Brothers simply understand that second hand sales are on the up - especially in a reccession - and should the 1st owner of the Blu-Ray not download thier digital version of the film, which I should imagine only a small percentage actually bother, they don't want second hand buyers - a sale which they recieve no money from - to get their hands on the perks.
All fair enough, good form WB, and I for one think you are going the right way about combatting the sales that are eating into your profit (after all, WB are a massive company, they need to make money), by offering customers added bonuses for buying a new version of the film.
On the other hand, however, let's look at Electronic Arts - One of the worlds largest gaming companies - and what they are doing about the second hand sales of games. EA find themselves in a similar position to WB - second hand sales are slowly eating into their profits. So I hear you ask, "Whilst WB are trying to offer Digital copies, and DVD copies free with a Blu-Ray, what are EA doing?"
Well it started well, with Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age, EA offered users that bought new copies of the game extra content - the Cerebrus Network in Mass Effect 2 being a perfect example of shelling out the extra cash on a new version of the game being worth while, and why not carry on in this vein?? It works!
As of Tiger Woods 2011, all second hand EA gamers will have 7 days to pay an extra tenner, either via Playstation Store, or its Microsoft alternative, to access all the features of EA games.
What's most interesting is EA's argument that more people will be using the on-line features, so it's only fair that everyone pays for the extra use of the servers. Well, no, actually, it will be the exact same amount of gamers, regardless of how many have bought a second hand copy - because whilst they are playing a second hand copy, they are replacing a person that was playing the same copy before. No extra gamers. None. IN FACT, there will be LESS gamers online whilst there are copies of the game sat on the shelves of second-hand game stores.
Now in the same way as I condoned WB for needing to make money, I can accept that EA need to do the same - but my point is this: If you didn't price gamers out of the market with your £50 releases, we wouldn't need to shop in second hand stores.
The worrying part of it all is that EA have already signed up Gamestop in the US to sell what they are calling 'EA Passes' with their second hand sales of EA games. Why this is so worrying is that Gamestop looked like one of the few stores that was embracing the 'incentives' option. When Marvel's Ultimate Alliance 2 was released, Gamestop offered an exclusive, free downloadable character - an excellent way to not only attract gamers to their store, but to attract them to buy a 'first-hand' version also. So now it would appear that Gamestop have jumped on the 'rob gamers blind' band-wagon, and have welcomed with open arms EA's newest venture into day-light robbery.
Imagine if you had to give the manufacturors a cut of everything you sold at a car boot sale.
So now you are as up-to-date as I am, and we shall wait with baited breath for some small glimmer of hope that the other gaming companies don't sign up to this method of extra sales, that stores don't continue to invite EA in, and that indeed someone finds a crack for the passes.
Sherlock Holmes though, cracking film.
Extra reading:
Quick: http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/5/11/ea-adds-10-tax-to-second-hand-games/
A little more in depth: http://thisismyjoystick.com/editorials/ea-a-good-idea-taken-a-step-too-far/
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