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Warner Bros. Insists that All Catwomen Be Paid for New and Be Connected to the Internet

Want to play those Catwoman levels in Batman: Arkham City? Then you're going to need an online pass code.

As if Warner Bros. hasn't made enough of a sport out of trying to baffle the consumer with its utterly bizarre and incomprehensible pre-order schemes for Batman: Arkham City, we can now add one more bat to the consumer's skull (albeit a far less confusing, far more obnoxious one) courtesy of Batman's publisher.

Lack broadband Internet and hate paying for new copies of games? Good luck if you want to have Catwoman.
Lack broadband Internet and hate paying for new copies of games? Good luck if you want to have Catwoman.

This latest moment of consumer grudge humping comes via today's news that the Catwoman missions contained within the game will be locked behind an online pass. Despite WB's constant hyping of the Catwoman bonus missions, you won't be able to freely access them unless you have a new copy of Arkham City, as well as an Internet-connected console. If you do pick up a copy used, you'll need to pony up $9.99 to gain access to these missions.

While the Catwoman missions aren't required to get through Arkham City's storyline, I can say having played as the character in preview builds that they're actually fun, and most definitely a perk of the game. Gamers without Internet-ready consoles are fewer and further between nowadays, but they still exist, and shockingly enough, some of them might want to play Arkham City--as Catwoman, even. As for the used players? Well, you're probably getting used to this sort of thing these days. I ask you: Where's your Occupy Wall Street movement? Where's your protest march? Where are the jobless college kids acting on your behalf?

Of course, the answer is "playing video games and writing enraged Internet comments at nobody who can actually affect change." Right then. Carry on.

Alex Navarro on Google+

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alex

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Edited By alex

As if Warner Bros. hasn't made enough of a sport out of trying to baffle the consumer with its utterly bizarre and incomprehensible pre-order schemes for Batman: Arkham City, we can now add one more bat to the consumer's skull (albeit a far less confusing, far more obnoxious one) courtesy of Batman's publisher.

Lack broadband Internet and hate paying for new copies of games? Good luck if you want to have Catwoman.
Lack broadband Internet and hate paying for new copies of games? Good luck if you want to have Catwoman.

This latest moment of consumer grudge humping comes via today's news that the Catwoman missions contained within the game will be locked behind an online pass. Despite WB's constant hyping of the Catwoman bonus missions, you won't be able to freely access them unless you have a new copy of Arkham City, as well as an Internet-connected console. If you do pick up a copy used, you'll need to pony up $9.99 to gain access to these missions.

While the Catwoman missions aren't required to get through Arkham City's storyline, I can say having played as the character in preview builds that they're actually fun, and most definitely a perk of the game. Gamers without Internet-ready consoles are fewer and further between nowadays, but they still exist, and shockingly enough, some of them might want to play Arkham City--as Catwoman, even. As for the used players? Well, you're probably getting used to this sort of thing these days. I ask you: Where's your Occupy Wall Street movement? Where's your protest march? Where are the jobless college kids acting on your behalf?

Of course, the answer is "playing video games and writing enraged Internet comments at nobody who can actually affect change." Right then. Carry on.

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Picard

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Edited By Picard

I need play the first one, I heard it was really good. lol

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wolf_blitzer85

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Edited By wolf_blitzer85

I AM ENRAGED!

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vhold

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Edited By vhold

Why does catwoman hate our freedoms?

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StingingVelvet

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Edited By StingingVelvet

PC gamer says "what's a used game?"

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HadesTimes

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Edited By HadesTimes

I doubt this will effect Arkham City, but if anyone tries this with a Non-AAA title, I'm guessing it will tank like the Exxon Valdez.

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sissylion

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Edited By sissylion

I've never been more angry about anything in my entire life!

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mewstu

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Edited By mewstu

Whoa! Alex getting a little political at the end there.

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StealthRaptor

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Edited By StealthRaptor

I have no problem with paying money for Catwoman.

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emptycanowupass

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Edited By emptycanowupass

Sucks for people like me who wanted to rent it....

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Gerhabio

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Edited By Gerhabio

Sucks

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admanb

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Edited By admanb

Shocking that they would add a way to discourage used sales onto a game with no multiplayer mode.

I am shocked.

Shocked.

I'm not selling this one, am I?

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ninjalegend

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Edited By ninjalegend

You know, Warner Brothers, I hear Batman fights crime and injustice. So if you find yourselves haplessly wandering under some kind of gargoyle............

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WJist

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Edited By WJist

People who buy used games can probably afford to wait a few weeks/months to play games at the rate at which retailers are discounting new titles. So much stuff comes out with coupons or promo credit that it kinda makes the online pass thing silly - my incentive to buy your game new is not necessarily the content I'm missing out on if I didn't, but the song I can get it for.

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spartanman1222

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Edited By spartanman1222

if it's on the disk, and i buy the disk, then i should have access to it. period. if they want to restrict then just make it $10 DLC. how about they make their beef with used game sales companies rather than with customers. buttholes.

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onan

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Edited By onan

I was under the impression that Catwoman was incorporated into the main campaign? If so this is very odd.

It does make the choice simple for non-online gamers though, just buy the game used instead and save a few bucks.

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Gruff182

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Edited By Gruff182

Fine by me.

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JRock3x8

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Edited By JRock3x8

the only way this garbage stops is if you all agree not to buy the game and we all know that will never happen

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Zaph

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Edited By Zaph

When are publishers going to stop all this cowardly manoeuvring and just issue CD-keys with console games? It's obvious to anyone that's the direction they're moving in.

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SHADOWINFINITE

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Edited By SHADOWINFINITE

Fine by me, pre-ordered my game already long time ago.

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ninjalegend

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Edited By ninjalegend

@spartanman1222: Sir, that is a fine question. Why not give incentive to companies like Wal-Mart who do not deal in used games with bad ass free DLC when purchased from their store, above and beyond anything you can get from retailers who sell used. No gamer is penalized, and even more sales will go to the retailers that don't deal with used games. Win win situation.

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Mentalnova

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Edited By Mentalnova

Wait, I need to be connected online, on consoles, even after redeeming the code?

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The_Nubster

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Edited By The_Nubster

I'm buying this game new, because I want the shit out of it, but this really bothers me. I'm going to buy the game not to play as Catwoman, but now my sale is going to be interpreted as a thumbs-up to this kind of stuff.

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234r2we232

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Edited By 234r2we232

Good. Used game sales suck and this is one decent way to tackle it. I'll say it again: I just wish they would have required the pass for the ending chapter instead of something optional... this is a good start.

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koshka

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Edited By koshka

@spartanman1222:

Why are you entitled to what's on the disk? O,o

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yyZiggurat

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Edited By yyZiggurat

@StingingVelvet said:

PC gamer says "what's a used game?"

Steam sales might be the closest equivalent.

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Hizang

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Edited By Hizang

Oh video games you so crazy.

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HydraHam

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Edited By HydraHam

Buying new, could care less.

I buy all my games new so i don't have a problem with it, i see the frustration some people have with this stuff but bitching and crying on the internet isn't going to change anything, deal with it.

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chilibean_3

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Edited By chilibean_3

#occupyCatWoman

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TWiSTEDmerc

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Edited By TWiSTEDmerc

I wish they didn't do this; Arkham City is a single player game. Single Player GOD DAMMIT; which means I a consumer buying a product and I shouldn't need to make an online interaction in the first place. What if I live in an area with no internet connection, the online infrastructure goes down, or I just don't want to inconvenienced? There's better ways to do this like when EA issued Dead Space 2 Limited Edition, you didn't have to go online any bit at all to get the other game. You just had to make sure you picked up the first print of the game so EA new you were paying full price as later prints wouldn't be as expensive but would cut the extra print because they knew the game would be issued at a lower price by then.

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McGhee

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Edited By McGhee

@Picard said:

I need play the first one, I heard it was really good. lol

I'm the same way. I use to love some of the old Batman games.

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Kazona

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Edited By Kazona
@Koshka

@spartanman1222:

Why are you entitled to what's on the disk? O,o

Because he paid for it? Seems fairly logical to me. If you pay for a product, you should get the complete product, and not just part of it.
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Hector

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Edited By Hector

Damn... Guess I should just buy it now then.

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Edited By PJ

@JRock3x8 said:

the only way this garbage stops is if you all agree not to buy the game and we all know that will never happen

Yeah, it won't happen because why wouldn't I buy one of my most anticipated game of the year. I always buy new games and have a 100mbit/s internet connection. These things doesn't bother me one bit.

And frankly, why does WB have to give you something you didn't pay them for? I actually think these online passes are a good thing since that way the publisher and developer get money from (some) used copys of the game and it encourages people to buy new copys of the game.

If you want to experience the game as intended by the developer/publisher then pay them for the game. If you don't want to pay them then you shouldn't expect them to give you the same service as those who did. It's as simple as that.

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Kazona

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Edited By Kazona

You know, I really wonder if this kind of thing is legal. Wouldn't surprise me if it's legal in America, but other countries I'm not so sure.

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OneManX

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Edited By OneManX

Yes.. because this gonna stop me from buying this game, that I've been hyped for since the year started.

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Edited By Chris2KLee

It's not a problem for me, but it's more than a little sucky for budget minded gamers that don't mind waiting to play new titles later. Or renters to I guess.

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Samaritan

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Edited By Samaritan

Well the Internet-connection thing is weird, I guess.

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hermes

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Edited By hermes

This is getting out of hand. Online modes being locked are reasonable because they are independent modes (I can say I played GTA4, Bioshock 2 and MGS4 to completion and never touched the online modes), and consoles has to be online to try to use them in the first place, but locking entire sections of the single player experience and forcing people to be online to play them is a pretty douchy move.

This won't affect sales since many people will buy it regardless, or not knowing about it; but it could set a pretty ugly precedent.

The worst part is that WB are not concerned about messing with their public, but they are quite willing to bend over to used games retailers to offer them preorder exclusives.

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Edited By bybeach

I'm just waiting for the day you really only buy a partial game. This is getting close, but we will see how much the rest of the room can be consumed before the game is effectively, if not technically, castrated. Extra endings? A big inexplicable gap in the story? I would like to think that Deus Ex; Hum. Rev. developed their dlc for the insert point, and not simply withheld it for monies,..which is a subtle distinction that I think is true. But other developers will already have that and much more on the disc mind you for unlock..again for monies. This thing with Batman..close but it's not the same.

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Th35nugg13s

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Edited By Th35nugg13s

@PJ said:

@JRock3x8 said:

the only way this garbage stops is if you all agree not to buy the game and we all know that will never happen

Yeah, it won't happen because why wouldn't I buy one of my most anticipated game of the year. I always buy new games and have a 100mbit/s internet connection. These things doesn't bother me one bit.

And frankly, why does WB have to give you something you didn't pay them for? I actually think these online passes are a good thing since that way the publisher and developer get money from (some) used copys of the game and it encourages people to buy new copys of the game.

If you want to experience the game as intended by the developer/publisher then pay them for the game. If you don't want to pay them then you shouldn't expect them to give you the same service as those who did. It's as simple as that.

The problem with that is that not everyone can afford to pay 60 dollars for a new game. If you can, good for you, but the online passes do more harm than good. They screw over people who want to rent the game or buy it used, last I checked no other medium puts up pay walls for used or rented copies.

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MikkaQ

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Edited By MikkaQ
As for the used players? Well, you're probably getting used to this sort of thing these days. I ask you: Where's your Occupy Wall Street movement? Where's your protest march? Where are the jobless college kids acting on your behalf?
Of course, the answer is "playing video games and writing enraged Internet comments at nobody who can actually affect change." Right then. Carry on.

Aaah never change, Alex.

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ChuckDeNomolos

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Edited By ChuckDeNomolos

I think the online pass is justifiable, since how terrible used game sales is for the developers. However, requiring online access for the sections of the game is a bit much, unless it's a one time, log in sort of deal. If it requires a persistent connection, though? That's dumb as hell.

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

Does this mean you cannot progress in the game without having Xbox Live Gold? What.

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adoggz

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Edited By adoggz

dick move WB, dick move.

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hermes

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Edited By hermes

@bybeach said:

I'm just waiting for the day you really only buy a partial game. This is getting close, but we will see how much the rest of the room can be consumed before the game is effectively, if not technically, castrated. Extra endings? A big inexplicable gap in the story? I would like to think that Deus Ex; Hum. Rev. developed their dlc for the insert point, and not simply withheld it for monies,..which is a subtle distinction that I think is true. But other developers will already have that and much more on the disc mind you for unlock..again for monies. This thing with Batman..close but it's not the same.

Assassins Creed 2 is another example, although that is less infamous since it felt like real DLC released months after the game. This Batman thing is pretty ugly because the entire section is already on the disc (and was even promoted on the last E3)... I am betting the online pass download won't be larger than a few KBs.

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amomjc

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Edited By amomjc

God help everyone that the developer wants you to pay for extra content! AaaaAaaaHH!

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scottygrayskull

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Edited By scottygrayskull

Well Alex, you gotta still complain. Even if it's to nobody that can do anything, you're at least voicing your dissatisfaction with it. Complacency is the same as acceptance.

Also I'd rather pay money for Katwoman rather than Catwoman. Mmmm, Dylan Ryder. ;)

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Shadowjester

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Edited By Shadowjester

Isn't this basically just codes for Day 1 DLC that they are packaging with the game? It's just a pricing structure they aren't taking away your rights as a consumer. When you purchase an item they are required to be up front about what you are getting and what you need to have to get the full use out of their product. Similar to if you buy a car to get full use out of it you have to also purchase gasoline. The gas doesn't come with the car.

I guess I understand that those without internet are hosed a little but like in my car analogy if you want to drive the car your going to purchase the gasoline.

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Edited By Oddsor

If I end up not being able to buy Batman because of Ubisoft-style DRM and general treatment of customers I'll be mighty disappointed!