Did Project $10 work?

Has the recent trend of locking content behind exclusive codes included in new copies of games affected your decisions to buy, or not buy, anything? Have you ever paid for said content after buying a used game, such as Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network or EA's online pass in their sports series?  
 
Recently, I was trying to decide between buying a used copy of either Battlefield BC 2 or Call of Duty Black Ops. I ultimately decided to get black ops, and I have to say that Battlefield's inclusion (exclusion, in the case of used games) of 'Project $10' content was a big factor in my decision. It didn't encourage me to buy it new, it encouraged me to not buy it at all... which, since they don't get my money either way, I suppose they don't really care.  
 
What do you think? Is Project $10 bad for gamers or merely just annoying? Has it encouraged you to buy something new instead of used?

i don't buy used so it makes no difference to me.

I think it's important that developers get the piece of pie that they are entitled to when it comes to used game sales, so I think it's a fair system.
 
Simply put, if you're buying games used, don't buy them when they are still at a premium that will bring it's price to par as a new product after you purchase $10 online passes. Personally, it doesn't affect my buying decisions because I don't buy games used to begin with, as getting a used price discount is not what I look at when I buy games. If anything, I only look for discounts on new products, not used.

" I don't buy used so it makes no difference to me. "

I bought new 1st run copies of Hot Pursuit, Medal of Honor and Dead Space 2 i'd say it works.

I rarely buy games second-hand, so it doesn't really effect me all that much. Dead Space 2 dropped down to $25 after a couple of weeks, so why even bother buying it used? But then again, I would never spend $10 to get the "extra" content in most EA games that second-hand buyers supposedly gets left out of. Who here would pay $10 for the Cerberus pass? You didn't get anything even nearly worth $10.
 
I'm not sure if Project $10 worked like it was supposed to from EA's business point of view. Maybe it didn't since they decided to move the "extra" content to pre-orders only in hope of selling more that way before cutting the price in half just a few weeks later. But all of the EA games probably will continue to carry another DLC code if you bought it new. You can't just pop in the disc anymore and just play. You have to activate and download a bunch of DLC codes in order to get everything.
 
In 2-3 years, I can definitely see EA taking a few pointers from IKEA in order to cut development costs. Just ship out a bunch of codes and let the consumer put the game together.

" I think it's important that developers get the piece of pie that they are entitled to when it comes to used game sales, so I think it's a fair system.  "

i would only buy used if it's a game where the 10-dollar thingy actually doens't matter to me. In reality I should have bought Dead Space 2 used but I couldn't wait that long for it to drop in price and I think I played the shit out of that game. But something like Mass Effect 2, yeah I bought it new (CE) when it launched.

I paid 4 euros to gain access to the UFC 2010 online since I bought it used. Didn't know it had  this system though since it was apparently only mentioned in a small paper slip inside the covers behind the manual, and I don't really look there when buying games at the local store. Kinda felt pissed but 4 euros won't break my finances.

I rarely buy games new since Gamestop has a policy that you can return a game for full price within 7 days if you buy it used. You can even straight up say "I didn't like it" 
 
And usually, there's a DLC code in a used box anyways. So no, project $10 doesn't affect me.

Out of curiosity, how long does it take for a game in the states to start dropping in price? Here in the UK there are alot of cases where it just happens quite fast, for example there are already some places which started selling Dead Space 2 for half the price.  Anyhow my point is, for newly released titles I think it makes sense to wait until the price drops rather than buying second hand.
 
Back to the topic at hand, admittetly I have to admit I havent given a second thought to the $10 project until I started getting games that have it. Putting serial codes at console games just doesn't seem right.  Unlike steam there's no incentive to the consumer for going through an online registration process so even though it's a minor annoyance which I guess can be justified, it's still an annoyance.

Given I haven't bought a used game since like... holiday '08, I'd say yeah it works? 
 
I dunno, I don't like buying used games anymore, and now that they come with less stuff, it just reaffirms my position. 

EA seems to be doing it with more and more games, so I would say it was probably successful.  I buy my games new, so I don't care either way.

It hasn't affected me so far.  I kinda forgot about it to be honest.

I do not buy games used very often but if I wanted to pick up something like Hot Pursuit later having to pay an extra €10 to play online in a game that is focused for online play would be a real annoyance. I may be able to find a new copy at a low price like I did with Alan Wake but it puts me off buying the game all together but its not like EA would care since they already got the first sale of the game which is what they care about and the online bonus for them is just a bonus. 
 
EDIT:  I think this kind of thing could be a dangerous "foot in the door" were eventually a game will require a code to play any part of it. 

Doesn't affect me but 'Project ten dollar' isn't an either/or state of working/not-working. It's already an industry standard by either having a serial code in the box or by having tons of expensive DLC for all the popular games like Call of Duty.
 
@Stete said:

"Out of curiosity, how long does it take for a game in the states to start dropping in price?  "

I very rarely buy used any more since I just order all my games off of Amazon. A few weeks ago I was trying to find a really cheap copy of Alan Wake and noticed that one of the sellers was selling a voucher to download the game for $4.99, and I immediately snapped that right up. What I had completely forgotten was that had I bought the game new for $15-20 I would have gotten "The Signal" DLC for free. It bummed me out a bit at first but from what I've heard about The Signal I guess I didn't really miss much.

" @Sin4profit said:

" I don't buy used so it makes no difference to me. "

"

" @heatDrive88 said:

" I think it's important that developers get the piece of pie that they are entitled to when it comes to used game sales, so I think it's a fair system.  "

They did.. they got their cut with the initial sale.  Unless you believe Chair makers should get credited if their items sell at a flea market or garage sale..? "

The Problem

How Games Get To Your Store, And Who Gets Your Money

How and Why Publishers/Developers Don't See Their Fair Share

The Baseline

Online doesn't really matter to me, so no?

" I rarely buy games new since Gamestop has a policy that you can return a game for full price within 7 days if you buy it used. You can even straight up say "I didn't like it"  And usually, there's a DLC code in a used box anyways. So no, project $10 doesn't affect me. "

" Doesn't affect me but 'Project ten dollar' isn't an either/or state of working/not-working. It's already an industry standard by either having a serial code in the box or by having tons of expensive DLC for all the popular games like Call of Duty."