Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the shitty things?
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Bought a *new* copy of NFS Hot Pursuit - online code expired? [EA Responds]
- Thread starter Guy Legend
- Start date
Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the shitty things?
slidewinder
Banned
I think they charge extra for the pass.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Wait wait wait. Isn't ME2 PS3 DLC right on the disk?
EDIT: Oh I see. Cerberus codes. What good are they if you already have the DLC?
JacksUsername
Member
Yup, it only continues to screw over gamers and smaller gaming stores.
charlequin
Banned
Gamestop pays less than they would normally for the traded-in copies of the game, sells it at the regular used price, and pays the publisher less than the usual price (but more than $0) for the Online Pass code. Everyone wins... except the dude who resells the game in the first place, and anyone who wants to lend their games out.
EDIT: And stores that aren't Gamestop, and anyone whose save gets lost due to bad DLC coding, and the planet (because they're printing extra receipts!)
â Narayan
Member
Does the code work on Origin? You may be able to work around this issue if you try it on that.
So everyone loses except for the pubs and gamestop.
Indeed.
That is some cynical shit from the publishers there. Arseholes.
R_thanatos
Member
These are unlock for the dlc that is on the disc i believe.
Another response. Online Passes don't expire as long as games are supported.
http://www.shacknews.com/article/71404/ea-online-passes-do-not-expire-as-long-as-game
http://www.shacknews.com/article/71404/ea-online-passes-do-not-expire-as-long-as-game
So they're just so inept? I don't know if that's better or worse than expired codes.
Willy Wanka
my god this avatar owns
I've had Hot Pursuit sat unopened on my shelf for a few weeks and this news freaked me out, so I've just tried the code with my 360 copy and thankfully it worked.
The expiration of DLC and Online Pass codes is something that worries me though, even if I'm not entirely sure how strictly they enforce these expiry dates at the moment eg. I bought Saboteur on the PS3 a couple of months ago and the BOOBIES code inside expired on the 30th of December 2010 but I was still able enter the code then download the add-on seperately from the PSN store.
Yakuza 4 has expiry dates on it's DLC too but it's a far more reasonable March 2016 before you lose your chance to download.
The expiration of DLC and Online Pass codes is something that worries me though, even if I'm not entirely sure how strictly they enforce these expiry dates at the moment eg. I bought Saboteur on the PS3 a couple of months ago and the BOOBIES code inside expired on the 30th of December 2010 but I was still able enter the code then download the add-on seperately from the PSN store.
Yakuza 4 has expiry dates on it's DLC too but it's a far more reasonable March 2016 before you lose your chance to download.
Neuromancer
Member
I think it's that they're inept. Bottom line is it's preventing you from playing the game you bought, so they're still dicks for having these stupid codes in the first place.
"High level" support was supposed to contact me, but this morning I get an e-mail saying my case is closed, along with an Origin 15% off code that expires in a month. (whoopty-fuckin-do)
Confused, I get a hold of EA Support on the phone. The lady on the line looks over my file and says that there is a known issue with Need For Speed Hot Pursuit PS3 codes, and puts me on hold while she figures out what she can do.
As a result of my conversation with her, I learn that EA's tech support structure is that any lower-level inquiries are outsourced. That outsourced tech support group is split into two tiers - low support (people like her who answer the phone and give canned responses and can't even send emails) and high support (people who have a little more leeway in what they can do and - gasp- can send emails). However, because all of these people aren't actually EA employees they don't know that much and can't do anything outside of their authorized routines. Hence, when the online code generator spits out codes that don't work, as is the case here, there isn't anything they can do.
Anyway, after speaking with her manager, she said that she would escalate the issue further to EA themselves...which will take 3-5 business days so I should expect EA themselves to contact me, instead of a tech support contractor. Amused, I ask her why she doesn't transfer me or give me their number so I can call them myself. She laughs nervously and says she doesn't have their number and that I'll just have to wait. Wonderful.
I kept her on the phone a while longer (but not nearly as long as she kept me on hold) asking me why these other tech support phone operators wasted my time with codes that they already knew wouldn't work, why they would apologize by sending me an Origin code like they expected me to reward EA by buying a second game even though I was still having unsolved problems with my first game, why EA has all these roadblocks to contacting them directly, etc.
Anyway, 3-5 business days means they should get back to me by Tuesday at the latest. I'll update from then.
Confused, I get a hold of EA Support on the phone. The lady on the line looks over my file and says that there is a known issue with Need For Speed Hot Pursuit PS3 codes, and puts me on hold while she figures out what she can do.
As a result of my conversation with her, I learn that EA's tech support structure is that any lower-level inquiries are outsourced. That outsourced tech support group is split into two tiers - low support (people like her who answer the phone and give canned responses and can't even send emails) and high support (people who have a little more leeway in what they can do and - gasp- can send emails). However, because all of these people aren't actually EA employees they don't know that much and can't do anything outside of their authorized routines. Hence, when the online code generator spits out codes that don't work, as is the case here, there isn't anything they can do.
Anyway, after speaking with her manager, she said that she would escalate the issue further to EA themselves...which will take 3-5 business days so I should expect EA themselves to contact me, instead of a tech support contractor. Amused, I ask her why she doesn't transfer me or give me their number so I can call them myself. She laughs nervously and says she doesn't have their number and that I'll just have to wait. Wonderful.
I kept her on the phone a while longer (but not nearly as long as she kept me on hold) asking me why these other tech support phone operators wasted my time with codes that they already knew wouldn't work, why they would apologize by sending me an Origin code like they expected me to reward EA by buying a second game even though I was still having unsolved problems with my first game, why EA has all these roadblocks to contacting them directly, etc.
Anyway, 3-5 business days means they should get back to me by Tuesday at the latest. I'll update from then.
Neuromancer
Member
That's awesome. Good thing you don't want to actually play the game you bought new from them in any kind of timely fashion!
Consumers win too because they still can buy used games.
Hmmm. On that note, I have it on Steam, but haven't actually played it. Do I need to explicitly *activate* my Cerberus access on that, or was it automatically applied when I purchased the game?
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
You do need to explicitly activate it, but the code is provided within the Steam overlay. It still logs into EA servers.
Guy Legend
Member
Just got an email back from EA support telling me to contact Amazon for a new code as EA doesn't have the ability to generate a new code and that the code is "retailer specific"....
What a joke.
What a joke.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Its amazing to me that this issue is still open. This should be the kind of thing you can resolve in an afternoon.
Man, you guys having issues have WAY more patience and and anger management control than I would if this happened to me. The only good thing about this whole situation is I now have this thread to reference whenever a topic about online passes comes up. Fuck EA and the horse they rode in on.
Neuromancer
Member
Ridiculous. You should contact Xav de Matos at Shack News or Patrick Klepek at Giant Bomb; they've both been following this story and may be interested to hear this.
decades ago
I would like to see the story escalated as well. This anti-consumer bullshit is getting worse and worse. I expected to see a quick solution to the OP's problem since you'd think with how negatively EA's online pass has been received, that they'd be very careful not to further put their customer relations in jeapordy.
You should keep track of phonecalls & emails to support, highlight all the fuckups and contradictions and then send it to a few sites.
EA still won't give a fuck though.
fabricated backlash
Member
My brother still has no online pass for his newly bought copy of BF3 on PS3 as well. EA still refuses to give him a working code, even after numerous calls and emails. They simply refuse to deal with their incompetence, hoping that sooner or later people will just shut up and deal with it... or better yet, just buy a new online pass.
This seems to be their normal way of dealing with the issue.
Fuck those swines.
Like Cels, my trouble ticket was mysteriously resolved without anything being done. Thankfully, I didn't get a "20% off coupon for Origin" because I would have told them where to stick it.
I spoke with someone in chat who gave me another voucher code, which surprise surprise, didn't work.
I'm beyond pissed at this point and I'm going to contact EA Corporate and the Better Business Bureau (which won't work but will get EA's attention). I've worked in customer service and in call centers before and this is a huge no-no for this type of response from EA. You always do right by the customer even if their anger is justifiable or not. I'm not looking to get anything 'free' out of this....I just want the product I paid for and the service I was provided to work.
Normally, I don't trade in anything to Gamestop but with this I may make an exception.
EDIT: Wasted 30 minutes talking to a rep who gave me three different codes that did not work. I was assured that my issue would be expedited, but so far I doubt it will. What really makes me mad is the dude kept cutting me off and wouldn't allow me to speak. I don't get mad when I have to call customer support for any company because of my personal experience as being a call center rep. I finally had to tell him I was going to talk over him and I explained what I wanted.
I spoke with someone in chat who gave me another voucher code, which surprise surprise, didn't work.
I'm beyond pissed at this point and I'm going to contact EA Corporate and the Better Business Bureau (which won't work but will get EA's attention). I've worked in customer service and in call centers before and this is a huge no-no for this type of response from EA. You always do right by the customer even if their anger is justifiable or not. I'm not looking to get anything 'free' out of this....I just want the product I paid for and the service I was provided to work.
Normally, I don't trade in anything to Gamestop but with this I may make an exception.
EDIT: Wasted 30 minutes talking to a rep who gave me three different codes that did not work. I was assured that my issue would be expedited, but so far I doubt it will. What really makes me mad is the dude kept cutting me off and wouldn't allow me to speak. I don't get mad when I have to call customer support for any company because of my personal experience as being a call center rep. I finally had to tell him I was going to talk over him and I explained what I wanted.
charlequin
Banned
Just out of curiosity: does the online pass download still work? If someone bought a used copy of NFS Hot Pursuit today, then went online to try to activate the online pass for $10, what would happen? Anyone tried it?
Neuromancer
Member
Somehow I suspect that would work just fine.
For those still trying, Gamestop doesn't even have the online pass listed for sale in their system (I just checked with an employee at Gamestop).
EDIT: I got an email from EA advising me to create a new PSN ID and to see if that unlocks the code then switch back to the original PSN ID. I created the new ID, logged in, and the code finally works! However, I downloaded it to the new PSN ID (oops).
Still, I don't know what EA was thinking when they implemented/created the online service for NFS: Hot Pursuit. I suspect we're going to hear that they are shutting down service soon, it's only a matter of time.
EDIT: I got an email from EA advising me to create a new PSN ID and to see if that unlocks the code then switch back to the original PSN ID. I created the new ID, logged in, and the code finally works! However, I downloaded it to the new PSN ID (oops).
Still, I don't know what EA was thinking when they implemented/created the online service for NFS: Hot Pursuit. I suspect we're going to hear that they are shutting down service soon, it's only a matter of time.
Canis lupus
Member
Sorry to bump this old thread but I'm about to buy a brand new copy of the game. Can I still contact EA for an online pass? Has the online services shut down?
Steve McQueen
Member
I recently bought MW3 Elite Edition. Same story. Code was no longer valid. Thanks Activision.