So if I bought a used copy at GameStop...

[ActualSize]

...what I'm gathering is that I'm screwed in the export department.

Maybe (probably) this has been brought up already, but I didn't see a definitive yes/no in any of the half-dozen or so threads I checked about export-related issues -- just a lot of references to an insert/code that (naturally) didn't come with the copy of the game I bought, because I picked it up pre-owned. So if I'm not mistaken, even if I'm willing (and, in fact, trying right at this very second) to pay the ten-dollar export fee, I still basically get a big ol' middle finger from Harmonix because I didn't pony up for a brand-new disc as well.

Am I understanding this right?

[Bront20]

Yes, you're probably 99% likely not going to have an unused code.

I believe it's been answered several times.

And it's not a big ole' middle finger, since HMX makes no money off of a used copy. In fact, it could be argued that you'd be giving HMX a middle finger for buying it used. (No, I'm not, but I know people who will).

I suggest you return it. Game stop will let you return used games.

You can get it new for $25 online.

[ActualSize]

Thanks; I figured this was a pretty common question, but I didn't actually see it answered anywhere.

I think the middle-finger issue is a matter of perspective; on the one hand, I bought a used copy instead of a new one, and that's depriving Harmonix and their partners of a sale. On the other hand, I bought a used copy instead of... well, anything else at all that I could have spent my money on -- a different game, a movie ticket, gas for my car, whatever -- then basically walked up out of the blue and offered to just give them ten dollars. And they swatted my hand away.

Still, I understand why it works this way; how many different consoles does, say, a single GameFly disc end up inside in a year? It's a pain for me to have to deal with, but the policy's got some valid reasoning behind it, and let's face it, no amount of internet whining on my part is going to change it anyway.

In any case, I took some time on my lunch break today to head back to GameStop and make use of the aforementioned really lenient used games return policy; it turns out a new copy was only going for about five dollars more than I'd paid for the used one. Between my return and another game I was trading in anyway, I actually came out three bucks ahead on the deal (if you don't factor in that I could have put that trade-in credit toward something else).

[deathmonkey]

Thanks; I figured this was a pretty common question, but I didn't actually see it answered anywhere.

I think the middle-finger issue is a matter of perspective; on the one hand, I bought a used copy instead of a new one, and that's depriving Harmonix and their partners of a sale. On the other hand, I bought a used copy instead of... well, anything else at all that I could have spent my money on -- a different game, a movie ticket, gas for my car, whatever -- then basically walked up out of the blue and offered to just give them ten dollars. And they swatted my hand away.

Still, I understand why it works this way; how many different consoles does, say, a single GameFly disc end up inside in a year? It's a pain for me to have to deal with, but the policy's got some valid reasoning behind it, and let's face it, no amount of internet whining on my part is going to change it anyway.

In any case, I took some time on my lunch break today to head back to GameStop and make use of the aforementioned really lenient used games return policy; it turns out a new copy was only going for about five dollars more than I'd paid for the used one. Between my return and another game I was trading in anyway, I actually came out three bucks ahead on the deal (if you don't factor in that I could have put that trade-in credit toward something else).

damn near all of their used games are like that...$5 less than a brand new copy

[Pereira]

Thanks; I figured this was a pretty common question, but I didn't actually see it answered anywhere.

I think the middle-finger issue is a matter of perspective; on the one hand, I bought a used copy instead of a new one, and that's depriving Harmonix and their partners of a sale. On the other hand, I bought a used copy instead of... well, anything else at all that I could have spent my money on -- a different game, a movie ticket, gas for my car, whatever -- then basically walked up out of the blue and offered to just give them ten dollars. And they swatted my hand away.

Let's be realistic, your "perspective" pretends you were doing an act of charity and ignores the fact that you're offering to pay $10 for 45 songs.

[Dog Welder]

More and more companies are going to put these codes inside new games to help prevent used game sales because the developers make $0 off of them. BioWare has been doing that with "free" DLC codes that would cost $15 to purchase if you bought the game used.

There's still going to be people who don't care about that stuff, but it will put money back into the developers' pockets.

I fully expect that RB3 will have a premium code to convert RB2 into DLC.

[ActualSize]

Let's be realistic, your "perspective" pretends you were doing an act of charity and ignores the fact that you're offering to pay $10 for 45 songs.

45 songs I already had in my possession through perfectly legal and legitimate means and didn't actually need to pay anything for, because, you know, I already had paid for them and they were already mine. I paid the previous owner of the disc (GameStop) for those. I wasn't offering to pay $10, or in fact, anything at all, for the songs, because I didn't have to. I was offering to pay for the ability to move them from one medium to another, the direct cost of which to Harmonix is negligible.

But to re-iterate, none of that matters now, because I've already returned the used disc, bought a new one, paid the export fee, and exported the songs to my hard drive. It's already done -- Harmonix has their sale, and I have my LRB songs available in RB2, plus a copy of LRB itself. Everybody's happy. So at this point, arguing about it doesn't accomplish anything; If you want to discuss the moral and ethical implications of the legal transfer of private property between consenting individuals just to have a friendly debate, that's fine, but I'm not going to fight about it, particularly since I don't actually have a horse in this race anymore.

[LoopyChew]

45 songs I already had in my possession through perfectly legal and legitimate means and didn't actually need to pay anything for, because, you know, I already had paid for them and they were already mine. I paid the previous owner of the disc (GameStop) for those. I wasn't offering to pay $10, or in fact, anything at all, for the songs, because I didn't have to. I was offering to pay for the ability to move them from one medium to another, the direct cost of which to Harmonix is negligible.

They have to consider the worst-case scenario, in which basically the $10 export can be abused by one person passing around his otherwise brand-new LRB disc to a bunch of his friends. Sure, Harmonix is getting $10, but how much are they losing on the disc sale? How much are Tt or MTV games losing on it, for that matter?

But to re-iterate, none of that matters now, because I've already returned the used disc, bought a new one, paid the export fee, and exported the songs to my hard drive. It's already done -- Harmonix has their sale, and I have my LRB songs available in RB2, plus a copy of LRB itself. Everybody's happy. So at this point, arguing about it doesn't accomplish anything; If you want to discuss the moral and ethical implications of the legal transfer of private property between consenting individuals just to have a friendly debate, that's fine, but I'm not going to fight about it, particularly since I don't actually have a horse in this race anymore.

Hope you enjoy the export. :-)

[Pereira]

lol @ talking about morals, laws, ethics. For real? HMX didn't screw you over, and that's all that needs to be said. I don't know how you got anything else out of my post.

[deathmonkey]

45 songs I already had in my possession through perfectly legal and legitimate means and didn't actually need to pay anything for, because, you know, I already had paid for them and they were already mine. I paid the previous owner of the disc (GameStop) for those. I wasn't offering to pay $10, or in fact, anything at all, for the songs, because I didn't have to. I was offering to pay for the ability to move them from one medium to another, the direct cost of which to Harmonix is negligible.

But to re-iterate, none of that matters now, because I've already returned the used disc, bought a new one, paid the export fee, and exported the songs to my hard drive. It's already done -- Harmonix has their sale, and I have my LRB songs available in RB2, plus a copy of LRB itself. Everybody's happy. So at this point, arguing about it doesn't accomplish anything; If you want to discuss the moral and ethical implications of the legal transfer of private property between consenting individuals just to have a friendly debate, that's fine, but I'm not going to fight about it, particularly since I don't actually have a horse in this race anymore.

i think the concern here is that because it's a used game, if you were able to buy the export license you could return the disc and in that case you would have paid $10 for 45 songs, which is just being cheap. so thank you for doing the right thing and returning the used copy to gameschlock...