The War on Used Games

As we prepare for the coming wave of next generation systems, we should be anticipating improvements on all of the good things we keep company with the existing crop of systems. Continue we expect: better graphics, faster processors, more engaging games, you obtain the idea. But not everything that we're anticipating is a progressive movement for gaming. At least, so far as Sony and Microsoft are worried, you can wave goodbye to playing used games on their systems. Although these are just rumors at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if they came to fruition. It is rather plausible, especially when taking into consideration that several game publishers have already fired shots at the used game market.

Perhaps most obviously is Electronic Arts(EA), who became the initial publisher to institute the practice of charging gamers, who bought used games, a fee to access codes that come with the game. To elaborate, Downloadable Content(DLC) codes are incorporated with new copies of a particular game and only with those codes, can that content be accessed. EA expanded its project to add playing used games online.  destiny303  would now have to pay $10, in addition to the cost of the used game that they purchased, to be able to have access to the online components of their game. Ubisoft has since followed suit, requiring an online pass because of its games as well. You can identify the games which require an online pass because they bare the,"Uplay Passport", logo on the box.

Ubisoft decided they'd take things a step further and implement Digital Rights Management, a practice more regularly connected with DVD or CD anti-piracy efforts. Assassins Creed 2 was the initial game to be effected by this practice. So that  destiny303  can play the PC version of Assassins Creed 2, gamers are required to create a merchant account with Ubisoft and remain logged into that account so that you can play the game. Because of this if you lose your internet connection, the overall game will automatically pause and try to reestablish the connection. However, if you're unfortunate enough to struggle to reconnect to the web you'll have to continue from your own last saved game; losing any progress you might have made since then. This will be the case for several of Ubisoft's PC titles, regardless of one playing single-player or multi-player. While Digital Rights Management has been used to combat DVD and CD piracy for quite some time now, this will mark the first time it's been useful for a video game. In light of Ubisoft's implementation of DRM, Matthew Humphries of Geek.com, cautions that it's feasible that eventually even console games will demand online registration so that you can play them.

So what's the reason behind all of this? In accordance with In accordance with Denis Dyack, the head of Silicon Knights, the sale of used games is cannibalizing the profit of the principal game market. He also claims that the used game market is somehow causing the price of new games to go up. His proposed solution is to move from physical disks and embrace digital distribution. Essentially he'd like to see services like Steam or EA's Origin replace traditional hard copies. You can find even rumors that the X-Box 720 will embrace the exclusive usage of digital downloads and not use disks at all. Whether Microsoft will in actuality follow through with that plan remains to be observed.

You can argue that Sony has already laid the ground work with preventing used games from functioning on their future system. At least, they've already made quite an effort to make used games significantly less desirable. Kath Brice, of Gamesindustry.biz, reported that the latest SOCOM game for PSP, SOCOM: U.S.  destiny303 , will demand customers who purchase a used copy to pay an addition $20 dollars to receive a code for online play.