Sony to Limit Online Access for Used Gamers with PSN Pass

From DailyTech: Video game publishers know that they don't make any money on used video game sales, and have started to make this particular market less appealing for that reason. For instance, Capcom recently announced that it will apply the one-save game feature to "Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D," which will make it impossible for secondhand players to enjoy the experience of the game. In addition, Electronic Arts (EA) and THQ have started charging used and rental game players an extra fee for online content or features in specific games.

Now, Sony is taking a similar route by including a PSN Pass code in new copies of some first-party game titles. The PSN Pass is required to unlock full online access in these games.

"This is an important initiative as it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhancing premium online services across our first party game portfolio," said Sony in a statement.

This new tactic aims to keep content locked away from secondhand gamers, thus keeping video game publishers from losing out on used game sales. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) Senior Vice President of publisher relations Rob Dyer has said that the company is frustrated with the lack of revenue from used games, and many other Sony executives like Andrew House, head of Sony's PlayStation business, support these new directives.

"I am a big believer in encouraging the gamer to have a reason to hold onto [a game] and to continue to play, and for the publisher to be able to see something if there is a second sale, because right now, for years, as a publisher, we saw nothing [from used sales]," said Dyer.

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