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The War on Used Games

 As we plan 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 get the idea. But not precisely what we're anticipating is a progressive movement for gaming. At the very least, so far as Sony and Microsoft are concerned, you can wave goodbye to playing used games on their systems. Although they are just rumors at this time, it wouldn't be surprising should 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. Most notable 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 include the overall game. To elaborate, Downloadable Content(DLC) codes are included with new copies of a specific game and only with those codes, can that content be accessed. EA expanded its project to include playing used games online. Gamers would now have to pay $10, in addition to the cost of the used game they purchased, in order to have access to the web the different parts of their game. Ubisoft has since followed suit, requiring an online pass for its games as well. It is possible to identify the games which require an online pass as 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 often connected with DVD or CD anti-piracy efforts. Assassins Creed 2 was the initial game to be effected by this practice. In order to play the PC version of Assassins Creed 2, gamers must create a merchant account with Ubisoft and remain logged into that account so that you can play the game. Therefore if you lose your web connection, the game will automatically pause and try to reestablish the bond. However, if you're unfortunate enough to struggle to reconnect to the web you need to continue from your own last saved game; losing any progress you could have made since then. destiny303 will be the case for all of Ubisoft's PC titles, irrespective of one playing single-player or multi-player. While Digital Rights Management has been used to combat DVD and CD piracy for a long time now, this will mark the very first time it's been useful for a gaming. In destiny303 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 in order to play them. So what's the reason behind all of this? According to According to Denis Dyack, the top of Silicon Knights, the sale of used games is cannibalizing the profit of the primary game market. He also claims that the used game market is somehow causing the price of new games to go up. His proposed solution would be to move away from physical disks and embrace digital distribution. Essentially he'd prefer 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 use of digital downloads rather than use disks at all. Whether Microsoft will in actuality continue with that plan remains to be seen. One could argue that Sony has recently laid the ground work for preventing used games from functioning on their future system. At destiny303 , 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. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, will require customers who purchase a used copy to pay an addition $20 dollars to get a code for online play.

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