The End of Pre-Owned Games?

With the announcement of the PSN Pass, many gamers are asking themselves “Could this be the end for the pre-owned video game market?”.

Sony announced today that they would be implementing the PSN Pass which is a “network pass program” which would require the gamer to purchase the game new instead of used to have full access to the game content.

We first saw this when EA released Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 which used a redeemable code to allow those who buy the game to access free and additional content. Those who buy the pre-owned version must either do without or pay for a new code.

Sony will roll-out the program with Resistance 3. Any games that are part of the program will come bundled with a code that can be used once, and grants users “full online access for that title.”

So what does this all mean for gamers? If you plan on pickup up games such as Resistance 3 in the future, then you won’t be able to access many of the game’s features without a “PSN Pass“.

Online pass programs are viewed as a way to combat the sale of used games, as publishers have often complained of never seeing any profit from that massive secondhand industry. Stores like GameStop receive full revenue on any pre-owned games, leaving developers empty-handed.

Microsoft has not released any information on future plans to implement a pass for their network, but many game developers such as EA Sports and THQ are implementing “passes” in many of their upcoming games to be released next year.