That Ol’ Used Games Debate: Locking Out Secondhand Software

This blurb is technically “outside Nintendo,” since it addresses a rumor about the next-gen Xbox locking out secondhand software, but given that Nintendo’s prepping their own next-gen system for launch, I figure it’s still a relevant issue. What? You haven’t heard? Apparently Microsoft’s next home console is going to implement a feature that will reject software that’s been played on another system. The measure’s aimed at disrupting used game sales in order to maximize the money flowing into publishers’ pockets.

Pipe dream? Maybe. But the fact that such a measure is even being talked about makes it relevant to gaming across the board – that developers are getting behind the idea does so to an even greater extent. Jameson Durall, a design director from Volition, Inc., the developers behind Saints Row, says it’d be a great step forward for the gaming business:

Personally I think this would be a fantastic change for our business and even though the consumers would be up in arms about it at first… they will grow to understand why and that it won’t kill them. It does have it’s faults that would have to ironed out, like game rental. I’m a fan of rental companies because they have to buy copies of the game to be able to rent them out and if someone likes the game, there is a chance they would purchase it for themselves.

Another issue would be with simply lending the game to a friend, but maybe they could implement something similar to what Amazon is doing with their Kindle Books lending policy. The license of the game could be transferred for a set time to another Gamertag and the original owner won’t be able to play during that time. Seems like it could work.

In the end, I fully believe that we have to do something about these issues or our industry is going to fall apart. People often don’t understand the cost that goes into creating these huge experiences that we put on the shelves for only $60. They also don’t seem to realize how much they are hurting us when they buy a used game and how pirating a copy is just plain stealing.

I’ve said my piece before about how the best solution to combating used game sales is to create must-have experiences that are less likely to be so widely returned and resold, but I want to talk about customer service for a second. I don’t think the ideal (or sane) solution to the “problem” of noncommittal customers is to create a riskier consumer market. By that I mean that games are already a hefty investment – people want to make sure they’re going to be able to get the most of their money – so forcing them to go all-in and be stuck with a full-price product they may not wind up satisfied with isn’t going to create better customers. It’s going to create even more hesitant customers.

That’s just my opinion, though. What do you think about the idea of a system that locks out used games? Is it going to help developers or hurt the industry? Do you think Nintendo, a company that traditionally has been very protective of its intellectual property, would consider such a measure? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Source: #AltDevBlogADay via Destructoid, Kotaku via Wired