I will never stop being lazy.  The older I get, the lazier I will get.

And they did this already with Phantasy Star Online for the Sega Dreamc

*edit* was too lazy to finish typing the response.

*edit part 2*  I don't know what would happen next!  Please explain.  Seriously.

1. They sell games in MCD  in Murica ? Murica u crazy bastards !

2. Can u imagine all those gamestop/walmart workers stealing people's games ? Hell nope !

I don't think it's a good idea. Any form of DRM is implementing Defects by Design.

Having to change CDs is a bit annoying, but having to be connected to the internet the whole time to play single player games is even more so.. :/

Haven't we gone through this at length at the XBox One reveal? This is exactly what MS had planned.

Flaws:
- You need an online check to see if the disc is locked and to link and unlink it to an account. MS' plan was to charge a percentage from the resale, for unlocking the disc from your account.
- This blocks any private online reselling. There are no guarantees that a disc you buy on Ebay is unlocked.
- Stores need to be able to check discs. This was a planned service by MS, yet only for select big retail chains.
- The 24h check was required to make sure that when a store removes a disc from your account, you will not be able to play it anymore.

It all leads to non ownership of the disc and it simply becomes a rental with MS dictating what you can and can't do with that disc.

For the above scheme each disc needs to have a unique identifier, and all participating stores need access to an online database and be able to check and unlock discs. A lot of extra costs.

i think you are making things overcomplicated.

playstation (and i think xbox) already are getting away with selling 2 license with every digital download. 1 is tied to the hardware (my primary console) and one is tied to my online account.

aka - my wife's account can play games i downloaded to my primary console even though she doesn't own them but not on my other console. alternatively - i can play my entire library on any ps4 so long as i'm connected to the internet.

then fuck,.. just do the same with discs. 1 license is tied to the hardware (aka disc) and 1 license is tied to the account.

i pop in a disc and (like a majority of the people out there) my console is hooked up to the internet and the console subtley make an account based link between the game and the account. now i can play the game without a disc just as long as i'm connected to the internet.

also, the disc can be played always if it is in the hardware internet or no internet.  so if live/psn go down i can still play my game,.. i just have to pop the disc in. but if the disc is played by someone else while connected to the interet the "online/digital" license immediately transfers to them.

1) i can play the games i own on disc without a disc
2) i can sell the disc
2a) the game producer has confidence that the online licenses will transfer if they do. hell, i'd bet gamestop would be willing to immediatly transfer the online license to them when they buy a game
2b) the used game buyer has confidence that they can buy a used game and play it and not get screwed by a seller that if fucking with them from ANY seller (not just a gamestop that must go through a process to guarentee the license has sucessfully been transfered)
2c) as the seller of a game i won't buy a game and immediatly resell it thinking i can make a profit knowing the digital license will be revoked if the buyer uses the internet which i'm almost certain will happen

yeah okay there can be some abuses: I have an online console and my friend has a console that is always offline - we can gameshare. ...but i can already do that (and do do that) with my friends and account sharing.

i think the system is elegant and consumer friendly and the potential abuses are minimal.

With some work it could work

Well at least I'm trying to save the world! What have you done? Huh!?! What have YOU DONE BESIDES POOP ON MY DREAM?!?

Guess I'll just have to go all digital. :(

You are a wise man, Kitler. 

Now I don't know very much about how game discs are produced, but I would imagine it will cost extra money and time to make every single disc unique. Not a realistic idea if that's the case. This isn't just a conceptual issue, it's also a technical one, and possibly much more so.