http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/08/05/developers-considering-used-game-counter-measures
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Piracy has been a constant nagging issue for many developers. The growing complexities of PC gaming and heavy piracy have combined to produce the sentiment that the platform is dying. A new development in the way companies approach the platform, though, straddles the line between an acceptable stop-gap measure and a punishment for legitimate users: developers are beginning to consider doing away with the ability of gamers to resell their games.
Destructoid picked up on an interview from LostWinds developer David Braben, who spoke recently with DevelopMag. Braben suggested that "struggling developers" do away with the ability of gamers to resell the games they buy by making every game activated by a "one-use" key or some other kind of single-use feature.
"[An] option would be to offer extras—or even part of the game itself—packaged in with the game as a unique code on a scratch-card," said Braben. "If you do this, then those extras could only be obtained once." Braben's suggestions are not meant to eliminate the pre-owned games market entirely, but rather to make it less attractive.
We already see this technique at work in some games; the Game of the Year edition of Call of Duty 4, for example, includes a single-use voucher for an extra $10 map pack, which makes it a more attractive purchase than buying the used game, especially considering its budget price. Braben's thoughts are interesting, but one has to wonder if this isn't simply another sign of a future dominated by one-use, activation-based software."
