good point. but the part about crippling was used as a senario. i haft to dissagree about a company going out of busness being a good thing. if all stores selling food went out of bussiness then we'd all become farmers. can you see tyour self being a farmer?

i agree wih the last 5 sentences.

It's funny that arguments why PC gaming is bad, such as cd-keys, are now being accepted as a good thing on consoles. I don't mean that as a blanket statement for everybody though.

Pc games have cd-keys, true. However, do you really think console games will come down in price like PC games can?  Have you seen the weekly specials on Steam? Speaking of Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, have you seen how Valve supports many of it's games with updates and additions? Heck, Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 just had a big update with graphical improvements and achievements for free and they're  singleplayer games! You're being screwed out of $10-15 for a little bit of extra DLC (or even game features now) on top of expensive DLC (like map packs) while Valve is still releasing updates for Team Fortress 2 adding new official and user made maps, game modes, achievements, weapons and items without charging for it.

So what, are these publishers and developers really going to be supporting their games now? Are we going to see tons of free DLC? Will the multiplayer be shut down soon after next year's iteration of the game comes out? Also, now that they're trying to get rid of the used game market, will games remain at full price for longer? Heck, will they still continue to restrict features on the disk and charge you to access them even if there was no used market?

This is great for the industry. EA is smart and used sucks imo.

If they bundle serial keys with console games and require that you tie the serial key to your XBL or PSN account, gamers are just going to start resorting to the bargain bin. Just like PC gamers do with Steam. Because think about it. Gamers are going to be less willing to drop down $60 for a game (unless it`s Call of Duty or some other heavily hyped AAA multiplayer game) if they know that they won`t be able to trade in that game to GameStop in the near future for $30. Or do those trade in 2 used (recent) games, get 1 new release game deals that GameStop has. When gamers can`t do that anymore, they`re gonna wait for the game to hit $30 or less and then buy it.

And then the console gaming industry is gonna get fucked because they are so heavily reliant on gamers pre-ordering and Day 1ing games. The PC gaming market is not like that. They are at a point right now where any sale is better than no sale (piracy). A Steam business model for consoles would cause mass suicide among game company execs.

You're the first person I know who says that cd keys are evil.

DRM is evil, cd keys are necessary. Just like a internet connection to play games online.

I've seen the weekly deals on Steam. I live in central Europe. THEY SUCK. I can buy PC games cheaper in online stores.

Dunno why you're talking about Valve now. Yeah they released an update for HL2 and Episode 1. Why ? Because these versions were graphical inferior to the console counterparts. Valve supports most of its games. Even for free, but just because you found one exception on the PC doesn't mean I can't find one on consoles too. EA's Bad Company 2 for example.

DLC's are extras. You don't need to buy them and the publishers can decide how much they charge for it. Simple as that.

Now answering the questions in your last paragraph:

1. Popular games will always be supported

2. Valve - yeah, Dice - probably, others - probably not, but that isn't something new.

3. Nope

4. Probably not. PC retail games are getting cheaper rather quickly, so I guess there won't be a big difference with console games.

5. AFAIK Capcom is the only company that locks certain features on their discs. My guess is they will continue with it. But normally that stuff gets cut out or would have never been made in the first place, so it's not like you lose something.

it's probably already been said, but this is a great idea as long as used games become cheaper. I usually just play local multiplayer anyways and manager mode fifa, so this works for me. But regardless of my own needs, this is great in that at least some future profit from used games will go to publishers. It just isn't fair for places like gamestop to make all the money on used game sales

LOL. It's like Kas arguing with the walls.

Who needs actual research done by economists when you could just blindly guess that gamestop is evil.

Anybody who says that companies charging extra for an online pass is a good thing has been brainwashed, pure and simple.

People need to ask themselves, how does this benefit you the consumer?

It does not benefit us the consumers in anyway, shape or form. What I will do from now on is only buy new after it has been heavily discounted, don't buy 1st day or first week sales. In fact this online pass will devalue the game you've just brought.

Imagine buying a game new first day, completing it and selling it a month later, lots of people does this. If you bought this for £45 you would easily get £30-£35 back for it, with an online pass you have to sell this for £15-£20. The used market will adjust, the person who buys it new full retail price will be the biggest loser.

Simple. The gaming industry will not die and the consumers will get strong games support in the following generations.