"Well that is the route it is going in. Look at steam, origin, and other digital distribution sites. It is the majority of PC sales. I for one have no attachments with my physical copy when it is much easier to just click on whatever game I want. "


You are right but overlook many things and your not the average gamer.

PC gaming is smaller and way more hardcore. Meaning the people who are PC gamers are not the casual gamer. That is why Steam is doing well as they are giving well priced products to a devoted base.

For the consuls you have tens and tens and tens of millions of casual gamers who will not like the idea of buying everything online and have no control over it.

Music has shifted online, but there is far less revenue. Movies have gone digital, far less revenue.
Same will happen to gaming if it goes to being fully digital and restrictive.

Gaming imo will survive longer if it goes digital and stay in a physical form. I think many on this board look to much to new technology and forgetting that such drastic changes could and will likley reduce the appeal of gaming to a wide audience and make it appealing only for hardcore gamers.

Nobody complains that clothing manufacturers are losing sales to second-hand thrift stores. Nobody complains that used car sales hurt the profits of auto makers. Book publishers don't go on crusades against libraries.

Why is this such a big deal in the game industry? Every other industry accepts that products can and will be sold and traded.

Used product sales are arguably far better for the gaming industry than for other industries. Used game trading allows gamers to purchase more games, it keeps the money flowing. That's what the economy is - not stacks of cash or goods (which is what a bunch of $60 games you can't sell would be) - but the flow of money, the exchange of goods. Prohibiting used game sales would only slow the flow of money.

With this kind of reasoning why stop there. Car companies should make it so that any time you want to buy a car it has to be a new one straight from the manufacturer. Just think how much better off the auto industry would be.

I don't see why games should be any different from any other consumer product out there.

That would be illegal in pretty much every country in the world. Look up anti-trust laws. Competing companies CANNOT work together on anything that affects product availability or prices, they can get billions of dollars in fines for that. They can't even talk casually about anything regarding pricing or the market place, that is illegal price cooperation.

I understand why developers are pushing for an end to used game sales, but I dont think it will have the desired effect.I agree with posters saying that I would buy less games if I knew I wouldnt beable to trade them in later for some amount of credit towards NEW GAMES. I rarely ever buy used I bought Deus Ex used for $25 last year thats about it. I use amazon mostly but think that if gaming industries end used games they will be shooting themself in the foot.

Should we get rid of used game sales? Absolutely not.

Should we get rid of the idea of online passes? Absolutely not.

I think the way we're currently handling things like online passes is a bit flawed (nobody likes inputting codes), but I have no problem with the idea of online passes themselves. As for used games, also no problem with those. If people want to buy and sell used games, let them.

See I can somewhat agree with this view, but what I don't get is Single Player Online Pass (it even sounds like a contradiction.) 

Originally it was Mass Effect that had DLC locked, unless you had the pass, but now it is on-disc quest content being locked away. The next evolutionary stage would be to have huge section of the main story locked with a pass. 

I'm not familiar with any single player online pass sort of system, can you give an example of a game that uses it and how?

The only thing I can think of is Rage which gives players access to only bonus areas which I was pretty fine with.

It was more in regards to a new game called Kingdom of Amalurs, but I keep hearing different reports if it is on-disc or not. 

See my problem with such a system is that most likely in regards to EA practises, that they "intentially" take out something deemed as side quest and attach it to the concept of Online Pass.   

Add: Also the reason why I worry even more is, if the next evolutionary step is taking out sections or even an arc before hand. (Which sort of reminds me of Batman's Catwomen DLC)

( Edit, seems like the Mass Effect like DLC...):   http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/01/kingdoms-of-amalurs-online-pass-continues-a-slippery-slope-for-used-games.ars  

One thing that people fail to mention is that a used copy of digital media is just as good as a new copy (aside from the potential scratches). Clothes and cars both break down as they age, so they are actually worth less used. Car companies also make money selling you parts and repair services.

However, I do think that used games are good for the industry. If you look at PC gaming, where CD keys became the norm and everyone could only install a game once, the market shrank. I know that PC upgrade costs were also a factor, but you could not ignore the restrictive DRM that now ships with PC games.