If they will, they'll be locked to an account, not to a specific physical unit with its own serial number.
And anyway, that's how Steam works and nobody seems to be getting the pitchforks and torches because of it. It is only a matter of getting used to the idea. One that I don't mind at all.

I'm pretty sure Microsoft and Sony have said that they oppose this, too.

I don't think the big 3 would be dumb enough to do that this early in the game, I mean, boom just like that. It's not gonna happen. not yet.

This. Especially not Sony, after seeing how terrible the PS3 has been for them in comparison to the last two generations. Doing this would further damage the PS brand's image much more so than this gen. 

Same will happen to either Nintendo or Microsoft if they were to try that.

I don't think this will happen, but we might see a case where you're limited to play the game on 3 consoles (like Spore for PC). I think a lot of console gamers buy old games, and most companies don't sell old titles (like Halo 3 or Valkyria Chronicles) new anymore.

If we saw game becoming console locked, I think most games would see price drops more quickly, but overall, gamers will have to get more picky about what they buy.

Some nice points here guys. Yours just might make our article. Another question for you. Just pretend Sony and MS have announced that yes they will console lock the games on their system. I don't think that they would outright lock the game. Maybe, like somebody suggested on here, account lock. Even account lock might be too harsh. So how would they get around it? Could you pay a price to unlock a second hand game for another account? This could keep retailers onside because they could buy second hand games, unlock them (at a price), then re-sell for a profit. Any other ways on variations can you think of?

Locking to an account is even worse than locking to a particular console. I have 4 PSN accounts on my PS3. Account locking would mean having to buy 4 copies of a game just so each account holder can play the game on their account and earn the trophies for themselves. Fug dAT SH1T!!!

I still say the solution to used game sales / renting / game sharing among friends (if there really needs to be one) is selling new games for almost nothing ($5-10 to cover the material costs of distribution, free if you download rather than buy the disc) and charge an hourly rate for playing the game. That way game designers will design games that people will WANT to play for many many hours because they earn more money that way.

We live in a different world to the one that existed in the earlier generationbs of video gaming, yet publishers are still operating on an old and unsuitable business model.

Console locking is an attempt to keep keep the old business model alive rather than trying to seek business models that work in the online world where micro-transactions can be extremely lucrative.

That already exists this gen.

I know it exists for online passes. Not sure if it exists for full games.

And that idea would also make a lot of angry consumers. What you're suggesting is a "Pay to Win" model.