Used games have been a sore spot with game companies for a long time now. For most gamers used games are a great way to save money or play a game that they may have missed. However If Sony has anything to say about it this trend may be coming to an end soon. Sony has filed a patent for a new technology that will block used games from being played on Sony's consoles. The new system works by reading a tag embedded on the game disk and then linking to the player ID and the user’s console. After the tag has been linked to the first console that the game was played on any future attempt to play the game on another user’s console will not work. Read More...

You all may have noticed lately the onslaught of things like Online Passes, On-Disc DLC, and DLC that have been announced and made before release. Many of you may be under the impression the publisher/developers are just being greedy and trying to squeeze out every penny from you. What you don’t know is the inner-workings behind the scenes. The publishers are losing money this gen due to higher cost of development, and lower economies. They also have long standing arrangements with stores like GameStop where if a game flops they will buy back the product at full price or eat the cost and make zero money back if the store decides to price cut it down to move inventory. Read More...

Game companies are becoming craftier and craftier concerning how they treat used game sales. It is no surprise that the selling of a previously owned title does little to nothing for any given company financially, and as such, companies have to become sly with what they do to combat this perceived threat. Well thankfully Electronic Arts, the worldwide leader in innovation and consumer-friendly practices, presents: The Online Pass. How does this modern jewel of a system work? Read More...

A very interesting tidbit came across my inbox this morning. At a Best Buy in Utah, there are some potentially devastating moves going on. Probably more of a test run than anything else. Best Buy is quoted on their in-store advertisement as saying, "Best Buy now price matches new video games at used prices from GameStop or Game Crazy." Thus far this has been the only store with such an ad reported, but the effects of this could be very far-reaching. Imagine just walking into a Best Buy with your GameStop weekly ad and utilizing the deal. Read More...