rumours continue to swirl about the next iterations of the PlayStation and Xbox consoles. With nearly nothing actively confirmed by either Sony or Microsoft, one of the most popular recurring threads is that the consoles will in some way block the owners’ ability to play secondhand, used copies of physical games.
Many, many rumours continue to fly around the internet concerning the future of Microsoft and Sony’s game consoles. One of the most contentious and repeated assertions about the next iterations of both the PlayStation and the Xbox is that neither will easily support used, rented or secondhand games.
Secondhand games have been the bread and butter of retail chain GameStop for years, and the target of publishers’ ire for just as long. Many consumers prefer not to pay the new retail price (a hefty $US60, for most titles) for every game they play, and the system of selling and purchasing pre-owned discs works well for a significant number of those players.
In Oregon, when I trade my games in, I’m required to certify there is no lien against them, like the IRS wants my copy of NCAA Football 11. It’s one of the many fun-filled ways in which local ordinances regulate the sale of used games. Madison, Wisconsin, is scheming up another.
