How long before Console games have serial numbers to Activate/Play online?

[Vonhelmet]

If they do something like this, it wont be because of piracy, it will be because it will harm rentals and the second hand market. The latter is something they care about far more than piracy and I'd say it loses them far more money than any amount of piracy.

But once again it doesn't lose them any money... If I couldn't trade games, I'd buy less second hand games, and the guys upstream would buy less because they wouldn't have my cash from buying their second hand games. In any case, the loss would be completely unquantifiable anyway.

And, unlike piracy, selling used goods isn't in breach of any laws whatsoever.

 

[apatia77]

I can already see a download only games console fail big time, I can imagine ps4 being download only and xbox 720 disks or download with second hand games. You know which one most people would buy.


I personally would buy a download only console but would really limit myself to the very best games only and possibly wait for some good deals as well.

Don't forget that even nowadays downloads are a massive parts of games, a lot of AAAA titles come with a downloadable content which you can't sell.

 

[Timber]

I'm convinced the there will be a far greater move towards download only at some point. It'll just take a major release like Gears 4 or something to be available to download at the same time it hits retail. I'm not sure it will totally kill off retail for a while because physical media still commands the lion share of sales.

That said as per EA's $10 initiative with BF:BC2 and ME2, I think publishers may tinker with ways to increase first party sales. Serials, although not quite the same, could be tested at some point.

 

["andy"]

I can already see a download only games console fail big time, I can imagine ps4 being download only and xbox 720 disks or download with second hand games. You know which one most people would buy.


I personally would buy a download only console but would really limit myself to the very best games only and possibly wait for some good deals as well.

Don't forget that even nowadays downloads are a massive parts of games, a lot of AAAA titles come with a downloadable content which you can't sell.

i dont see why sony would be so desperate to do it. they must own/coown countless amounts of pressing plants all over the world , they have the piracy part nailed , the console will likely have a blu ray drive anyway.

might aswell sell on discs... in general the internet in this country would never cope with it anyway. not for a long time. imagine a million people downloading 50gb of new metal gear game on release day.