Sony to start network pass program with Resistance 3

Rumors were flying everywhere yesterday that Sony would soon be debuting a network pass program alongside the launch of Resistance 3 this fall.  Today Sony confirmed the rumor was in fact true, bringing to fruition an idea that the company has been kicking around since August 2010.

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The details of the network pass program, which was hinted at last summer, are pretty simple, games that are involved in the program will come with a one time use code allowing the consumer the ability to play the game online.  Buying the game used (provided the previous owner used the code) will mean shelling out a fee to buy your own one time code.  Sony hasn't made the technical details completely clear, but the most likely scenario is that once you use a code, it is forever linked to your PSN ID.

When asked about the decision to implement this plan Sony justified it saying it "allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhancing premium online services across our first party game portfolio."

There are a couple of key things to note here.  First, Sony isn't requiring third party developers to make use of this model.  The games that will be a part of this will all be first party Sony titles.  The second thing to note is that this kind of activity is not new.  EA has been doing this with their sports titles (and some of their other games) and the most recent Mortal Kombat and Fear titles had online passes on both Xbox 360 and PS3.  Other developers are starting to institute this system as well.

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This initiative by developers is specifically designed to combat used game sales, which have been climbing in recent years.  When a game is sold used, the publisher and developer don't see a dime from the sale.  Charging a used game buyer a nominal fee (usually $10) to access the online features of their second hand purchase at least nets the developer and publisher some profit from the sale.

This doesn't sting quite as badly with Sony as it would if Microsoft decided to implement it. On the PS3, at least playing games online is a free service, but on Xbox 360 there is already annual fee to play online via Xbox Live.  As our own Justin Massoud put it, "to add passes to online console gaming where you might already be paying to play (a la XBL)? Might not be the right tact to strengthen the appeal of $60 games."

Online passes have a tendency to anger avid game players but they haven't posed problems for major games with mainstream appeal, like Madden for example.  What remains to be seen is if this type of system is actually bringing more money to developers and publishers in the form of decreased used game sales (and increased new sales).  Is it actually making people buy new or just souring people on those titles enough that they aren't buying the games at all?

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