Its no secret, everybody who plays games knows that the future of consoles (Wii U, Xbox 720, PS4) are coming. Better graphics, new peripheries, a strange urge to imitate Nintendo… all are anticipated advancements in the industry, but I was shocked when I read a small article at Gametrailers.com announcing that there will be a small twist with some of these upcoming consoles. For the first time ever games may be restricted to the console they originated on, making them unplayable on any future console(s).
Yes! You read that right – games will be locked for a single console! Why would the gaming industry do this? Let’s begin with the small thing you may have done with your console years ago: sharing and selling your games. Well, apparently Gamestop and other game rental companies saw that they could increase their income with the help of this practice and expanded the size of this “garage sale market.” This made games more accessible for the average gamer and, for a while, everything was alright. However, the console industry quickly took notice as they started losing money. This may be something that may anger us, after all we have seen used books, used cloths, used cars and just about everything else “used” put on sale, but used gaming is apparently a “forbidden practice” and the powers that be seem to see no excuse to this “barbaric behavior!”
Believe it or not this is an extremely complex subject that may be rooted in the fact that the gaming industry itself has become such a giant and being pushed beyond its limit that even a single cut could turn it into an anemic kid on the verge of death. This is a problem apparently born from both the industry and the gamer with the average gamer’s constant desire for better graphics and audio design matched by an industry that spends so much income on new technologies. It would seem that we have traded so much that we’ll now be debating how far the industry will go to prevent it’s own demise.
Image source: TOY-TMA
Learn more:
If Used Games Continue the Way They Are… There’s Not Going to be an Industry
The Other Side Of The Used Games Debate: Gamestop Manager Responds
