While internal teams at Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all hard at work designing and revising new console hardware, at least one next-generation console manufacturer may implement a way to kill used game sales faster than digital downloads.
Microsoft is reported to be testing a software or hardware method on the next version of the Xbox hardware designed to halt the ability to play used games. While this report doesn’t indicate that this feature will definitely be included in the next version, the appeal to developers and publishers is likely incredibly high. This type of solution would make it vastly more difficult for retailers like Gamestop to resell traded-in games for bloated prices, thus cutting into publisher sales. However, it’s also likely to anger consumers that want to unload old games on sites like eBay and severely harm video game rental services like Gamefly or Redbox.
