Along with the unsurprising announcement that Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console will support Blu-ray DVD technology, Kotaku has reported a rumor that the unannounced-but-inevitable future console will somehow eliminate gamers' ability to play used or previously-purchased games.

Exactly how this alleged anti-used technology would work is unknown, but such a feature would effectively take away the service that used-game companies like GameStop rely on, condemning them to an almost-certain doom.

If true, this measure is guaranteed to cause controversy, but it nevertheless represents the next logical step for video game publishers' ongoing feud with the used-game market. Publishers have already begun dissuading gamers from buying used titles with things like online passes and similar content that is only available to customers for free if they buy their games new. However, that content typically costs only a fraction of the game itself when purchased separately, while a full-blown anti-used feature would require every gamer to pay the full market price for every video game they own. That's a drastic escalation on the publishers' part.

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Mishra said:

... CONGRATULATIONS, M$! You've just made my decision about whether to buy your next system or not all that much easier: I'M NOT!!!!! And I hope a LOT of other people also avoid you because buying Used Games are the only way people get to play the great games of the past(very few of which are on your systems anyway).

January 29, 2012