Saints Row designer: Bring on the used games lockouts

“I think what most
consumers don’t realize,” says Volition’s Jameson Durall, “is
that every time they buy a used game… all of those profits are
going directly to the re-seller.” Guest-posting on AltDevBlogaDay
(via CVG), Durall lauds the rise of post-launch DLC as a way of
reducing used game sales. However, he calls the current trend toward Online Passes “a band-aid on a large wound,” and
suggests that next-gen consoles that refuse to play second-hand games
“would be a fantastic change for our business.”

Above: Volition’s own Saints Row: The Third provided generous post-launch DLC

“Even though the consumers
would be up in arms about it at first,” says the Red Faction:
Armageddon designer, “they will grow to understand why [the
measure's being implemented] and that it won’t kill them.” He
points to the rumors of Microsoft’s next console employing such tech,
theorizing that Xbox Live already provides the means to implement a
new-only lockout. This needn’t end the games rental market either,
suggests Durall: “I could see Microsoft implementing their own
rental service.”

“We put [games] on the
shelves for only $ 60,” points out Durall: “Maybe something as
simple as educating [consumers] could help solve the problem.” That
problem isn’t just the matter of lost revenue for developers, but the
inevitable backlash that would result from a console that wouldn’t
play second-hand titles. Durall’s fellow developers and pundits have
plenty of counterpoints, as seen in the comments for his post; would
you be upset with a console that didn’t let you play used games?