14 DAY TRIAL // EA Sports titles use the 10 Dollars Project to limit second hand, Homefront is set to limit the multiplayer experience for all those who do not get the new game and other publishers are set to follow their example in order to make sure that first hand sales remain the dominant element on the market.
At the same time the digital distribution revolution seems to have stalled a little, with prices (not taking into account frequent sales on older titles) at the same level on Steam and other services as at retail and drops quicker when it comes to packaged titles.
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are also taking their time in delivering big titles for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii as digital downloads through their marketplaces as they appear in stores.
All this means that the wealth of options that players could have linked to buying and enjoying their games is more limited than it could be, with technology advances eliminating options rather than expanding them.
One step which could make perfect sense for all those involved and could make the lives of gamers easier is for publisher to band up in order to create a digital clearinghouse for used games sales, competing directly with GameStop or working with the retailer on it.
A virtual exchange could lead to minimum prices set for various titles and to a percentage paid to publishers, which could lead to the downfall of such protections like the 10 Dollars Project or limited multiplayer for second hand.
Such a concept would face initial opposition and could suffer initially, but in the long term it seems the best way to make sure that the second hand market becomes fairer while also delivering deals for those looking for it.
It could also allow players to get better deals on their used games and for more data on customers purchase patterns to be gathered, making publishers better able to create experiences that are linked to the needs of their audiences.