CD Projekt RED, makers of The Witcher 2, say that there are real issues that could arise from Microsoft attempting to block the use of used games in its next generation console. Rumors have surfaced that Microsoft plans to block the use of used games on its new platform - a rumor many game developers heralded as a "good idea." Used games have become a punching bag for publishers and developers in the last several years who spend a lot of money developing games only to see marginal returns.

"I Feel Used" quips Volition Designer Jameson Durall in a post on #AltDevBlogADay. In a lengthy post Durall rails against the used games market and how it is "significantly impacting the revenue" developers receive. He talks about how great it is that developers are coming up with new ways to recoup money from the used games market such as online pass codes:

EA's next chapter in the SSX action snowboarding game series will have an Online Pass system within. All players (both those who buy new and used) will be able to access the game's Explore and Global Events multiplayer modes, but any in-game credits earned will be withheld from the player until an online pass code is activated. That code is included in new copies of the game, but used game buyers will have to pay $10 for a code.

A dust-up over 38 Studios' Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning locking on-disc content behind an "online pass" system has raised the ire of some gamers - which in turn has brought studio founder and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling out of the woodwork to defend the plan.

The Online Pass Code was found in early copies of the game sent to reviewers and leaked onto the Internet. When fans found out they took to the official forums to complain about it.

The text that came with the review copies of the game reads:

We missed this a couple of days ago, but it's a pretty important story for fans of Twisted Metal. According to IndustryGamers, Eat Sleep Play's Twisted Metal for PlayStation 3 will include an Online Pass system that requires you to punch in a code to play online.

According to this MCV report retailers are telling the publication that if publishers stop using online codes, they would be willing to share used game revenues with them. This would - at least anecdotally - show that online pass code schemes employed by companies like THQ, EA, and others are having some sort of negative affect on used game sales.

For its end of year sale, game rental company GameFly is offering 50 percent off its used game titles. Obviously all of these games have been man-handled by rental customers, but that shouldn't stop you from finding a good deal. At a glance - taken from this sale page - GameFly is offering Brink Xbox 360 for $6.99, LA Noire PS3 for $11.99, Two Worlds II PS3 for $9.99, Mario Strikers Charged Wii for $12.99, Enslaved Xbox 360 for $9.99, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded DS for $19.99, and Rabbids Travel in Time 3D 3DS for $19.99.

Internet game rental company OnePlayS has publicly stated that it wants to share its used game profits with publishers. The company is the brainchild of LoveFilm co-founder Lasse Jensen, which was launched in Denmark in 2008. This year the company has expanded across Europe and it wants to work closely with publishers in partnerships where everyone makes money... except maybe the developers.

Publishers and developers that are under the impression that the used games market is hurting them can't wait for everything to go digital. One such developer is Obsidian Entertainment's Chief Creative Officer Chris Avellone. You may know the company best for such games as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Dungeon Siege III, Fallout: New Vegas - and soon - the South Park RPG.

Some publishers and developers think that the practice of buying a used game is like committing an act of software piracy, so it comes as no surprise that a company like Blockbuster - who rents them to consumers and gives a portion of that revenue to game makers - has support for many in the game industry. Blockbuster believes that what it does is a way to reduce used game sales too. By offering what they consider reasonable game rental terms.

Epic Games' director of production Rod Fergusson says that plans for DLC extend back far into a game's development. It used to be that DLC was meant as a way to encourage continued interest in a product months or even years after release, but with a movement towards fighting against used game sales using pay walls like online pass codes, the definition of DLC has changed.

A new market study conducted by research firm Newzoo indicates that trading games is the most popular game of all. More than half of the 82 million gamers in the U.S. don't spend money on games, and of the 44 percent who make game purchases around 85 percent regularly purchase pre-owned titles. Around 23 percent of the game-buying public spends 23 percent of their gaming budget on pre-owned games says Newzoo.

GameStop UK has an interesting trade-in offer that will give consumers across the pond Modern Warfare 3 for 0.99p. All they have to do is buy Battlefield 3 before October 27, then buy Modern Warfare 3 before midnight on November 7. If consumers who bought Battlefield 3 send it back to GameStop UK before November 18, their GameStop accounts will be refunded for MW3 minus £0.99.

Uncharted series developer Naughty Dog says that without the money from Sony's PSN Pass, the company wouldn't be able to afford to include as much online content as it has with Uncharted 3. In fact, they say that if they didn't implement Online Pass, they would have had to split the game into two different games - single and multiplayer. Uncharted 3 director Justin Richmond made the comments in a recent interview with TheSixthAxis.

DICE has revealed - to no one's surprise - that Battlefield 3 will come with a code needed to play the modern-day warfare game online.

The news was confirmed by DICE designer Alan Kertz on Twitter. His comments were in response to follower questions on the need for an Online Pass code for the company's newest title. He said that the decision to use the system was "because servers cost money, and used games don't make developers any money."

Warner Bros. has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Batman: Arkham City VIP pass (a code that comes in the retail box) unlocks the playable Catwoman content. While Warner Bros. says that "playing as Catwoman is not required to complete the game," to access her in the campaign missions you'll need to use the code. When Warner Bros. first started talking about Catwoman as a playable character, they noted that her part in the game's story was around 10 percent.

Yesterday we reported that Sony Computer Entertainment America planned to use its PSN Online Pass scheme for Resistance 3, which would effectively charge used game buyers $10 to play the multiplayer portion of the game. It turns out this is not an isolated incident but Sony's new modus operandi when it comes to used games that contain a multiplayer component.

Last week we highlighted Jim Sterling's rant on what publishers and developers say about the used games market and how it is mostly nonsense. This week's episode of The Jimquisition on The Escapist is full of sunshine and roses as the outspoken Destructoid editor talks about some of the tactics that being used by publishers that he does NOT find obnoxious, and would like to see further encouraged. Instead of punishing people for buying games, Jim thinks they should do more to reward them for buying games new.

Sony will be rolling out its PSN Pass for the multiplayer aspects of its upcoming game Uncharted 3. As it did earlier this year with Resistance 3, Sony will implement a "PSN Pass" code on Uncharted 3. This means that when you buy a copy of the game brand new at retail it will come with a special code specifically for multiplayer that you will have to activate the first time you play online. Should you sell the game the next person that buys it will have to turn around and pay $10 to get access to multiplayer.

On this week's episode of the "Jimquisition" on The Escapist, the outspoken Destructoid editor Jim Sterling takes aims at the claims by publishers and developers that buying used game is tantamount to committing an act of piracy. His basic point is that used games have a right to exist and are not evil just because publishers decided they weren't getting their fair share of GameStop's profits.

Watch it to your left, or go native at The Escapist.

A new proposal before the City Council of Madison, Wisconsin has some residents and civil rights groups up in arms this week. An effort to collect the personal information of individuals who sell various used items (books, DVD's, music CD's, iPods, games, and more). Under the proposed Madison city ordinance, if someone sells items to a second-hand store they will have to provide personal information and a photo will be entered into a police database. Local business owners, civil rights advocates and the public are not pleased.

In a recent interview with GameIndustry.biz, Quantic Dream co-founder Guillaume de Fondaumiere claims that his studio lost anywhere from €5 ($6.8 million *) €10 million ($13.6 million *) due to the used games market. He softened the blow by saying that many consumers bought Heavy Rain used because of the recession and because the AAA was just too expensive.

According to a Gamasutra report cover comments from Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown, EA's "Online Pass" has made the company $10-$15 million since. Interestingly enough, the company categorizes that figure as "not a lot of money." I suppose to a company the size of EA that amount of money is chicken scratch to them.

According to a new poll from games comparison and marketplace website, Playr2, Guitar Hero 5 is the favorite "next-gen video game" selected by female gamers, beating out the likes of Assassin’s Creed II, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Halo: Reach.

Traci Turner bought her 6-year-old son a used copy of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games so he and all his little friends could entertain themselves during a playdate.  Needless to say, she was a little shocked when he showed her the naughty images he’d found drawn on the inside of the game’s case.

“They were extremely inappropriate. It was very sexual in nature and I was not prepared to answer the questions of what was going on in the picture,” said Turner.

While Valve has hinted at it in the past, a recent interview with Gabe Newell on Eurogamer is keen on letting Steam users trade games and other items, saying that he sees games on this platform moving in a direction "where everything is an item of exchange."

GameStop's executive vice president Michael Mauler recently told Edge Magazine that the sale of second hand video games benefits the entire industry - not just retailers. The benefit, he claims, is that these second-hand sales keep customers engaged with yearly franchises. Mauler said that without the opportunity to cash in on older titles, many gamers wouldn't be buying as many new ones.

Target is ramping up its in-store trading program to include more items that have a cash value and can be used towards purchasing new goods, the retailer announced today. The company said today that customers can save money on "back-to-school purchases: by trading in their used electronics and video games. Target’s Electronics Trade-in service (in partnership with NextWorth) has expanded to 1,490 of its stores across the country where Target Mobile centers are located, and new product categories have been added to further expand the service.

A new used games reseller named PostalGamer thinks that it has the secret sauce that will keep gamers who want to buy used games and publishers who claim that their sale cuts into their profits, both happy. The company plans to distribute games in self-addressed postage paid envelopes much like Netflix and GameFly to customers. When the customer is done with the game they'll mail it back to them, get credit from PostalGamer, and spend it on another game that arrives in the mail 2-3 days later, along with another envelope.

Rumors are circulating that Sony is considering an "online pass" scheme (a one-time use code for online play to ship inside the retail version of the game) for Resistance 3. The rumors stem from an image of the European Resistance 3 hardware bundle unearthed by website Konsolentreff.net. That image features the phrase "PSN Pass."

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe confirmed the program, calling it the company's version of "Online Pass" or "Project Ten Dollar" used by several third party publishers such as EA, Sega, and THQ.

These one-time-use programs enable online play for the original purchaser. Anyone buying the game new will have to purchase a new code via the PlayStation Store.