There has been a lot of talk lately about used games, and about game companies supporting a future "lock out" on systems such as the Xbox, uh, whatever stupid gimmicky name they decide to give the next one. For the most part, a "used game ban" wouldn't effect me. If I want a new game, I usually want it badly enough to pay the extra five bucks. Anything else I buy I usually do a few months down the road. I am not any kind of bargain hunter, but it raises another question for me; the future preservation of these titles in the future.

Currently, entire communities are built around the trade and resale of old, vintage games. Everything from Atari 2600 to Sega Genesis and beyond has some kind of community, usually people amassing huge collections of used, previously loved game titles, and sharing those collections with pride. The games of the past have value; a lasting, nostalgic, emotional value for some who grew up with them, and for future generations. They are not just products to be used and discarded, but a physical record of our childhoods, our memories, and most importantly, the memory of fun times had.



I have met many interesting people in my time collecting for old systems, whether it was at arcade auctions of on the internet, and the passion of these people can't be overstated. We love old games, and we still honestly enjoy playing them.

In the future though, these experiences will become a lot more complicated, because what is slowly happening is a brutal disintegration of games in a physical format, one that will be sealed and sent off with the future possibility of a used game ban.

In a world where used games no longer exist, what you have essentially done is created an environment where discs are being pressed which are nothing more than a glossed up, physical DLC code. Physical product tied to a virtual account is really no different than the purchase of intangible data, which brings up another question entirely; if you are going to stop the distribution of used games, then why in the holy name of sweet fuck would you sell a packaged game to begin with?

I really think that digital distribution is the way of the future. That doesn't mean I like the concept, but as someone who tries to be realistic about these things, I can definitely see a time not too far off where brick and mortar game shops are gone, where we simply download our games through a service and be done with it. As sad as this makes me, in a world without used games it will be a completely necessary evil. Currently, there are a lot of smaller developers who can only afford to realistically produce a limited number of their titles, and once those games are gone, they are not coming back. This forces collectors and enthusiasts alike, or hell, anyone who missed the chance to play them, to turn to services like Ebay, or internet forums. Not every game can be a Madden title, which turns into excessive shovel ware a few months after release. So what will happen to these games if they can never be passed down to anyone else?

More than anything, with a used game ban we stand to lose a whole lot of history when it comes to our games. Obscure but special RPG's and other specialty titles will be lost forever but for a few who keep them, and may never see another printing again. This is a sadness that I do not want to see become a reality, but on the part of a few developers, most egregiously big name companies like EA who are absolutely swimming in the money of millions of simpletons worldwide, this is exactly what they hope will come true. These people spout about how used game sales are "killing the industry", but they are perfectly willing to kill history in order to achieve their own selfish ends.

What is the solution? Mass availability via digital distribution. But as it stands now, this is not the reality. A few consoles make it their business to have games available digitally, but for the most part these are few and far between, and in the case of the PS3, are severely limited to a few core games which are already best sellers anyways. Systems like PS Vita are already looking to take big steps to ensure that games are available in both a physical and digital format, and as long as everyone else tries to do the same, this could potentially be a big non-issue in the long run. But if these bans were to happen today, right now, it would certainly not be a good thing.

Even if digital distribution becomes the primary method of selling games, seeing tangible copies go out the window will be a very sad thing indeed. Games already feel that way in a sense, with the users having to download gigabytes of data after purchase, purchase game completing DLC, and use one-time access codes to use all of the content on the disc. When it comes to PC, buying games through Steam has become a preferable experience, and it won't be long before everyone follows this example and does the same, but its still a bit heart breaking to say goodbye to a more innocent time, a time when piracy prevention was done through in game quizzes, when you actually felt like going into the store and getting your hands on a new game meant something.



Maybe its nostalgia talking, maybe I'm getting old, but I don't want to see these days pass. They are going to regardless of my opinion, but it is vitally important that the industry proceeds carefully in the next few years to ensure that something like a used game ban doesn't threaten the accessibility of rare, hard to find titles. In an age where we download everything, nothing will be rare and hard to find. Arguably, these games will no longer feel as special, or feel nearly as rewarding as the hunt for them was. The thrill of tracking down hard to find items will be lost for the next generation of gamers, the pawn shop diving, and the Ebay auction sniping completely foreign to a legion of younger would be collectors who can simply log onto their favorite service, and shrug non-chalantly as they purchase a dozen of these games in one shot.

I am not saying this is entirely bad, but it is going to be different - a different climate in a changing industry - and we need to prepare for it, cautiously, properly. The times are changing, whether we want them to or not, and the future is just a tad frightening.