Created: 20 Jan 2006
Here’s an indicator of the shape of things to come if the entertainment companies ever get their hands on effective DRM. According to an article in the Guardian, games companies don’t like people selling on secondhand games, as it affects the sales of full price games.
Selling a console game on, after you’ve tired of it seems like fair use of a product to me. The problem is that the games companies have created products that have a limited lifespan; “I can … finish a shoot-‘em-up in five days - who wants to play them again?” comments one gamer in the story. Can you guess what their solution to this problem will be? Making their games more compelling? Or using DRM to tie games to a particular console and then using the EU Copyright Directive to hammer anyone who manages to circumvent their technology?