A common argument used to defend the videogame industry from accusation of anti-consumerism is that games are a luxury, therefore nobody is entitled to them.  A fair enough suggestion, but one that misconstrues a number of re...

Industry analyst Michael "Bumblecrumbs" Pachter has responded to rumors that Sony's next generation PlayStation will block used games, believing that the pros are far outweighed by the cons.  According to the smooth opera...

[Update: I've been informed that the passes will go live for the PS3 version between 2pm and 5pm PT.  Tecmo Koei is currently trying to hear back from Microsoft about the Xbox 360 version.  Apparently they were supposed to be r...

Electronic Arts is closing down the servers for a number of games, including a few that required paid online passes to activate.  A representative told Beefjack that dwindling activity on the games is the reason, and that "les...

Hey guys,So you might have noticed Ninja Gaiden 3 reviews have gone live around the Web.  Where's ours?  What sinister filling of a devil taco is this?  Well, Tecmo Koei has decided in its wisdom that what Ninja Gaiden 3 really ...

While even EA's single-player games have found excuses to slip in an online pass, the co-op fueled Syndicate is confirmed to NOT use one at all.  According to EA, it's all about encouraging gamers to play it ... what an innova...

Activision is one of the few big publishers to shy away from putting online passes in its games, but with Prototype 2, it would seem the company is definitely looking to maximize brand new purchases.  Early adopters of the ga...

Though the inclusion of an online pass in a game with Electronic Arts' name attached to it does not come as a shock, word that SSX will follow the trend got the usual people riled up.  I was prepared to perform the obligatory ...

Piracy will never be destroyed entirely.  It's a fact of life that some people just like to help themselves to freebies.  However, not all pirates are in it for the discount, and some are actively driven to piracy by the very companies attempting to kill it.  When you make your product harder to obtain and enjoy, all you do is breed an environment where pirates can thrive. 

The new SSX looks pretty damn fantastic, of that there is no denying.  Still, Electronic Arts once again doesn't think it's good enough to sell new copies on its own merit, and hopes to force your hand with its favorite skeezy...

Happy Friday, everyone!  Hopefully you all tuned into our live show today and won an XBLA code for the latest Orcs Must Die!  DLC, but if not, don't worry!  There will be plenty more giveaways in the near future - and that's a ...

38 Studios has attempted to justify the content being gated behind an online pass in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  When asked why an entire quest line was being held to ransom in exchange for new sales, the developer said it...

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a single-player game, but that hasn't stopped Electronic Arts from cramming an online pass into the game.  We knew the pass was going to hide the game's Mass Effect tie-in armor, but now we know that it's holding seven full quests to ransom, too. 

This is what greeted me when I opened my review copy, anyway.  No manual or anything, just an online pass.  Also, the code on my pass is currently invalid, so I cannot get to the content and see what it's like.  The sheet tells me I'll get an entire quest line though, made up of seven individual quests. 

It's pretty sad that single-player games are starting to chuck online passes around.  You know what that says to me?  That a publisher is not confident that its game is worth keeping.  That's really not the kind of message you want to send your consumers before they even put the disc in. 

A number of retailers across the United Kingdom have said that, if publishers were to drop online passes and start offering better business terms, they'd be happy to offer a slice of pre-owned sales profits. 
"As a retai...

[Update: Some that have bought the PSN version tell us that they did not need to buy the online pass to play online, and that it was included in the original price.  Our apologies!] 

Minna no Golf 6, or what will be called Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational when it is released here, is a fine game for the PlayStation Vita.  I was so wrapped up in the single player side of the game that I didn't try out the online portion for a few days.  When I finally did, the game asked for my "Online Play Ticket." 

Wait, what? 

A link was provided to the PlayStation Store to purchase this ticket, which is priced at 900 yen (about $11.50 at current conversion rate). 

I bought the retail version of Minna no Golf 6, so the game's manual sheet (yes, some games have manuals) also listed a code for a free Online Play Ticket.  Those that buy the game from the PlayStation Store have to buy this ticket separately.  No one is at a real disadvantage, though, as the pricing has been balanced out.  A retail copy of this came is priced at 4,980 yen.  The PS Store download is set at 3,900, which makes the titles the same price after purchasing the ticket. 

How do you feel about required online passes in your portable games?  This is pretty new territory!