No pass? NO PLAY!
Lots of publishers have started packaging single-use codes with their games. If you bought a brand new copy of Homefront, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2, or Dragon Age II you know what I'm talking about. Retailers like Gamestop have been enjoying the fruits of used game sales without passing on that dough to publishers and developers alike.
Warner Bros seems to be joining THQ and EA in their upcoming, high-profile releases. We're talking Mortal Kombat in April and FEAR 3 and Batman: Arkham City in the Fall. Do we have your attention now?
An e-mail from Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment to retailers has surfaced with pretty explicit references to a registration code needed to access online modes with Mortal Kombat. Buying the game used means you'll have to shell out $10 over Xbox Live or PSN to take your mad Liu Kang skills online.
Mortal Kombat, available on April 19 for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, includes a one-time-use registration code that gives players access to all online modes in the game. Players who do not have a code will get a free two-day trial of the online play and then be able to purchase the online modes for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and $9.99 on the PlayStation Network.
I don't know about you, but I don't have much of a problem buying games new. I actually prefer it. Let your wild, uncontrollable rage free in the comments.
[Source]