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.

Earlier this week Capcom responded to complaints about the "one save" scheme it implemented into its 3DS game, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, saying that it was not a way for the company to combat used game sales. On its official Unity blog the company said that it was in no way meant to lessen the game's overall experience and that it was designed to be like an Arcade fighting game. From the page - here's the official statement from Capcom:

Silicon Knights head Denis Dyack always has something interesting - and occasionally controversial - to say about the effects of used games. Recently he said in an interview with IndustryGamers that the surge in multiplayer gaming is due mostly to used game sales. The result is due to developers and publishers trying to combat the sale of used games by offering more multiplayer game play and less single-player.

“What’s really happening now is people are starting to say ‘why is everyone pushing towards multiplayer?’ Because the used game sales are hurting the single player experience so much, they’re being forced in because of the economics, not because people who are doing single player games are saying, ‘We really want to do multiplayer’,” he said.

Amazon.co.uk’s video games manager Liz Hosmer tells MCV that its new used game trade-in program is already doing pretty well and that consumers have "reacted positively." In January some criticized the UK arm of the popular online retailer for planning to offer trade-ins: ShopTo's former marketing manager Phil Driver told MCV that consumers would be met with an intolerable experience if they traded their games online as opposed to traditional retail. But if Amazon.co.uk is to be believed, Driver is sadly mistaken.

“Trading in with Amazon.co.uk is quick and easy, providing customers with a great way to exchange their old games and save money on future purchases,” she told MCV. “We’ve had a very positive response from customers.”

Because the PlayStation Store is down, those who own a used copy of Mortal Kombat for PS3 don't have to worry about paying $10 for the "Kombat Pass." Rather than making players wait until the store is back online, Warner Bros. has decided to suspend the pass requirement until the PlayStation Store returns - which is rumored to take place on May 24.

Like used game owners, new players won't have to worry about redeeming the code that comes with the game until the PS Store is online again.

In other words, a free weekend of online play. And if you hate the online play, and you bought the game used, this weekend could save you a cool $10. All in all a win-win.

Source: Kotaku

Lead Fable III combat designer Mike West thinks the used games market is much worse for developers than having your game pirated. Or so he tells Eurogamer in a short back and forth on the subject. West makes the comparison because Fable III is available on the PC this week.

Fortunately, says West, the studio has managed to cover cost with first-hand Xbox 360 games sales, which he claims are in "the millions." West also acknowledges that piracy will affect Fable III on the PC, and there's "not much you can do about it."

Online video game and movie trading community Goozex will offer free trading to all its existing PlayStation 3 trading members through May 31. Goozex will waive the usual $1.99 trade free needed to receive items on the site for any member that has sent or received at least one PlayStation 3 video game or Blu-ray movie prior to May 9. Goozex says that, while it is a small gesture of appreciation for its thousands of PS3 owners, the company feels that it is an important one given what PS3 users are going through.

Last year, a few video game publishers (Notably EA and THQ) started charging a fee for online multiplayer from used video game buyers for $10. Sony Computer Entertainment America goes beyond the pale this week by charging gamers who dare buy SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals used extra. Those who buy SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals used will miss out on special guns, game types, and other perks that will be added to the game at a later date. To get these features as a used game buyer, you'll have to pay a $15 fee.

Sony is marketing all this as "SOCOM Pro," an suite of enhancement for new game buyers. While some might argue that these extra enhancements are rewards for buying new, it is also hard to deny that they feel like punishment to anyone who can't afford to buy the full game. Basically if you are a used game buyer, you start out at a disadvantage online. Further, that $15 activation fee nullifies the savings of buying used.

According to a report on Joystiq, Warner Bros. may be joining THQ and EA in offering codes for online play in its latest Mortal Kombat game. Citing an anonymous tipster who forwarded an email from WB to retailers, Joystiq claims that the company wants to charge used game buyers an additional fee for getting online. A new pass will supposedly cost 800 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 and $10 for PS3. From the alleged WB email:

While it might not be as frequent as it once was, it’s still not uncommon to hear publishers bemoan the existence of the used game market and express a desire to see it go the way of the dodo.

But not THQ.  No, the publisher of the recently released Homefront doesn’t want to kill off the used game market, it just wants to make sure it’s making some money off it.  THQ CEO Brian Farrell explained it to MCV thusly:

“The most important thing is we have to participate in the value chain in used games.  We understand, given our focus on the gamer, that consumers like to be able to monetise their game library. So it is an ecosystem between publisher, gamer and retailer that just has to sort itself out.  Part of it is monetising but the bigger win is keeping our gamers engaged with DLC and robust online play, and that keeps the disc in the first purchaser’s hands.”

There will not be an Online Pass code in the retail console versions of Crysis 2, according to a Eurogamer report (citing a recent Gamertag Radio new story). The reason for the omission of the one-time code for online play that EA has used in other games is simple enough: developer Crytek didn't want it. Crytek is an independent studio who uses EA Partners to distribute its games. As such it has the right to refuse using Online Pass.

Crytek wanted as many people to play multiplayer as possible when it is released and they don't care if those players are playing a new or used copy of Crysis 2. Further, the company indicated that it felt that the Online Pass technology is just too young.

Whatever the reasons, we are delighted that Crytek opted not to use this.

Crysis 2 is due for release shortly on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Source: Eurogamer

A little digging on both Blockbuster’s and GameFly’s web sites shows that both companies are not renting DC Universe Online to its customers. It would be difficult to do more than one time unless they had a special deal in place with either SCEA or SOE to supply additional codes for these discs that come with one-time use codes.

We reached out to both companies to get a better idea of what their policies are related to renting and accepting trade-ins of DCU. Here are their responses:

"Here's how it works," Rachel Silverstein, GameFly's Vice President of Marketing told GamePolitics. "We offer trade-in to help our subscribers realize some value for the games they no longer want to play. Trade-ins do not become part of GameFly’s rental inventory. Whether to buy the game for subscription rental or to accept it as trade in are completely separate decisions."

If you buy the PS3 version of Sony Online Entertainment's action MMO DC Universe Online, you had better stow any plans to trade it in after you are done playing. According to a report on Lazy Gamer, the PSN code that comes packed with the retail game is a one-time use code, which means the person who uses it first is the only one that can use it with that particular disc.

From an SOE representative:

"Once the PSN key has been consumed with a disk it cannot be resold/replayed with the second user adding a sub – only the original consumer can use that acct."

SOE also said that the retail disc and the PSN code are one and the same, meaning it is completely worthless after that first use. Further, there is no way (currently) that a second hand user can obtain a new code.

THQ's future leaning action game Homefront will utilize "online Pass" for online play via a code packed in the game. Much like it did with UFC Undisputed 2010, used game buyers will have to purchase a new code online in order to play the multiplayer part of the game in its entirety.

THQ did say that it will offer a limited multiplayer option for used game buyers that gives them access to multiplayer up to level 5. The game features a full 75 levels.

The extra code will cost right around $10. Naturally, single player will not be affected by Online Pass. The game ships in March for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Source: Shacknews

According to a report on Joystiq, approximately 500 Walmart stores in the United States have started stocking used games in-store and Walmart.com is now offering them online. Joystiq cites a recent report from Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian, who in turn points to "industry checks" that reveal the data.

Walmart announced that it planned to sell used games in-store this year, along with a trade-in program. In his report, Sebastian said that Walmart would focus on "deep value end of used games" (under $20), meaning less overlap with competition like GameStop. Sebastian added that if Walmart can maintain a focus on cheaper games, the retailer could "ultimately expand the market for used games."

Source: Joystiq

Game trading website GameForAGame.com, is alive, kicking and ready for business. The game trading website allows users to make straight trades with other gamers. Those that sign up for the site now will get a lifetime membership, if you need some motivation.

GameForAGame.com offers gamers a venue to trade games with one another without worrying about money, trade-in points or other factors usually associated with one-to-one game trading sites. Gamers simply sign up, list the games they want to trade and the games they want to trade for.

The site is currently in beta. After the beta period ends, a one-year membership will cost you $20. The site even has an option to meet local gamers and trade in person if that is your preference. Finally, the site offers a search function by zip code, console, game name and member name.

Find out more or sign up by visiting www.gameforagame.com.