Unfortunately it seems that THQ may be incorporating something like a VIP system with their online play, requiring a one time entry code to allow the player to connect to online play. This is much like the cerberus system which required a purchase of a brand new game to gain access to the code and therefore assure the company of new game sales, and fewer used game sales. Also according to the message there will be the option to purchase such a code from the XBLA for a nominal fee of what one can guess between 800 msp and 1200 msp ($10 and $15).
There has been no official word from THQ about this issue, and this screenshot was provided from Past Padre. However if this is true then it will lead to some major problems when it comes towards used purchases and renting. Before there was only the loss of some small features and some additional DLC which would not affect the standard game play experience. However by forcing players to purchase the game new to even be able to play online is very unfortunate news.
Your average gamer can not truly afford to purchase a large amount of new games at a time, and sometimes they are forced to wait months for a chance at a used copy for a decent price. This will however then deny any players who also rent the game at release from accessing the online content. I played UFC 2009 online and sure the online play suffered from people who quit, people who abused certain mechanics, and of course lag. But it doesn’t mean that people should start to be punished for simply not having enough money to spend the full $60+ on a brand new video game every time one rolls around that fits their fancy. Still though this is unconfirmed and should be taken as a rumor for now, we shall see next week when the game is released what will really happen.
Source: (Past Padre)
