The online pass is something that has really caught on after EA first introduced the system for some of their games’ online options. The latest game to require an online pass is Codemasters’ upcoming racer, DiRT 3, new copies of which will come bundled with a multiplayer code that unlocks five extra cars and allows online play. This means people who pick up the game second hand will have to fork out extra if they want to play online.
It’s done to allow the developers a share of the profit from pre-owned sales and prevent retailers from taking all the earnings, but, all the same, it is annoying for those impartial to picking up pre-owned games on the cheap. They also say that it will help fund Codemasters’ plans to manage and look after the online mode post release.
