No, this isn’t something that necessarily fits with what we do here, but it’s a situation that affects all of us. Certainly, the online pass system has caused a rift between community members, and now developers are seeking ways to ding players of used single player experiences.
It’s become a universal problem, not one that can be singled out. In the case of Rage, sewer sections hidden away in the campaign will be locked as an “incentive.” As Tim Willits, id Software creative director, states to Eurogamer, “Those hatches are all over. Most people never find them. But as soon as you do, you’re like, oh. And then you start to look for it.”
So the incentive is accessing an area of the game that wouldn’t normally be seen anyway? And hey, Mr. Willits! What happens if I don’t have broadband and can access Live or PSN to enter the code despite paying full price? What happens if my brother and I buy a copy but have separate accounts? We have to fight to choose who is able to find the sewer?
No matter how menial someone wants to make it, locking out any portion of a single player experience as a “reward” is a new level of absurdity. You’re not giving new buyers anything other than an inconvenience, and a means of justifying their purchase to the publisher. No one should ever have to do that.
