Sony supportive of Online Pass

Having required buyers of SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 on UMD to validate their game online by using a code before they could play online multiplayer earlier this year, it looks like Sony could roll out the model to all of its upcoming titles.

On the principle of making online portions of the game available or unlocked from the disc-based release for a fee, we’re broadly supportive of that,” SCEE president Andrew House told GamesIndustry.

And we’re exploring actively the same option for our own content.”

The first publisher to offer a one-use code to access certain DLC was EA, which adopted the scheme for Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2.

EA was also the first publisher to charge pre-owned buyers an additional fee to access some of the online components of its titles, specifically Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 and the upcoming FIFA 11. THQ has since followed suit with UFC 2010 and will do so with WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011.

The likes of Sega have expressed their admiration for the scheme while Codemasters, Take-Two and Microsoft have included codes for free DLC in their games that second hand buyers need to buy outright if they want to access.