Xbox 720 Rumored To Block Used Games

This may very well be the year of new gaming consoles, folks. Sony has a PlayStation event planned for February 20 where we could finally see the PlayStation 4, and it's also likely that we'll hear more about Microsoft's Xbox 720 at E3 2013 in June. Rumors have already been pouring in, but several new rumors have come in just this morning, including the speculation that the next Xbox may include technology that will block used games from being played.EDGE Magazine has some juicy details on the Xbox 720, thanks to "sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft's next generation console." It's rumored that the console will require activation codes for games, meaning that used, second-hand games are out of the question and won't be allowed to play on the new console, meaning that new games that you bought won't be able to be resold.

While this system could easily be thwarted by just not connecting to the internet on the console, it's also said that the Xbox 720 will require an always-on connection to the web for just this reason. Having both the activation codes and the internet connection is certainly a great way to prevent piracy, but it may not be completely foolproof, and hackers will no doubt try to find a way around it.

This concept may seem ridiculous, but it's far from new. Valve's Steam gaming platform for PC, Mac, and Linux runs in a very similar fashion, where some games require activation codes and are stuck on your account, meaning you can't trade or sell games that you've played through and are done with. Of course, this is all just speculation at this point, but it wouldn't be absolutely crazy if Microsoft ended up implementing this kind of system in their next console.

[via EDGE Magazine]