Ubisoft has announced the Uplay Passport, which is a one-time use code included in new games. The code will provide Xbox Live and PSN users access to “bonus content, exclusive offers, and online multiplayer play.” Other companies have incorporated a similar systems of encouraging people to pass over previously owned games and buy new copies, like Sony’s “Project Ten Dollar” and EA’s “Online Pass.”
The first Ubisoft game to incorporate the Uplay system will be Driver: San Francisco. A logo on the back of the box will identify both it and future games that support the Uplay Passport. The logo hasn’t been revealed, but it will probably be a previously owned game being simultaneously stomped on and lit on fire.
Codes to unlock all the “extra value” will also be available for $9.99 on PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace, but as of this report, nobody has been able to accurately convert that amount in MS points. Driver: San Francisco is expected to launch next month, so we’ll have to wait and see.
According to the company’s press release, you should expect to see Uplay included in many of it’s “popular core games.”
While this may seem like a sneaky way of getting a few more bucks out of people who want to play games online, it could also encourage game retailers to recognize the added value in new copies of games and lower the price of used merchandise.
Jul 18, 2011
Source:Joystiq (opens in new tab)