If you needed further proof that the Online Pass was a shitty idea which inconveniences all paying customers, then here’s a nice little slice of evidence. Day-one DiRT 3 buyers cannot play the hot looking racing game because they can’t redeem their Pass codes.
The problem stems from the fact that Sony has not yet reinstated the PlayStation Store. Without it, there is no other way to redeem codes, so nobody can get online in spite of the PlayStation Network running fine. This is all thanks to the war on used games, where players now need to prove they didn’t buy a secondhand game or otherwise pay $10 for a fresh code.
Our own Dale North discovered the issue himself as he was preparing our upcoming review of the title. Thankfully, they sent him the Xbox 360 version too, so we can test the online.
Things like this really speak of how inconvenient games have become for paying customers in recent years. Between endless patches, DRM, and an increasing reliance on using codes for everything, it’s little wonder why people are more willing to wait a month and buy a game for cheap, rather than support publishers. Publishers have done little to indicate they deserve support.
