Online passes have, unfortunately, become very commonplace in the gaming industry, and Jaffe hopes that his upcoming reboot of Twisted Metal won’t be hoping on the bandwagon. The reason for this is simple: Jaffe hopes that allowing players to purchase the title used without fear of an online pass will help the game build up a fanbase for later releases.
As any Twisted Metal fan knows, multiplayer is the most integral aspect of the game. On PlayStation One, the franchise was famous for its couch co-op. Now, Jaffe and team are looking to make a splash in the online scene with the game’s intriguing Nuke Mode. Still, despite the new game’s online focus, Jaffe has his reasons for wanting to omit an online pass.
However, the developer also knows that he doesn’t have any say in the matter.
Sony’s PSN Pass program, which is effectively an online pass, has pretty much been mandated for all future first and second party PS3 titles. Resistance 3 was the first game to make use of it, followed by Uncharted 3, so we can likely expect Twisted Metal to join in on the 12-digit code entering fun!
Jaffe does have a point in that online passes can pose a barrier to increasing a game’s fan base. I could go on about how online passes also hurt new buyers, or how the threat of used games isn’t as significant as we think, but those are thoughts that have been shared numerous times in the past. For now, let’s just hope that publishers pay attention to Jaffe’s ideas, and that Twisted Metal ships pass-free.
Twisted Metal releases February 14, 2012, exclusively for the PS3.
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Source: Eurogamer
