Crytek retracts used-game blocking on next-gen console statements

“Lol, I was jk guys”

Chris KempMay 1, 2012

Crytek’s Rasmus Hojengaard has come under fire for saying that a block on pre-owned games for next-gen consoles would be “awesome”. For those who don’t remember the quote in question, here it is: “From a business perspective that would be absolutely awesome. It’s weird that [second-hand] is still allowed because it doesn’t work like that in any other software industries, so it would be great if they could somehow fix that issue as well.”

If you read that carefully, it’s pretty obvious that he was joking, and you just don’t get Danish humour. For those of us too stupid to laugh at a good joke when it stares us in the face, Hojengaard has clarified, “My comment made in the interview released on the 24th of April, touching upon ‘blocking sales of used games’, was not intended to be taken seriously nor representative of the opinion of Crytek.”

Used games on consoles, particularly that of the next generation, is a very sensitive subject at the moment and clearly Crytek isn’t looking to throw their hat into the ring. In the past we’ve seen quite a few angry developers talk about it, with some even going so far as saying it’s more of a problem than piracy on the PC.

It seems a little odd for Hojengaard to cave to this kind of pressure so easily, especially in such a blatantly insincere way. His comments seem pretty reasonable, and for a developer who sees no money from a second-hand game sale, it would make sense that he’s not exactly a fan. What are your thoughts – are second-hand sales akin to piracy?