EA Denies Asking Microsoft For Used Games DRM
The natural assumption to make when confronted with Microsoft's used game restrictions is to blame video game publishers. They're the ones who went to war with GameStop over used game resales, they're the ones who instituted online passes, they're the ones who stand to benefit from anything that can make people buy games new (where they make money) instead of used (where GameStop makes all the money).
According to EA's Peter Moore, however, one of the world's biggest publishers had no part in Microsoft's decision whatsoever.
Asked by
Polygon whether EA had lobbied Microsoft to implement the restrictions, Moore replied, "Absolutely incorrect. As the guy who is the chief operating officer of Electronic Arts I can tell you that EA did not aggressively lobby for the platform holders to put some gating function in there to allow or disallow used games. I am on record as being a proponent of used games."
"EA has never had a conversation", he later adds, "and I have been present at all of them, with all of the manufacturers, saying you must put a system in place that allows us to take a piece of the action or even stop it. Absolutely incorrect."
He's also asked how EA would be supporting the two competing platforms different used games strategies, replying "We have not internally even begun to sit down and answer those questions." Again,
as with Ubisoft, a weird answer given how close we are to these system's release.
