Sony Patents Technology to Block Used Games

Video game company Sony has patented new technology that could be used to block used video games. The "Electronic Content Processing System" sounds innocuous enough, but it associates individual game discs with matched user accounts. According to the patent:

"A game playing system includes a use permission tag provided for use in a game disk for a user of a game, a disk drive, and a reproduction device for reproducing the game. The disk drive reads out a disk ID from the game disk. When the game is to be played, the reproduction device conveys the disk ID and a player ID to the use permission tag. The use permission tag stores the terms of use of the game and determines whether a combination of the disk ID and the player ID conveyed from the reproduction device fulfills the terms of use or not." 

In the patent filing, Sony argued it was "vital" to redistribute a portion of proceeds to developers, who make no money whatsoever from secondhand sales. This technology, which may in fact never be used by Sony,  would also be applicable to other forms of electronic content, including images and music.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Do you think Sony will use such technology with its upcoming Playstation 4? Will Microsoft follow suit? How will this tech affect the secondhand games industry? Let us know in the comments section.