Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning locks out singleplayer content for used copies

Over the past year, more and more publishers have signed on to that whole “online pass” deal in an attempt to make some extra cash off of used game sales. This traditionally works by, say, locking out gamers who bought the game used from multiplayer.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was recently announced to also require an online pass for used game purchasers, but how they’re approaching it is different. The game doesn’t have an online mode, so EA instead chose to lock out used game purchasers from an entire quest line.

It’s not the first time that an online pass locked used game purchasers out of singleplayer content–RAGE did something similar, albeit far less severe–but this one stands out as being a bit too harsh. In a post on the game’s official website, community manager Muse attempted to justify the decision, saying:

“For what it’s worth, the House of Valor content was not in the finished game/disc at one point, then removed. It isn’t there and we’re locking you out of it. The House of Valor was created as stand-alone content, and was always intended to be the first DLC. Instead of holding onto it and charging for it later, we opted to give it to everyone who purchases the game new, for free, on launch day. We hope that helps clarify that point, at least.”

What do you think? Does Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning‘s online pass go too far?