Back in December, Dave Jaffe said in an interview that he hopes to avoid implementing an Online Pass, a one use code that unlocks online multiplayer, in the game. He mentioned that Sony had asked the crew at Eat Sleep Play to look into coding for it but nothing had been decided. Jaffe went on to say as follows:
I'd actually prefer that we don't do it, even though it's probably good business, only because we have such a mountain to climb in terms of gaining people's good faith, especially in Europe, and really letting people know that this is a title that's worth getting excited about.
However, it seems that a decision has been made, and not in Jaffe's favor. Twisted Metal will include an online pass code required to play the game online.
The Gamers Hub, which recently had the opportunity to get a look at the upcoming game, confirmed with a QA lead that Twisted Metal needs an Online Pass. Of course this means that if you buy a used copy of the game and it doesn't include the code or the code has already been used, you will have to pay 10 additional dollars to play online through the PlayStation Network.
As I've said before, I'm not in favor of online passes, especially with the fazing out of local multiplayer. This is more of the bigger offenders in my opinion since not as many people play online on the PS3 and this pass is being included despite the head developer's objections. Furthermore, this title does have an uphill battle to wage, especially online, as the multiplayer isn't the typical fare other titles offer.
I would have been more surprised if the game didn't have an online pass. Sony has been pushing it on to all of their first party titles - a trend that looks to continue well into the future.
Twisted Metal has always been a multiplayer game, so I don't think it has that much of an uphill battle as far as that goes. What it should be more concerned about is whether the franchise still has a place since it's been away for such a long time.
That's the uphill battle. It hasn't been around since online play became the norm so it isn't a multiplayer game as we know them to be now.
