I wouldn't be so sure about that. The only bit of law I've ever heard of that stands in the way of this sort of thing is the first-sale doctrine, which says th

I wouldn't be so sure about that. The only bit of law I've ever heard of that stands in the way of this sort of thing is the first-sale doctrine, which says that you can sell copyrighted works without permission from the copyright holder. First-sale doctrine has become pretty toothless with the advent of DRM and software that is 'licensed' rather than sold. Companies have a broad ability to cripple their products in pretty much whatever way they see fit. Consumers have a discouragingly persistent willingness to put up with restrictions that are not in their best interest. People will whine about this, but then most of them will go out and buy the games anyway.