» Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:46 pm
Online passes are an EA feature to enable full MP play and some free DLC (and maintain purchases of new product at a higher retail cost, stifling the pre-owned market).
Crytek don't get to decide as it's EA, the publisher, that run the MP servers and release the DLC.
If buying it at full price and new is a turn-off, just wait a few months and buy when it's on a discount by a retailer trying to shift further copies. No sense in buying a used copy further down the line, just shop around.