[quote name='the.reaper']yup, its lame.. its just companies trying to kill off stores like gamestop that resell the game used. make a better game and i will buy it new, cheap ass corporations!![/QUOTE]
The reasoning behind it is that the companies are losing a lot of money from places like gamestop, who sell used games, and gamefly, who allow customers to rent games. By having an online pass, those who purchase the game get the online access included, but those who rent/buy used games have to pay if they want to pay online. They do this because for many customers, had they not been able to buy it used/rent, they would have bought it new, thus more income for the company. If you really think about the economics of it, it should actually help keep the prices of games down.