Did smurfing kill the player counts on ICO?  Have you stopped beating your wife yet?  A few people have made this the #1 topic on this forum.  Why not?  It's not as though we have much else to talk about.

Is there a way that players could maintain anonymity yet still have a CD-Key-based player ranking they cannot escape from?  Inescapable games played and win-loss records would make player identities too obvious, so I propose that players have Skill ratings on a 1-10 (more anonymity) or 1-100 (less anonymous but finer distinctions) basis, with new players starting at S-1.  The S-ratings would have to be based on various factors, but it seems like it might be a good way to allow players to change their names and remain anonymous while allowing other players to be able to assess their skill.  Of course, if ICO were really improved, teams could be chosen by pressing a button that would try to average out the skill on each team using some sort of a weightings formula.