Rumors of PS4 Restricting Used Games Send GameStop Stock Tumbling

GameStop's stock price closed lower than $1.30(a five percent loss overall)after word this morning that Sony had applied for a patent on technology that could restrict how used games are played on its next console.

[THC CELL]

im for this i will always support developers.. i bet sony will leave it upto developers to lock the game or not

[Anon1974]

I bet we won't see this used at all as they've had similar patents for tech like this since 2000 and have never used them. This exact same paranoia surfaced before the PS3's launch.

[Derekvinyard13]

if we see stuff like this from now on, video games as a whole will fall apart. im surprised this idea is even being rumored/confirmed most people who dont think twice are gonna be like "Oh i heard sony is taking away used games im not buying the ps4" stupid idea all together, as a gamer for over 20 years i would love to know the genius behind this idea that will end video games as we know it, probably doesn't even play games with a half-assed plan like this.

[Blackdeath_663]

if it does happen then no console for me next gen. PSNpass is already being used and that is enough i don't see why they would restrict it further. me and my brother in law live in the same house and we exchange games once we have finished them i don't see anything wrong with that i'm not going to buy two copies for each game we play that's absurd

[lociefer]

Worst thing is sony can neither confirm nor deny this cause by doing so they confirm the ps4

[TheGamerDood]

This why I support Sony in banning used games if it means killing companies like GS I'm all in!

[MikeMyers]

They won't block used games, they will just sell more games digitally which is even better for them.

From the article:
"The company's first party software sales represent less than 10 percent of overall sales on its consoles, and it is unlikely that blocking used games would result in a lift of more than 10 percent in new game sales. That means that Sony's sales would rise only marginally if the PS4 blocked used games."

So why would Sony adopt their own philosophy and alienate themselves? It would only work if game publishers did this across the board. There were also rumors when the PS3 was coming out that the bluray would lock the disc to the machine. So if you bught a game or a movie on bluray it would only play on one system. Of course that never materialized but the technology could have made it possible.

[Burackus]

I don't get why it's a big deal it has been around a long time anyone ever bought a pc game before? They are coded

[zgoldenlionz]

Yep totally agree with you. Companies file patents all the time that never get used.

[MikeMyers]

PC games are not really coded the same way to your hardware. Some games have DRM which limits at times up to 5 installs. So that means you could upgrade or replace your PC up to 5 times. This patent doesn't really go into details about the ability to have the game install on 5 different PS4's.

[RumbleFish]

I don't care about gamestop and I don't care about drm. It didn't kill pc gaming and it won't kill console gaming.

[BillyDaSheep]

You might well see a system similar to what they have now. At the minute some games have codes for online play that can only be used once but if you buy the game used you can play offline and just purchase another online code for £5. This new system would probably lock the whole game unless you buy a new code for £5 to £10 so used games won't completely disappear. That way developers would get some money from the sale and places like GameStop can still survive.

[SilentNegotiator]

"im for this i will always support developers"

How about supporting gamers first? Remember when we could just pop our games into a friend's console and PLAY it, even online? Remember when our game purchases had real monetary value (an important principle when developers/publishers can screw you, even post-release, like removing promised maps)?'

That said, it likely won't even happen anyway.

[fr0sty]

PS4 hasn't even been announced yet and the FUD articles are already starting. Gamestop's stock was already in decline prior to this patent.

[jadenkorri]

used sales is a multi billion industry, companies can't restrict used sales. If they try, what do they actually think every person who buys used gonna start buying new, i doubt it.

[pixelsword]

Dear Sony:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't confirm this until GameStop is GONE!

Just kidding.

Sony probably won't do any of that; and if they do, they should merely have the PS4 confirm that it's a PS4 game in the console, and that's all; anything else will incur the wrath of the hackers.

[user3915800]

LMAO... It wont work, if they dont let them play what they had and all the games they bought from shops, they will loose over 1/3 of gamers. Lets be honest, most peple buy used games cause they cant be found anymore or dont want to loose money on games that they are not sure are worth full price, or cant aford a new game, besides saving a few bucks for a use game. I have no problem with developers gaining their share, but games are overpriced, we dont run the used sale market of gaming and we should not be penalised for stuff that are legal to use by law, besides it will be a monopoly if Sony decides to get rid of a format that is here, We can use MS as an example for monopoly or att among of the many who tried and got burned.

[LNDCalling]

Have you ever wondered why their overpriced?

What if half of gamers decided to only buy used.. 50% buy the game and the devs get money the other 50% buy it off the first and the devs get f*#ck all!

The people who will refuse to buy-in to next gen because of this won't be missed by developers as they mostly likely wouldn't have bought games new anyway!

Used games will only push up prices, push devs to produce more games in a quicker time frame with less care taken (see casual IOS / Android games etc) - where there are no used sales and small quickly produced games are sold on mass at a massive profit with minimal additional costs i.e. publishers, shipping, insurance etc, this will eventually lead to more studios going casual or going bust!

[TruthBTold]

I think the requirement should be for these stores reselling used games. Any video game they take must be scanned. Before they can resell it they must pay a fee to Sony for reselling used IP. For people out on the street just switching games or selling on their own, not really making a business of it, they should have no restrictions.

[LNDCalling]

Agreed!

[LackTrue4K]

You know what? This comment dose make a lot of sense!! What if this is force on places like "GameStop"...
"I agree with you a 100%, and this would be a smart/great move for Sony!"

[Oner]

TruthBTold ~ "I think the requirement should be for these stores reselling used games. Any video game they take must be scanned. Before they can resell it they must pay a fee to Sony for reselling used IP. For people out on the street just switching games or selling on their own, not really making a business of it, they should have no restrictions."

This is the perfect solution for all parties and what I hope will happen for ALL companies in the industry (not just Sony per se).

[crazysammy]

The one thing a lot of people are missing is that if GameStop doesn't make money off used games, they will close stores and lose money. If they didn't push preorders so heavy these developers wouldn't get half the number sold on day 1.

I worked at GS a long time, and have no love for them believe me, but taking them out of the equation will hurt new games sales a lot.

[born2live]

I don't see how that makes any sense at all. Those costs will end up being passed on to the customers, in one form or another, and used games may no longer represent enough savings to be worth the buy.

Besides, the whole notion is just about milking more money from us! If I sell my car to someone else, the car maker does not make a penny more on that transaction! That's how it works with pretty much everything! This will only restrict the consumers' rights, and there should be laws against that (and online passes!)

[Tales RPG addict]

in fact for every game sold used at Gamestop the developers should be given back 40% in the least. If GAMESTOP doesn't like it then how about developers threaten to never sell retail and digital copies to Gamestop anymore

That'll shut them up quickly, as they'd not want to lose their revenue.

[rainslacker]

@Tales

Shutting out gamestop, or any other major retailer (remember Best Buy and Amazon do used as well), the developers lose a hell of a lot of retail space for distributing their games. DD may one day make them unnecessary in their current capacity, but believe me that these retail outlets have a lot of sway over the publishers and manufacturers.

Cutting them out would be a huge blow to retail sales. Although that may be a short term problem, as consumers would adapt, but I doubt the publishers are willing to suffer through the down time while those consumers are adapting.

What Truth suggested is good in principal, as it returns a portion of the sale back to the developer/publisher. However that cost is passed on to the consumer. That either means that GameStop is now giving less for the trade in (sure people will blame GS for that and not the developers), or selling the game for more to the buyer. If it was something reasonable, say a couple of dollars to the original publisher, then it can be within reason to do such a thing.

However, in the US, corporations are people. As such they can not be coerced into doing something that isn't required for the average Joe to do. This means that if they allow anyone to trade/sell their games to anyone, they have to allow it for those stores as well. They could however make it worth these retailers while to give back, but it still screws the Average Joe, pretty much forcing us to either pay a company to clear the protection, or to trade in with those retailers...something I'm sure they would love.

[TruthBTold]

GS rips people off. I have only purchased one game from them which they say was new. They buy a game from customer A for hardly anything and turn around to resell it at around 10% less than what it would cost someone to buy it new. I'm sure they can give some of that cut to publishers as they also sell new games, accessories and consoles. They would most likely have. Hard time passing the extra cost to consumers as they would be charging at new cost, people would rather buy new. Amazon and other retailers are not in the business to sell used games, only GameStop. For me I feel the publishers and studios are the ones that deserve the credit and not GS for reselling used games. If they go out of business than people who want to buy used games would still be able to buy through eBay, Craig's List and the used games feature from places like Amazon which are all cheaper than GS.

[rainslacker]

Whether or not GS rips people off isn't the issue. Gamestop is still one of the largest seller of video games in the US, followed only by amazon. Amazon also facilitates the trade in of video games to it's 3rd party sellers. Best Buy also takes trade ins, and they are no slouch in the market. Many mom & pop or smaller chain game stores simply HAVE TO HAVE trade ins to make a profit.

What you suggest is cutting all of them out of the market unless they bow to the publisher demands. These places have a lot more say in the industry than you give them credit for.

No matter how you spin it, those costs will be passed onto the consumer. I believe in supporting the developer, but there is no way in hell publishers are going to give up the retail space next gen.

As far as buying from all those sources you mentioned, yeah it can work to the consumers advantage, but they aren't as convenient as walking into a store, browsing it's selection, and picking up a game. Quite a bit of purchases are made on impulse, and that's a lot of money lost to remove it from the market.

I love how much people hate on Gamestop because of their trade in practices, but don't ever once stop to realize that GS, or any other retailer, get's a very small cut of that $60 game. Markup is much less than every other retail market out there.

[MostJadedGamer]

Sony won't use it at all unless MS also blocks used games sales. Otherwise it would kill PS4 sales.

Neither Sony nor MS will block used games sales by themselves because it would give the other side an unbeatable advantage.

[Fel08]

So you never bought a single used game in your whole life?? BS

[AAACE5]

Why would they go through all this trouble if they let developers decide?

[showtimefolks]

what is this kind of thing is used for pc,next xbox and ps4? than will you guys quit gaming just because publishers are trying to make more money?

so you rather gamestop,bestbuy and gamefly make hundreds of millions in profits?

you don't have a problem with some moron walking into gamestop and getting a newly released game used and save $5?

personally i think its gonna take some real man balls to block used game sales, but i do expect the online pass to jump from 10 to $15. so if there is a game you want to play online get ready to pay one way or another

[yeahokchief]

i totally agree.

i'm all for locking games to consoles.

i love supporting developers.

i have never bought a used game in my life.

i want gamestop to go down in flames.

[oricon]

I dont like the idea of restricting but its the best Sony has to go if they want to release a system with a graphical leap compared to PS3 games as you know it cost a lot to make this gen and a lot longer develop, noticed how only this gen theres been a drop in quality and games have been rushed this is why, ive always argued that current gens got on to the market to early, i believe the gaming industry would have been at a better position than it currently is, we've seen big publishers go under like THQ and devlopers that were highly rated like Silcon Knights, but as you know most people want much more powerful hardware they want to play games that are super realistic, most people think with new systems games are easier to develop and cheaper no that's not the case.

More powerful consoles are great for the consumers but not the developers because of the increase costs, actually not great for consumers because there will be a drop in quality of games. If the game industry keeps heading to this direction it will start effecting the biggest of publishers like EA to the point 1st party developers will be the only one making the good games just because they need to sell the system. Notice how last gen alot of the top games were by smaller devs but that time pretty much ended once the HD consoles and only the titles backed by big publishers like EA, Ubisoft have only really made it big, its rare that smaller devs have had success on HD consoles unless its on handheld, same reason why Japanese devs haven't done well because JP developers are small.

What console manufacturing is look ways to make the new console easier and cheaper to develop on rather than focus on graphics and power however that wont happen because it will cause a s****** with everyone crying about their graphics are not super powerful as they would expect it would be, this patent is in the step in the right direction as it gives 3rd party security on the profit they make on games but obviously the public will hate the idea but its a necessary step if you want much powerful systems and 3rd party to try to keep quality up in new systems.

[conjurdevil]

I see no harm for single-player games/campaign.
But if this is to happen , don't make games more expensive , I understand costs for development are high but average consumer during holiday season cannot get all the games , thats half the reason some well-deserved games do not get sales since big ones tend to overshadow them.

[PopRocks359]

I agree with this. If used games are to be restricted, at least drop the price tag of the average video game. $40-$50 and below still seems reasonable.

[1upgamer99]

So if you break your PS4 Or it just burns out,and you get another PS4 do you want to have to buy your games all over again? How bout this, you own BOPS3 for your PS4 your friend does not have it, and you want to bring it to his house and play, guess what you can not do it.

[PopRocks359]

Sorry, let me rephrase. IF it comes to this, that's what I would like to see happen. To be perfectly honest, I'd rather it didn't happen at all.

[TitanUp]

you can usually find those prices about a month after a game releases on the internet.

[conjurdevil]

@1upgamer99

I do not believe it would be that harsh. if it ties down to your username and you can download your profile on your friends PS4 and play the game , it should be fine.

[Imalwaysright]

And if someone doesnt have an internet connection?

[Tei777]

@1upgamer99

Currently your downloads are connected to your account on PSN, not your system. Just pray you don't forget your password and your old email address that you signed up with like i did lol

[Tales RPG addict]

yeah and I know PS4 wouldn't do something stupid like Nintendo has done with the Wii U. The account you have on your Wii U is tied to your system so if it gets stolen, dies or whatever your FUCKED and have to pay to download all those games you bought in the First Place.

Now wouldn't that be a bitch and a half.

[InTheZoneAC]

people have no reason to have so many emails...

whatever it was though, if you forget the password just click the box that says "forgot password"

done

[00001]

the video gaming industry is the biggest bunch of babies ive ever seen. seriously dvds and blurays, cd's and mp3s, and comics and books are all typically under the video game standard of $60 and you don't see these industries trying to go after content or purchases for additional money or restricting the reselling of any of those things ive listed above. i mean i already bought the system, paid for the internet, paid for xbl, usually bought a second controller, and purchased a game. why are gaming companies and console companies so asinine?? so now this generation im expected to pay for dlc which is now usually game content purposefully withheld form the original game itself only to just be made available a week later at an extra cost. or now we have season passes for continuing content of many online shooters or fighters which are typally free on pc. and now these companies want to restrict used game sales for those of us who don't have cash to drop on a new $60 game each time one comes out, or if we want to barrow a friends game and try it out. console gaming is becoming a complete joke....

[Gr81]

This is what happens right before an industry implodes. They punish the consumers.

[KontryBoy706]

I went on over to PC gaming a few months back... haven't looked back since.

[00001]

i wish i could, i just don't have money being a college student. too many upgrades, too little know how on my part. just not the right time for me haha.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

How do console gamers keep saying no used games will destroy console gaming? It's not killing pc..

The people who don't give devs money are keeping console gaming alive and well?

[rainslacker]

@Shutup

It's hard to say. Since evidence tends to be anecdotal on how much it actually affects new games sales. It's similar to the piracy issue, does a used/pirated game being used translate to a lost sale. In some cases yes, in other cases no.

There are many things I could point out, but most of you have probably seen the arguments before, especially in the last few days. Some of the arguments that are pro-piracy can be directly applied to the used game market as well. The biggest difference is that a lot of times people are trading in games to finance new game purchases, and even with a traded game there was at least one initial purchase, unlike piracy.

I think what these companies will find by restricting used game sales is not what they are hoping. I believe it will have an inverse effect with fewer games sold, especially at current prices.

The initial backlash will be extreme, and the ongoing disillusionment of the average consumer will become greater as time goes on. Eventually many of these consumers may move to a different gaming market, or just drop gaming to look for another form of entertainment to spend their money on. There are already plenty which are cheaper to choose from.

While extreme, if consumer interest drops enough, it is the kind of thing that can lead to an industry wide crash, and any company looking to implement this should consider the negatives heavily, and prove to us it's a good thing before going ahead with it. This removal of ownership, on this level, is extremely anti-consumer.

If this generation has shown me anything, it's that the gaming industry doesn't seem to care for it's consumers, and we are nothing but a number for their charts. That needs to change, not just for the industry sakes, but the consumers sake as well.

[InTheZoneAC]

it's your fault you decided to pay for rip off xbox live and DLC is NEVER forced upon you to buy.

game developers never see any money from the system you bought, from the internet provider you have, from the wasted money towards XBL, or from the second controller.

video games cost quite a bit to make, probably around $25 million, and don't sell as well as movies, so obviously the price is going to be higher.

games would need to sell around half a million just to break even. It seems most games that don't "stand out" end up selling around that mark.

and you wonder why they're $60.

if you never had any intentions on buying a variety of games, then you probably never would buy it if it was cheap anyway.

and games were even more expensive when everyone was making less money back when snes/n64 were out, why complain now?

and it's "borrow", no "a" in there anywhere, ever, in any language.

[00001]

so what the hell did your pathetic rant have to do with used games not being allowed?? that was seriously some dumb shit you just wrote, i'm not even going to waste my time correcting your post because it literally had nothing to do with used games. your rant was basically "why aren't all gamers like me!?"...give me a fucking break. btw what it took the avengers film to make 1 billion dollars over the course of weeks and weeks, took call of duty black ops II to sell in two weeks. so bullshit video games dont sell as well as movies.

[Mr-Dude]

I'm sure it will not happen! This thing surfaces every time a new console is about to arrive. Microsoft had a shitstorm to endure about this same subject, now it's Sony.

The big three aren't stupid, they know everybody buys 2nd hand games! They will destroy their own company, and sales will fail so it will never happen. Don't you guys have brains and think? It's just some old patent some idiot used as a new DOOM article... because it's 2013 and the doomz haz tho continue he?

Jeez...

[Jadedz]

Honest question (that I want to know the answer to).

[Hellsvacancy]

Nobody on N4G can answer that buddy

[InTheZoneAC]

amazing how there is no answer yet you still get disagrees

[freezola75]

Actually, with the acquisition of Gakai, I'm putting my money on the fact that Sony will use it in the next system they make. It will allow the user to access a bevy of games from previous consoles.

So yes I think this will be the case. Of course it's just me speculating on the uncertain but they would NOT spend that much money on it and not use it.

Peace

[sandman224]

If it makes more money for the the game developers will they use it toward gaming or be like that bobby kotic guy from call of duty and put it in his pocket?

[ShadowKingx]

Well, i was going to give my input on this. but then i realized who the author was. Kotaku writes so much BS its ridiculous, i wait for another better source.

But i will say if this does happen i think we will have a bunch of new xbox members and if xbox does it too. Then I will sale both my ps3 and xbox and getting a epic gaming PC.

[Dno]

hahah sony is not stupid. do you know how many games i bought from trade ins? i will buy less games and so will everyone esle.

[unknownhero1123]

I don't know, greed does make people do stupid things. also, sony did patent the thing so.....

[Dno]

if you look you will see the same patent for the ps3 about 7-9 years ago.

Who wants to bet this will not happen?

[Ron_Danger]

It's just a patent that will sit in their archives as a way to make money in the future, just like 90% of all patents. The only reason that gamestop's stock dropped is because game "journalists" posted doom articles about it to get site hits.

A lot of people can't wait for this generation of consoles to be over... I can't wait for this generation of journalists to be over

[NoobJobz]

Heard the same rumor for the next Xbox. If they both do this, that would terrible IMO. I played over 500 games this gen and majority were used. People just won't buy as many games at launch and wait until big price drops if you have to buy games new.

[tachy0n]

for those console gamers, you got full support from the PC community, the community can use the power on gaming machines to decrypt the code on next gen consoles in order for you guys to bypass the stupid anti used games system. you guys should not worry if that were to happen ;)

corporations tried to trow DRM measures to the PC gaming scene and they always failed keep that in mind.

we the people united are invincible!!!

[NoobJobz]

Well that is good to know.

Another question though, what becomes of the disc once you're done with the game? You can't sell it because it is useless now. Or am I misunderstanding? Are you just stuck with a pile of games?

[tachy0n]

@Tompeeper

it will depend on what the anti-used game system is made of.

sony and microsoft have pretty moderate amounts of security(take a look at the PSVIta for example, it hasnt been fully hacked yet because actually the PSVita itself is encrypting everything with its RAM and CPU(in the memory card,core files etc)also sony appears to be using lots of dummy files to send to PSN which have to be decrypted and check which of them is the snitch telling PSN the system is hacked) it takes time to hack into consoles and get them wide open because all hackers have to do is understand their system, once they understand how it works all they have to do is decrypt everything and write their own code in there.

[Tetsujin]

Bring in the new year with the same old BS Kotaku, once again I will NOT give your site hits.

OT

If this was to go through I'll just wait till games are $20 or less before I purchase them; that way I can still argue "Well I did support the developer - when I could afford it!"

Instead of quitting gaming altogether just find smart ways around it; I would. I highly doubt outside online only games and maybe the occasional oddball you won't see this in practice. The only few games that comes to mind is Phantasy Star online 1/2 for DC and a few MMO games outside anything on PC. I don't hear the movie, vehicle, music, and comic industry getting all upset over used merchandise and implementing technology to prevent used sales, what makes the gaming industry any different?

[Rupee]

You would think it would negatively impact Sony more than GameStop. If Sony does this I will not buy a ps4. Period. If Microsoft tries this same shit, same goes for them. I've been thinking about becoming a PC gaming elitist anyway...

[abzdine]

i think Gamestop are a bunch of arrogant bitches. They sell used games almost same price as new and they buy games for no money and price them so high and they still whine.
It's the same with music CDs they were so expensive that they killed themselves by their own hands.

I almost NEVER buy used games, and if this preowned blocking turns out to be true and will help the industry to stabilize and bring even more games by increasing the income of the developers then screw Gamestop.

[Tetsujin]

My problem with the whole idea is down the road if a collector decides to purchase a PS4/720 because all there's available is "used" consoles and games, and the technology is there to limit what can be played, how can someone be able to compare gaming generations then? I still like to boot up the NES and Genesis to remind myself how far along gaming came, and play certain games that will never be available even on PSN/Live/Shop Channel.

One thing I have noticed; the companies who complain about GS the most are the same ones who always have some pre order incentive through GS themselves, yet they complain because of used sales.

[Tales RPG addict]

Yes agreed there are games that can't make it to PSN,XBL Marketplace/Nintendo Shop Channel for a number of reasons.

A perfect Example is the "XENOSAGA" trilogy for PS2. Originally MonolithSoft the developer had Namco as the publisher and owner before that the creators of XENOSAGA made my one of favorite PS1 RPG's XENOGEARS through SQUARESoft.

The company MonolithSoft is majority owned by NINTENDO, with a small portion of the company owned by NAMCO. Do you have any idea of how many possible legalized processess Namco & SONY would have to go through putting the XENOSAGA trilogy on PSN.

I could also say the same for the now defunct company who made Drakengard 1 & 2 for PS2. Some PS2 titles will never make it to PSN for PS3/PS4 due to the company going defunct or original designers for the rights now work at said company that is the competitor.

SONY & NAMCO would have to give a portion of the sales of the XENOSAGA trilogy to Nintendo if it got on PSN.

[rainslacker]

Gamestop pays for those pre-order bonuses. It's marketing for them, and isn't given to them out of the kindness of the publishers heart.

However, yes this move would completely kill the collector's market for any system that uses it. I know if it's within my power I will own every PS2 game made, good and bad, and I can do that because of the used market. New copies of PS2 games, the good ones, tend to be very expensive. If the PS4 were to block it then it would only increase the costs of it's software in the future.

Of course at that time the companies won't care about that anymore, which just means they would be blocking off a huge part of it's heritage for future enjoyment. I'm sure they'd be kind enough to offer it to us in digital form, at an additional cost, however.

All that being said, I highly doubt this will be implemented. I know publishers have complained about it, but even still someone in the industry has to realize this is just a bad idea.

@Tales
Xenosaga was a great series, quite possibly my favorite. Namco has publishing rights to Xenosaga, and they wouldn't need Nintendo's permission to release it anywhere. Even the original developer couldn't prevent it. The developer would get some kickback from the release, and some of that would go to Nintendo being shareholders in the company.

[Veni Vidi Vici]

If MS decides not to use this tech, Sony's stock will see a nasty hit.

Seriously, whatever console allows you to play used games will be the one I buy. If MS is smart, they won't use this same tech next gen.

[ziggurcat]

sony's not going to use this functionality, so rest your gullible, little head.

bottom line: patents don't mean anything, and there was an identical patent filed right before the PS3 launched. guess what happened? do you have any problems playing any used/rented games on your PS3?

[Root]

Why are people buying into this thing so easily, look at all the patents Sony has done, then we get one which puts then in a negative light and BOOM all aboard the sony hate train....article after article about the fall of the comnpany and so on.

[KontryBoy706]

What I find funny is this; so many people are saying they won't buy new games, or they would hardly buy new games. They also say it's dumb for Microsoft and Sony to do this and it would be the downfall of gaming etc. Remember when DLC came along? It wasn't at the start of this generation it was about after 2 years in. People were complaining but now they buy DLC and they pretty much expect there to be DLC when buying a new game. It's standard now. People still complain but they hand over their money. Next, remember when Activision said they were going to charge $15 for Call of Duty DLC? People had an outrage, "oh I'm not buying that crap", "that's too much money". Now, people can't wait to spend their $15 for any DLC Activision throws their way. The same thing will happen if there aren't anymore used games. People will complain for a while and then they will keep emptying their wallets. If you want change... fight with your money not words. PC gamers understand this. As soon as Microsoft tried to charge a XBL-ish fee for games PC gamers said hell no... and stopped it from happening.

[Tales RPG addict]

Good point made, and the same can easily be said about CAPCOM people complained about the Street Figther X Tekken DLC fiasco back in March about a year ago. The 12 characters that were DLC were locked onto the disc, and you had to buy them. People complained like Hell, and this is why in some cases people hack games cause they want to see if companies will pull a CAPCOM.

In October last year it was discovered that RE6 had on disc DLC, and people bitched about it. I did the simple thing, not buy the game, and not complain.

[3-4-5]

So I should buy right ? Because it's low....and then once the Xbxo 720 & PS4 hit, and everybody goes to Gamestop to get their console and Next GEn games, the stock then re-rises and I get rich.

Correct ?

[T3MPL3TON]

I love all the people who keep saying it's good if Gamestop fails.
These are the same people who buy used games on amazon or and other number of game shops. All of these places will take a hit. Not just Gamestop but none of it matters as second hand sales are more prevalent than first which means if people can't get the game used they simply wont get the game and then you have the quick player like myself who plays games and then sells them personally.
I simply wont buy games. I know lots of people who do this.

The more people who just stop buying games the less money is made. This will only cause pirates to find an even more aggressive route to pirating games. This wont increase sales in any way, shape or form. If this actually happens. I'll be pirating games full time from now on. They can either take my money on my terms or I can use their product for free and they can keep complaining about pirates.

[Bobertt]

how many different patents have we seen sony apply for that could be used on the ps3 but hasn't? This is probably them just covering all angles.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Oh for f*ck sake... this is just stupid. On the 27th and 28th of December Gamestops stock was as low as it was the day the PS4 patent came out. It was even lower back in August by a substantial amount. You know what that tells me...there stock and the PS4 patent have nothing in common.

This crap journalism is not researched at all.

[profgerbik]

Whatever I have been going to EBgames/Gamestop for years and they were planning on closing down years ago due to the dramatic decrease in gaming sales altogether. This is just helping them realize they need to do it sooner.

True it's going to hit them hard because that is practically the only money these stores were making but people need to realize that was the problem, they also should know these stores were doing badly before this ever happened and were planning to shut down anyway.

EBgames/Gamestop should not be making more money from used games than the developers who actually made them. This needed to be done whether you like it or not. For one you aren't the ones running these businesses that are losing tons of money because of things like that. So don't act like you care too much.

You only care about getting games cheaper, which is understandable but if you actually cared about developers making better games and having a more secure future for their investments you would very well support this like I am.

Sure I will get tons of disagrees but whatever.. God forbid that I am someone who likes to look at things from both sides, my glass is never half empty or half full.

[DivineAssault]

They may have patented that tech but it doesnt mean they will use it any time soon.. I highly doubt PS4 wont allow used game play

[Dms2012]

The Gamestop model of business couldn't last forever, if not Sony someone else would have come up with a way around it.

[OSIRUSSS]

Digital downloads for the next system may hurt Sony since that would cut into BLU-ray sells. Also must ISPs have download limits. Who wants to eat up a monthly DL allotment trying to DL a 50-60 gig game?

[josephayal]

R.I.P GameStop 1984-2014

[dracula]

Dont forget this is not only for GAMES, it will apply to the new 2k and 4K blu-ray discs coming out as well.

so no more used movies or games

[ATi_Elite]

Thank you Sony for closing the doors on GameStop!

Sincerely: any Game Stop Employee headed for the unemployment office!

Used game sales are FINISHED!

Microsoft will follow suit as well some kind of way if they haven't already done so through the software or online DRM!

"so will Sony/MS also block you from taking your game over to your friends house to play unless you drag your console with you"?

"No more letting your friends borrow your games either I suppose"!

[Gamer-Z]

This will only succeed if all other console makers also add this feature and if game publishers come up with a whole new pricing model because not all games are worth the $60.

[porkChop]

I think this would be fair:

- SP only, $29.99
- MP only, $29.99
- SP+MP, $59.99

Honestly, the prices of games needs to be adjusted even if they don't block used sales. Games are too expensive, especially when most of them end up being piles of crap or only 5 hours long.

[chukamachine]

Blaming sony, rofl.

It's a patent that has yet to be approved. wtf does that have to do with anything now.

Price went down, because it's a con.

[brandonb21]

what if your PS4 breaks, and you have to get a new one but all your games are on the one that broke? then what ?

[Drainage]

then you re-buy all your games again, you jelly ?

[violents]

Mabey you could be linked to the disc via your PSN ID or something, you could use a login even if your not online just like a lock out or something. I think it would be stupid and suck a lot and I dont think it will happen so I dont see why everyone is all whining about it. Its just a patent.

[Murad]

FUCK GAMESTOP AND FUCK SONY.

[kingmushroom]

and you

[Baryndor]

Tie it to your PSN id. As long as I can play the same game both upstairs and downstairs on both my PS4's, I'll be okay with it.

[kingPoS]

Um.. let me go trade in my pc games that are either system locked or have limited activations. Or maybe i'll just buy games digitally via....

[HorrorGod]

I don't see the difference between PS4 (and possibly Xbox720) not playing used games, and the invention of the "Online Pass."

I'm just assuming here, but I have a feeling we may see developers dump the online pass all together on the next gen, and it will be replaced by a fee to "activate" a used game. So, in other words, the console will still play used games, but you would buy a used game for 10-20 bucks cheaper, and still need to pay MORE on top of it in order to "activate" it on your console.

[Adolph Fitler]

Fact is, it won't be used for the offline game, it is more than likely Sony are trying to eliminate the cost of those pesky online verification codes you get with most games to allow online access. This is the most that will eventuate out of this overhyped negativity campaign against Sony. Wake up clown who believe this crud.

I buy most of my games new, & few in the cheap 2nd hand sections of stores.....but the fact is, 2nd hand games in my country (AU) are fricking expensive when the game is still new. For example, COD:BlOps2 would sell here at EB's for $119.00 as there marked sell price (for soccer mums with no clue), then they have a pre-owned copy for $114?????????? Who in gods name would pay $114 for a used copy of new release title???? Somebody is buying these things, as otherwise I wouldn't keep seeing the same thing happening over & over.

[SnakeCQC]

hope cex go out of business too

[violents]

I dont think they will use it. It would be suicide, too many people would bitch about it.

Why doesnt anyone look at this logically?

"used game retailers" are the ones that are re-selling said developers/platforms products, so why dont they have to pay a percentage of said sale to the developer/platform maker just like with a new purchase pro-rated for what the used games sells for compared to new. Its never the consumers responsibilty to take care of this in any other case. this would stop the entire debate. and Everyone would get paid and you can leave unecesary tech out of a console to make it cheaper.

[zizco5]

Go fuck your self GameStop hope you go bankruptcy.

[kingmushroom]

R.I.P Gamefly lolololololol

[Murad]

There's a release date for Xcom, isn't there?