So Sony might stop you from playing used games, deal with it

Ridge wrote - "Believe it or not folks video game companies are just that, companies. When a company makes a product, in this case a video game and a consumer plays said video game the company should obviously be in some way compensated for the work and resources used to make said product exist. When you buy a used game the developer/publisher who did all the work to make that game get nothing for their work, all of your money goes to Gamestop or where ever you conduct your used gaming business. It is easy to see why companies would want to put an end to this. If you made something and a significant number of the people who used it didn’t pay you for it you would understandably want your cut. Anyways, I’m sure most people reading this understand that basic concept and simply feel too entitled to care. But here is why you should stop your complaining."

[wishingW3L]

holy hell! With thinking like that there would be no freedom in this world! And sorry for saying this and people can mark me as immature or whatever but this guy is a complete idiot.

[SirRidge]

Your getting awful excited.People always have the freedom to just avoid the systems that don't allow used games.

[hazardman]

you make a fair point, but what happens when you no longer want the game and its just sitting there collecting dust. You cant sell it or trade it..SHIT you cant even give it away if you wanted to unless you are including your console and tag. come on now...

[guitarded77]

It's not going to happen... but IF it did, there better be an option to fully install the game and play off the hard drive since the disc would be useless to anyone else anyway. But like I said, it isn't going to happen.

[rainslacker]

I'm all for freedom of speech. And I'm all for being reasonable for defending a company's interest, but not when those interest are in direct opposition to consumer interest.

Sony (or any other console manufacturer) is a company that makes products for the consumer, and as such their products have to keep our interests in mind. To that end, I believe it it our responsibility to make our voices heard on what we think of the things they may or may not do.

@wishing

I'm not marking you as immature, I'm giving you a well said.

The author is playing the "support the developer" card. I want to see the articles that play the "support the consumer" card, since I'm pretty sure most of us fit into that category. It's like people completely ignore all the crap we put up with that has come about in this generation because of the "support the developer", or "well, people are making it worth their while, so whatever".

[TheGamerDood]

This is how the real world works kiddies, you give them money and they give you game. Nothing in this world is free. So if I got to wait a little longer to get a game so be it.
http://i.imgur.com/mJxRK.gi...

[SilentNegotiator]

Like it would stay confined to one console. As soon as one does it, publishers will demand that they all do it.

My problem isn't playing used games; it's buying an expensive game with no monetary value, having major restrictions trying to play a game with a friend on their system, etc.

[NewMonday]

Maybe restricting a new game for the first month of release is reasonable, gamestope re-selling a new game just a few days after release for 55$ is the thing that stated all this

[Theangrybogan]

Which is exactly why I think Sony won't do it, because people just won't buy it. I buy my games new but if I have to take my console if I want to play a game at a friends house when they own the same console, it's a massive deal breaker, and like many have stated I will just switch completely over to pc.

There are reasons people prefer console gaming, if they start taking those reasons away there'll be a massive dent in sales.

[RankFTW]

Us PC owners have been dealing with this for the last 10 years, welcome to the party.

[LOGICWINS]

Yes, world freedom is entirely dependant on the ability or lack thereof to play used games on a gaming console.

[Hingle_Mcringleberry]

okay but why are you making it sound like it isn't though?

[Christopher]

Because saying that preventing people from selling used copies of games is akin to taking away all freedoms in the world is like me saying that without ketchup there is no food in the world and we would all starve. Ketchup is a condiment, not the real food we eat (at least I hope) and its absence doesn't mean that there isn't food to eat that actually keeps us alive.

[LOGICWINS]

"Ketchup is a condiment, not the real food we eat (at least I hope)"

Yeah, my doctor tells me the same thing every 6 months. Dudes a quack IMO. I survive mainly on Fruity Pebbles and Heinz Ketchup packets...still alive despite a couple of headaches and possible internal bleeding =D

[Old McGroin]

@ Logic

"Yes, world freedom is entirely dependant on the ability or lack thereof to play used games on a gaming console."

You forgot to engage your sarcasm font.

[rpd123]

He said thinking like this would cause a restriction of freedom. Not that the ability to play used games on a console would end world freedom.

[Christopher]

@rpd: I don't see how you get what you just said from "holy hell! With thinking like that there would be no freedom in this world!" which is what the OP posted above.

[EddieNX]

I've seen enough of this ''Sony disc blocking'' fiasco now. Move on.... They're not gunna do it especially after the reaction of the media and the public.

It's a sucidal idea. Unless they're complete idiots , it won't happen.

Please media , stop spinning this BS out of controll...

[torchic]

I agree @kingofwiiu

and I'm pretty sure a guy from the upper echelons of Sony came out and said this wouldn't happen, the last time this story resurfaced last year (or back in 2011 I'm not sure). I could be wrong but I think that did happen.

let's say hypothetically that this used game tech did happen, the only way in which it would work is if the price of new games dropped to $49/€49. it would be sad to not have the ability of borrowing and lending games anymore.

@lower

if they indeed do decide to lock the game for 3-6 months then that's the only way I could see it happening.

[f789790]

It's just a patent. You don't have to use it.

[Ranma1]

Well blocking used games for say at least until 1 month after it release may be a good idea in long run and help the developers make more money.

[hazardman]

I think developers probably need a 3 to 6 month window where i believe new released games make most of their money. Im basing this opinion and not facts but to me it more than fair.

[PooEgg]

@Ranma1

If we give them an inch they will take mile. Any doubt about that just look at how DLC has evolved from being 'a little something on the side, that will not be missed for those who chose to pass on it' to releasing short games and making us pay for the rest of the game piece by piece by bloody piece. Look at how quality control has went from let's test this game and get it right before release to let's ignore the bugs and let the consumer test our products for us, and then if the game has still sold enough copies we can give them a patch or two to silence the masses.

Personally, I don't buy many used games, and I never sale my games, but I still like to know that the option is available.

[SegataShanshiro]

The Sony fanboys of this webpage are unbelievable..."ps4 is not bc compatible, won't play used games etc." N4g ps3 fanbois :
"this article is stupid blah blah Sony number one, that doesn't mean its a bad console, just trolling, all lies blah blah blah ps3 exclusives!, ps3 still has 19 years more of life derp! I don't want a new generation !
You are all a bunch of truly sad people

[JD_Shadow]

<Reads your comment>

<Reads other comments in story>

<Reads story>

<Does epic facepalm>

[JsonHenry]

My way of dealing with it will be to buy the competitions consoles and never purchase ANYTHING from Sony.

Then Sony can deal with lost revenue and closing down their consoles division.

[nukeitall]

I agree!

I would also support piracy/hack on that same console! Ha! That is for trying to greedly ruin the industry I love!

Don't back a dog into a corner and not expect to be bitten. Like it or not, that would be backing me into a corner.

[zerocrossing]

No, you're completely right.

Developers already make a lot of money, especially with current DLC practices and the implementing of online Passes.

If devs aren't doing well then blame the publishers or the games they make not the consumers.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

@"holy hell! With thinking like that there would be no freedom in this world!"
So pc lacks freedom? I think not!

But then again pc is not under any one corporation and soon won't need to depend on windows. Console are really bound to certain dictator companies.

Guess I answered my own question.

But I am not sure if it will ruin the industry like console gamers say. It's not like used buyers support the industry anyway.

Used games statisics.
http://gamepolitics.com/201...

On top of that the piracy..

Wii Games:
1 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,470,000)
2 Wii Party (1,220,000)
3 Donkey Kong Country Returns (920,000)
4 Kirbys Epic Yarn (880,000)
5 Red Steel 2 (850,000)

Xbox 360 Games:
1 Dante’s Inferno (1,280,000)
2 Alan Wake (1,140,000)
3 Red Dead Redemption (1,060,000)
4 Halo Reach (990,000)
5 Call of Duty: Black Ops (930,000)

http://www.gamepolitics.com...

On pc you can drm the the game on console you can drm the whole device lol..

The best answer to this mess it to make game $39.99.

[jeeves86]

You could make the games $20 and some people still wouldn't buy them.

[Irishguy95]

I can't resell games on Steam

My freedom is broken!

[f789790]

Yeah but the sales are insanely good. Nowhere else can I buy games that cheap.

You know they're a good deal when this is how the community views the sales.
http://i.imgur.com/o3lUB.pn...

[lilbrat23]

I wonder if game companies start blocking used games does this mean games will be cheaper? Because if it means games will be $40-$50 then block away.

[solar]

Sony won't do this if they are smart. but Sony hasn't used "smarts" this gen what so ever. from "RIIIIIIDGE RACER" to claiming "4D", to the debacle of not having enough security for the PSN hack, to the horrid ps3/vita advertising....i believe Sony has gotten to full of themselves with the Playstation brand. which, is very sad

[JD_Shadow]

How were the other two companies any better this gen?

Nintendo ignored hardcore gamers this gen and only did a few good things for them this time around (Metroid Prime 3 and Other M).

Microsoft's only way to beat Sony was "me too" ware and making other consoles wait for games that were done because MS has to have it too while having nothing of their own outside of achievements to call their own.

Not saying Sony has been perfect (they've been far from it) this gen, but all console makers have had an equal share of the sins this gen.

[showtimefolks]

I think stopping used games is going too far but I wouldn't be surprised to see a content locked dlc voucher. Right now we have online passes imagine a $10 single player voucher if you buy it used.

I am split on this issue on one hand I want publishers and developers to make more money they rightfully deserve on other there are game I don't want anymore so I should be able to resell or trade me in.

I think dlc codes content block is the way future will go, for example buying GTA6 you can not get the whole game without buying a $10 code otherwise some single player missions will be locked.

Online asses remain and may even go to $15 per game

Development costs go up each time there is a new system so for all of you wanting new systems including myself, one way or another money is gonna come out of our pockets

Batman arkham city blocked some single player content if I am not wrong so exect thing like that to happen with single player games.

Used game market is a multi billion dollar market so publishers have every right to see how they can get more money back for their product

Also next time when you buy a newly released game at GameStop used and save $5 bucks think about it because saving $5 in the long run will mean spending more

[smashcrashbash]

You don't really think that if they do this they will be alone do you?

[Imalwaysright]

Valve, Sony and Nintendo could easily start charging for online too but they didnt. There is no way to tell if Sony rivals would or wouldnt implement this feature specially because if they didnt implement this bullshit they would have a huge advantage over Sony come next gen and they know it.

OT Oh i would deal with it alright. I wouldnt buy a PS4. Im sick and tired of bending over. I still don't understand why this industry gets away with these anti-consumer practices but I shouldn't be surprised seeing how everyday i see stupid fanboys defending all the crap these companies throw at us gamers. Broken games getting released everyday, taking features, paying for online, online passes, false advertisement, DRM etc etc. Everyday i see stupid fanboys defending this crappola. No wonder why these companies treat us like shit and then they have the nerve to cry when someone buys a game second hand as if we were doing something illegal? Fuck' em. Im not giving my money to these greedy companies that try to take advantage of us at every chance they get.

[smashcrashbash]

That is why i said 'You don't really think that if they do this they will be alone do you?'. You shout you won't buy a PS4 but I have a feeling you will have to be shouting that you won't buy a lot of things then. It is very stupid to think that Sony would be the only one implementing this if they pass it. People keep yelling 'I just won't buy a PS4 then' but they won't be the only people who put it into play.If the gaming industry sees this as a viable solution then you will just have to give up gaming completely then.And people shouting that developers would never go for it just remember that developers get nothing from second hand sales.So they really don't care about your penny pinching and cheap ways. The main point of a business is to make profit not to cater to cheapness. They would much prefer that you buy the game when it first comes out.That is why i constant keep saying how stupid it is to keep blowing blood vessels over this. Sony would never implement this unless the industry itself is on board with it.Yeah i am so sure a company is so blinded by greed that they would implement such restriction while no one else is/s. Think before you write people.

[GribbleGrunger]

I've seen no one defending it. Most people have been saying it isn't likely to be used. Patents are like that.

But if it does get used, what is the main reason people don't like it? You will no longer be able to sell your disc, take it round to a friends or lend it to a friend ... yes? We'd never accept that scenario and Sony know it!

Wait ... Just boot your PS3 up and count how many games you have downloaded from PSN. I've got sixteen. I can't sell them, take them to a friends house or lend them to a friend. But we'd never accept that scenario.

Reply too me and be honest about how many games you've bought that fly in the face of the logic being used here to demonize this patent.

I'm not saying it's a good idea and I welcome it, I'm pointing out that people miss what is hidden in plain sight. Complaining is empowering when done in isolation but when it's manipulated by the media, it becomes dis-empowering because you are demonstrating how easily your reactions are controlled.

[Imalwaysright]

Sony and Nintendo could just as easily start charging for online like MS and benefit from it so why didnt them? You dont know what these companies are preparing for next gen and if Sony goes through with this crap they might just sit back and watch and Sony dig their own grave. BTW if you didn't noticed Nintendo released their next gen console a few months ago so that is one less company to worry about.

@ Gribblegrunger. Read this thread carefully and you'll see some morons defending this crap. As for my digital games i only buy them on Steam on sale meaning that i usually get 5 games for the same price i would pay to get just one game on the PSN. Do you know how much does FC3 cost on PSN? € 70 ( same price on retail). If i wait 2 or 3 months on steam time i could get it from € 10 to € 20. As a consumer this is advantageous to me. For how much would you sell a game that you cost you € 5?

"Complaining is empowering when done in isolation but when it's manipulated by the media, it becomes dis-empowering because you are demonstrating how easily your reactions are controlled." Lol YOU don't know me. Lets just leave it at that.

[JsonHenry]

^^ I am pretty sure that steambox will be all digital downloads or installed once and tied to your account and unless you sell your account ( some people do ) then you will NOT be able to sell your games from them to someone else either.

BUT unlike Sony and the rest Valve has deals so cheap on a regular basis that you will be tempted to buy games you might not normally even be interested in just because it is so cheap so it has its upside too.

[Knight_Crawler]

I have a feeling that Sony will go through with this but only implement it on 1st party exclusive PS4 games - they will probably offer some incentive like $20 off or something.

[Hingle_Mcringleberry]

I intend on dealing with it by not purchasing the console. Plain and simple.

[Deadpool616]

"...simply feel too entitled to care."

There goes that word again. "Entitled"
A common word used towards people with common sense.

We are all Gamers, but we are all consumers as well. You can resell books, dvds, cds, and clothes, but games are off limits? Why? It's nothing but greed, that's why. If they can spend $100 million dollars just on advertising a game, they're not hurting for money.

[Megaton]

I hate IGN for arming all of these idiot bloggers with that word. They rarely use it correctly and assume it gives them a license to squash any legit criticism.

[zebramocha]

@dead I don't think those are good examples because movies are released in theaters some time has passed then can be purchased at retail or dd,clothes are made cheap and sold higher than they cost,I assume the same is true for books because you could get news papers with just as many words as a book for a couple of bucks.

@dirt I think the problem lies with games being purchased second hand when the games was launched a week ago because this wouldn't make sense for games that are out of print unless there is a cheaper digital copie when it has a price drop.

[torchic]

not sure why you're getting disagrees, you made some really good points.

and in fact, in many cases of cases most of the money is made at the box office. look at The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall. all those made +$1 billion at box office alone.

there's nothing like that in the video game industry, where you're forced to pay the people who made the product to gain access to the product.

[DigitalRaptor]

Zebramocha said it pretty well, but I'll add my take on it. Ok here we go.

The games industry is a *little* different to the film industry, music industry, fashion/clothing industry. Now I'm not saying that used game sales are unacceptable, but look at the distribution and budgeting.

Films get budgets. They come out in theaters and make many millions back on admission sales alone. DVDs are the way in which publishers can make more money off a film. They've already made a lot, but they're gonna make more.

The music industry is a little different. People are buying music from many different avenues, including digital. Smaller artists suffer a lot in this industry - it's one of the toughest - but they can find ways to establish their music and make a living in a modest way if they are a true musician. Musicians aren't businessmen, and that's where the major record labels come in - they will have already made a lot of money from digital downloads, CDs and the avenues that comes with an artist such as merchandise and tours. The scope is wider, but not every record label is Sony or Warner, so used sales (I call them non-sales) hurt the labels that support musicians based on their performance.

Books - people are shifting towards e-books and digital more than ever. It's sad to see, but used book sales are not that common from what I see. There's no mechanism to stop a used book from being sold, and I suspect most people buy books new because they're simply not that expensive, nor are they near as expensive to produce when compared to games or films.

Games are often as expensive as films to produce. There's no box office for games, but the shop they are sold in, and games are much more expensive because of this. They need to be $60 for companies to at least make back from their budget, and put aside money from this budget to market this product. Plus, the games that are bought used are often very recent games which doesn't help these studios making games. That is why it's more important for people to buy games new and support developers who create things you enjoy - not all companies can afford $100 million dollar advertising. So you can't just call it based on the multi-billion publishers that are doing well for themselves.

In many cases, people feel entitled, and sure it's not illegal to sell your used goods, but buying them is also not very supportive of the people who spend countless hours creating something you enjoy or that touches you. So before you buy used goods, remember that not all developers are as lucrative as Rockstar, not all bands are as lucrative as Guns N' Roses, and not all films are as lucrative as Harry Potter.

[cyguration]

Only a handful of games have had a $100 million dollar+ budget and most of that was either on licensing or marketing.

The average AAA game has a $10 - $20 million dollar budget.

Uncharted 3 had about a $25 million dollar budget...

Gamestop's total used sales came out to about half of their total retail intake at $1.1 billion in 2011. EA and Activision made more than that in their Q4 fiscal revenue.

Please explain to me how $1.1 billion is killing an industry when only the biggest publishers are complaining about used games even though they make more than the entirety of Gamestop's used game market?

Of course there's also Ebay and Amazon...but blocking out used game only kills the game community, it doesn't strengthen it.

[DigitalRaptor]

You're right - i didn't think about the impact on a community.

Still it's clear that developers have been vocal about the state of used sales and certain publishers have seen for themselves what happens when a game they sink money into doesn't perform well in sales, not because it's a bad game, but because certain games are worth less to different people. And that development studio suffers losses and cutbacks or is dropped to indie status or even goes bust. This is for all game studios, not just the games made by the big publishers who seemed to have made a stance.

[porkChop]

I think one of the reasons that developers complain about used games is because they already make so little back on their own games.

Publishers, console manufacturers, and even the retail chain such as EB Games, they all get a bigger cut of that $60 game than the developers themselves.

I remember reading an article, I think it was on Eurogamer, that said most developers can only get up to 10% of the games profits. And if the game doesn't make profit or break even, the developer literally gets nothing at all.

So it's easy to see why they would want a cut of used games sales, or eliminate them completely. And personally, I think that the developers SHOULD get a cut of each used game sold. They've been trying to do that for years, but Gamestop won't let it happen.

But I think the real problem is these greedy publishers. Developers are the ones creating the product, without them publishers wouldn't exist, they would have nothing to sell and nothing to market. They need to start treating the creators with a lot more respect.

[dirthurts]

There is nothing wrong with used games.
If they make it impossible to play them, then I'll make it impossible for them to have my money. Dealt with.
The only people who would agree to not being able to play used games, especially if the competition allows them, would be very dedicated brand loyalist and those with lots of funds.
Anyone who thinks they'll lower the price of games is simply delusional. The idea is to make MORE money.

[violents]

thats the point tho, if your buying used all the time they arent getting your money anyway.

[GenericNameHere]

I remember an article about the Xbox 720 locking used games last year. Why wasn't N4G and every other "games journalist" posting billions of articles every minute about it? But now that Sony has supposedly patented it, there's a Sony hate article every second, despite people saying Sony has patented locking used games and other ideas a few years ago, and not using them.

[Bzone24]

People have short memories. I remember seeing a ton of articles about the next Xbox blocking used games.

[BanBrother]

@Generic

You see what you want to see. The difference is, the one with the nextbox was a rumour, whereas in this case, Sony patented a technology to be able to block used games. BIG difference.

I'm glad to see that the majority of the N4G community are opposed to this idea, proving many people wrong.

[DOMination-]

Also this site is very ps3 centric. People submit more ps3 articles here because they know it will be popular and as a result you will see more ps3 articles near the most viewed.

For example i often see trophy articles on n4g but rarely see anything to do with achievements. They may well get submitted but as i sort by todays most popular i just dont see them.

But yes there were articles about the xbox but as i remember it a week after that was revealed, articles appeared about Sony being rumoured to do it too.

[dirthurts]

A better use for the technology would be to help identify pirated games.
How many pirates have the ability to embed RFID tags into games?

[ExCest]

Not many. But pirates use external hard drives because it's expensive to burn a blu-ray. (That's for Ps3. As for other systems... *shrugs*)

In other words, that wouldn't be a good use of the technology. It'd be a waste, actually.

[dirthurts]

Perhaps, but I'm sure Sony could at least make it harder for them.

[ExCest]

@^ I feel like the only way to deal with console piracy is with online passes and we all know how much we hate that stuff.

DRM in general is really annoying and gets in the way of everyone. Also, DRM usually doesn't work that well and only manages to restrict online play.

The best DRM I've ever seen is with DjMax Trilogy. The flash drive DRM (although slightly cumbersome) worked very well and it took years to crack.

[j4re]

So why does this just apply to video games? What about cars, furniture, electronics, etc etc... Such a backwards ass argument. This is about greed and nothing else. Whoever wrote this article is a certified idiot.

[olLANDSHARKlo]

And Microsoft is gonna continue to make you pay $30-$40 a year for a superior online service. DEAL WITH IT!!!

[jessupj]

Actually, PSN has a lot more dedicated servers, so it's superior to XBL.

Also, it's $60, not $40.

But ya know, keep paying MS for the privilege of using your own bandwidth and playing the other half of your game.

[KOOLWIIP]

i personally dont have a problem with ps4 possibly blocking used games. think about it.. it cost millions of dollars to make games, so developers need the money from every sale to help support them. if they DONT make money the cant make the games we love. think of your favorites games, now imagine if those games never seen the the light of day because developers lacked money to make those games. i would be proud that developers like naughty dog, guerilla,sucker punch, etc. get every penny from sales. its not complicated ppl, gamers cant be selfish and ignorant.

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

Your comment is the only thing ignorant around here.

[SnakeCQC]

i buy way more games than the average gamer and theres no way in hell that im keeping all of them; i would quickly run out of space and start stacking them on the floor. selling used games and buying them is recycling reusing things rather than buying them new is a good thing and companies/fan boys saying otherwise is total BS

[deletingthis34675334]

I am all for this. Sony can do whatever they want and everyone on this site will buy their next system. Seriously, next time you shop at GameStop cough up the extra 5 dollars, you cheap bastards. If you can't afford it then you really can't afford a used game either. At this point I'd much rather pirate my games instead of buying a used game, at least with piracy GameStop isn't raking in billions of dollars of a game and not a cent goes to the publisher/developer. That is just insulting! In a much better world GameStop simply wouldn't exist, but oh no we have to live in this world where developers get ripped off by GameStop and that's perfectly fine while piracy gets banished by the same people buying used games. What a pathetic world we live in. Pathetic indeed.

[Pozzle]

Gamestop's not the only place to buy used games though. You can usually find games on ebay for half the retail price. I'd rather spend $40-50 (AUS) on a used game online, than $90-110 on a brand new game at EB Games or other game stores.

[hazardman]

The most PATHETIC comment on thread by far and theres some awful ones too, so sad.

[BanBrother]

@Sega

Oh please. These publishers are just mad that they didn't think to buy back their used games and sell them for a profit. We live in a capitalist society, deal with it. I don't like GameStop, but why are they not allowed to sell used games, in a world where many people benefit from them?

Such greed. I hope all the people in support of this are rich, because if not, you are royally f***ing yourselves over. Oh, and say goodbye to JRPG's.

[zerocrossing]

Sorry, but you're a moron.

When you purchase an item that item is your property, it's yours, it belongs to you and you can sell it or give it away if you like.

If I buy a new game then finish it, I can decide to give/sell it to a friend or trade it in for a second hand game and it hurts no one, the developer already got paid from whoever bought the game new, a lot of people don't buy newly released games second hand anyway and if a game is out for long enough its usually easier and smarter to go with a second hand copy.

Negating the possibility of a trade in or resale decreases the value of a product, who in the right mind when looking at this possibility from a consumer stand point can actually think it's "perfectly fine".

[Croash]

"Deal with it" ? There it is again.

My point of view still hasn't changed, so here are my thoughts about all of this :
http://n4g.com/news/991799/...

Oh well, with this being my 500th comment on N4G, I can't simply walk away.

I do not see how buying used games means that you're not supporting the industry.
There are obvious consequences :

You've played the game, you can talk about it to your friends or on the Internet and thus you are helping its reputation and the developers'.

You'll be more likely to pre-order/buy "day one" the sequel, assuming the game was good enough to meet or exceed your expectations.

There's also the fact that content is constantly being monitored and I can't bear that at all.
I can put my PS1 and PS2 discs and play my games on the original consoles or an emulator with no issues whatsoever as long as everything still works.
I've seen people saying "why the hell would you care if a game still works 10 years from now?".

Uh. I'm playing Crash Bandicoot 2. It's 15 years old.
Yesterday I was playing Devil May Cry, it's 11 years old.
It isn't such a stretch to think that I'll still want to play DMC 9 years from now (I'll be 29 and alive hopefully) and not that HD Collection alternative.
There is no protection scheme that will prevent me from enjoying these titles. It's all about gaming. Or at least it was.

Now, I've bought tens of Blu-Ray movies, got myself a brand new computer, and tried to watch them with VLC only to get a "blah blah blah BD+ blah blah blah sucks for you".
Or I can download a BR-quality movie illegally and click "play" ("why people pirate" image).

So, you know what, protection schemes, go [insert whatever you want] yourselves!

There, I'm done. For now.

[xBigxBossx]

PC has been doing this for forever. It's not that bad. Im sure Sony would eventually adapt steam like sales and what not. Endgame: it's a buisness.

[prototypeknuckles]

you hope sony would adapt to steam, now if they didnt, then what, see this is a problem today alot of people actually back companies when they do this just because other companies have done it doesnt mean its right, and for people to say stop whining trolls, are they serious so its okay for sony to tel you what you can and cant do with a product you brought with your hard earned money, that makes no sense, as a person thats been with PS since PS1, i wont stand for this, like seriously im tired of the idiots on here just pretty much giving there cheeks over to companies, you people realize that when you let them take one inch then theyll go for a mile and try to screw you over more, fricking ridiculous how you people just think that if this happens its okay.

[Megaton]

Not really. You can sign in on any computer with your Steam ID, and install whatever game you want. Maybe 5% of the games on there have some 3rd party DRM poison with activation limits. The rest can be installed unlimited times on unlimited machines. Valve only intervenes if they see an account being used on hundreds of machines.

This kind of nonsense from Sony wouldn't allow that to happen. 1 disc, 1 machine. Unless you buy some kind of unlock, I assume. Paying more for less.

Being unable to buy used games through Steam is true, but their prices more than make up for it. You can buy 10 games during a sale for less than the price of a used console game.

[hazardman]

man i gotta look into steam. im like the only gamer missing out, but 1st gotta build a nice gaming rig.

[ceballos77mx]

Hmm paying to unlock it is a good idea, the developers would get at least some money from the sale.

[Mikeockizard]

The only way I could ever get on board with this idea, would be if they lowered the cost of a new title to 1/2 the prior price. If a new game was $30 instead of $60 maybe.

What the idiot developers who cry about lost sales from used games dont realize, is that LESS people will buy new games, if they can never rent or buy used. They will lose millions of sales from Gamefly, Redbox, and other rentals, since single play only games pretty much eliminate rentals. Also, if every game out there is $60, I might go from playing 20-30 games a year to 4-5.

The worst thing is, people will ONLY buy the sure fire, big name hits, which will drive all but EA and UBISOFT out of business. That means all we will get every year will be "Tom Clancy semi interactive linear corridor futuristic stealth shooter #37" and Madden yearly roster update for $60...

[Man-E-Faces]

You know what's really wrong about used game sales, when stores like Best Buy, Toys r us, reseal their used games and try to sell them off as NEW to an unsuspecting parent or buyer. Then you have Gamestop who gives you the lowest value for your 1 day old game then jacks the price up to retail NEW value. Is this fair to the publishers, developers? NO.

[ceballos77mx]

But they can sell you a game that's open as a display and charge you like new, heck even without the original box.

[Man-E-Faces]

I want to further add that it's just getting out of hand with used games the fact that stores are now resealing used games and can easily mix in copies with their NEW legit copies something is very wrong and action needs to be taken. Stores are exploiting the used game market now, it's gotten to the point where I who only buy's NEW factory sealed games has to look over a game's factory seal just to make sure it's legit and not resealed. This is what I have to go through now that stores have access to resealing machines. And why are they doing this you ask? To exploit the used market it looks better and you can price the game higher if it's sealed tricking the run of the mill consumer that their getting a NEW game.

[Hicken]

"Deal with it."

No.

I'm sorry, but you can't convince me that developers or publishers are losing money from the used market. The industry- excluding used games- is simply too big for that to be true.

If developers aren't making money, blame their deal with the publishers.

If publishers aren't making any money, then that means their games aren't selling.

NOBODY deserves to see money from the resale of something they've already been paid for. There's nobody out there in ANY industry that seeks such recompense; game creators don't deserve it any more than anyone else.

Edit: I don't want to hear about devs complaining, either. The ones that DO complain aren't even suffering; the small devs aren't the ones saying anything, nor are the small publishers. If they're being vocal, it's not because they're being hurt, but because they see the chance for more money and hope to dupe people into giving it to them.

Wake up, people.

[iamlegend9999]

Not gonna lie, i do want this now because developers will get more compensated from there games. Even if it was a flop. Meaning more games. Meaning developers taking more risk to make good games. The only downfall is for people who can't afford 60 dollar games. So its a win lose situation.

[Mikeockizard]

Actually it will be the exact opposite of what you stated. ONLY the AAA titles will sell, because if people can't buy used games, they will ONLY opt to buy the sure fire hits and sequels. That means less risks, more sequels, and most of the small devs going out of business.

Take myself for example: I roughly spend $360 a year on gaming now, and buy 4 new games at $60 and 10 used games (that you probably weren't sure about) for around $12 each off Craiglist etc. That means with no used games, I just went from buying and playing 16 games a year to 6 games a year buying them all new. I am going to make 100% sure that those 6 games are games I REALLY want, and not drop $60 on some unknown. That means Indie devs and devs taking chances will go bye bye...

[CrescentFang]

I'm a gamer who likes to play many niche games... what if the game is OOP? Am I going to hunt down a game online only to find it being sold for $300 used? (damn you Ever17...)
I would be fine with this as long as all games keep being manufactured... but is impossible

[ShaunCameron]

Well it's Sony's platform. They can do whatever they want. People need to learn how to read the fine print of the EULA and/or TOS. It doesn't really bother me since I generally buy my games brand-new.

[Riderz1337]

Yes but when I purchase a game it becomes MY game and I can do whatever I want with it. If I want to sell it after beating it or give it to a friend to borrow then I can do that. NOBODY has the right to tell me what to do with the product I purchased.

[The_Klank]

You only own the disk, not whats on it.

[WeAreLegion]

I love Sony. Probably too much. I won't buy the PS4 if they block used games though.

They already blocked trophies on used Vita games...which PISSES ME OFF! Luckily, the downloadable versions of Vita games are cheaper than the new cartridges most of the time. That, PlayStation Plus, and really good weekly deals keep the prices down enough. ;)

[MuhammadJA]

It's funny how some People here think that Sony will be doomed if they blocked used games. No they won't, because other companies and developers will start doing it as well since it will save them money and YOU PEOPLE will still buy their games because you want to.

[Mikeockizard]

Don't be so sure that both companies will go that route. I think this is the main reason neither Sony nor Microsoft wants to be the first to announce their new console. If Sony announces first and talks about no resales of games, all Microsoft has to do is say the new Xbox won't have that ridiculous feature and WHAM, Microsoft instantly gets 90% of the market share.

Thus the reason neither company wants to be the first to make an announcement.....

[StreetsofRage]

So no more renting? Goodbye Gamefly. I'll still own the ps4 but this means that I will only buy the absolute best of the best. I'm not paying top dollar for games that I'm not sure of.

It's their loss.

I normally rent single player games but I have bought the game if I like it. Case in point...I was browsing Gamefly, tried out Asura's Wrath....played it...After the first boss battle, I bought the game brand new and bought all the DLC.

A lot of the smaller games are going to lose a lot of money!!!

[MYSTERIO360]

This situation is a double edged sword for Sony as if this patent is real and Sony do decide to use this ID system for their future games this could destroy their SCE division.

However i do have a nagging feeling that with this idea many third party developers could side with Sony and make great exclusive games on their system. This would help promote PS more and build favor with consumers over time.

But in order for this to work Sony need to:
-Get full support from third part publishers at the start
-Have a excellent lineup of games at launch with exclusives
-Improve their hardware & software features greatly
-No DLC at launch
-Demos for all new games on the PSN

Only time will tell but this idea could have the potential to help Sony topple MS's Xbox, as not only would Sony generate more revenue but more support from TPP's.

[ninjahunter]

Games are expensive, that a fact of life, and a lot of people that i know WITH JOBS cant afford new games and will end up just saving up $20, taking in all the games they don't play anymore and buying 1-2 used games.

I feel like a large demographic of gamers is like this, and if games couldnt be sold used, they would just stop gaming. Hell, with this system renting games would be obsolete, theres another demographic destroyed.

IDK, If you compare used sales to new sales there's probably a 10 fold difference in sales. If you ask me, if you cut out used game sales, a majority of younger gamers, were talking mid 20's and under will just not be able to afford gaming, and thats not a small demographic, just think of all the 12 year olds you hear in cod, theres a lot of them.

[MRMagoo123]

I wouldnt have to deal with it i would just move to the company that didnt do it even if it was *gag* microsoft

[jjb1981]

Then don't buy the system, go to other consoles that will. I mostly buy new games. The last used game I bought was FFXIII. I prefer to buy new especially with prices going down after a couple months and online access codes needed to play multiplayer. Even if SONY did go through with it I would still buy it because I think something awesome is going to happen with gaikai and vita.

[Godmars290]

Except its not just used games. Its rentals and borrowed as well. A whole segment of the community and sub-industry excluded day-one of system launch as well as accessibility which could generate popularity of the system and its titles.

I really don't understand taking much less defending such as extremist stance, not realizing its repercussions, and saying, 'its no big deal get over it' from people claiming to be gamers and not employees of gaming companies.

[hazelamy]

so much fail in that article.

firstly, entitled?

really, he went there?

he's defending the publishers going after money they legally have no right to.

they got paid for every single copy, there's still only a single person playing the game.

why do they think first sale doesn't apply to games?
when no other industry goes after the preowned market.

because they're expensive to make?
not as expensive as most film and they don't pull this shite.
what was the last 200 million dollar game you saw?
and movies don't have dlc.

because the preowned market for games is bigger?
yeah, maybe, but it's been that way all along though, gaming became bigger than music and movies with the thriving preowned market, personally i believe it actually helped, how many people have subsidised new purchases with trade ins?
why now is it so bad?

because of one of my other points, studios aren't closing down because of preowned sales, they're closing down because of the bloody worldwide recession, that gaming weathered better than almost any other industry.

they've had years of boom, and now things are getting tough they want to change the rules

they think they're the only ones who have it tough?
they're so arrogant they think their profit is the only thing that matters?

they need to be reminded where the power really lies in this industry.

they need us a whole hell of a lot more than we need them.

we should be dictating terms to them, not the other way round, this isn't a public service industry, this is a luxury item we pay a premium for.

they want what we have, our money, these businesses die without it, but we can live without their games.

you know, if the greed of these companies wasn't bad enough, the twisted stockholm syndrome some people have that makes them defend or even praise this kind of this is just sickening.

the fact is, for every preowned game, they got their full legal payment.
but they want more, and we're the ones who are "entitled"?

all this is likely to be moot anyway, as sony aren't stupid enough to actually do this, at least, i hope not.

[Tzuno]

Deal with it? ok ill deal with it in my own way, i wont buy Sony anymore, hows that genius?

[gazgriff2k12]

so im bumming ya mum DEAL WITH IT

[CaptainYesterday]

It's just a patent Sony will patent a ton of different things just to have it, doesn't mean they will actually use it. If I remember correctly PS3 had a similar rumour that didn't turn out true.

[-Gespenst-]

I just don't see how used games are that big an issue. I've bought like 2 used games in my life and it's not like I'm rich or anything. It's just handy and convenient every now and then.

If I buy a used copy of some companies game and enjoy it a lot, it's likely I'll buy new copies of their future releases.

I don't know I just don't see the point. Plus if it's an offline feature, wouldn't it be super easy to hack / crack?

[vork77]

if it happens i will never buy a ps4

[EffectO]

If preowned market is such a lucrative,swimming in $$$ business why doesn't Sony/publishers make their own used game stores and then swim in easy $$$?

Yeah,why?

[cyguration]

Used game market doesn't come close to the retail's $22 billion worth, so that's why Sony/MS/Nintendo have gone digital (as an extension of retail) as opposed to going into the used game business.

The only people complaining about used games (if you pay close attention) are big corporate publishers trying to push for a bigger bottom line.

As others have mentioned, not one indie or small-time publisher has come forward to negate the benefits of used games. Why would companies like Atlus or Rising Star Games want fewer people to play their games? Positive word of mouth and extended market saturation helps a lot of smaller games gain traction, that's exactly how Dark Souls became the phenomenon that it did.

[bsmith61]

It is absolutely ridiculous that game companies feel they should charge for used games or even block them. They have already been compensated for the original purchase, that's the way it has always been, now they feel entitled to money from every person that buys the game from the original purchaser. That is completely stupid, no company from every major industry demands payment from used products. You don't sell a car on craigslist only to have Toyota send you a letter demanding a cut of the payment. Likewise, you never go to a used car lot and buy a car only to find it has been locked up because someone else bought it new, and you will have to fork over a fee to be able to drive it. If you think blocking used games, paying for online passes, day one dlc, and always online drm are good things then you are the cancer killing the games industry. You are the ones causing publishers to release games that only have half the content they should have, only to release the other necessary content as dlc. No wonder the games industry is on the verge of a crash, because cancer like the author of this article support greedy publishers that aim to make the biggest profit they can rather than profit and make a quality game. Nothing is sacred, everything is ruined by casuals and money hungry publishers. It is our right to buy used products whenever we damn well please, and game developers have no right to stop that. If this is what Sony has become then I am glad they are on the edge of bankruptcy.

[mmj]

At current prices killing the second hand market will only increase copyright infringement, most games are not worth more than a tenner which is why the second hand market is so popular to begin with.

Games priced at £10 would increase sales (less risk), reduce piracy and also kill off the second hand market to a large extent... but why cut prices when you can just invent more and more draconian measures to control people.

[landog]

like any other drm scheme, it will be CRACKED within months of release, consumer backlash will cause a huge uptick in piracy, people will be able to borrow freinds games and install them to their hard drives, soon you will have underground game trading groups, passing ps4 games around for $1 a game

the only way to avoid this en masse, is to make all AAA games $39.99 at launch, never more, and get rid of paid dlc...then you have my vote, and I'm sure many others

screw gamestop anyway, they are the scumbag middlemen, pawnbroker, dirty a$$ criminal banker, money laundering pukes of the gaming world.

[fourOeightshark]

They want to sell more new games? make it so you get all future DLC for free if you buy it new and if you buy it used you pay for the DLC like we do now.

[kesvalk]

y'know, this comments seems like ppl got raped, and then started defending the guy who raped them...

this don't really affect me cuz 99% of my game are brought digitally, but i can see how this can screw the community...

[jakmckratos]

It wouldnt be a huge deal since I mainly only get games on Day 1..but here's the thing I only get the games I know I am going to enjoy so if they turn around and do this they better be putting out better quality games or they'll shoot themselves in the foot.

[DasTier]

God yeah, why don't you just sacrifice a bus full of children to Sony while you at it.

[carlocgc]

i'd want them to stop PSVita from being hacked more than this

[palaeomerus]

I guess I'd most likely "deal with it" by not buying their console. Same goes for Microsoft and Nintendo.

[violents]

The used game retailer should be the one that has to pay. Used game dealers sell new anyway so the system is in place for them to pay royalties to said platform/developer. The used game place would have to pay some sort of percentage based on what would have been made from a new copy, pro-rated to what used is selling for. See, simple, everyone gets their cuts. As long as physical media exists you will continue to have these problems unless the gaming community lobbies washington and gets finacial laws put in place to help. That way the consumer isnt the one paying the price for taking advantage of good used deals.

Everyone comes out on top.

I doubt they will use this tech because they had similar patents before ps3 and that never came to light on a consumer level.

[Jakens]

If this goes through, THEN, I personally would like to have each game not to be system tied (or system locked) on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Then I can rent my games for a weekend without any issues affecting play. By buying used games, I already know that my days for playing those games are limited without further $$ for unlocks. I can lend out games on those days and borrow games on those days without buying a unlock code. Yep, 3 days of the week for used game playing, which will ease me into the future of unlock codes.

Otherwise, buy fewer games, and new.

[matrixman92]

yeah, i will deal with it by not buying the ps4...seriously grow up whoever wrote this monstrosity of an article...Mr. MCMoneyBags 1%er

[Enigma_2099]

The simplest way to circumvent used game sales is to price new games accordingly. I've already said before that if there isn't much difference between prices, why wouldn't you go ahead and buy the brand spanking new copy?

But if they go through with this, eventually the "buy it now, and pay what we tell you to" mentality is going to bite them in the a**. And it's gonna make it harder for long term game collectors like myself to find older, out of print games when they won't work on your console anyway.

As if they weren't making enough extra cash off of you with DLC and online passes.

[Ockham]

There are mixed feelings about this issue. There's one side who doesn't care, because this side buys new games and wouldn't be affected by this. There's another side who does care, because they do the whole trade/sell or buy used games deal. No matter what side you're on, you're a gamer. This may be a small restriction, but this may be the first to many, maybe even bigger restrictions.

If this is really about "the devs making money for their work," then this system should've or would've been implemented A LOOOOOOOONG TIME AGO. There's a whole business behind a game, not just the devs. Companies just want to make even more money after selling millions of copies for about $60 each.