Sony tries to assuage fears over PlayStation 4 used game policy – still offers no details

Sony and Microsoft have left a lot of question marks surrounding the used game policies for their PlayStation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles.

[Calm Down Sunshine]

With all the focus that Sony is putting on the GAMERS recently, I highly, highly doubt they'd kick them all in the teeth by restricting used games. They had a tough run with the Playstation 3, especially early on, I doubt they want to go through that again.

[zerocrossing]

It could still happen if they left it up to publishers like EA and Activision to decide if their games will force mandatory fees, remember Sony are still going to want their big sellers like COD and if the only way to get them is to allow publishers to force a mandatory second hand games fee then they will most likely accept those terms.

[r1sh12]

@calm down sunshine.

I hope everyone realises both Sony and MS have aligned interests here.
I guarantee they will have very similar policies on used games. They have both probably been in talks with the retailers and publishers.
Sony have not announced any news on this particular item, MS released different info via different employees which caused lots of confusion, so much confusion that MS have gone back to the drawing board so to speak.
Lets face it here, the people who make the money from a mandatory used game fee would be the publishers, and you know companies like activision will be trying to grab every penny they can.
The publishers are driving this used game fee nonsense.. Why else would MS or Sony even consider anything to do with this???
Sony have not announced anything yet, but we all know there is something in the works.

@Arnoldschwarzenigra -
gather more attention? The only thing sony are getting headlines on, is how they are being soo quiet.

[thechosenone]

I think that when the pres of Sony's worldwide studios starts joking about DRM in his twitter posts it's a good indication that you'll not be seeing much DRM in the PS4. And the dude is hilarious...trolling bastard. heh
https://twitter.com/yosp/st...

[ArnoldSchwarzenigra]

Not to mention Xbox One's horrible reveal will allow Sony to gather more attention for its system by not giving the same restrictions to its consumers.

[Blaze929]

EA discontinued their online-pass policy - something that brought them $10-$15 million dollars their 'first' year implementing it.

Obviously, they must know something about DRM plans next-gen to be willing to give that up; for both consoles.

E3 will tell all.

[CYCLEGAMER]

Then why wont they just come out and say NO there will be no DRM?? They are hiding something.

[kneon]

Or they are waiting for E3. Microsoft will have to come clean on the details for the xb1 and if they don't change course it will look really bad for them if Sony announces no drm on used games.

But it could be that Sony is going take a totally hands off approach. Since the ps4 doesn't require online they can't require drm. But if a developer wants to add it then they can. Of course that would mean you need an Internet connection to activate those games.

[MonkeyNinja]

If Sony were to come out and say, "No DRM for PS4", there would still be some form of confusion, it would get misconstrued somehow, it always does.

Plus, it makes more sense to announce no DRM during E3 when all eyes are on Sony. If they were to announce no DRM now, not everyone would hear it and it wouldn't have as much of an impact as if they were to say it @ E3.

If Sony does implement some form of DRM similar to Microsoft, I'm going to have to say goodbye to Sony and get a WiiU and play on PC. I really hope that the farthest Sony will go with DRM is online passes.

[zerocrossing]

Well that's a little concerning... I really just hope they don't copy Xbox one's mandatory second hand games fee.

[DragonKnight]

For goodness sake people, DON'T LISTEN TO GEOFF KEIGHLEY!

The guy pretty much literally said "I know a guy that says something might be going down." DON'T LISTEN TO THAT SHILL!

Then there's this.

"not be backward compatible but could play used games."

COULD PLAY USED GAMES!

The only reason any questions are being asked now is because Microsoft decided to initiate a fee with their "solution." Sony never said anything about a fee and they were never asked about a fee until Microsoft went and pulled their B.S. stunt. Everything was fine and dandy until Microsoft flipped the script and made everyone think that surely Sony would do the same thing.

Has it occurred to anyone, ANYONE, that Sony hasn't said anything because they don't have to? Because they already said "used games will be the same as always?"

Some people can't see what's right in front of them and need it restated in a way that spells it out directly for them.

For the last time, DON'T LISTEN TO GEOFF "DORITOS KING" KEIGHLEY!

[MikeMyers]

Is Adam Sessler a shill too? He too said the same thing, that Sony is also a bit vague and are playing word games. Both the Xbox One and PS4 will play used games but we don't know what additional fees, or if they are locked to your account on the PS4 and how easy it will be to lend your games.

I'm sorry but I'd rather listen to people who actually interview them and do this sort of stuff for a living, not some random person on forums who continually promotes Sony and advocates against Microsoft for years. What bias do they have against Sony, makes no sense for them to be a shill.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well said

[CYCLEGAMER]

Very well put!

[DragonKnight]

Madam Sessler isn't a shill, he also DIDN'T say he had "sources" tell him that Sony has PS4 DRM. So whatever B.S. you're trying to pull from that place where the sun doesn't shine, you can go right on ahead and put it back.

Additional fees was never an issue until Microsoft made it one. Go ahead and look for yourself, you won't find a single reference to the kind of system that MS has in place for Sony before MS' Xbox One reveal.

And I'm sorry, but the amount of people that care what you'd rather listen to are limited to you alone.

I never mentioned a bias against Sony. But of course you have to go there because you perceive an attack against Microsoft in my comment. At least this time you were able to remain on topic.

[MikeMyers]

Adam Sessler had a Google chat with guests after the Xbox One was announced. It was brought up more than once that Sony wasn't very specific on the whole used games issues. Go ahead and listen for yourself but I imagine you don't feel the need to because your convinced what Sony has said about the issue is good enough for you. That's fine but many journalists have also kept raising the issue. I hope Sony does keep things the way they are now on the PS3 but I will wait for further clarification.

I have no bias against either company unlike some.

[DragonKnight]

@Mike: See? Now that's the response coming from someone who wants to have a discussion with another person.

I saw a few of the media people talking about this alleged lack of clarification on Sony's part in terms of used games. The interesting thing to note is that all of them glossed over the points where clarification existed and looked to Sony in the context of "well Microsoft has said this, how come Sony hasn't."

No one, not a single one, looked at the issue through the context of when Sony said what they did. It was all about the arena that Microsoft brought the issue to. If anyone had any kind of sense that Sony was going to have a system in place that was the same or similar to Microsoft's, don't you think that they would have asked before Microsoft's reveal?

The closest anyone came to asking that question was Ars Technica saying "will games have online registration." That's it. They didn't even ask "and will that come with a fee."

I think people weren't paying attention to what Shuhei Yoshida said. I think people weren't paying attention to what Jack Tretton said. I think what happened is that people want Sony's answer to Microsoft's DRM which isn't the right question to ask.

But now since Shuhei Yoshida just trolled the world, the likelihood of DRM from Sony is almost non-existent. They wouldn't risk that level of bad PR.

Geoff Keighley is still an a$$hat though.

Also, thank you for responding in a way in which we could actually have a discussion.

[zerocrossing]

Hey I agree with you.

But like I pretty much said up top, if Sony want to keep certain games from certain big publishers namely EA and Activision (two of which who are backing the mandatory second hand game fees then it could be very likely that they may have no choice but to follow suit when it comes to games like COD or whatever EA Sports is pushing out.

[DragonKnight]

That's the back and forth about this issue. EA and Activision can chest beat all the want to, but in the end they are both multiplatform money whores. I seriously doubt they will cut their audience by a third because of used games. In the end, games need a platform to be played on. The more platforms, the more money. If gamers really do care about their rights in terms of the used market, they'll stay away from any console that removes or heavily restricts those rights (even the PS4) and go to the console that doesn't.

So weigh the options. Sell your games only on the one console that we know has used games DRM and lose 2/3 of the market, or suck it up and sell to all 3 consoles and make 3 times the money.

If these publisher hate used games so much, create your own store and stop giving in to Gamestop's demands for pre-order bonuses. If you want to have a secondary revenue stream for games, create rewards programs that reward buying new instead of punishing for buying used. I guarantee that gamers would respond better to any used game situation if they felt it really was worth their money to buy new.

[Convas]

DragonKnight, that giant PS4 hashtag drive going on? That's because Sony had some sort of DRM in place for used games.

That's why they've been so quiet. They've been watching MS to see how they should deal with it themselves.

Quit deluding yourself.

[DragonKnight]

Yeah, no. The PS4 hashtag drive is just a reminder to Sony. I know you only have one bubble, but go ahead and find a link to prove that Sony has DRM in place that isn't Geoff Keighley's imaginary source. I'll be waiting.

[Imalwaysright]

We don't know for sure if Sony won't be doing the same as MS. No one from Sony gave a definitive anwear on what they'll be doing in regards to the pre-owned market. Many companies involved in the industry, including Sony, lied and mislead us countless times so I trust them as much as I would trust a politician.

You should know by now that everything and anything and that comes from the mouth of big corporations representatives should be taken with a grain of salt until they give us a definitive anwear.

Right now the only company I trust is Nintendo and the Wii U, for now, is the only console I know I'll be buying as soon as Zelda U is released.

[DragonKnight]

You mean "you'll be able to play used games" isn't a definitive answer? You realize that when Sony was asked point blank about used games, because they were asked point blank by both Eurogamer and ArsTechnica, the notion of a fee wasn't even a consideration for ANYONE?

Eurogamer and ArsTechnica took from those interviews that Yoshida was mentioning online passes being a continuation, then as soon as MS had their reveal and the script changed, everyone immediately thought Sony were going to do the same thing as MS and made up some "they've been vague" B.S. just because Sony didn't come right out and respond to MS' reveal.

There is no legitimate proof that Sony is following in Microsoft's footsteps and 2 websites that prove they aren't.

[Imalwaysright]

You will be able to play used games on the Xbone as well........ as long as you pay a fee.

See what did there? Like Mike said above Sony could very well be playing word games and we won't know for sure what they'll be doing until they give us a clear and definitive answear.

"There is no legitimate proof that Sony is following in Microsoft's footsteps" No there isn't but there is no proof of the contrary either. That is why I'm waiting to see what Sony will do.

[DragonKnight]

"See what did there? Like Mike said above Sony could very well be playing word games and we won't know for sure what they'll be doing until they give us a clear and definitive answear"

No. See, this is the thing that people like Mike don't care about understanding. The "fee" issue wasn't an issue. It wasn't even being thought of until Microsoft did it and then "journalists" looking for sensationalism tried to find word play in what Yoshida said. Go back and look for yourself. The notion of a fee on used games wasn't in ANYONE'S mind until Microsoft decided to do it. Microsoft, the company that has had their own online pass system since the inception of Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft, who will find a way to charge you for the power that their console consumes if they could. Microsoft started this whole thing.

"No there isn't but there is no proof of the contrary either. That is why I'm waiting to see what Sony will do."

Yes, indeed there is. Eurogamer, and ArsTechnica. They are the proof. As for Microsoft's system, it's Microsoft's system. Why people are trying lump Sony in with Microsoft for something Microsoft introduced is beyond all reason.

[Imalwaysright]

"It wasn't even being thought of until Microsoft did it"

Did it with the "help" of big third party publishers who want want to control the used game market as much as MS and have been crying about it for a long time now. I'm 100% sure that they pressured the big 3 in order to control it.

I still stand for what I said and I'm still waiting to see what Sony is going to do.

[rainslacker]

@Dragon

The point they're trying to make is that the fee wasn't an issue for MS until they added that part in. So technically there was room for doubt once the context of the question changed. I don't think it's wrong to pursue those questions, and by doing so, it does help keep the consumers interest in mind.

It may very well be that Sony had a similar plan in place, and now changed that. It may be that they just wanted to continue on with what they are doing now. Truth is, now we'll probably never know. If there is just an extension of this gen's DRM, then I think there is no harm done. We erred on the side of the consumer, but better to err, than to be stuck with something we don't want.

Now, given the recent tweet about Delta Ray Manta, it seems Sony is actually taking a consumer centric approach. I just can't imagine them trolling the community and these things being true. Let the people think what they want, the truth will become clear soon enough.

Off Topic but:
I guess we should be pleased this issue is getting to the mainstream a bit more. Yahoo is a pretty big news outlet to the masses. Wish they would have explored the actual origins of this more than relating it to Sony as much as they did though.

[MasterofMagnetism]

E3 can't come soon enough so all of these questions/rumors will finally be answered.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

Should I trust Sony with this?! I said it plenty of times before. Will they go with the same concept of how they killed off PS2 BC with the PS3?! And if Sony kills BC with the PS4, how would you react?! Will you throw pitchforks at them like most is doing to MS?!

[InTheLab]

Losing your right to buy/trade/sell is more important than brand loyalty. I'm sure a small portion of the backlash came from extreme fanboys of Sony but the overwhelming majority are pissed off Xbox gamers and fans of the industry on both sides of the fence.

Also, it's not just the used games issue. It's the 24hr checkin, Kinect, and MS' arrogance that pissed people off.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

Agree 100%! Fact is mostly all companies that can hold the DRM fist would do so. Companies are just trying to find ways to make it work. MS is just trying their hand. And if not them, another company would (and will) do the same. But this right here is pissing people off. And this is not easy for Sony neither. Everybody is looking and waiting to see everyone's move now. Damn, the gaming world has changed!

[rainslacker]

On the other hand, this is one of the most interesting lead ins to the next gen I've ever seen, and I've been around since the Atari 2600. Too bad it has to be based on negativity instead of how each company is playing it's hand to be awesome.

Never seen so much discontent towards an issue in gaming before, and never seen it all (mostly)targeted at one company.

[ACESupERIC]

What I don't understand is people saying that sony, MS, nintendo, and pc need publishers to be able to make profit on their consoles. Isnt it the publishers who need a system to play their media? With all the in-house development teams the major system manufacturers could tell the major publishers to get f@#$ed unless they stop pushing this. Sure it'll hurt sales for a short while but publishers NEED ms, sony, ninty, and pc. Not the other way around. Its all about who would crack first. And while the system makers can still sell some games the publishers can't sell any. Who do youthink would give in first? Peace

[rainslacker]

The publishers and console makers need each other. It's a symbiotic relationship. This is why EA dropping Nintendo was kind of a big thing, even though many said "whatever, EA sucks".

It's like the Vita right now. People keep saying developers need to make games to make it more attractive and develop an install base, other people say people need to buy the system to attract developers with an install base. Both arguments are correct.

[buynit]

Some words you should just never use and assuage is one of them. Such an ugly sounding word.

[sway_z]

I think Sony would be unwise to discuss this issue now...

E3 is under 2 weeks away, and I am sure Sony will want to use any DRM/Used Game announcements as leverage after MS has had their E3 show.

Instead of joining forces with PS fans to rally together in solidarity against this terrible policy, Xbox fan boys 'HOPE' & 'PRAY' Sony adopts XBone DRM policy.

Don't you people get it??

It's the consumer that holds the power...think about the 'Divide & Conquer' philosophy....you simpletons.

#ps4playsgames

[Supermax]

Keep telling yourselves that if Microsoft limits used games Sony will do the same it's economics guys and gals.

[Krosis]

Gasp* Sony wants in on the used games racket? ! Shocking!

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

Would it be possible for Sony to say no DRM for Sony exclusive games,but will leave the DRM decision up to the publishers of Muti platform games?