PS4 May Not Block Pre-Owned Games After All

Steven Bogos

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Jan 17, 2013
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PS4 May Not Block Pre-Owned Games After All


A Sony source has stated that the previously discovered "anti-used game" patent has nothing to do with the PS4.

Contrary to an Eurogamer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121331-Sony-Patents-a-Way-to-Sabotage-Used-Game-Market] that the PS4 will not block pre-owned games. When asked outright if they will stop people from re-selling PS4 games, after his PR advisor failed to give a clear answer, Yoshida interjected with "So, used games can play on PS4. How is that?"

Yoshida was also asked if he agreed that buying a disc comes with a kind of moral contract with the person you've bought it from, meaning that you retain some of its value and can pass it on as you see fit. He said, "Yes. That's the general expectation by consumers. They purchase physical form, they want to use it everywhere, right? So that's my expectation," an answer that seemed to sidestep the question being asked.

A Sony source elsewhere said that the aforementioned patent is actually completely unrelated to the PS4. The patent is for a new kind of technology that utilizes a contactless tag branded on to game discs, which could bind them to your console and prevent the game from being played on any other machine.

GameStop, one of the biggest games retailers in the US, warned that gamers won't buy consoles without used games [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122127-GameStop-Says-Gamers-Wont-Buy-Consoles-Without-Used-Games] in the wake of rumors that Sony and Microsoft's next-gen consoles would block the use of pre-owned games. "Consumers want the ability to play pre-owned games, they want portability in their games; they want to play physical games," said GameStop's Chief Financial Officer, Rob Lloyd, a statement that Yoshida seems to agree with.

Microsoft's next-gen console is also rumored to have this year's E3, [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115490-Rumor-Next-Xbox-Will-Feature-Blu-ray-Anti-Used-Games-System] when it is speculated that Microsoft will unveil its new console.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-21-sony-tells-eurogamer-playstation-4-will-not-block-used-games]

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Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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This is a good sign. Let us hope they've realized how big a mistake blocking used games would be.
 

Soxafloppin

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Jun 22, 2009
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Yea they would be shooting themselves in the foot. If they did incorperate anti used games tech, all Microsoft would need to do to "win" the console generation would be to not to it.
 

loa

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Jan 28, 2012
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Well alright.
I suppose that rules mandatory always-online out as well?

What about ps2 backwards compatibility then?
Surely, their fabled new machine carved out of the bones of baby jesus, made to change the definition of gaming has more than enough juice to soft emulate a 13 year old console.
 

Roxas1359

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Aug 8, 2009
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Hm, Sony is winning me back now. This was going to be a major deterent for me when buying the next one. Now all they need to do is integrate a way to transfer your PSN account and then I'm sold on it.
 

PirateRose

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Well it makes sense. The rumor is that the new Xbox will use bluray technology now. If true, whats to stop someone from interchanging the games between systems? Someone who knows how to code can put in a few changes and get the buttons right, and there you go. Exclusivity would lose, people would be able to play Halo on the PS4 and Last of Us on the Xbox. They'd have to create some kind of code or program to prevent this, which when worded right it can sound like anti-used game mechanics from both companies.

Though honestly, I'd rather these companies give up on exclusivity and allow consumers to be able to use all games on all systems. Most games are released on all systems anyways. If both the new Xbox and the PS4 are using bluray, they're just being petty, greedy corporations now. They're hurting developers and the consumer.

It's like if bluray players had exclusive movies, in order to watch the Avengers, you'd have to buy the right bluray player. They wouldn't fly with the general market, why do we let it fly with video games?
 

IronMit

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Jul 24, 2012
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It was never going to happen like that

They may have caught onto the Steam flex...make newish copies of games available to download on the cheap....people get accustomed to downloading...then SONY/Microsoft can just stop the good offers...

Did you see the conference they are all about the downloading and streaming of games...
 

MiskWisk

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Mar 17, 2012
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loa said:
Well alright.
I suppose that rules mandatory always-online out as well?

What about ps2 backwards compatibility then?
Surely, their fabled new machine carved out of the bones of baby jesus, made to change the definition of gaming has more than enough juice to soft emulate a 13 year old console.
Nope [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122284-PSN-Games-Wont-Transfer-to-PS4]
Apparently, it is going to stretch the processor too much because they are too different.
 

The White Hunter

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Oct 19, 2011
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Neronium said:
Hm, Sony is winning me back now. This was going to be a major deterent for me when buying the next one. Now all they need to do is integrate a way to transfer your PSN account and then I'm sold on it.
Yeah I imagine your account will remain identical on the PS4 as other systems, but they've already said that to begin with your stuff won't transfer over but it may be done later on.
 

Doclector

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Aug 22, 2009
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Maybe sony patented it to prevent anyone using it? FOR THE GOOD OF THE ENTIRE GAMING INDUSTRY!

Doubt it, though.
 

Dragoon

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Jan 19, 2010
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Good Sony wins some brownie points for that, if I couldn't buy used games I probably wouldn't have bought a PS4.
 

luvd1

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Jan 25, 2010
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Sony. Getting booted in the balls by Microsoft seems to have done you some good. Keep this up and you may find yourself with some new friends.
 

GonvilleBromhead

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The blocking of pre-owned games makes very little sense from a business perspective - whilst the rewards would be great, the risks would be too high. One pointed out is that, of course, the competition just needs to permit pre-owned games for them to get a massive competitive advantage. The other is the risk of a court case in a major market that prohibits such. The possibility of it falling foul of (especially) EU consumer protection legislation would be a serious worry - all it would need would be for a judge to agree with the consumer and "bam"..your investment in the technology is down the pan, the company could end up being fined, and the benefits of a system would be very short lived
 

RhombusHatesYou

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Mar 21, 2010
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The Wide, Brown One.
Not that it will stop publishers ramping up their own anti-used game tactics... I expect online passes will be the order of the day as well as some other unpleasant surprises.
 

zerragonoss

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I still think that the anti-used game tech would not be used to stop used games, but to pop up something like you may play this used game x time, and after that you must pay $5 to unlock it on your system.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Whew. With the online pass on every Sony game, I thought this rumor was actually possible. However, I'll need more than a "we wont Completely screw over renters, borrowers, and used buyers" to get me on board. That just gets it off my "not in a million years" list.

But the only thing they say that outright denies this is "So, used games can play on PS4. How is that?"
WTF does that mean?
Other than that, they just said what many people want and what their expectations are.
 

Epona

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Neronium said:
Hm, Sony is winning me back now. This was going to be a major deterent for me when buying the next one. Now all they need to do is integrate a way to transfer your PSN account and then I'm sold on it.
This isn't Nintendo, you don't need to transfer your PSN account, you simply activate your PS4.

PirateRose said:
Well it makes sense. The rumor is that the new Xbox will use bluray technology now. If true, whats to stop someone from interchanging the games between systems? Someone who knows how to code can put in a few changes and get the buttons right, and there you go. Exclusivity would lose, people would be able to play Halo on the PS4 and Last of Us on the Xbox. They'd have to create some kind of code or program to prevent this, which when worded right it can sound like anti-used game mechanics from both companies.
Just like people could interchange XBOX, XBOX 360, PS2 and Wii games because they were all on DVD?

Blu-Ray is a type of disc, not a type of format. Different formats can be applied. Take your hard drive for example, you can apply FAT, FAT32, NTSC, etc.... CD's can have a data format, music format, Playstation Format, DVD's can have a different format for movies, PS2, Wii, XBOX, X360, data and there are even Audio DVD's.
 

Casual Shinji

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Soxafloppin said:
Yea they would be shooting themselves in the foot. If they did incorperate anti used games tech, all Microsoft would need to do to "win" the console generation would be to not to it.
All Microsoft has to do now is make their console backwards compatible and they'll be assured a definate pole position.