Anti-Used Games

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I just got wind of Sony making a new patent thing. Something to stop the sales of used games. It goes like this: Normally you have a PS3. You buy a game and it is linked to your PSN account making data recovery easy. That's good. With the PS4, you buy a game and it is linked to the console. That's bad. Why? You can't play it on any other PS4.

Their side: Apparently stores like gamestop profit the most from used games and none of that profit goes to the developers. I understand that. There was also something about piracy. Piracy is only a problem on PC gaming NOT consoles.

Our side: The economy sucks; enough said. Most of us can't afford full price games. We wait until the price drops. As for me, I don't go shopping very often so by the time I get a game, it is already used and it's cheaper that way. Used games are my only chance at buying a game I don't have when I missed at the peak of it's popularity aka when they sell fast. So I buy PS4 along with several awesome titles. A couple years later, the console breaks. What do I do now? WHAT DO I DO NOW?!?! SONY refuses comment.

I'm not buying a PS4. I can't take risks like that. I'd take my chances with the Wii U or the new Xbox. Although I believe Sony is just the first. Microsoft might do the same. So might Nintendo. Many of us will turn down the PS4 and Sony will learn their lesson if their TVs and other electronics sales don't skyrocket to make up for the lack of PS4 sales.

I'd hate the sale of used games to be used against gamestop. Their stock recently plummeted. I don't want to see them go out of business.

Developers can make the games but they can't tell us where or where not to buy them. I'll buy a used game over a full price game any day.

I heard about this yesterday and it isn't too positive I must say. As you mentioned, piracy is much less of an issue now with games than it was in the past so I don't consider that a valid reason for it. Whilst I buy most of my games these days new (and encourage others to do so) used games can still be a good option to pick up a game at a reasonable price, especially older games that aren't available via digital distribution.

If they go ahead with this and the new Xbox doesn't, I think they would be shooting themselves in the foot in terms of sales. Something they can't really afford to do with the Vita selling terribly. I also wasn't aware of Gamestop struggling in the states. In the UK, our big video game chain is "Game" and they haven't been doing so well earlier (they nearly went bust last year). If this patent became widespread I think they would be pretty screwed, since 75% of their stock seems to be used.

Sony is locking down the used market to force us to download from their network so more money to them.

Microsoft is setting up a private viewing program. With the program in place if 5 people are in the more watching the movie with you it will shut off.

What we need is a ready player one program..

This is why I like Steam. You get to log in from any PC and play your games. You can trade your games with other steam members for different games... Console games are way more expensive than pc games too, for no good reason. I don't plan on buying any consoles and console games anymore.

If this actually happens with PS4 it would also make Gamefly rentals not work. Sony obviously makes a lot of money from Gamefly buying their games new for rentals to people(probably in bulk quantities at a discount though).

This was actually a rumored "feature" of the PS2 back before that came out. It wasn't true then and I doubt it'd be true now. Given how easily modern consoles crap out (red ring, yellow light), if your console becomes unusable through no fault of your own, your whole collection becomes coasters as well. Either hackers would find a way to bypass this (which would in a roundabout way hurt software sales from people who choose to pirate after hacking), or consumers would just not put up with this and buy an Xbox720/WiiU/Dreamcast 2 instead.

Also what if your console breaks. That is what I am worried about. Then do you have to buy every game again?

It's highly unlikely Sony would make the PS4 unable to play used games as long as there's other competing consoles that will play them.

Rumors on the Internet always tend to promote a viewpoint that the worst possible scenario is becoming reality.

People who make this crap up are laughing their asses off at the people who buy into them.

Believing what I read on the Internet is a habit that I dropped years ago, and life has been better for me ever since.

Back in the 1980s, when broadcast TV was being encrypted by Oak Communications, several "Circuit-Benders" hacked together a piece of hardware that completely defeated the encryption scheme then in use on Chicago's channel 44. For some, it was just another problem-solving exercise. For at least one of the others, it was their way of rebelling against what they believed was monopolistic exploitation of a "free" commodity - a broadcast TV channel.

It shouldn't be very long before someone figures out a "hack" to bypass Sony's security methods.

Modern gaming: crappy and/or short games that people buy, beat in four hours, sell back to GameStop for credits to buy another crappy and/or short game to beat in four hours, sell back to Gamestop for credits to buy another...........

So what happens if Sony kills that?