Sony's plans to kill off pre-owned game market?

[TelexStar]

This story (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27568) talks about a patent sony have whereby once a game is read for the first time by a machine, it will render it un-playable on any other machine.

It doesn't specifically mention the PS3 but if it's true this would kill off the pre-owned game market.

What do people think?

[VexedMightily]

I would hope if they instigated this they would lose more sales than they would gain through the reduction in piracy and pre-owned sales. As the article says, there is more here at stake. Including machine replacements, social gaming and the software rental market.

I somehow doubt Sony could implement this and survive the backlash, but you never know with them.

[Ryvita]

They're Sony, they could do anything...

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20051104.jpg

I put the link up rather than the image because it's a little F-wordy in places.

Ryv

[Optimus]

and because hotlinking is bad :)

Sony seem to be shafting themselves royally lately... They gave up on the Dual Shock design, failed to outline any online plan at all and if this is true (it is an Inquirer article after all) then there goes a good deal of the market...

Think of the wastage due to thousands of games in your collection gathering dust because you don't want to ply them, yet can't trade them in and possibly let someone else enjoy them...
It goes against how the entire console industry has worked from the start!...

[afty]

Originally posted by VexedMightily
As the article says, there is more here at stake. Including machine replacements, social gaming and the software rental market.
Machine replacements aren't at stake - you will still be able to buy them, it's just that they will cost more, have more problems and be more likely to fail because of the added complexity involved.

Social gaming isn't at stake here, no-one loans games to their friends, and sales aren't generated by this spread of knowledge.

The software rental market won't be hurt either, because Sony will sell special disks with added errr.... something which means the disks will be able to play in more than one machine. Making such disks is very expensive though, as they have to play in LOTS of machines, so these disks for the rental market will be considerably more expensive for chains to buy.

So, we as consumers will get everything we had before with the added bonus of:
1] More expensive hardware, and new hardware that we just *have* to buy cos we want to play the latest shiz.
2] Less convenience and utility from the products we pay for, less time playing with our friends.
3] More expensive rentals.

In the meantime the pirate markets will:
1] Not care, they will still make $0.25 knockoffs of everything and continue to make a huge amount of money.
2] Continue to distribute stuff online.
3] Continue to copy things for friends and family.


In the meantime, I'll be busy making sure everyone knows what a joke this is, boycotting every publisher (and/or) developer who uses DRM in their products and trying to make sure everyone knows why. Already Digital Jesters and Sony no longer receive purchases from me - but I believe as their behaviour is immoral and unethical that one wrong deserves another, so I will be encouraging the copying and distribution of titles from these publishers until they get their act together and agree to play with the other kids in an ethical manner.

Thankfully I'm old enough now that I've lost the impulsiveness that I "Just have to play" game X... so it doesn't really bother me. I'll just pass on whatever company Zs latest and greatest is, and play some independent game, or something with less onerous restrictions on it. Hell, when it all goes to **** and this stuff gets enshrined into anti-consumer law by the lackeys in parliament who believe there is some direct correlation between Quality Of Life and Upwardly Spiralling Consumer Spending you can find me digging out an old Spectrum +3 or an A600. I'll be the guy cracking open a beer, inviting a few friends around to play MULE, or Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder, F19-Stealth Fighter, Wings, UFO : Enemy Unknown or any one of a hundred other games made by real developers a decade or so ago when people actually had to ****ing work for a living in that industry, and make something worth playing.

Until then, you can take your big budget, Hollywoodised, FMV-filled, voice-acted, motion captured, genuine commentated, market-researched, focused-grouped, politically-sensitive, patriotic, child-friendly, ELSPA-rated teaser-previewed, wage-slave-made, dung heap of a sequel and shove it up your crevasse, Sony et al.

[VexedMightily]

Originally posted by afty
Machine replacements aren't at stake - you will still be able to buy them, it's just that they will cost more, have more problems and be more likely to fail because of the added complexity involved.

Social gaming isn't at stake here, no-one loans games to their friends, and sales aren't generated by this spread of knowledge.


Sorry, perhaps I didn't make myself clear. As the article actually says, it is not buying the machine itself that is the problem, it is the fact that if your machine goes wrong and you have to get another (I went through two PS1's) none of your games will work on it. As for the social gaming, many times I have taken a game over to a mates to try it two player. That would be impossible without taking the whole console. Yes, it doesn't rule it out, but it makes it that bit more difficult.

[afty]

And perhaps my sarcasm passed you by? :)

[Ryvita]

Weeeeeee! A proper Afty-Rant (tm)! With bold and italics too.

We haven't seen one of those in these parts for, oooh, hours... :p

(You may have a point, but kids: don't copy games that's bad, mmkay? :))

Ryv

[VexedMightily]

Originally posted by afty
And perhaps my sarcasm passed you by? :)

Dammit man, it's 10 in the morning and I have only had one coffee. You can't expect me to distinguish sarcasm!!!


;)

[afty]

Originally posted by Ryvita
(You may have a point, but kids: don't copy games that's bad, mmkay? :)) That wasn't my message :)

If a publisher is behaving in an unethical manner towards society, I believe society should do the same in return.

Respect companies who respect you, as for companies that do not... I suggest that you shouldn't respect them (or their wishes).

Am I encouraging piracy? In limited circumstances, yes. And do I feel bad or evil for doing it? No...

[TelexStar]

Originally posted by afty
Until then, you can take your big budget, Hollywoodised, FMV-filled, voice-acted, motion captured, genuine commentated, market-researched, focused-grouped, politically-sensitive, patriotic, child-friendly, ELSPA-rated teaser-previewed, wage-slave-made, dung heap of a sequel and shove it up your crevasse, Sony et al.

Poetry! Well done Sir! :D

On another note...

SONY TO DITCH REGION ENCODING FOR PS3

Well that's the latest official word from down under, but it signals a big shift for Sony in the home console market

It looks like Sony may ditch region encoding for games on the PS3 if the latest word coming from down under is true and we've no reason to doubt it is, since Sony's Managing Director of Computer Entertainment Australia is the man spreading global games love.
Speaking to Australian IT, Sony's Michael Ephraim said the Japanese giant would probably throw the existing policy out of the door because of the merging of international TV standards. "If you look at the fact that it will support high-definition TV, which will be a global standard, there's a good likelihood that it will be global region, as for example we've done with the PSP," said Ephraim.

Sony has tussled with makers of mod chips before, which allow users to play games from any region on the PS2 and PSOne, but this new policy would signal a fairly big shift for the corporation in the next genration.
However it's a very welcome one we say, as it already works a treat on PSP and means that impulsive holiday purchases in the US will be fine on PS3 when we bring em back to good ol' Blighty.

Hurrah for globalisation we say.
Article from CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php(que)id=128901)

Quite a shift from their previous "**** you" attitude.

Or maybe by letting people play imports natively, they'll be making a silver bullet for themselves in the fight against mod-chip manufacturers? Seeing as the only reason to mod one of their consoles would be to play pirate games, this might open up the gates for more decisive court action.

In the words of Peter Serafinowicz from Spaced - "Clever boys..."

[andyf]

All we need now is to start a vicious rumour, that plugging a PS3 dev kit into a PC installs a load of rootkits on the PC in question without any prompting, and subsequently starts to covertly turn your PC into a SonyDrone (tm?), quietly replacing all your regular adverts with ones for Sony products and the like.