Apparent Sony Patent to Block Second Hand Games

[vrocko]

Anybody see this on IGN. Sony says they don't comment on rumors but I wouldn't put it past them.

 

http://www.ign.com/a...ontent=16285883

 

Rich

[cimerians]

Bastards.

 

I saw it and I don't think they will do it. Imagine if they do and Microsoft doesn't? Who will buy what console then? I think this is an option they want to make available to publishers.

 

They will leave it up to individual publishers to implement this.

 

I know Ubi and EA will jump on it someday. Who will be the first to try it out? AND FEEL THE WRATH!!!

 

[Reaperman]

More "good news" from sony. This may or may not ever see the light of day, but if it does, M$ historically waits a month until the rage dies down and does the exact same kinds of things. (pressured agreement to TOS changes relating to lawsuits, for an example)

 

At this point, it doesn't much matter much to me what sony does (short of a full about-face). Sony's first-hand game sales have dropped to almost nothing in my household, and I'm sure sony's execs find it easier to blame that on used game sales rather than their own anti-consumer business practices. I didn't exactly use a large sample size for that last statement, but I doubt I'm alone.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Reaperman

[godslabrat]

Go ahead.

 

My game plan for the next gen is to get a WiiU and leave the new Xbox and PS behind. One of them would have to have an amazing exclusive to get me to pull the trigger. If Sony does this, they go from "minor interest" to "not even on my radar".

 

Sony and Microsoft have already lost me as a customer. This is not the way to win me back.

[Rex Dart]

But will it be unhackable?

[Emehr]

Does Sony even have any feet left at this point?

[HammR25]

Is Sony going to kill their one profitable division?

[MagitekAngel]

The war on used games is stupid and wasteful regardless of whether you side with the consumers or the executives. In a generation or two, everything will be digital, and there will be no disc to resell. The only thing the corporations who sponsor these initiatives are accomplishing is bad publicity. If they're smart, they would just quietly ride the wave to digital distribution while the secondhand market is smothered by technological advance.

[vrocko]

I know it will kill the secondary market for Sony, Microsoft and to some point Nintendo. I see it as killing off any secondary retailers around here like Buy Backs, who deal almost exclusively in second-hand games (they've got movies and music too but so do hundreds of other stores). Won't help Gamestop either and places like Best Buy and Toy's R Us will give up purchasing used games all together. It's 1983 all over again, different reasons though. The console video game market would all but disappear again. Big Brother is not a good thing, why can't they see that. Didn't "1984" teach them anything? Idiots.

[the.golden.ax]

They always have the royalties from the BluRay format.

[Rev]

Remember that Mattel made the Intellivision II that wouldnt play some Coleco games......although that might of been a good idea...remember Donkey Krap? LOL

[HatefulGravey]

It doesn't matter what Sony does. The way they handled people's credit card numbers during rather large hacking problem they had has me completely off Sony. It seems most have already forgotten that, but I promise you I wont. Nintendo hasn't had a 1st party game I just had to have in a very long time so they are out as well really. I just hope M$ doesn't screw up too bad.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I wasn't too worried when I heard about this because I called it a year ago

However I assumed this idea would be with the newest unreleased XBox and PlayStation so I didn't really worry about it. Afterall, I am not making the leap after this generation, I am happy with my PS3 and Wii and will have plenty of games for both to last me forever.

 

BUT today on Sessler's Something, Adam Sessler mentioned an idea that no one else did which has me worried. If you fast forward to 2:08 he discusses this patent and at 2:20 he postulates "playing used games either on the current PS3 or maybe on the PS4 or whatever it is going to be absolutely impossible" and that has me worried. All this time it never occured to me that Sony might find a way of killing my PS3's ability to play used games. If it does I'll be pissed.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDiO-HHv27o

 

Now, maybe Adam misinterpreted the rumor but it got me thinking, would it be technically possible that Sony could force an update on us for our existing PS3 that would block it from playing a used game? Surely not. I'm no programmer but it would seem to me this technology would have to have been built in to the console from Day 1 wouldn't it?

[HammR25]

I don't see why Sony couldn't force everyone (who's internet connected) to download a new firmware for their PS3 that worked with this technology. It would still only affect new games with the tag on them though not games that have already been pressed. It would also guarantee I didn't buy any more PS3 games even though I rarely buy used games.

[carmel_andrews]

I hope Atari rises from the Ashes of sony's demise (and that of M$$$$$) and starts kicking ar$e with a 2015 version of the VCS mark3

 

Perhaps Sony and MS are starting to make the same fuck-ups that Atari made way back when (i.e. thinking that they know this business backwards, perhaps since they are lead by HUMANS they don't underatand the idea of 'learning from the mistakes of others')

[Blazing Lazers]

It doesn't matter what Sony does. The way they handled people's credit card numbers during rather large hacking problem they had has me completely off Sony. It seems most have already forgotten that, but I promise you I wont. Nintendo hasn't had a 1st party game I just had to have in a very long time so they are out as well really. I just hope M$ doesn't screw up too bad.

 

Heh, then you know how a friend of mine and I felt about buying Sony systems ever since I had to clean off rootkits from Sony BMG CD's that got onto that friends computer just a few months back. There's a LOT of fundamental distrust of Sony out there because of certain shenanigans they've pulled.

[Mord]

Bastards.

 

I saw it and I don't think they will do it. Imagine if they do and Microsoft doesn't? Who will buy what console then? I think this is an option they want to make available to publishers.

 

They will leave it up to individual publishers to implement this.

 

I know Ubi and EA will jump on it someday. Who will be the first to try it out? AND FEEL THE WRATH!!!

 

 

Actually, it's a bit reversed in how it'll play out.

 

If Sony does this and Microsoft doesn't, the publishers will probably just develop for sony. And most gamers out there will swallow it simply because they want to play the game.

 

That being said, this wouldn't happen on the ps3 since I doubt the current ps3 could implement it. But it would be fair game for their next console.

 

For me, I don't care. I'm not buying any more consoles than what I currently have and I'll simply not buy any games that try to find a way to make use of that on current systems.

[+wood_jl]

Who knows how it will play out? If Sony does this and Microsoft doesn't - and Sony sales tank in a backlash - then publishers will have to develop for Microsoft. How can we know how the market and the publishers will react?

However, I'm not interested in any console that does this.

[Mord]

Who knows how it will play out? If Sony does this and Microsoft doesn't - and Sony sales tank in a backlash - then publishers will have to develop for Microsoft. How can we know how the market and the publishers will react?

However, I'm not interested in any console that does this.

 

My reasoning is just based on how many times I hear gamers complain about various things they don't like being forced on them, but swallowing it hook line and sinker simply because they want to be playing the lastest AAA titles being released by their favorite developers, etc. I would expect a lot of whining about it being done, but the week later I'd expect to hear how those games are making record sales.

[rockman_x_2002]

My reasoning is just based on how many times I hear gamers complain about various things they don't like being forced on them, but swallowing it hook line and sinker simply because they want to be playing the lastest AAA titles being released by their favorite developers, etc. I would expect a lot of whining about it being done, but the week later I'd expect to hear how those games are making record sales.

 

Precisely, and I think the trick here would be to somehow convince the average gamer who likes those AAA titles to forego a generation or two of the series to allow the market to tank, even if slightly. Perhaps that market shift would be enough to convince publishers to offer their games on more consumer-friendly terms, and then gamers could go back to purchasing those AAA titles.

 

And if publishers do not heed, then a new crop of AAA titles will emerge to take the place of the old ones, I reckon.

[Mord]

Precisely, and I think the trick here would be to somehow convince the average gamer who likes those AAA titles to forego a generation or two of the series to allow the market to tank, even if slightly. Perhaps that market shift would be enough to convince publishers to offer their games on more consumer-friendly terms, and then gamers could go back to purchasing those AAA titles.

 

And if publishers do not heed, then a new crop of AAA titles will emerge to take the place of the old ones, I reckon.

 

Yeah, after all the things I've seen swallowed this gen, I'm not going to expect that to happen in my lifetime.

[twoquickcapri]

When did the American Automobile Association start making games? And why would people want to buy them?

[TheGameCollector]

I wasn't too worried when I heard about this because I called it a year ago

However I assumed this idea would be with the newest unreleased XBox and PlayStation so I didn't really worry about it. Afterall, I am not making the leap after this generation, I am happy with my PS3 and Wii and will have plenty of games for both to last me forever.

 

BUT today on Sessler's Something, Adam Sessler mentioned an idea that no one else did which has me worried. If you fast forward to 2:08 he discusses this patent and at 2:20 he postulates "playing used games either on the current PS3 or maybe on the PS4 or whatever it is going to be absolutely impossible" and that has me worried. All this time it never occured to me that Sony might find a way of killing my PS3's ability to play used games. If it does I'll be pissed.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDiO-HHv27o

 

Now, maybe Adam misinterpreted the rumor but it got me thinking, would it be technically possible that Sony could force an update on us for our existing PS3 that would block it from playing a used game? Surely not. I'm no programmer but it would seem to me this technology would have to have been built in to the console from Day 1 wouldn't it?

 

There is no way for a PS3 to distinguish a used game from one you bought new because there are no software keys that tie the games to anyone's accounts. In order for them to implement this on the PS3, they would have to put software keys on all game releases going forward but they would have no way of locking out all currently released games to date which don't have keys. If they just decided to lock out all old versions of retail games and undergo the task of re-releasing all past games with software keys, then they would just be setting themselves up for lawsuits from people who did buy them new but have no way to prove it (unless they keep every receipt they ever have).

[chris_lynx1989]

May I chime in?

 

There is one thing that could somehow happen here that the U.S. government did implement in 2005 and that Sony,M$,Ninty or etc. could take a page from,you know.

 

Starting with ALL new electronics being manufactured in 2005 they were required to have a GPS location chip installed in them for "emergency use considerations" for law enforcement,CIA,FBI and etc,etc,etc on that front.Fill in the blank however you like on that one there. I'm not sure if any of this applies to U.S. ally cell phones and the like overseas for sure,if at all.

 

But,just ponder that thought a bit,if you will there,man.....

 

Doesn't that sound a bit like spying on one's cell phone,iPhone,iPad,iPod,notebook,PSP,DS,3DS,Vita,TV and any other device we all might own at home or take abroad with us at times?It sure as Hell does to me!Is that a bit scary or not for you?It should on a certain level,I think.

 

All right,now apply that to your DS,3DS,Vita,Wii,360 or PS3 stuff on some level,what could you have there?Could you have disc or cartridge and unit pairing somehow?On even the smallest level,possibly?Could it happen?Could a security tag/sticker/chip/micro dot or GPS chip be in or end up in your cart or on your disc?Is it already there?Think about it!Being able to track cartridges and discs by them being near the proprietary unit they go to while online,in a hot spot or around some network.What have you got?Is that invasion of privacy?Is that spying or whatever you want to call it?Is that tracking ownership somehow,even if you don't register that product?

 

Just consider the possibilities.... Am I only being an alarmist?Possibly.Then again,it could happen or be happening now.Some of it is already going on,isn't it?

[cybercylon]

My memory is funny on this, but for some reason, I seem to remember back before the PS3 or 360 came out, someone patented a technology that would allow a small part of the game disc to be writable. Once you put the game into your system, that part of the disc would be written to, and the disc would become locked to the console.

 

If I am remembering correctly, obviously, it hasn't been used yet.