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Official: Playstation 4 Will Play Used Games
An anonymous reader writes "Quenching some rumors 'Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida has told Eurogamer that PlayStation 4 will not block the use of second-hand games, contrary to various reports, speculation and even a Sony patent unearthed last month.'"
...but they've done the bait and switch before. I'm sure Microsoft will say something similar before the launch of their console.
While this article is framed as a victory for the consumer, it is yet another reminder that technology [such as Cinavia] can, and will, be used to subvert our existing rights [to lend, copy, borrow, make backups].
Step by step, resistance will be overcome and we shall be reduced to facilitators of consumption, thanks to the ever-increasing apathy amongst the general public.
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
Also, you'll be able to run linux on it!
Just like Linux and the PS3.
It's clear that the PS4 is aimed at addressing many of the disadvantages of downloaded games (streaming full games to try them out, being able to play games before they finish downloading, etc.). If you can get people predominantly downloading games you obviate the second-hand games problem.
(But not reselling digital games, although Valve's legal team are hard at work to hobble that.)
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Remember Linux compatibility? Remember the PS3 initially was able to play PS2 games? Why would we believe anything that Sony says?
DRM? No thanks, I'll just get it somewhere else...
I'm pretty sure the reason Quake is more addictive than Pong despite the learning curve is down to more than just fancier graphics.
How do you remove not blocking second hand games? How do you retroactively make a conventional Blu-Ray disk turn into one where resale is prohibited?
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
(the onion theme plays)
Breaking news on the Sony Playstation 4. A Sony Rep says it will actually be used to play games. While the main focus of the next generation of consoles has been on selling people more and more content and locking out features, an expert on the new platform says there is still room for gamers. "We're listening to our customers and hearing that they mainly just want to play games. We're seriously considering it for the Playstation 4."
I suspect Sony really don't want to withstand another volley of terrible publicity. I also doubt that they want to drag the whole issue through a court, which would almost certainly happen.
The current rules seem to be ill defined. Gamers technically own the games, but are at the whim of the PS Network. This gives Sony enormous power over defining what "ownership" actually means.
Prohibiting second hand games formally now would jeopardize the console sales. Doing it gradually or suddenly (like with Linux on the PS3) a year or two down the line by way of PS Network T&C changes would be far safer for them.
Don't pay attention to what he says, but what he doesn't. Sure it will play used games, he did not say what you have to do to play them. They might require you to sign into playstation network and pay an unlock fee which may or may not equal the price of the game as new for example. or you might be limited to X amount of hours to play a game that has been linked to a different console unit.
It's sad that it is news when corporation announces that they are going to treat their customer nicely...
To be honest, there isn't much more leaping that Video games can do at this point. Short of being able to render Cinema CGI on the fly, Game Graphics are finished for now.
Also, this announcement was a shock for me with all the talk about blocking used games. So who is it really that will black used games, Microsoft?; we've yet to hear from them. Anything could change though.
What about the Vita model where only new games contain all the game content via online services and used games don't have access to it? I would expect Sony to do the same with the PS4.
to be honest, from a person who has lived in Japan a very long time, this really doesn't come as too much of a surprise. There are dozens of VERY big chains and thousands upon thousands of stores both parts of chains and independently owned in Japan that exist almost solely for the exchange of used games. Some deal exclusively in games, most usually mix in some used books/manga/anime/magazines/DVDs/clothes but games and manga would definitely be their meat and potatoes if simple floorspace allocation is anything to go by. If there was any possibility that this was even remotely true, there's a very, very large population of Japanese people who would have already risen up as one angry mob complete with the Japanese modern day equivalent of torches and pitchforks and fucking SLAYED Sony.
182w ago - Today Sony's Satoshi Hashimoto, in an interview with Impress Watch, confirmed that Sony will not be removing the OtherOS and Linux functionality in old (non-Slim) PlayStation 3 consoles. Until now, many feared Sony would remove the functionality from older PS3 systems via PS3 Firmware 3.0 or a future update. Additionally, he stated that there isn't an issue with the feature leaving a security hole with the system. To quote Andriasang.com (linked above): "Rest assured, this will not happen. Sony's Satoshi Hashimoto, in an interview with Impress Watch, said that Sony will not be removing the feature, which he refers to as "Other OS functionality." He also assured readers that there currently isn't a problem with the feature leaving a security hole with the system." Read more: http://www.ps3news.com/PS3-Linux/ps3-otheros-linux-to-remain-in-old-ps3s-no-security-hole/#ixzz2LdA1yfmE
There were also a lot of other things that were sold with the original PS3 that were then removed in future releases of the console. PS2 backward compatibility as an example. The first gen PS3 had it in hardware, the second gen had it in software. Then it was silently removed altogether. Luckily they didn't retro actively remove it. I know it's a little different because by the time you both the PS3 thin it was well known it didn't exist any more. To me that seems like an easily repeatable, first gen PS4 allows used games then before people know it all the sudden the feature is removed or phased out.
Sony's demonstrated that you can't believe what they say. I bought into the PS3 partly for the Other Os and was burned. Anyone who buys into the PS4 after know what with the PS3 deserves to get burned when Sony pulls another stunt.
well, it have been confirmed that the ps4 will not need internet connectivity at all, so games cannot require key registration. source
Engadget says that the guy was uncharacteristically hesitant when he made this declaration, implying that it's not the simple games distribution mechanism that we're familiar with. They speculate that there may be a fee or something else involved, or another approval process. Needless to say, if a single player game requires an internet connection there's reason to be suspicious.
To be fair...most people haven't...
That is to say PlayStation 4 games because it is _not_ backwards compatible with ps3 games so.... Yea...
Good leaders run toward problems, bad leaders hide from them.
As if millions of gamers let out a collective sigh of relief.
Even if Microsoft / Sony start embedding the serial nrs onto the disc it's fundamentally no different than what happened already for years. It just means users don't have to type in the code.
What is more worrying is that there are numerous ways that the serial nr's activation status can be used / abused. For example, one game might decide to disable online without a refresh code which is semi reasonable (the person buying the game didn't pay for the servers that run the online portion). But what if games become glorified playable demos, or the game starts showing annoying interstitial adverts in second hand form unless you buy a refresh code? You can bet the likes of EA, Activision, Ubisoft are already salivating at the ways they can claw back cash from second hand titles and they'll go as far as the console vendors let them unless there are reasonable limits.
Sony has made it very clear that they aren't a customer focused company for at least the last 20 years. So just expect that they are going to do what benefits them no matter what it does to their customers and you won't be surprised. My personal answer has been to stop buying Sony products. The PS2 was the last thing I bought from them and I bought that at release so it has been 10+ years since I bought anything Sony. I considered buying a PS3 but then I read about all the shenanigans with PS2 support and bluray players started dropping in price. Unless the next Microsoft console is just totally unacceptable I won't be buying a PS4. You are doing something seriously wrong when Microsoft seems consumer friendly and customer focused by comparison.
I tried it, and yes, it sucked, mainly due to the lack of RAM in the PS3, or at least that was my impression. The new console with 8GB of memory would be an altogether different story, though, read: beast. And still, there were several universities and businesses using clusters of PS3 for some serious calculations, which is obviously much more feasible since in that case you would dispose of all the linux UI overhead.
A World in a Grain of Sand / Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Infinity in the Palm of your Hand / And Eternity in an Hour.
My suspicion is that yes it will play used games. Because old console games (developed before this year, let's say) had no way of being identified, you can't tell if the game is used or not. So sure, they will allow that so your old library of games still works. Why give themselves bad press when there's no resolution to it.
But newly developed games? They will come with activation codes that prevent resale. So PS3 used games, ok, but PS4 exclusives will not allow it going into the future.
I did use the other os feature. I'm a software developer it was very useful as a development testing platform. I also had it setup at one put to be a 3D rendering node for some of my hobby 3D modelling. until my cousin and wife put in a bluRay we rented. I was upstairs making snacks when they ran the update. I was pretty pissed. My wife at least should have known better. No use crying over spilt milk, I haven't even turned the console on since we watched that movie. I only own one other bluRay that I was given for Christmas and my TV has a build in media server. Now that companies are actually getting interested in gaming on Linux I have no need for a console at all. I still think it's important to inform people about consumer rights being eroded away by companies like Microsoft and Sony. The other os was a major factor in my decision to buy the PS3 instead of an XBox or a Wii at the time. Having that removed several years after the purchase was a big slap in the face. The fall out of that is companies now including no class actions in their shrink wrap agreements. Huge loss for the consumer.
We wanted to say we'll still support a second controller for another hand to join in the game
That is in fact consoles' biggest advantage over PCs. Because consoles are more often connected to a monitor large enough to support two to four players offline, major labels are more likely to develop games that support two to four players offline for consoles than for PCs. Case in point: Where are the PC fighting games other than Street Fighter IV?
Don't hold your breath for online play with used games
Sony and publishers of games on Sony's platforms have already been doing that since the PlayStation 2 by shutting off the matchmaking server of any game that's a couple years old. The most common error message is "DNAS error -103: This software title is not in service."
Dude, sorry for your loss, but if your update is 3.55 or below, you can downgrade via software and get back otherOS, or use one of the more modern CFW with said feature... Cheers
Thanks for pointing that out. I did know about it, but it was a little under a year ago they forced the update. Since I haven't turned the PS3 on in 6+ months it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. Besides I shouldn't have to jail break my own hardware to get features I bought with it back. I should just be able to use it the way I bought it. Instead I just decided I'm not buying Sony any more and I make sure everyone that asks me for my advice knows. My recommendation was responsible for at least 6 other PS3s sold before I found out the last person I recommend it to didn't have PS2 compatibility, after I had said it did. They said they didn't care about it since they still had their PS2, but I cared that I hadn't heard it was being removed. Then the Other OS was removed and I became militant about making sure others didn't fall into the same trap.
I work for a scientific institute doing ocean research. When properly utilized the cell was extremely good for doing Ocean models. I do a lot of sea surface temperature, sea ice, climate, waves, tide and ocean circulation models. My work machine is now better than the PS3, but when I bought it it was significantly better then what I had, and it's extremely hard to get time on our HPC cluster, which was about the only other thing I could run the models on. With my PS3 I was able to just start it running on a Friday, go away for the weekend and have the model completed by Sunday night. Again the Other OS feature was a major reason I bought it in the first place. The worst part is things were really just starting to get good when Sony cut the Other OS out.