PS4: Potentially can Block Used Games

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Sony Computer Entertainment has filed a patent for technology designed to combat pre-owned game sales. The patent (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2013/0007892.html) (via NeoGAF (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=506560)) describes NFC-style technology that tags individual game copies with information, such as if they have been played on another console or account. The system then checks these tags before starting the game and could potentially block titles that have been purchased second-hand.
The full patent can be found below:

“According to the present embodiment, realized is the electronic content processing system that reliably restricts the use of electronic content dealt in the second-hand markets. As a result, the dealing of electronic content in the second-hand markets is suppressed, which in turn supports the redistribution of part of proceeds from sales of the electronic content to the developers.”
“Though in the following description a game application (AP) is exemplified as the electronic content, the present embodiment is similarly applicable to various kinds of electronic content such as an office suite, images, and music content.”
“By employing the game playing system 1000 according to the present embodiment, the use permission tag 220 together with the game disk 210 is supplied to the user, and the use permission tag 220 actively determines the use permit/rejection of electronic content.”
“Thereby, the use of game AP stored in the game disk 210 can be restricted as appropriate according to the attribute of a reproduction device. Consider, for example, a case where used is a game package 200 distributed in the second-hand market.
“Then the ID of reproduction device for the game disk 210 differs from the legitimate use device ID stored in the use permission tag 220, so that the game disk can be reproduced in a mode which is predetermined for those bought and sold in the second-hand market.”
“Also, for example, a content key may be supplied to the reproduction device 130 and the encrypted game AP may be decrypted using the content key only if the reproduction device ID matches a legitimate use device ID. Hence, use of game APs bought and sold in the second-hand market can be eliminated.”
This patent falls in line with previous rumors which state that the PlayStation 4 will refuse to play pre-owned games. Of course this also leads to the usual questions that come up every time this subject is raised, for example, what happens if the console dies? Would you need to buy a new copy of every game you own for them to play?

Source: http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/sony-patents-pre-owned-game-blocking-technology/

[Flying Purple People Eater]

They're just asking to have their consoles cracked.

[Althusser]

They're just asking to have their consoles cracked.

NextGenUpdate is going to get a hell of a lot more traffic.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

What if you wanna take your game to a mate's house for whatever reason?

This'll never get off the ground surely.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Yeah, I've often lent games to mates and visa versa.... lame. Probs won't even be able to afford a ps4 tho.

[Princess Luna]

Why? What does Sony possibly have to gain by blocking used games?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Why? What does Sony possibly have to gain by blocking used games?

Money: when people buy used games Sony doesn't get any of the profits, the used game retailers do. If they block used games than everyone will be forced to buy new games which in turn increases their profits.

[Princess Luna]

Money: when people buy used games Sony doesn't get any of the profits, the used game retailers do. If they block used games than everyone will be forced to buy new games which in turn increases their profits.

But game companies don't make any money off the purchase anyway, I assume Video Games work like most other products , that a place like Gamestop or
Wal-Mart buys the video games from companies like Sony, and then re-sells them to the consumer. The only way Sony could lose money, is if demand dropped so low that the retailer stopped purchasing the games. But what makes me scratch my head at Sony in particular blocking used games, is the fact that doing such a thing could easily drive a lot people away from their console, and considering Sony's current financial situation , it is strange that they would take such a risk right now.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

But game companies don't make any money off the purchase anyway, I assume Video Games work like most other products , that a place like Gamestop or
Wal-Mart buys the video games from companies like Sony, and then re-sells them to the consumer. The only way Sony could lose money, is if demand dropped so low that the retailer stopped purchasing the games. But what makes me scratch my head at Sony in particular blocking used games, is the fact that doing such a thing could easily drive a lot people away from their console, and considering Sony's current financial situation , it is strange that they would take such a risk right now.

Well it depends on what you mean by "game companies". Do you mean the developer, publisher? Whenever a new game (something from the factory direct to a retailer) is sold the publisher (lets say in this case it is Sony) and the developer (lets say Irrational Games) gets a small piece of the profits; there are cost which must be recouped from the development time and the only way this will happen if the "game company" makes money.

I do not know too much about it but I know that when a new game is sold from Wal-Mart the developer, not sure about the publisher, doesn't get any money (or not all of what they would normally get).

As far as I know the retailer buys the games, in bulk, and sells them on behalf of the developer/publisher.

In any case, blocking used games would only hurt Sony. While it is true they loose money when people buy used the backlash from this kind of move would not be easily forgotten.

[Red Commissar]

I'm not reading this as a block on used games, but rather a consolidation of what they've already been doing. Microsoft and Sony have been flirting with encouraging purchase of factory-fresh games as a way to encourage their publishers to keep making games. They however have not been blocking them.

The way this has been occuring now is that some publishers have been releasing games where in order to use its online components, you must have a code. In new copies, this is packaged with the game and the code is used up once you tie it to your copy. In used copies however, it won't come with this code for obvious reasons and thus if you want to play online, you have to purchase a key to activate the online component. You can still play the game without it but the online portions will be locked until you pay the fee.

I think this system is supposed to solidify that. I do not see a total block on used games since it would hurt Sony and retailers a lot more than help them (Gamestop stock went down with this rumor going around). It might give some marginal benefits to publishers but not much else, and the negatives outweighs the positives here.

The only way a total block on used games would occur is if all of the big console developers agreed to it. The WiiU is already out, and they don't have this kind of system in place. I don't know about the next Xbox, but they would defintely jump on this as a way to pull customers towards them rather than the new PS by appealing to customers who want more flexibility in the titles they purchase. Developers and publishers would probably get pulled away too, seeing that to get this system to work requires more action on their end with not much potential profit in return.

And seeing that the Playstation 3 does not hold the marketshare that Sony wants, I can not see why they would give the next gen Xbox such an easy pass. This kind of thing judging from the reaction of gaming sites probably wouldn't go over too well and give their console a very rough launch and more trouble. Even now Sony is trying to bring developers back to make exclusive titles, since so many of them threw in with the 360 and they end up getting ports, because some of them got angry with perceived difficulties of making games on their console. I think there's more going on here, and the reading of the patent probably doesn't say everything.

IIRC similar rumors floated around that the PS3 was going to do the same thing at launch, though this never occurred. Other rumors popped up that they were going to patch it in with a system update, that didn't occur either.