Ben-DutkaMicrosoft may have changed their intended DRM policies for the Xbox One, but Sony never planned to do any such thing.
Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Andrew House told The Guardian (as cited by Polygon ) that his company hadn't intended to block used games via DRM (Digital Rights Management).
House said Sony started answering questions about the possible adoption of DRM policies when the PS4 was first unveiled in February. But he said they were "slightly perplexed" because they had zero intention of "changing from a model that I think has served us really well for several platform life-cycles." Everyone continued to talk about the subject, though, so Sony opted to play off that during their E3 press conference (which SCEA president Jack Tretton did admirably ). Hence, the ensuing love-fest for the PS4.
House added that he wasn't aware of any lobbying to include restrictions on used games sales from big publishers, either. Also, don't forget that Sony is a game publisher as well, so it's important to strike a "very careful balance" between game creators, customers and retailers. As for the customer specifically, House had this to say:
"Having said that, however, the consumer sees ownership as a very key benefit when purchasing a physical product. And the flipside of the argument is that retailers will tell you that the vast majority of trade-in value gets immediately repurposed into new purchases of games, and those people in turn generate word of mouth and create more interest."
Is the lack of DRM one of the big reasons you've decided to purchase the PS4? Was it a determining factor?
There was no real competition at the time to persuade me from buying a PS4 and there still isn't. Sony just seem to have the Xbox beaten in every category. Price, hardware, software, value and more, DRM just reinforced my commitment to buying the PS4 further.
It just confirmed my beliefs about Sony and Microsoft in general, that's all.
I think people should also stop and realize what a big deal it actually is that they forced Microsoft to reverse their policy. It is a victory over consumer-abusing corporate overreach that will set a tone for generations of gaming to come. Had they pressed forward with it anyway we might see DRM becoming the norm across platforms a lot sooner.
But the XboneDrones say they did and only changed it at the last minute to make M$ look bad so they must be telling the truth right, right???
Who knows, you can't really trust their word.
Lol, I was being sarcastic. Tretton from Sony said these decisions were made months in advance. Way before E3 or even the Xbone reveal.
I can't believe it's been five years since I bought my PS3. It still feels like last year. Don't know if I'm ready yet.
i wish they would think about implementing it.
brings so many new opportunities, being able to fully install games to the HDD so your not constantly switching discs scratching them, having to take a extra bag with you when traveling and constantly worrying every time the plane dips oh crap i hope the cases are packed in tightly enough so they dont bounce around, dislodge the disc and scratch it.
not to mention worrying about loosing it.
makes it allot easier to lend to friends as well, and even friends who you dont see very often because of them living in a different state/ country.
it just amazes me how many people bitched about the online thing, i mean 50 bucks says 100% of them have 3G on their smartphone so thats not even a problem!
and how many of them have their ps3/360 connected to the net 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year?
hell even here its not a problem, and weve got the WORST net infrastructure in the world!
every single f*cking time it rains here, and its been raining every day for like a month now, the net drops out for a few hours.
Last edited by ___________ on 7/6/2013 4:35:40 AM
I have never really had problems with switching disks or worrying about them being scratched because of this. The airplane example is also kind of pointless because the same could apply to the very console you are carrying; what if there is water that could spill on it? Could others' bags smash my console? It's just how well you take care of them. And if you have kids who might present a problem, then that's something you should think of in advance.
About the internet thing, you kind of contradict yourself. As you say, not every city/country in the world has a good internet infrastructure. Maybe in the U.S., Germany or other first world countries this isn't a problem, but for third world countries it could be. Even so, you shouldn't have to check in every 24 hrs.; unless there are updates or patches, it is pointless.
For some reason this very important point is rarely heard:
"And the flipside of the argument is that retailers will tell you that the vast majority of trade-in value gets immediately repurposed into new purchases of games, and those people in turn generate word of mouth and create more interest."