This story has been pounced upon by a few sites after it was initiall reported on Future Publishing's Games Radar. I think it's worth reproducing in full:
High street games shops have been told by Sony
that there will be no PS3 pre-owned sections in their stores as it will
be illegal for customers to sell any next-gen PlayStation games that
they've bought, retail sources have revealed to GamesRadar.
It seems that Sony is planning to adopt a licensing system that will
mean gamers won't own the PS3 titles that they've paid money for.
Instead, they will only be purchasing the licence to play the game and
that the software itself will still be Sony property - meaning that the
disc won't be the customer's to sell.
We assume that the thinking behind this move will ultimately be to
stop PS3 games being resold several times - which currently snatches
potential sales away from Sony - and to counter the impression in
consumers' minds that games are only really worth their pre-owned price
and are not worth buying new.
When we contacted Sony, it issued us with the following statement:
"We have made all of the official announcements at E3 and cannot make
any further comments at this time. We will be announcing more news
running up to PlayStation 3's launch."
Of course, this is based upon a single report, but it does pick up on a theme which has appeared in MCV numerous times over the past several months, namely that the sale of pre-owned games is harming the overall growth of the games market.
This is an issue which provokes a great deal of passion on both sides. The publishers see the market as eroding their revenue streams; the consumer feels that it's their damn game to do with as they will.
It's not surprising that this issue has (apparently) reached a head with Sony. This is the same company which is going to great lengths to ensure that their PSP remains locked against unauthorised use and only recently started allowing their audio players to play straight MP3 tracks.
This is an issue which will not improve Sony's standing with the general public, which is already fairly upset about the PS3 price points and differing builds.
There's no doubt that Sony has the momentum to push this through - at least initially. The hardcore fans would rush out and buy enough units and games on day one to guarantee a sell out.
However, the long term viability of the plan is doubtful. The notion that you are merely buying a license instead of the game itself is a huge leap for consumers and not one which they - or the media - will embrace.
Sony has already run itself onto the rocks with an attmpt to control their user's media use. Sony/BMG's infamous 'rootkit' copy protection system on CDs has led to a multimillion dollar loss replacing the CDs (sometimes with unprotected MP3 files), along with numerous lawsuits.
The technology side of this is a moot point. Every single system ever released has been cracked. Sony's attempts to lock down the PSP have so far failed to stop hackers finding new workarounds and ways to exploit the hardware. As the 'hackers' see it, they own the machine and they're going to do what they wish with it. There's even a project to get Linux running on the PSP which, if it works (which is almost inevitable), could opn the machine up to any purpose the owner wants to put it to.
The business model for this type of transaction is also troubling. While buying a license is a fairly well understood procedure, there is a far wider recognition and understanding of DRM and consumer rights these days. Organisations like the EFF are watching the large media companies very closely and changing from a straight purchase to a license agreement system will doubtless result in several large/long/complicated/expensive lawsuits, where consumers feel they are being denied their statutory rights.
Thinking about the way this will work, there are already obvious issues: what happens if your PS2 breaks down? Do you have to buy another copy of all your games? What if the hard drive craps out? Are are screwed? Do you have to register everything you own online to ensure Sony knows you are an owner? What's their privacy policy? What happens if your disk breaks/gets scratched?
The basic mechanism seems unworkable. If content is going to be distributed on disks, then games can still be swapped/sold.
Even if 'the industry' succeeds in stopping the pre-owned trade from selling disks, it simply cannot stop trading over the Internet.
This is a fundamental change in the way the industry operates and from initial reports, looks like it's the RIAA/MPAA favoured approach - a heavy handed technically driven attempt to control what consumers do and can not do with the media they buy.
There are numerous other business models which can be explored which can provide ongoing revenue streams from games, without removing the consumer's basic rights. Providing new content, unlocking new features and selling players add-ons to their game are all rapidly growing areas which provide developers and publishers with revenue streams which do not stop after the initial purchase.
It will be interesting to see how this issue develops in the run up to the PS3's launch.
