I'm a little worried..

[Gikoku]

Sony is heavily rumored to unveil or announce the brand new PS4 sometime tonight (honestly it looks really obvious), which to me is cool beans. But on the other hand, there's been the rampant rumors that the PS4 will also block the use of used games from a patent Sony recently filed, and that Microsoft is likely to follow suit with the next Xbox.

Sigh, I don't know about you guys but half if not the majority of my game collection is used games. It's one of the main reasons I still enjoy gaming on the modern systems, that I can buy terribly affordable second-hand games and satisfy my crave for a new experience, all without hurting my wallet. Buying a $60 game that only lasts 5-10hrs these days just isn't all that appealing to me anymore.

But at the same time, used game sales has proven to increasingly cause more damage to the industry (even more than piracy) as publishers/devs aren't getting any profits from it. It's a double-edged sword. So Microsoft & Sony have plenty of good reasons to do such a major move, especially with services like Steam showing great success. But if they do, then I'm not entirely sure I'd be willing to bother much with this next gen of consoles and just stick to retro gaming.

Anyone else find this to be terrible or am I simply being a little irrational here?

 

[Dark Drakan]

Personally I cant see them totally blocking the use of 2nd hand games & id imagine they will simply opt for a pass system. Much like the pass you have to buy if someone has used the online code for a game just so they can get something back for a 2nd hand sale. Both companies have been cagey on revealing their intentions for this sector & rightly so as it is a touchy subject.

 

[Gikoku]

Personally I cant see them totally blocking the use of 2nd hand games & id imagine they will simply opt for a pass system. Much like the pass you have to buy if someone has used the online code for a game just so they can get something back for a 2nd hand sale. Both companies have been cagey on revealing their intentions for this sector & rightly so as it is a touchy subject.

If they were to make use of a pass system rather than going for the dreaded "once per user" method like Steam, then I might be a bit okay with it. Provided the pass price is fairly cheap.. like somewhere around $5-10. I can probably live with that. But the whole ordeal makes even the most minor of things a hassle, like simply allowing a friend to borrow a game. Good grief. :/

 

[Zarkes]

No more buying a 6$ game a year later for me, that sucks. Even though gamestop does suck and if they lost business I wouldn't mind.

 

[Dark Drakan]

If they were to make use of a pass system rather than going for the dreaded "once per user" method like Steam, then I might be a bit okay with it. Provided the pass price is fairly cheap.. like somewhere around $5-10. I can probably live with that. But the whole ordeal makes even the most minor of things a hassle, like simply allowing a friend to borrow a game. Good grief. :/

Yeah friends borrow mine all the time so means they might have to start shelling out if this happens & means they get less chance to play games before they decide to buy them. Unless companies start doing bigger demos instead & releasing more polished ones.

 

[Tyloric]

Used games are devastating for many developers, especially smaller companies, because they see none of the profits from used game sales. It may suck, but it is necessary.

 

[ScareCrowReturn]

I generally buy brand new games, just because i've had bad experiences with 2nd hand games, unfortunately..

So to just get this straight, im not sure if I quite understand, but your saying if you buy the next gen PS4/Xbox720 (Whatever it is) and you buy a 2nd hand game on that platform, it wont work? Kind of like how when you buy a PC game, it comes with a unique code so it can only be used once?

Is that correct? Im a little lost, and dont play PC games all that much..

 

[Dark Drakan]

Used games are devastating for many developers, especially smaller companies, because they see none of the profits from used game sales. It may suck, but it is necessary.

Yeah I can see the business sense in it but also the complications it may cause too so can see things from both points.

I generally buy brand new games, just because i've had bad experiences with 2nd hand games, unfortunately..

So to just get this straight, im not sure if I quite understand, but your saying if you buy the next gen PS4/Xbox720 (Whatever it is) and you buy a 2nd hand game on that platform, it wont work? Kind of like how when you buy a PC game, it comes with a unique code so it can only be used once?

Is that correct? Im a little lost, and dont play PC games all that much..

Pretty much, it would stop any game being played 2nd hand (people are assuming without buying a code to play it).

Chris from CVG shares exactly the same thoughts as me on the whole thing and mentioned it in a recent Ask CVG anything article.

Chris - This is purely speculation, of course, but I think both will just adopt the online pass format already seen to unlock the online content in EA games, except this time it'll expand to the whole game. When you buy a game brand new you get a one-time code that you can enter to unlock access to the game. If you don't have the code, then you have to pay £5 for the unlock key instead. That way pre-owned games will still exist, but Sony, Microsoft and the game publishers will still get a cut from each successive owner. BOOOM - commerce.​

 

[Quistrix]

I'm more concerned about my own wallet than that of the developers. I'm not made of money and it's truly a blessing to be able to still enjoy a game and have a gaming lifestyle at a fraction of the cost. It'll be disappointing if I can't do that anymore, and honestly, it makes me sad. Whether they abolish used games entirely or add some sort of code, either way I'm spending more money.

 

[ScareCrowReturn]

Yeah I can see the business sense in it but also the complications it may cause too so can see things from both points.



Pretty much, it would stop any game being played 2nd hand (people are assuming without buying a code to play it).

Chris from CVG shares exactly the same thoughts as me on the whole thing and mentioned it in a recent Ask CVG anything article.

Chris - This is purely speculation, of course, but I think both will just adopt the online pass format already seen to unlock the online content in EA games, except this time it'll expand to the whole game. When you buy a game brand new you get a one-time code that you can enter to unlock access to the game. If you don't have the code, then you have to pay £5 for the unlock key instead. That way pre-owned games will still exist, but Sony, Microsoft and the game publishers will still get a cut from each successive owner. BOOOM - commerce.​

And what if you dont have online, eh?
I think the pass is a good idea, but, it shouldnt have to be online, maybe being able to buy one from a local gamer store?
Because I dont have internet at my flat, and wont for awhile (Using my phone for internet), so I dont play online anymore.

But, meh.. I wont be getting a next gen console in a long time, unless I win alot of money..

 

[Gikoku]

PS4 unveil was really interesting, and the games are mind-blowingly beautiful, but they didn't mention anything about used games being blocked, online subscription fees, nor the console price. So have to wait until E3 until they finally say something.. if they say anything at all about it.

Yeah friends borrow mine all the time so means they might have to start shelling out if this happens & means they get less chance to play games before they decide to buy them. Unless companies start doing bigger demos instead & releasing more polished ones.

Exactly, just imagine trying to borrow a handful of games from a friend at once.. it's one thing when it's just one game, but a handful? You're talking an upwards of 20-30 bucks combined to simply borrow a few games from a friend for only a few days (provided the pass is as cheap as 5 bucks). It's silly.

Used games are devastating for many developers, especially smaller companies, because they see none of the profits from used game sales. It may suck, but it is necessary.

True, but I really hope they can find a way where everyone can come out satisfied (or close to) and not screwed in the long run. Because the used game market and stores that benefit from it will also be taking a major blow. I mean, I guess they could go the digital route a la Steam like they've been doing for the little guys.

And what if you dont have online, eh?
I think the pass is a good idea, but, it shouldnt have to be online, maybe being able to buy one from a local gamer store?
Because I dont have internet at my flat, and wont for awhile (Using my phone for internet), so I dont play online anymore.

But, meh.. I wont be getting a next gen console in a long time, unless I win alot of money..

That's another one of the problems with the pass option. Like every console thus far, eventually the manufacturer ceases support on the console and pulls the plug on its online features to make way for the future.. Then what? You can keep buying all the games you want for the machine, but what good is it when you can never activate them because there's no more online service to purchase the pass? You're screwed. And if it uses online to verify if it's a fresh copy, then you're even screwed for newly wrapped games as well.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Well Sony have denied the 2nd hand games block rumour so I doubt Microsoft would go ahead with it either.

 

[Gikoku]

Well Sony have denied the 2nd hand games block rumour so I doubt Microsoft would go ahead with it either.

THANK YOU!

 

[ScareCrowReturn]

Awesome sauce!

 

[Quistrix]

STUPID SCOTTIFER

GETTING US ALL WORRIED FOR NOTHING

Ball's in your court now, Microsoft.

 

[Quistrix]

Word on the street is that the new Xbox will block used games and will feature always on DRM, which was also rumoured to be included on the PS4, those rumours have not been confirmed to be false. If this is true, either is essentially handing over this console generation to eachother, or Nintendo.

There's a good chance that Microsoft are merely keeping quiet about the rumours to create some noise and keep themselves in the news and it seems unlikely that they could be this stupid, but with publishers doing similar things with their games, there's a good chance that it might just be true. Fingers crossed it isn't.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Xb...ks-Used-Games-Says-Eidos-President-53032.html

Apologies for double post.

 

[Dark Drakan]

So many rumours flying around but guess we will all simply have to wait and see, Microsoft never comment on speculation & rumours so that is nothing new. People have also been saying Sony werent fully truthful when they said they wouldnt be blocking used games as another statement had been released saying 'A decision has not been made on that statement as of yet.'

 

[Quistrix]

The new SimCity just got released which has an always on DRM and by some really sh*tty show of luck, the game is suffering from some pretty severe server troubles preventing players from playing the game. Just goes to show how much of a bad idea always on DRM really is.

 

[Dark Drakan]

The new SimCity just got released which has an always on DRM and by some really sh*tty show of luck, the game is suffering from some pretty severe server troubles preventing players from playing the game. Just goes to show how much of a bad idea always on DRM really is.

Always on DRM should have been scrapped years ago, ive never once heard about it preventing people from pirating games. In fact in most cases it pushes more people into piracy to avoid such issues.

 

[TRA Rotid]

Yeah DRM has some major issues. Especially if those issues are server-side.