Sony charging $20 to play used SOCOM online

[Malakili]

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/sony-blocks-online-play-on-used-copies-of-psp-socom-game.html

While they are claiming its to combat piracy, it seems pretty clear that they are trying to make money from used game sales.  If this sort of thing becomes common, used console games, at least multiplayer ones, are going to become useless.  We've already seen it happen to PC games, looks like consoles are next.

[rrazcueta]

Do you know anyone that buys PSP games?

[Malakili]

Do you know anyone that buys PSP games?

Its not about this particular game, thats basically irrelevant, the discussion is whether or not this is using a smaller platform to try something out that is later going to becoming more widespread, and what that means for console gaming.

[NiX]

I think you're taking it a bit far. If anything, Sony's got nothing to worry about when it comes to the PS3 and piracy. The PSP on the other hand is a pirates haven.

[Azazel]

Fuck that's naive. You don't think that this is Sony testing the waters for the new reign of console DRM/fight against preowned game sales? If not, there is a lovely bridge I just crossed that offers spectacular views that I am sure you would absolutely love...

For the record, I prefer EA's tack of including a little extra dlc via a code which doesn't really impact gameplay (saboteur, etc)

[Trippy]

Fuck that's naive. You don't think that this is Sony testing the waters for the new reign of console DRM/fight against preowned game sales? If not, there is a lovely bridge I just crossed that offers spectacular views that I am sure you would absolutely love...

For the record, I prefer EA's tack of including a little extra dlc via a code which doesn't really impact gameplay (saboteur, etc)

Don't think that EA isn't going to go the Sony route eventually if it can as well. I'm sure they are going to try slowly "ratcheting" up (down) the amount of content you don't get if you don't purchase the game until it'll be the same as what Sony is trying to do.

Someday in the future:

Greatgrandfather: Why I remember the days when you actually owned video games
Greatgrandchild: What does "own" mean greatgrandpa?

[naum]

Fuck that's naive. You don't think that this is Sony testing the waters for the new reign of console DRM/fight against preowned game sales? If not, there is a lovely bridge I just crossed that offers spectacular views that I am sure you would absolutely love...

For the record, I prefer EA's tack of including a little extra dlc via a code which doesn't really impact gameplay (saboteur, etc)

Don't think that EA isn't going to go the Sony route eventually if it can as well. I'm sure they are going to try slowly "ratcheting" up (down) the amount of content you don't get if you don't purchase the game until it'll be the same as what Sony is trying to do.

Someday in the future:

Greatgrandfather: Why I remember the days when you actually owned video games
Greatgrandchild: What does "own" mean greatgrandpa?

Hardcore gamers will shell out no matter the cost or security/privacy intrusion ramifications.

Casual gamers and/or ex-hardcore gamers (tallying myself in that segment) simply exit from such shenanigans.

[Merusk]

I'd say you're probably right about that if the next evolution wasn't going to be DL for all games, with no more physical disks.  The only reason casuals sell the games now is because they don't want the fucking things lying about the place after its beaten.  Garbage dump or get cash is an easy choice.  When there's nothing lying about because it's all on a server somewhere else, it'll be less of an issue for them.

Nobody's going to own software in 5-10 years as big box stores become irrelevant for anything more than the hardware purchase.  There's no money in it for the companies producing it.

[Azazel]

Oh of course ea  and everyone else would like to go down that road eventually. I'm not so sure about everything going to download only though . Still lots of places with no or shitty net/ broadband still,  not to mention people ( normal
people, not necessarily you lot) like owning physical objects

[Malakili]

Oh of course ea  and everyone else would like to go down that road eventually. I'm not so sure about everything going to download only though . Still lots of places with no or shitty net/ broadband still,  not to mention people ( normal
people, not necessarily you lot) like owning physical objects

The problem is that owning the physical disk doesn't get you anything when it requires activation/online whatever.  I liked owning actual disks until I realized that I was just paying for the key/code that came in the box anyway, since I end up patching up to the real "release" version of every game I buy anyway, so it isn't like whats on the disk matters.  I'll grant you the point about bad connections, but that is only going to get better as the years go by.

Hell, I wish owning the disk DID mean something, but since everything is licensed instead of owned, it hardly matters anymore.  I really do think we are going to see more digital downloads, I mean, for a lot of us Steam has already all but replaced buying boxes.

[Azazel]

I understand what you are saying but the console market is radically different from the PC one. PC game debs can assume unlimited storage while conse debs cannot. Also PC users tend to be older etc while the console user base has many more kids, non-techy parents, etc etc.

Not to mention retailer shelf space, physical marketting etc. Steam has it's place of course- valve games, $5 specials and games that are 50% less than Aussie retail like BF:BC2 or need to be played onlne (as above).

[tgr]

No. Seriously, I'm just an old . I'm going to step out of this one.

[Malakili]

I understand what you are saying but the console market is radically different from the PC one. PC game debs can assume unlimited storage while conse debs cannot. Also PC users tend to be older etc while the console user base has many more kids, non-techy parents, etc etc.

Not to mention retailer shelf space, physical marketting etc. Steam has it's place of course- valve games, $5 specials and games that are 50% less than Aussie retail like BF:BC2 or need to be played onlne (as above).

Well, for now at least, but I mean, they could throw in a big harddrive for cheat in the next generation of consoles.  There isn't a reason, in principle, that a console can't have a large hardrive and support easy downloads.