As the dust settles on this week's Playstation 4 reveal, more and more information about the console, its services, and Sony's plans for the future are starting to come out of the woodwork. One of the more interesting tid-bits, and one that's sure to be of interest to anyone who's ever handed over some cash for a game in the past, is the news that the Playstation 4 won't block the use of pre-owned games, and also won't require an online connection - contrary to rumours galore, several reports and a patent that emerged last month. Coming from the mouth of none other than Shuhei Yoshida, the boss of Sony Worldwide Studios, it's about as authoritative a source as you're likely to get - and a revelation that would certainly give the Playstation 4 a hand over the next Xbox, which appears to be going in the opposite direction.
The DualShock 4 is shocked at next Xbox's rumoured restrictions...
While the Sony higher-up has assured that "used games can play on PS4", over at Microsoft, all the noises so far are suggesting that the console may have single-use codes included in all games and require a constant internet connection to function, which is frankly quite scary. Perhaps it's at least partially a cultural thing - Japan's streets are overflowing with second-hand stores selling all manner of electrical goods, and around a decade ago Sony, Konami and Capcom lost a court case where they tried to take down used game chain ACT. America meanwhile, seems to be in a constant war against pre-owned, making the rumoured 'features' seem depressingly likely.
To be honest, the argument against pre-owned games as a whole seems rather weak. After all, once you've bought something, what you choose to do with it afterwards is up to you, whether it's a book, a game or a car. Whenever the talk turns to blocking pre-owned games, it's like the industry suddenly collectively forgets that a large contingent trade in their old games to fund brand new purchases - remove that option, and you'll probably see a drop in launch day sales. It doesn't help that new games are kept artificially higher by stores to help boost pre-owned sales, but it isn't the consumers that deserve to be punished. And let's not forget the impact this would have on swapping games with friends - something which should lead to MORE game sales because the money you're not spending on multiple copies can go on other new games. There's also the issue of limited print runs (anything Kirby and the Mario & Luigi role-playing games are prime examples) that mean you can't actually find the games new any more, so if you're inadvertently late to the party you're basically screwed without used games.
However you try and weigh it up, blocking pre-owned would seem to be a rather dangerous move to make - so we're glad Sony have dodged that one bombshell as they head into the next generation. Now, with Sony having made their move, all we can do is sit back and wait for Microsoft to show their hand. Will it stand alone against second-hand, or will it bow down to fight another day? It's going to be an interesting few months.
