Sony to stamp out second-hand market?

[Paco]

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 s
tatement: "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."

Linky

Wow. Wouldn't surprise me if they did this.

[Dark Jaguar]

It's a rumor so far, but I really hope I don't end up having to agree to a EULA on a CONSOLE, or worse, the horrid days of the "open this box and you agree to the liscense agreement inside".

From what I understand, EULAs are the main reason why you can't find used PC games in used game stores, all that often.

It would surprise me if Sony did this, so I'll wait for some sort of official statement, but a move like this would certainly undermine everything Sony is trying for in realms like no more region encoding and a development kit right out of the box for the system.

It may not be as "cost effective", but the best method for preventing others from selling their games to people is to make the games too good to want to give up. Trite, but true.

[Great Rumbler]

If it's true, it's just another reason not to buy a PS3.

From what I understand, EULAs are the main reason why you can't find used PC games in used game stores, all that often.

Gamespot has quite a few PC games.

[A Black Falcon]

No, GR, you are wrong. Gamestop does indeed ban used PC game sales. However, but that's just a moronic business decision -- EB sold used PC games right up until Gamestop HQ forced them to stop. It's not illegal. It is true that some PC games make it hard to sell to another person though -- if it's an online game with a CD-Key or an MMORPG, the CDs and key alone will not be enough -- you'll also need the username/password for the account for those discs to mean anything. However, that doesn't mean that used PC game sales are impossible... EB had quite a few used PC games; they were just mostly older or not MMOs. :)

Anyway, this rumor has been around for a while, but I don't see hard facts backing it up yet... my current guess is 'no', but it's possible I guess.

[The Former DMiller]

This had better stay a rumor, because Sony is dead and buried if this is true. They've already shot themselves in the foot with the high sticker price, but the inability to buy used games will hurt them even more.

[Dark Jaguar]

You know what I heard? I heard that the PS3 drains a little blood from you while you sleep each night and sends it to Sony over the internet to sell on the black market.

[Great Rumbler]

No, GR, you are wrong. Gamestop does indeed ban used PC game sales.

No, I'm not. I've seen PC games with "Used" stickers on them. Now, that doesn't mean they BUY used games, because I tried that before, but they do SELL them. Don't ask me how it works.

[Dark Jaguar]

I can't see any logical way for them to obtain used games without buying them at SOME point, unless they order their employees to provide them. The only real possibility is they are selling off the few used computer games they have from a time when they COULD buy used games.

Not sure when, but at a certain point EULAs make it clear you can't sell the used game you bought.

[Weltall]

That would be ridiculous and suicidal. I practically buy nothing BUT used games. What happens when the game goes out of print?

[Dark Jaguar]

Indeed.

And the thing is, a lot of old DOS games don't even have EULAs, come to think of it, so why can't I find them anywheres?

[A Black Falcon]

No, I'm not. I've seen PC games with "Used" stickers on them. Now, that doesn't mean they BUY used games, because I tried that before, but they do SELL them. Don't ask me how it works.

You have to be mistaken because a couple of years ago Gamestop banned the sale of used PC games. EB was forced to implement that same policy soon after they were bought. While Software ETC and EB both used to sell used PC games, GameStop and the new Gamestop-owned EB do not. Simple as that. Note that on their webpages they have no section for used PC games -- there is a reason for that. As I said it's a stupid and cruel policy (used was the only way to find so many older PC titles outside of EBay!), but it's the way it is...

[TheBiggah]

I believe that if I pay for the game, then I own the game. Any company that tries to change that will never see a dime of my money again. If I don't want to own the game, I'll go and RENT it...stupid Sony.

-TheBiggah-

[Dark Jaguar]

You can believe what you will, but you don't own Starcraft or Warcraft 3 according to those agreements you blindly clicked on during the installation process, and those are binding to a point thanks to precedents.

[A Black Falcon]

Really? I mean the online play requires you to go through a CD-Key check and stuff, but single player is fully self-contained...

[Dark Jaguar]

Installing the game puts you through a cd key process in and of itself. I haven't bothered READING the thing, but if it's anything like ones I've read in the past, the "norm", it probably states something like "You agree that this is merely a LISCENSE to USE the game and that your rights are limited to what is in this liscense since you don't legally own the game itself" and then it details the terms of the liscense agreement. Legal speak, and little kids agree to it every time they install some software. I really hate being exposed to "legaleese" when I just want to be entertained, but I can't ignore the reality that something happened when I clicked "agree".