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E3: Sony with some bad news?

K

Krilekk

Banned
It looks like Microsoft decided to put out all the bad news ahead of E3 to make that event all about the things that ultimately sell or don't sell a console: exclusives. Does anybody expect Sony not to do exactly what Microsoft does with used games and such? PC does it since at least five years and it actually became successful again thanks to the old consoles. The writing has long been on the wall, publishers don't want used games. If one console basically blocks used games and unblocks them for a fee, if PC totally blocks used games both physically and digitally, do we actually expect Sony (who invented the PSP Go) to not do it? EA drops online passes. If Sony would go a different route they'd have kept them at least for their platform. So at this point it's safe to assume that all platforms from the end of the year on will work just like Steam. Sony has some explaining to do at E3, it could cost them all the momentum they currently have.

Things look bad now for X1 but it could all change when the games and the price are more interesting that the same for PS4. I think we have to adapt to the no used fully digital present, it's been long coming. Game prices might be much more flexible on the new systems, I can see games selling for $60 in the first month and then dropping $10 every other month. I still don't get however why Microsoft doesn't just offer a fully digital SKU - considering their strategy. Then again the box already looks like two boxes put together. Maybe one day we'll only get the right side of it.
 
S

squidyj

Member
Krilekk said:
It looks like Microsoft decided to put out all the bad news ahead of E3 to make that event all about the things that ultimately sell or don't sell a console: exclusives. Does anybody expect Sony not to do exactly what Microsoft does with used games and such? PC does it since at least five years and it actually became successful again thanks to the old consoles. The writing has long been on the wall, publishers don't want used games. If one console basically blocks used games and unblocks them for a fee, if PC totally blocks used games both physically and digitally, do we actually expect Sony (who invented the PSP Go) to not do it? EA drops online passes. If Sony would go a different route they'd have kept them at least for their platform. So at this point it's safe to assume that all platforms from the end of the year on will work just like Steam. Sony has some explaining to do at E3, it could cost them all the momentum they currently have.

Things look bad now for X1 but it could all change when the games and the price are more interesting that the same for PS4. I think we have to adapt to the no used fully digital present, it's been long coming. Game prices might be much more flexible on the new systems, I can see games selling for $60 in the first month and then dropping $10 every other month. I still don't get however why Microsoft doesn't just offer a fully digital SKU - considering their strategy. Then again the box already looks like two boxes put together. Maybe one day we'll only get the right side of it.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go with basically everybody who's been paying attention.
 
M

madmackem

Member
Theres alot of posts trying to make themselves feel better about the xbone reviling, no one knows ms may have more bad news sony might have none we dont know all we do know is what ms and sony have shown.
 
A

Aguirre

Member
even if ms puts on a poor performance - and they might not!! - you can be sure we'll get some funny gifs at least. :)
 
Proelite

Proelite

Member
God forbid they spend time on vita, the os, and new Playstation eye!

Seriously Kaz being in charge means we shouldn't have to worry a thing.
 
sakipon

sakipon

Member
Krilekk said:
I still don't get however why Microsoft doesn't just offer a fully digital SKU - considering their strategy.
Click to expand...

Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
 
T

timetokill

Banned
I am fully expecting the other shoe to drop for Sony at some point before launch. Whether that's at E3 or not, I can't say. But inevitably there will be some bad news, there always is.
 
B

bigbaldwolf86

Banned
If Sony does what Ms have done then that would leave the Wii U being the only console that isn't doing it. That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Why would publishers 'push' these two to implement this into their system but not Nintendo? I said this is another thread but I think MS have taken this decision to garner 3rd party support and that's it. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong but I don't see Sony doing it at this point.
 
V

VariantX

Member
sakipon said:
Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
Click to expand...

Probably didn't want to piss of brick and mortar retailers.
 
N

Nibel

Member
Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida allayed previous fears: "Used games can play on PS4," he said.

Speaking about consumers' expectations when they purchase a physical disc, Yoshida said that people "purchase physical form, they want to use it everywhere, right? So that's my expectation."

Another source speaking to Eurogamer suggested that a Sony patent uncovered in January, which would register software to one machine, and one machine only, never had anything to do with PlayStation 4 in the first place.
Click to expand...

Source (Gamespot)
 
G

gilljoy

Member
sakipon said:
Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
Click to expand...

Probably because the games will be quite large in size GB wise and many people have either 1.very slow connections, 2. throttled/capped connections or 3. both.

I prefer digital myself but thats only because I have a decent uncapped internet so downloading large files isn't an issue. Until the worlds connections are all relatively fast I can't see Microsoft or Sony doing away with discs entirely.

+ Playing blu-rays is another selling point
 
E

ElectricKaibutsu

Member
sakipon said:
Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
Click to expand...

MS's goal is to make the Xbox the center for media in the living room, which means it has to have a Blu Ray player.
 
M

Monty Mole

Member
squidyj said:
If you think Sony's going to do what MS did on used games you haven't been paying attention.
Click to expand...
Sony still hasn't flat-out confirmed exactly what they're doing with used games though. They've always been a little cagey.

Yes, it'll play used games.... But is that with an activation pass or not?
 
D

dragonelite

Member
I think publisher will force sony to implement the same system like they did with microsoft.
There is a big difference between can play and will play on multiple systems.
 
D

D-e-f-

Banned
Krilekk said:
I still don't get however why Microsoft doesn't just offer a fully digital SKU - considering their strategy.
Click to expand...

Because not everyone can download 50gigs for a game as quickly as Joe Gamedude living in the city with supercharged internet.
 
R

rouken

Member
I see Sony doing the used games thing also, but they'll put on a great show with the games they'll present so people will eventually forget about it.
 
M

MrCookiepants

Member
Nintendo doesn't block used games. Neither does Sony's own Vita, which has to sit alongside the PS4 for the next 5 years.

Just because Microsoft is doing it, doesn't mean Sony has to. They're in a position right now where the last thing they want is to piss off their loyal customers.
 
C

Cheesecakebobby

Banned
Only thing that is certain is that either there will be some kind of DRM/ account linking for retail games or we won't be able to install games and play without the disk in.
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
Oh come on, if you aren't expecting some piece of bad news for these consoles at E3, you're kidding yourself. Whether it be an insane price, a ridiculous policy, an impeding service, there'll be something that'll piss everyone off.

That's how these things go. It's just a matter of how bad is that news...
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Microsoft in a way can enable Sony to take the same route and lock out that market entirely. Consumers will be fucked and have no next gen alternative that supports used games. But consumers will still buy the systems because they still have the games they desire.

I honestly feel like one of them doing so just enables the other to do so as well because its all gain for them from there onwards. And both MS and Sony offering more flexible MSRPs means that there will be cheaper alternatives showing up in the first place. The goodwill over not doing so isn't strong enough to collapse the game industry either, especially when the PS4 has pretty much everything else for it going swimmingly, this won't be a deal breaker for your average consumer who will just pay the $10 extra for the game they want anyways OR will be waiting a week for that game to hit a lower MSRP, which is all too common nowadays.

+ Happier publishers, especially towards your platform
+ Publishers getting more money to fund more games that is not going towards a terrible organization like GameStop instead
+ Killing GameStop
+ Better control over who is playing their game
+ Less dev time put into locking out parts of the game or trying to screw over used buyers, less of a headache for consumers who buy new (I.e. Arkham City)

People who care maybe should be worried. Personally, I don't buy used when there are so many damn sales for new games and I know I'm at least supporting the developers directly. I don't think Sony will do it because they're a few more goodwill announcements away from winning over the core gamer entirely, but I don't see the downsides being as great when they do, especially with how current gen has played out in terms of new game pricing.
 
L

LiquidSolid

Member
Monty Mole said:
Sony still hasn't flat-out confirmed exactly what they're doing with used games though. They've always been a little cagey.
Click to expand...

They'll do what they always do, leave it up to the publishers. If EA wants to make their shitty games online-only, they'll probably be able to, they just have to suffer the backlash and the possibility that it'll actually hurt sales themselves.

Edit: EA, not Microsoft.
 
G

ghst

thanks for the laugh
Nibel said:
Source (Gamespot)
Click to expand...

there is nothing about that statement which couldn't have also been made by an evasive microsoft chairman hoping for someone else to take the fall first.

whatever happens, the narrative has been set. if sony came out and said it back in march, all positive momentum would have been swept up in a shitstorm of bad feeling. if they reveal it at e3, many will rationalise it as they have already chosen their allegiance.

this is why they withhold information.
 
O

Oersted

Member
squidyj said:
If you think Sony's going to do what MS did on used games you haven't been paying attention.
Click to expand...

Tell us what we don´t know. They have been pretty silent about it, normally not a sign for a pro consumer move.

MrCookiepants said:
Nintendo doesn't block used games. Neither does Sony's own Vita, which has to sit alongside the PS4 for the next 5 years.

Just because Microsoft is doing it, doesn't mean Sony has to. They're in a position right now where the last thing they want is to piss off their loyal customers.
Click to expand...


So PS4 memory cards and online pass^^?
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
sakipon said:
Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
Click to expand...

B&M retailers have traditionally made very little from hardware sales. They make their money (at launch) from bundles, service plans, software and accessories. Take too much of that software pie away and they have no reason to push the box.
 
G

Graphics Horse

Member
sakipon said:
Me either! If they have such an issue with used games, and feel that games should not be played from disc, why drag discs into this at all. That actually would've saved them from this consumer confusion that's affecting their reputation.

That said, I don't think Sony will present bad news at E3. They'll drop them more discreetly sometime in the Fall.
Click to expand...

I feel they both will have evaluated being digital only, but the amount of people prepared to download large games made it not quite mass market enough yet. In a few years I can see that changing.
Make no mistake, neither party's inclusion of a BD-R drive was from a desire to support used games.
 
S

squidyj

Member
Monty Mole said:
Sony still hasn't flat-out confirmed exactly what they're doing with used games though. They've always been a little cagey.

Yes, it'll play used games.... But is that with an activation pass or not?
Click to expand...

It's going to be up to the publishers and I'm not sure how you'd get around that without committing suicide for your console.
 
T

Typhoon_Ex

Member
I think Sony is actually being very smart with the whole used games thing.
They are going to allow it, just as we have always done, while increasingly motivating it's gamers to move to DD. With PS+ we already are quite used to downloading large games and as the following generation moves along we should see more incentives to move do DD.
 
C

Callibretto

Member
bigbaldwolf86 said:
If Sony does what Ms have done then that would leave the Wii U being the only console that isn't doing it. That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Why would publishers 'push' these two to implement this into their system but not Nintendo? I said this is another thread but I think MS have taken this decision to garner 3rd party support and that's it. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong but I don't see Sony doing it at this point.
Click to expand...

I thnk ms did this all by themselves. maybe with some promise of exclusive content from EA. but other big publishers didn't seems like they want to actively block used games. Activision didn't even have online passes for CoD. and I think ubisoft ditch always online drm for their pc games last year
 
J

Jinko

Member
Sony have bad news coming no doubt, they have so far done everything right, that can't last much longer.

DRM policies, Price and launch availability will probably be where they slip up.
 
1

1st Course

Member
Offline play is already confirmed for the PS4:

Sony VP of WWS: Playstation 4 can still be enjoyed old school without an Internet connection at all

Yoshida: PS4 Games Playable Offline

Used games:

Sony: PS4 can play used games

SONY'S JACK TRETTON "TOTALLY OPPOSED TO BLOCKING USED Games"

Social features are optional:

PS4 Social features are completely optional

Gaming is #1 priority for Sony:

Sony Exec: PlayStation 4 ‘Absolutely Focused on Gamers’
PS4 to be “a next-gen console for gamers and made by gamers”?

PS4 is “gaming console at heart"
 
A

amardilo

Member
I think Sony is in the driving seat now they look to have the more powerful console and were far more gamer focused at their event so going into E3 they could have a lot of gamers attention.

I doubt for gamers there will be much worse news than what MS has said so far. Both MS and Sony will most likely match each other in terms of any anti-consumer stuff and with the MS E3 conference first they may get the sharp end of any backlash (if there is any).
 
M

Marmaladefire

Member
Here's the thing, the Xbone might as well be called the USAbox. They are dealing with one LARGE used game retailer for the most part, and the assumption that most people have a decent internet connection. Sony, who hopes to sell consoles to people who live in places outside of 'Murica has to take into account the internet situation and used games market of many countries, notably Japan and Europe. So to automatically assume they would have the same strategy is silly, because they aren't shooting at the same narrow target.

But if it makes you feel better about that Xbone, sure Sony is going to fuck up royally at E3.
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Typhoon_Ex said:
I think Sony is actually being very smart with the whole used games thing.
They are going to allow it, just as we have always done, while increasingly motivating it's gamers to move to DD. With PS+ we already are quite used to downloading large games and as the following generation moves along we should see more incentives to move do DD.
Click to expand...
This is the other strategy that is very smart, but I'm not sure how strong the incentive would be. People still like their discs, I certainly do. Far more future security than anything DD or that needs to check in with a Microsoft Server to even work.

EDIT: damn.. 1st course with that thread crushing post.
 
M

Muchi Muchi Pink

Member
Nintendo isn't doing this and if Sony isn't doing this as well, there is already two platforms not acting like steam. Maybe they lose some exclusives from EA then, but _I_ won't care about those.
 
S

Sean

Banned
Kotaku said this last year in their initial Orbis (PS4) leak:

Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it's changed since then but that sounds pretty similar to Microsoft's setup.
 
O

Oersted

Member
1st Course said:
Offline play is already confirmed for the PS4:

Sony VP of WWS: Playstation 4 can still be enjoyed old school without an Internet connection at all

Yoshida: PS4 Games Playable Offline

Used games:

Sony: PS4 can play used games

SONY'S JACK TRETTON "TOTALLY OPPOSED TO BLOCKING USED Games"

Social features are optional:

PS4 Social features are completely optional

Gaming is #1 priority for Sony:

Sony Exec: PlayStation 4 ‘Absolutely Focused on Gamers’
PS4 to be “a next-gen console for gamers and made by gamers”?

PS4 is “gaming console at heart"
Click to expand...

Do you even read?

Tretton's support of used games seems somewhat hollow, however, given that Sony is currently pushing the PSN Pass system, which requires second hand game owners to buy codes to use their games online. He did qualify his statements by adding that Japanese Sony executives may not see eye to eye with him on the matter.
Click to expand...
 
B

Bazza

Member
as i mentioned in another thread i cant see Sony doing anything except the online passes that are already used on the Vita and PS3
 
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