AfterDawn: Tech news

Sony patents way to block used games

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jan 2013 6:55 User comments (52)

Sony patents way to block used games Sony has patented new technology that can block the use of used games on consoles.
The patent is for tech that will match individual game discs to user accounts, blocking gameplay for games that have already been played on another user's account.

Each disc will have a contactless tag that can be read by the console, similar to NFC/RFID.

Reads the patent (via EuroGamer): "When the game is to be played, the reproduction device conveys the disc ID and a player ID to the use permission tag. The use permission tag stores the terms of use of the game and determines whether a combination of the disc ID and the player ID conveyed from the reproduction device fulfills the terms of use or not."

It is clear that Sony wants to eliminate the used game market, where it doesn't see a cent.



"As a result [of the patented idea], the dealing of electronic content in second-hand markets is suppressed, which in turn supports the redistribution of part of proceeds from sales of the electronic content to the developers."


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52 user comments

13.1.2013 19:51

PS4 sales are going to be horrendous.

23.1.2013 20:31

Originally posted by Tazer247:
PS4 sales are going to be horrendous.
tell me about it

33.1.2013 21:25

$ony just might kill its own console if they add this to the PS4. I like the freedom of buying used games,for little money too. Apparently this pisses off $ony,since they can't dip their hands twice into the cookie jar! I hope it's an epic failure

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 03 Jan 2013 @ 9:26

43.1.2013 21:38

In theory this may not even be about their own technology. This may be about MS stating they were debating doing the same thing, and so Sony wanted to jump the gun on the patent first, so that if MS did incorporate into their technology, they'd have to pay Sony fees on every system.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 03 Jan 2013 @ 9:46

53.1.2013 22:01

Apple patented a way of censoring cellphones so that you could only type words if they were in the dictionary list. Meaning no more "fcuk" or "sh.it", etc. They did this YEARS ago and its still not in their phones.
Patents don't mean shit unless its to sue someone over.

63.1.2013 22:06

The beauty of this is that they patented one of the worst ideas in gaming history so that no one else can use it. :-D

73.1.2013 22:13

it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.

83.1.2013 22:53

Originally posted by ddp:
it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.
I'll get the popcorn :P

93.1.2013 22:55

make certain it is the buttered version not the plain version & a big bowl.

103.1.2013 22:58

Originally posted by ddp:
make certain it is the buttered version not the plain version & a big bowl.
Since we're talking condiments, I'm bringing pepperjack cheese powder as well, can't go wrong with cheese.

113.1.2013 23:18

What's next? Sony gonna stop us from watching borrowed dvd's? Pure greed.

123.1.2013 23:32

Originally posted by ddp:
it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.
Which is good for me. As I love my Xbox 360. So Microsoft can't do it. :D Let's face it, they won't pay....I pray.

133.1.2013 23:52

Originally posted by bigdan45:
Originally posted by ddp:
it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.
Which is good for me. As I love my Xbox 360. So Microsoft can't do it. :D Let's face it, they won't pay....I pray.
I don't know. Microsoft is running a closed system with apps, on Win 8, similar to Apple.

144.1.2013 00:32

best way for popcorn is buy it unpoped and a glass caserol bowl with a lid 30 seconds in the microwave and its done.personally i prefer to munch on crisp.

i think its a stupid idea to cut off used game sales.everytime im at the shopping centre i look at used games in eb games.picked up ssf4 for $15.once a product is sold the retailer and company that made that product has no business trying to cash in on it again and again.

154.1.2013 01:17
squewheet1
Unverified new user

I am a die hard play station user but if this happens I will sell all my play station stuff.

164.1.2013 02:11

Originally posted by ddp:
it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.
My thoughts exactly

174.1.2013 04:50

Assuming that the activation/pairing is immediate, what about games that are running in 'display units'? How about games that were bought then returned on the same day? In order to test a game, you need to activate it. Once its activated, its activated and linked to whatever machine.

Its possible that Sony is testing the waters and/or doing what Apple does and patent their idea so that if a competitor tries something similar, they can sue them.

Still sucks. What if the console breaks down and you need to buy another console? Are all the games rendered useless?

184.1.2013 09:35

Look at all that complicated and wasted resources to actively break an inherent feature, that is actually beneficial to mankind. Just like all DRM, breaking technology for the sake of plutocratic control freaks.

194.1.2013 09:35

Originally posted by greenacre:
Still sucks. What if the console breaks down and you need to buy another console? Are all the games rendered useless?
What if I borrow a game from my cousin? What if I rent it from a service like GameFly or Redbox?

What if my wife, in the same household, has a separate user account? Can they still play the game?

GameStop is the defacto big merchant in all of this, with others like Best Buy hopping aboard the used market. Watch them drop Sony like a bad habit if they tried to pull this crap, which would effectively hurt their business (or put GameStop out of business entirely.)
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 04 Jan 2013 @ 9:36

204.1.2013 10:13

Originally posted by ddp:
it will be hacked if sony proceeds with that idea.
Absolutely agree!

214.1.2013 10:51
RedskinsGM2B
Unverified new user

Originally posted by Mysttic:
In theory this may not even be about their own technology. This may be about MS stating they were debating doing the same thing, and so Sony wanted to jump the gun on the patent first, so that if MS did incorporate into their technology, theyd have to pay Sony fees on every system.
Microsoft had no intention of doing such a thing. Only the intention to "bait" SONY into "jumping the gun", garnering bad press & shooting their own future competition in the foot. LOL

224.1.2013 11:01

Hopefully this will kill sales. All the people I know that still run consoles do so because of Gamely...if Sony (and Microsoft) kills the rental market then these people would go yo PC and either pay 1/3 less for purchases or just pirate games to test if they are any good.

As for windows 8 being closed, that is only for the ARM version. X64 windows 8 has an app market but you can still install from removable media and downloads.

234.1.2013 13:29

I have 2 PS3s in my house, Im not going to buy 2 sets of games. Ive also gone through 5 Fat PS3. I wouldnt buy every game 5 times when I send my system back to sony for repair.

244.1.2013 13:40

I am not going to spend 60 bucks for every game.I like being able to buy a used game this way the grand kids can try something out and change up and grow a library of games.I am about to take everything Sony in the house and pile it up out back and start a burn pile.I know this I wont be buying a new ps4 nor anymore Sony crap.Sony is off my list of what we buy from now on.

254.1.2013 13:40

That Tech needs to die asap. No way would I ever pay $60 for a game that may or may not suck, then not be able to sell it for $3 to a game stop. That would just be BS. What they need id reverse compatibility so the loyal customers could feel warm and fuzzy.

264.1.2013 13:47

Is Sony aware that many game shops make their income mostly on pre-owned games ?.

In the shop's near me people are still buying ps2/xbox games, in fact there is more pre-owned shelf's then there is new shelf's.
If people could not buy and sell their games back then these shop's would go bust/bankrupt fast and then no games will sell.

Digital download copies don't work ether here in the UK as there is a lack of fibre optic broadband outside of London.
For me it took a around 10 hours to download "crysis 2 maximum edition" and I'm 4mb connection which most people in my area is 2-3mb and not unlimited.

So if Sony decides no more pre-owned games it will cause a lost in shops that sells the games, then no games will be sold as there will be no shops for it.

I don't think i'll buy a ps4 at this rate when the time comes, it will be xbox 720/wii-U and tablet gaming(tegra 4 will be a beast).

I must be able to by pre-owned games and that is a fact!.


274.1.2013 13:53

I guess that means Sony will also be out of the Games Rental Market as well, with the PS4. Surely that's a massive loss for Sony right there? I'm a die hard Playstation user, but even I hope they Crash and Burn over this one!!!

284.1.2013 14:14

Great! Justifiable elimination of "fair use".

WTF are they to say I can't buy a game from someone else that's done playing it??????? U.S. sucks! (I'm from Chicago)

294.1.2013 14:14

I hope car-makers don't get any ideas from this.

304.1.2013 15:00

This would be a sad day for all of those that own a Playstation and don't have an internet connection. For without the connection, their system which apparently looks like it archives these codes would fail. And Sony is the type to make sure that you would have to have an internet connection if they are going this far...

314.1.2013 16:02

Originally posted by ronatola:
I hope car-makers don't get any ideas from this.
My thought exactly. Could you imagine no longer being able to sell or buy a used car? Fat chance this'll ever be implemented.

324.1.2013 16:15

Originally posted by BigDDub:
Originally posted by ronatola:
I hope car-makers don't get any ideas from this.
My thought exactly. Could you imagine no longer being able to sell or buy a used car? Fat chance this'll ever be implemented.
I can see it but they will lose. They already do it with the add on's

334.1.2013 18:16

Originally posted by squewheet1:
I am a die hard play station user but if this happens I will sell all my play station stuff.

If this happens you won't be able to

344.1.2013 18:28

I have seen gaming evole into something like this for years, seems that everytime I get an EA or ubisoft game now im opening myself up for more abuse with their always connected to the internet crap, and registration crap, and new downloadable content crap on release day, and in-game advertizing "to reduce production costs" but not really. I love gaming but hate getting screwed by gaming companies. hate to be a negative nancy but things are getting suck real quick. yes I said things are getting suck. At this point I would believe these companies would do just about anything to give me crap product for as much as they can steal from me. Long live the Humble Bundle. Thanks for letting me rant.

354.1.2013 18:50

Originally posted by dodger5:
I have seen gaming evole into something like this for years, seems that everytime I get an EA or ubisoft game now im opening myself up for more abuse with their always connected to the internet crap, and registration crap, and new downloadable content crap on release day, and in-game advertizing "to reduce production costs" but not really. I love gaming but hate getting screwed by gaming companies. hate to be a negative nancy but things are getting suck real quick. yes I said things are getting suck. At this point I would believe these companies would do just about anything to give me crap product for as much as they can steal from me. Long live the Humble Bundle. Thanks for letting me rant.
LOL good one. To add to it. Whats up with the loading just to go to a menu that you can only just push the start or "X" button to just let it load some more!!!!! Hate that.

364.1.2013 22:08

Originally posted by dodger5:
I have seen gaming evole into something like this for years, seems that everytime I get an EA or ubisoft game now im opening myself up for more abuse with their always connected to the internet crap, and registration crap, and new downloadable content crap on release day, and in-game advertizing "to reduce production costs" but not really. I love gaming but hate getting screwed by gaming companies. hate to be a negative nancy but things are getting suck real quick. yes I said things are getting suck. At this point I would believe these companies would do just about anything to give me crap product for as much as they can steal from me. Long live the Humble Bundle. Thanks for letting me rant.
Even the companies that don't pull that crap find other ways to screw customers. Right now I can't play Hitman Absolution because Steam crashed while I was online...now it won't load offline mode because I didn't shut it down while it was online and it won't load online mode because it has decided that I am not online (?HOW AM I POSTING THIS?). Can't uninstall it because to redownload one game would cost me my entire monthly data allotment. I think I'm just going to download some cracks...and since I cannot load Steam and they don't release games on disk anymore apparently, the only options left would appear to be torrents and usenet.

374.1.2013 22:34

killer, did steam crash on your computer or did the steam site crash?

385.1.2013 00:40

im going on record and saying this is for digital downloads only since on any home system it would be a wasted effort they would have to let users have a way to remove it from there account if you change you system or you rent the game or if you are not at home and you want to play it at a friends house for that pipe dream of family game time they try to shove down our throats

395.1.2013 10:41

Originally posted by deak91:
im going on record and saying this is for digital downloads only since on any home system it would be a wasted effort they would have to let users have a way to remove it from there account if you change you system or you rent the game or if you are not at home and you want to play it at a friends house for that pipe dream of family game time they try to shove down our throats
I didn't know there was such a thing as 'used games' for digital downloads though.

405.1.2013 12:23

Originally posted by Tazer247:
Originally posted by deak91:
im going on record and saying this is for digital downloads only since on any home system it would be a wasted effort they would have to let users have a way to remove it from there account if you change you system or you rent the game or if you are not at home and you want to play it at a friends house for that pipe dream of family game time they try to shove down our throats
I didn't know there was such a thing as 'used games' for digital downloads though.
Some websites support trading digital games, I think steam is one off them but don't quote me on it ;).

415.1.2013 12:32

here's a quote from VGenscher:

Quote:
Some websites support trading digital games

425.1.2013 14:55

Sony are a bunch of fools. If they do that 2 things are possible.

1. No one buys the new PS due to the game blocking function, and games coming out with this function won't be bought. Thus Sony and game makers loose.

2. EB Games and other used disk providers loose lots of money and maybe go out of business.

I do see the used game console market getting over run and prices going up if people don't want to deal with that new process.

Another thing that irritates me is the fact that the game is matched to that console. Your console dies. Guess what, you have to also buy another game. That is where I don't like their lame ass idea.

435.1.2013 16:03

Originally posted by ddp:
killer, did steam crash on your computer or did the steam site crash?
The application crashed...had to use "end process tree" on it. Got back in today by tethering to my phone...after it started I closed it and backed up the whole folder so I can restore it the next time it happens. I also set my firewall to block it so it will always be in offline mode unless I need to be online to get a game.

445.1.2013 17:31

Hell, KillerBug, at that point, you may as well crack the damn game =x . Not like you're stealing it, after all.

455.1.2013 22:43
RickRock33
Unverified new user

I still don't see how game developers are going to see any increase in revenue from this move. Hardcore gamers drive the industry especially when the casual gamers are being fickle about spending money on games. This will do nothing but force hardcore gamers to jump off the Sony train on principle alone. Hate to be the company known for killing itself by making the most bonehead move ever. When Sony or another company uses this their competition will immediately win the console war. Will this even work if someone does not have their connected to the internet? With no connection how are they ever going to record the console and game ID relationship into their records?

Just thought of something. What if the game companies do this and kill gamestop, gamefly, and any other store making money this way. After the dust settles we see Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo stores open up all over the place. Replacing the game stores we used to go to. They could become the only stores we could buy their used games from. Plus other gaming accessories of course.

I guess a less dramatic possibility is they use this to somehow force stores selling used games to pay a fee to allow the games they sell to be played by customers. I think this makes more sense and will allow them to increase revenue without doing much of anything on their side. What will suck is it would force used games to increase in price.

466.1.2013 14:52

Originally posted by Mysttic:
In theory this may not even be about their own technology. This may be about MS stating they were debating doing the same thing, and so Sony wanted to jump the gun on the patent first, so that if MS did incorporate into their technology, they'd have to pay Sony fees on every system.
Maybe, but I don't think MS is that stupid. Remember that it was Sony/BMG that had that root kit program Trojan horse. And the big mess they made when they came out with the remove program that made things even worse. Sony is being a bunch of idiots and they wonder why they got hacked a few years ago.

477.1.2013 22:30

I have a very strange feeling that this will probably end up in the courts!

Most of Sony's boneheaded moves like the root kit usually do...and they also usually get their HEADS handed to them by a judge...I see nothing new here.

Sony introduces this and Sony gets sued and loses bigtime, Sony removes the DRM and life goes on.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 07 Jan 2013 @ 10:31

487.1.2013 22:39

Originally posted by RickRock33:
I still don't see how game developers are going to see any increase in revenue from this move. Hardcore gamers drive the industry especially when the casual gamers are being fickle about spending money on games. This will do nothing but force hardcore gamers to jump off the Sony train on principle alone. Hate to be the company known for killing itself by making the most bonehead move ever. When Sony or another company uses this their competition will immediately win the console war. Will this even work if someone does not have their connected to the internet? With no connection how are they ever going to record the console and game ID relationship into their records?

Just thought of something. What if the game companies do this and kill gamestop, gamefly, and any other store making money this way. After the dust settles we see Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo stores open up all over the place. Replacing the game stores we used to go to. They could become the only stores we could buy their used games from. Plus other gaming accessories of course.

I guess a less dramatic possibility is they use this to somehow force stores selling used games to pay a fee to allow the games they sell to be played by customers. I think this makes more sense and will allow them to increase revenue without doing much of anything on their side. What will suck is it would force used games to increase in price.
I am guessing, that some how, sony will have their consoles keeping track of the games wether you are online or not and locking out games. Now if you never go online, and your console dies, then you might be able to keep the game going. But, if some how, someone goes online, then you are lost on all games. Just a thought.

497.1.2013 22:49

http://d1vr6n66ssr06c.cloudfront.net/wp...logo_black1.jpg

Sony's own logo is just how they operate the company.

508.1.2013 07:15

Originally posted by warhascom:
Originally posted by RickRock33:
I still don't see how game developers are going to see any increase in revenue from this move. Hardcore gamers drive the industry especially when the casual gamers are being fickle about spending money on games. This will do nothing but force hardcore gamers to jump off the Sony train on principle alone. Hate to be the company known for killing itself by making the most bonehead move ever. When Sony or another company uses this their competition will immediately win the console war. Will this even work if someone does not have their connected to the internet? With no connection how are they ever going to record the console and game ID relationship into their records?

Just thought of something. What if the game companies do this and kill gamestop, gamefly, and any other store making money this way. After the dust settles we see Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo stores open up all over the place. Replacing the game stores we used to go to. They could become the only stores we could buy their used games from. Plus other gaming accessories of course.

I guess a less dramatic possibility is they use this to somehow force stores selling used games to pay a fee to allow the games they sell to be played by customers. I think this makes more sense and will allow them to increase revenue without doing much of anything on their side. What will suck is it would force used games to increase in price.
I am guessing, that some how, sony will have their consoles keeping track of the games wether you are online or not and locking out games. Now if you never go online, and your console dies, then you might be able to keep the game going. But, if some how, someone goes online, then you are lost on all games. Just a thought.
Even if someone does not connect to the internet there is methods to check the disk, for example I have a card swiper(from my bank) with as a authenticator built into it, its not got any WiFi but yet it still connects to a server and downloads a 8 digit code. I believe its down with a simcard/chip already paid for life(sony deal with company X) just built to receive and send 8 digit id's.
Doing so will make offline users block able.

518.1.2013 08:25

I was thinking each system has a custom serial or something it can write to the disc, so if it reads a disc without one, it is a new game, if it has one that doesn't match it, it is a used game, if it matches, it is their game and can play normally. I'm not exactly an expert so someone chime in if this wouldn't work somehow.

528.1.2013 15:29

VGenscher - are you talking about RSA SecurID devices?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/27/smartcard_crypto_attack/

13 minutes to crack. Then pirate groups just release key generators once they figure out the crypto key and whatever seed data is necessary.

This stuff is always a cat and mouse game...the real loser is the legitimate customer.

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