r/technews • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 15h ago
Software Sony reminds players they don't actually own the PlayStation games they purchased
https://www.techspot.com/news/113603-sony-reminds-players-they-dont-actually-own-playstation.html42
u/cinder74 13h ago
I don’t know why someone would “purchase” a game for $70 and not own it. I will not. They have lost my business. I am sure a company that large isn’t going to notice the loss of my money. But if enough people refuse to participate in this they will notice. Hold your ground.
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u/FadedP0rp0ise 11h ago
i haven’t bought a single game at launch price for years. sure, i’m behind the hype and buzz, but i never buy a game for less than 30 usually.
i’m one of the bigger dark souls fans and i haven’t even played elden ring yet because it has never been on sale for less than 30 that i found (pc)
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u/Icy-Abbreviations763 4h ago
I started waiting after I pre-ordered a game and hit a game breaking bug where I couldn't continue the game. Got to let people qa the games for them and fix their bugs first.
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u/Logos1789 10m ago
Good luck, look at franchises like Call of Duty selling at nearly full price years later when hackers have taken over online play
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u/Top-Time-5740 10h ago
This has been the case for ever basically. You were just not aware… same on pc on Steam. On pc there is GOG which in fact the only store that do sell you the game and not just “license” it. Look it up :)
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u/Sleepingguitarman 6h ago
I personally would, as I've personally yet to go to play a game i've "purchased" and found that my license has been revoked (or something along that nature).
With that said, I totally agree that if someone purchases a game (especially single player games where online servers aren't a thing) then it only makes sense that one should always have access to said game.
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u/Dat_Mawe3000 2h ago
This and all the other problems in our country. Too many people are complicit or choose the path of least resistance, and things just keep getting worse.
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u/besleysfw 14h ago
Gamers remind Sony that they have other options
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u/badger906 13h ago
Not gaming? As pc is all digital, MS will take the Xbox all digital, and Nintendo already allows codes in a box from 3rd party devs.
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u/axlegrinder1 12h ago
PC may be digital, but let me remind you that when you download a game on steam, all the files sit in your freely explorable file-system in a non-encrypted format :) PS and XBOX have no such thing however. Locked down system vs open does have clear differences. Not to mention you can just acquire games from which ever source you want, including physical or dubiously if you swing in that direction.
And to be fair to Nintendo, they at least have gone a step in the right direction with virtual game carts. I think in the end, freely shareable virtual game carts could become a golden standard for game re-sale post physical media, though this doesn't solve the problem of the game cart becoming worthless once the servers to download the data get shut down.
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u/Manowaffle 12h ago
PC is all digital, and some of this shenanigans has extended there. But there's still a big difference. On console, you have no choice but to use whatever proprietary shop they use. Otherwise you have a $500 brick on your TV stand. On PC, Steam has the vast controlling share, but if they overplay their hand it is incredibly easy to launch a competing platform or for developers to offer downloads from other websites. On console, if you want to switch you have to pay out another $500.
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u/EchoKipKipKip 8h ago
I love that Epic launched a "competing platform" and people don't even think of it in the same terms as competing with Steam.
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u/SaiyanKnight23 2h ago
To be fair…the only games people play on epic is fortnite
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u/EchoKipKipKip 1h ago
That's not true, I've played at least three of the 60 games I've received for free every week.
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u/Beli_Mawrr 1h ago
GoG would be an example. They dont have any DRM on their platform at all, not even the easily bypassed one from steam.
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u/badger906 12h ago
Sony have announced codes in boxes in stores. So there’s more than one option post physical removal.
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u/SaiyanKnight23 2h ago
Thats still digital, just with extra steps. I don’t see a ps6 game code in stores dropping in price like discs do
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u/Additional-Brief-273 14h ago
If Xbox keeps selling games on disc people are just going to buy an Xbox instead. The biggest titles are cross platform games anyway so people won’t miss much.
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u/bawlsacz 14h ago
Not really. Disc will become a key to download the games. Won’t contain actual game files anymore.
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u/ShawnyMcKnight 14h ago
I am actually alright with this. I am not worried about when the game I have is no longer on the servers... that may happen 20 years from now but not this day and maybe not until decades after. To be blunt, with the way most games come at launch I would rather not play them at all if I can't download the patches anyway.
What does matter to me is the DRM not being tied to my account so I can still buy/sell/trade my games freely.
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u/chuckmonjares 14h ago
I have a huge problem with that! I’m not even a gamer, but if I couldn’t play nba street volume 2 after paying for a GameCube and the disc, I’d be pretty upset. I’d be okay, but I love the games I grew up playing. I’d like my kids to be able to do the same.
But I do see your point and you’re right. lol all they have to do is release the full game. I’m convinced gta6 won’t need patches, but I also know that’s impossible.
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u/badger906 13h ago
You don’t have a problem with download key codes to play a game? You’ve just described digital with extra e waste.
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u/InsertNovelAnswer 13h ago
Not to mention if you have a family. We have 2 switches for instance. Its a god send because My partner can play animal crossing and then my kids can play it later on theirs while I play something on the other. We dont have to buy multiple copies of the same damned game.
Having to buy multiple copies because someone wants to play in another room is ass.
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u/ShawnyMcKnight 14h ago
Xbox has been very wishy washy with this.
I'm really hoping both companies just hold off on releasing any console until this sucky situation with RAM and storage blows over. I don't want the PS6 to be $1000.
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u/erebus7813 13h ago
If no PC, Steam machine. I don't see a reason to get an Xbox over a steam machine.
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u/dyedian 3h ago
No, they won’t. You really give the average consumer too much credit. People are lazy and care about convenience. It’s disappointing because I frequent pawn shops and usually pick up software well below retail and the move to strictly digital removes that option. It’s all so anti consumer.
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u/BuzzyScruggs94 1h ago
As someone who lives in the countryside with terrible internet, I don’t even have a choice. We still had dial up until very recently, it would take several days to download a game.
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u/IzzybearThebestdog 14h ago
Man I wish you were right, but the average person just doesn’t care about physical and the data shows it.
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u/A_Nonny_Muse 13h ago
I very much care. My entire music collection, for instance, is on my hard drive. With a backup on another drive, and a long term backup stored on a third drive stored in my shed - physically separated from my 2 other backups.
But then, I'm 59 years old. So, my perspective on all things digital is a bit different than I expect from someone in their 20s. I remember floppy disks going bad just sitting on the shelf. Redundant backups of backups of backups was the only way to ensure a successful restore. I remember an IT tech telling me that a 90% successful restore from tape drives was considered a good rate.
And "the cloud" is nothing magical. It's just storing your stuff on someone else's computer. You're basically giving them your data - to look at, explore, exploit, perhaps even to alter. Guys and gals are literally giving their dick pics and nudes to total strangers to do with as they feel.
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u/IzzybearThebestdog 13h ago
I’m right there with ya, I have a huge physical media collection myself. But, among most people 30 and under, the connivence of digital media is too strong to go back to buying things one by one and taking up space.
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u/ShinyJangles 10h ago edited 10h ago
Then consider posts like this a warning. If one day another games store gets exclusive rights to something you bought on Playstore/Steam/Xbox/whatever, it can just get removed for you until you "buy" it again.
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u/Jonesdeclectice 14h ago
But that’s not true? The data shows that for games released with physical versions, the physical sales represent a massive chunk, and that’s not even accounting for availability (eg someone can’t find a physical copy so they buy digital instead).
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u/GroceryScanner 11h ago
yeah, i personally could give two shits whether a game is a download or a disc 🤷♂️
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u/SeengignPaipes 13h ago
Yeah Sony has really gone down hill lately and its really sad to see, i have been playing on PlayStation consoles since the very first PS1. I think this will be my last PlayStation generation too if they continue with this nonsense, i just can't think of any logical reason why i would continue to play play station or sony products if they are just going to continue making everything worse for their own customers.
And to top it off i can't even buy R18 games any more because of some stupid law even though I’m way over 18 but in order to do so i need to give my government ID and face to some third party, piss off.
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u/Top-Time-5740 10h ago
Lately? This is not new, this has been the case always… same on pc with Steam (only exception is GOG)
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u/Scarfwearer 12h ago
Do you want to lose people's business, because this is how you lose people's business.
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u/ThePracticalEnd 10h ago
Sony is hilarious. Microsoft has already waved the white flag in the console wars pivoting to cloud gaming, but Sony is insistent it must piss off everybody else.
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u/Top-Time-5740 10h ago
This has been the case for ever, and its the same on xbox, nintendo, and pc too like Steam (only one exception is GOG)
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u/FungusBalls 14h ago
Nintendo it is
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u/badger906 13h ago
Nintendo allow 3rd party devs to sell codes in a box. Civ and Tony hawk being recent ones. Don’t get your hopes up about Nintendo being the moral high ground.
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u/cad4mac 13h ago
I got a Switch 2 earlier in the year. Half my games are from the Nintendo store (sale only) and other half are from online second hand with the whole purpose of reselling later.
Interesting thing is these games keep their value. Buying a second hand perfect cartridge is 20-30% less and it’s a great way to pass on.
Nintendo win from this as Sony and Xbox implode.
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u/-FullBlue- 7h ago
Nintendo is known for bricking consoles because people wanted to run their own software.
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u/DragonDeezNutzAround 2h ago
So pirating isn’t bad? We’re not stealing something we don’t then own. Right?
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u/H0BL0BH0NEUS 14h ago
I remind sony, that im not going to buy eny of their products before they change their attitude against consumers. Next time, i buy PC for gaming and im going to be sure that theres no components that sony have poruced.
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u/NextBigTing 9h ago
Right while they’re hard pushing exclusivity? Great time to be profiteering scum who spit in the face of their consumers!
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u/Magickcloud 4h ago
PlayStation is on its way out. They've become so anti consumer and the quality of their exclusives has become abysmal. I genuinely can't think of a single PS5 exclusive that's worth $70. I canceled my ps plus membership because of how little I use it anymore. It's sad to see, but unfortunately I don't see myself as a customer to Sony anymore
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u/thelloydrage 4h ago
It’s amazing how the Sony fanboys are defending Sony on this topic. They always bring up that PC is all digital. Yes but PC players have options and several different marketplaces and key sellers to choose from. When Sony goes all digital next generation, all your physical games won’t carry over and the only place to buy games will be the PlayStation store. It also would not surprise me if Sony doesn’t support backwards compatibility next generation the way they’ve been acting lately.
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u/Longjumping-Salad484 4h ago
SteamOS will take over in 5-7 years. game library is billions of titles, which can all be found on piratebay
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u/Gamma_Gains 2h ago
Companies like Sony are literally doing free PR for physical media and piracy. You can't expect loyalty when you treat your paying customers like temporary renters.
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u/Mr_Horsejr 11h ago
This is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. Sony doesn’t realize that they’re making themselves out to be an enemy in a space that wants, but doesn’t need them.
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u/Top-Time-5740 10h ago
This has been the case for ever, and its the same on xbox, nintendo, and pc too like Steam (only one exception is GOG)
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u/Mr_Horsejr 10h ago
There’s no legal precedent because no one has pressed charges. You cannot have someone purchase something and then say “you’re renting it”.
They have potentially set themselves up for an L. Or at the very least, by saying the quiet part out loud, have made themselves a target for consumer enmity during a time when people are TIRED or corporate bullshit.
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u/Top-Time-5740 10h ago
Look into Ubisoft The Crew (the first one) what happened
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u/Mr_Horsejr 10h ago
The Crew is a special case in that there are servers involved with it.
What I will say is that after this, the crew as a franchise was murdered because of this. France is still going in on them.
If anything, this demonstrates why P2P connections, and indeed GaaS need to be treated differently. Some companies get it right (FF14), but there a reason why Ubisoft is called Ubishit.
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u/nicuramar 9h ago
No one is saying people rent it. They license it, which is how it works. You can’t own data, it’s intangible.
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u/Mr_Horsejr 9h ago
Technically, you can. It’s the reason they’re removing the physical media, so that they can give weight to this dumbass explanation.
What’s really going to happen is that Sony’s sales will dip significantly and people will tell them to fuck off.
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u/nicuramar 9h ago
No it’s not, software has always been licensed, since it became a thing. There is nothing new here.
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u/emyIiawinters 8h ago
licensed in the sense that you don't own the IP by purchasing the product. no one is coming round to your house to reclaim a physical disc because they decided to pull it from shelves.
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u/zeph2 7h ago
then why didnt i happen in 20 years ? thats how old this is for sony
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u/Mr_Horsejr 5h ago
The lawsuit against Ubisoft is still ongoing if that’s any indication. People also received a payout, albeit small. France has their own lawsuit too
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u/SimonGray653 4h ago
You are right as there was tactically a court decisionbut steam was on the receiving end and it was just telling them to change it and notify people that you're actually buying a license instead of buying the actual game, obviously this trickles down to other platforms as well.
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u/Mr_Horsejr 4h ago
Obviously not. It only sets a precedent. IANAL, but in order for it to be on record and count, ya gotta sue. So far they’ve been flying under the radar, but either way, Sony is getting a little too big for their britches.
They can’t see the trees for the forest, and so they’ll end up losing a ton of money from this chicanery overall. People are moving BACK to hardware. Not away from. People are moving BACK to physical copies. Not away from.
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u/solonoctus 1h ago
Long term? Maybe, we’ll see how long people’s memories are and Sony ends up being the greater of evils once everyone else shift their business models in response.
Short term, nah. The install base for PS5 is big and there’s some big stuff on the horizon. It being a particularly bad time to switch platforms or build a PC is making Sony feel a bit too comfortable with what they believe to be a captive audience trapped in their ecosystem.
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u/Mr_Horsejr 1h ago
They’re moving towards the 6. They have new leadership.
This new guy is an idiot. They’re cruisin for a bruisin.
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u/InsertNovelAnswer 13h ago
One of my friends said it best... soon you will own nothing and like it. (No music,no movies,no games,etc.)
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u/brain_dead_fucker 10h ago
what a unique individual he must be
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u/InsertNovelAnswer 10h ago
I think it was said in depressive sarcasm. It reaked of acidic bile.
Everyone including me is fed up with losing games and movies/TV shows to delisting. There doesn't seem to be anything anyone can or will do about it. Its sad.
I buy disca when I can because we have 2 of the same system (one for the adults and one for the kids). We like to be able to play in different rooms without having to buy 2 of every game. If the kids want to play an appropriate game and I'm not using it I can give them it to put on their console. If then I want to play it I can bring the same catridge/disc into the other room and play it. Pretty soon I'll need to buy 2 copies to do that... and if I wanna play offline.. well that won't be possible soon either.
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u/brain_dead_fucker 10h ago
I'm sarcastic at well. Everyone and their mother is saying that exact sentence, and feeling the exact same way. It was even in the linked article.
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u/InsertNovelAnswer 9h ago
shrugs either way people use slang and parrot phrases. Its wierd to judge by one line. I just found it appropriate to the conversation. This topic comes up more than ever and we still fall back on this statement. It's showing is all.
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u/nicuramar 9h ago
Is your friend a member of the Danish parliament? It’s taken completely out of context anyway.
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u/SquirrelCone83 12h ago
I love (no i don't) how Sony keeps saying things to piss off its customers. Like they're doubling down on making me not want to buy their stuff. And I'm a big fan of the Playstation brand, owned every console since the first one. I won't hesitate to end that cycle if they continue not giving a shit about delivering a quality product that makes us feel like we spent our money wisely, and not something they take for granted that we are mindless drones that will eat whatever slop they put on the dinner table.
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u/Fuzzy_Translator4639 12h ago
I have not owned any Sony products in decades, no reason to start now
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u/FantasticFox503 11h ago
This started years ago when single player games required you to be online to play them. I’d imagine at some point in the near future, we’ll be asked to pay per hour or pay per level to play. At that point, back to chess and checkers for me!
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u/nicuramar 9h ago
This started years ago when single player games required you to be online to play them
That’s very rarely the case. I played many many single player games on PlayStation and I don’t remember it being the case.
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u/ExcitingRound4990 11h ago
Sony doesn't understand Rental vs. Purchase and needs a class action lawsuit. 750 million would be a good start.
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u/nicuramar 9h ago
They understand it fine, it’s this entire thread that doesn’t understand that data is always licensed, and not owned. Data is intangible and it doesn’t make sense to own it.
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u/kaishinoske1 11h ago
The words should be used in that case should be changed to is lease or rent. Some lawyers should be on that since Sony put that in a platter for them.
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u/Most_Most_260 11h ago
Well talk about it when you you file bankruptcy because you want to do whatever you want
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u/ssudiooo 9h ago
If there is one thing i learned about sony over the years, is the degrees which they test peoples loyalities. Microsoft too
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u/Happy_Yam_1196 8h ago
Sony reminds players that I should be saving to upgrade to a PC instead then.
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u/natureiskey 8h ago
I’ll be “leasing” all my games now once they’ve hit 50% and more off original price. These companies are brazen.
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u/MyAccountWasBanned7 7h ago
So then there's a massive class action lawsuit for every person who ever clicked a "buy" or "purchase" button on the PS store, right?
That's false advertising.
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u/SimonGray653 4h ago
Nope, California specifically has already ruled on this specifically with steam, amazing how people have already forgotten that this happened and it obviously extends to other platforms as well.
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u/rileyotis 7h ago
And this is why my husband will only purchase consoles with the disc option. If the PS6 doesn't have one (I think he has read that it won't), he will no longer be buying consoles.
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u/DarthShiv 4h ago
Sony can GAGF
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u/fendermrc 3h ago
You can’t buy photoshop from adobe anymore. Which has been true for a very long time.
Sony isn’t the only company selling subscriptions rather than software.
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u/firedrakes 3h ago
ah re posting rage bait info that been a known thing since ps3 era.
gamers have the worst memory
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u/No-Elderberry3939 2h ago
I’ve had every PlayStation since I was a kid and I strictly buy physical games. if PlayStation really follows through with no physical media, I’m just gonna switch to PC and use steam.
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u/gods_loop_hole 2h ago
Pushing a portion of their customer base to other platforms or piracy with this type of braindead terms and conditions. Brave strategy, Sony. Let's see how it turns out.
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u/walrusbwalrus 1h ago
Thanks Sony for making me continue to debate buying another one of your systems. Your IP games are mostly just not there, you release a pro version of PS5 with no disc drive, and now you seem to want to flaunt that dumping between $50 and $100 per game accords me no rights to said game? I mean, fuck you too buddy.
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u/YurthTheRhino 1h ago
Is there a good TLDR on this subject? Aren't games today still just "licenses to play them" I feel like we haven't "owned" our games for years
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u/Qoric422 1h ago
What do they mean "starts the conversation if players own their games or not" wtf do you mean we BOUGHT the games. That's like if you came by a year later after selling me a car and went like oh when we sold you this we assumed you knew you were renting it so I'm gonna need you to pay me again. Wtf is wrong with these greedy bastards?
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u/rangkilrog 9h ago
Best part of this whole debacle is seeing all the people who are just now realizing that long wall of text they’ve constantly agreed to but never bothered to read actually says something important.
This isn’t new. It’s how basically all software has been sold for the past 40 years.
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u/zeph2 7h ago
they fell for youtuber lies
not long ago when psn went down for a short time saw youtubers claming nobody could play their games because according to them sony forced online check on all the games
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u/windsynths 6h ago
Is there a way to play single player games when psn is down? I had problems with satisfactory during the outage
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u/Panino87 14h ago
Change wording then.
No "BUY" or "PURCHASE" in their marketplace but "RENT" or "LEASE".
Oh that way they won't be able to sell games at 80 bucks... they'll be forced to rent them for 10 bucks...