Official PlayStation 4 Used Game Policy gets updated
Just as the launch date of PlayStation 4 comes closer, Sony has surprised potential customers by updating their Software Usage Terms to disallow resell or renting of all PlayStation games unless authorized by them and the publisher in case it is not Sony.
Sony started off as the good guy against Microsoft’s Xbox One by announcing support for game-lending and resale at the E3 2013 conference back in June. No-DRM was also a key point of Sony’s PS4 presentation. However, Sony has updated the Software Usage Terms for the UK and backtracked on the claims it had made earlier.
The terms for PlayStation 3 can be read in entirety over here, the points in question are as follows:
6.3. You must not lease, rent, sublicense, publish, modify, adapt, or translate any portion of the Software.
7.1. You must not resell either Disc-based Software or Software Downloads, unless expressly authorised by us and, if the publisher is another company, additionally by the publisher.
The previous version of the document published in July did not include the newly introduced terms. A more generalized version of the Software Usage Terms which covers all PlayStation devices, has been published to the UK PlayStation website.
It is worth noting that an older, abridged version of those terms on the UK site already included a clause preventing the reselling of games for the PS3, but the newer terms have now expanded this to encompass the PS4 too, apparently contradicting Sony’s claims that it would not prevent users from selling their games on after use. We have contacted Sony to request clarification on their update terms, and will update this article if/when we hear from them.
Gamers who had been upset with Microsoft’s DRM policies voiced support for Sony’s PlayStation 4 after the E3 announcement which led to Microsoft reversing on some of their policies. The PlayStation 4 will be available in the US and Europe starting November 15 and November 29, respectively.
