Possible Third-Party DRM restrictions on PS4

[labelmeoriginal]

Worth a read. PS4 DRM policies are a bit more complicated than they really made it out to be.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/11/playstation-4-drm-policies-third-party/

"There's gonna be free-to-play, there's gonna be every potential business model on there, and again, that's up to their relationship with the consumer, what do they think is going to put them in the best fit. We're not going to dictate that, we're gonna give them a platform to publish on. The DRM decision is going to have to be answered by the third parties, it's not something we're going to control, or dictate, or mandate, or implement."

That's the new word out of Tretton's mouth, which seems to indicate that players like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Treyarch and pretty much any PS4 game maker outside of Sony's own umbrella can cobble together any combination of policies they want.

 

[dmaul1114]

That's always been the case.  Nothing Sony, MS or Nintendo can do to stop publishers from using their own DRM if they wanted to.

A few PSN games from Capcom (and maybe some others) required being online to play (and thus couldn't be played when PSN was down for a month or whatever).

EA and others implemented their own online passes.  Etc.

The difference is MS has implemented a built in DRM systems that requires 24 hour check ins, has partnered with retailers to create a systems where games can only be traded in at participating retailers etc.

With Sony not building that type of stuff into the PS4, nor partnering with retailers (as far as we know anyway) on systems to allow the trade ins, license transfers etc., it's unlikely PS4 games could have that type of DRM.  So more likely it will just be like the PS3 is now where publishers can require being connected to PSN to play, or can implement online passes etc. if they want to.

And hopefully any that do have their DRM games boycotted.

 

[labelmeoriginal]

The fact that a developer has the freedom or ability to implement DRM restrictions within their game is a bit unsettling. It's likely nothing.. but something to keep an eye on.

 

[Vinny]

This is not news. I don't get why this is popping up everywhere now. Sony already said this over a week ago.

http://www.maxconsole.com/news/PLAYSTATION%203/Yoshida--PS4-Online-DRM-Will-Be-Up-To-Publishers-RKSID00000000000000000928.html

A company can implement these same types of DRM on current gen consoles.

 

[htz]

The fact that a developer has the freedom or ability to implement DRM restrictions within their game is a bit unsettling. It's likely nothing.. but something to keep an eye on.

At least we have an option to not buy from the publishers that implement it.

 

[labelmeoriginal]

This is not news. I don't get why this is popping up everywhere now. Sony already said this over a week ago.

http://www.maxconsole.com/news/PLAYSTATION%203/Yoshida--PS4-Online-DRM-Will-Be-Up-To-Publishers-RKSID00000000000000000928.html

A company can implement these same types of DRM on current gen consoles.

True, but given DRM restrictions are going to become mandatory on the X1, you'd think that publishers may feel more comfortable implementing those restrictions within their games on the PS4 (or even the Wii U).

It happened with online passes. It wasn't popular in the beginning, and EVERYONE was against the idea. That didn't keep EA from continuing the unpopular trend.. and other developers/publishers followed suit. Who's to say this won't happen with DRM restrictions?

 

[Blaster man]

On a platform with some games that have DRM for single player games and some that do not, those that have it will not sell well. This means the PS4 will have no single player DRM while the same game on XbOne will. Who will want an XbOne?

 

[Plinko]

I will simply boycott any publisher who does put these restrictions on their stuff.

 

[KrebStar]

The fact that a developer has the freedom or ability to implement DRM restrictions within their game is a bit unsettling. It's likely nothing.. but something to keep an eye on.

That's how things were this generation, hence the online passes.

Frankly, it's rather disgusting how many sites immediately jumped on this with the most negative spin possible. Yeah, I know, "games journalism lol", but I guess I'll always keep expecting people to have a little more respect for their craft. Call it a weakness. Jim Sterling's article on this situation earned him a little more respect in my book, and if the article he linked to in his update is true, then yeah, nothing to worry about.