no renting in future

[Empu-Dragon]

i here that the ps3 will have this thing where if you play a game on the cosal then that game will get an imprint on it so it can only be played on your sistem im pritty sure this is true but if it is i mean it would mean no renting ever since you wouldent be able to play the games for any one else this is so stuped there going to force you to only buy games that sucks.

(im sorry but i heard this on aots on the g4 network im afraid i can not dirrect this to a website so you can read about this delema)

[Captain Maxx Power]

That would suck entirely, because it means that once a game's used you can't lend it to anyone else, and you can't sell it on at a later date. It seems like a breach of the rights of anyone who happens to pay good money for the use of a game. Copying and selling the game is understandable, but selling the game on to others that you've paid good money for...nah, not right at all.

[Meat Puppet]

so if you go pee pee on your ps3 you gotta buy a new GAME for every game you owned too now? sux

[Slothy]

After an admittedly quick scan of some of the major game sites I can't find anything about this. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably rumor despite that you heard it on the G4 network. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen rumors stated as fact from a source assumed to be reputable *cough*EGM*cough*. Honestly, I doubt this is true. For starters, renting is pretty big. There are plenty of people out there who won't even buy some games without renting them first. And the thing is, to imprint the game as you say, they would have to write information to the disc I would think. Generally, companies don't let you do that (probably to avoid accidentally writing over your game), and as far as I know there's no indication the PS3 will have the ability to write information to Blu-Ray discs, and I see no reason why it would have that ability.

[Markus. D]

the idea is pretty good, it will stop people from doing stuff on puters :) some...how...

[Tidus Andronicus]

For one, I have NO idea how its even possible for the PS3 to prevent you from playing it on another system... Plus, that would be REALLY stupid of Sony... cause they'd just be fcking up the market place then... rentals get screwed, trade ins get screwed, players that go to a friends house get screwed... I'm sure Sony wouldn't be THAT moronic!

Either way, this is another reason why I will be buying the Revolution first...
*adds it to the list*

Reasons (not to convice you, these are just my personal reasons XD)
1. The awesome controller
2. The ultimate backwards compatibility to NES
3. The free online services
4. The games (more on Rev that I will enjoy playing)
5. The price of the console ($150-$250)
6. No region codes or fancy annoying copy protection/DRM cripe

I could go on... but this isn't a Rev thread. So thats the short version. XD

Anyway, I really want to get the PS3... eventually... mainly for the graphics... and the few games I might actually want to play on it! lol ...but it wont be my first next gen console.

[Dreddz]

Im 100 % thats not gonna happen.
Sony will know that People will get very pissed if they had to buy every game they owned. Actually, another Court Case will happen IMO ( the fisrt being the cheap lasers used )

[ljkkjlcm9]

If sony did that, it may be a sure way to seriously hurt themself and knock them down in the gaming market, because the X-Box 360 and the Revolution do not do that.

THE JACKEL

[Maxico]

What would the possibly gain from that?

It's a rumour and a poorly thought out one at that.

[omnitarian]

Sony has indeed secured a patent for this... thingy. (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=ptxt&S1=%28Kutaragi.INZZ.+AND+Sony.ASNM.%29&OS=in/Kutaragi+AND+an/Sony&RS=%28IN/Kutaragi+AND+AN/Sony)

What remains to be seen is if they'll actually use it on the PS3.

[Craig]

But if someone made a copy of a game, before it got played, wouldn't the copy be playable?

[Skyblade]

Sony isn't that stupid. They would be committing suicide on the video game market. Not only would they be preventing rentals, but they would also be forcing anyone whose system was ruined to have to buy new games, and they would prevent people from playing their games on a friend's system. This is a marketing disaster, and it wouldn't even do much to prevent piracy, since people who copy those games could probably find a way around it anyway. They would just be pissing off all the law abiding citizens who get their games (who also happen to be the major source of their income).

[Endless]

But if someone made a copy of a game, before it got played, wouldn't the copy be playable?

No, because the original disc includes information that cannot be found/burned on a normal disc, in particular a special magnetic track where information about the disc's physical characteristics can be stored. That special track is what gets erased when you play the game for the first time, and the data that was on the track gets stored in the device (on a hd for example). When you put a disc in, it checks the game's id, then checks if it already has the data, and if not (copied game, used game), checks if it can read the info. If it can't, bam, tells you you are a bad person. The patent specifically says it will make reselling near impossible, since it's aimed at stopping people from buying "used software" and "counterfeit software".

[Cloud No.9]

the ps3 doesn't have a writer and so couldn't write anything onto the disc preventing it from being used on another machine. unless they are talking about saving a code or some such on the machine like the steam system.

[Skyblade]

No, because the original disc includes information that cannot be found/burned on a normal disc, in particular a special magnetic track where information about the disc's physical characteristics can be stored. That special track is what gets erased when you play the game for the first time, and the data that was on the track gets stored in the device (on a hd for example). When you put a disc in, it checks the game's id, then checks if it already has the data, and if not (copied game, used game), checks if it can read the info. If it can't, bam, tells you you are a bad person. The patent specifically says it will make reselling near impossible, since it's aimed at stopping people from buying "used software" and "counterfeit software".

I give it about two months, max, before someone finds out a way to copy the information and put it back on a disc. It's not going to do a thing to stop piracy.

Also, it it's magnetic media, they're going to piss even more people off, since then it will have to be treated even more delicately than a standard CD/DVD.

[Endless]

Cloud: You don't need a dvd/cd/whatever-burner to put that in application. If you'd read the patent, they say it can be achieved by using a magnet placed in the tray. It doesn't write anything on the disc, it erases.

As for the disc in itself, I give it a good expectancy. It's the system that will get modded to go around it (make it think the game you inserted is already registered and the characteristics are the same).

[Skyblade]

You don't need a dvd/cd/whatever-burner to put that in application. If you'd read the patent, they say it can be achieved by using a magnet placed in the tray. It doesn't write anything on the disc, it erases.

That wasn't what I meant. If it stores the info that was on the disc in the system, it is only going to be a matter of time before someone figures out how to take the info from the system and put it back on the disc. I give it two months before that happens, and then piracy will continue, with no change except now a bunch of gamers are pissed at Sony (especially since bringing your discs too close to a magnet will render them unplayable).

[edczxcvbnm]

The patent and everything is there but Sony would make too many enemies if they did this. Say good by to Video rentals...not to mention game stores seeing as how they couldn't buy back games because of this and then resell them which is the huge majority of their profits.

It is a stupid market plan. This is probably something that they thought about and came up with as anti-piracy but upon actual market analysis decide it was retarded.

[Skyblade]

Yeah, I'd actually just thought about the used-games thing too. So now a lot of gamers, the companies that rent games, and places like GameStop that sell used games are going to be pissed at them. And they think this is a good idea? As I said, it is marketing suicide. Both the Revolution and the X-Box 360 would become more popular than the PS3, and that would be pathetic.

[Endless]

I think (hope) Ed's right and that they thought "hey! let's lock a copy of the game to a particular console to stop reselling and copying" and the one that thought it commited sepukku after the guy from marketing told him "and let's alienate all the players AND the stores. Yeah right. You're fired, here's a sword".

Edit: for the record, there 's no video game renting in France.

[Madame Adequate]

I sincerely doubt Sony would push this through. Largely because they came into the industry out of nowhere, and managed to become the biggest on the market - I have to suspect the guile which got them here remains.

As has been noted, there are some severe problems with this idea. Rentals would be stopped, trade-ins would be stopped*, borrowing or playing at friend's houses would be stopped, and you'd be totally boned if your machine broke.

* To be sure, there's been a movement in Japan to enact this very thing for some time now. At least since the days of the PS1, and possibly earlier.

I don't think Nintendo and Microsoft would be slow to pounce on this at all. The only notable result Sony would get here is to alienate a vast number of gamers, and probably lose significant swathes of revenue to their competitors.

[Reine]

This would so totally suck. In fact, its beyond "suck"

[Elite Lord Sigma]

This would so totally suck. In fact, its beyond "suck"

About a centillion light years beyond the word "suck" actually.

P.S. A centillon is a 1 with 303 zeroes behind it.

[Madame Adequate]

About a centillion light years beyond the word "suck" actually.

P.S. A centillon is a 1 with 303 zeroes behind it.

I thought it had 600 zeroes?

Edit: Just checked, in England it is (Or rather used to be, as we're changing) 10^600, in the US it's 10^303.

[eestlinc]

i hope they do that so i don't feel any need whatsoever to waste money on a PS3.

[YukiKiro]

if this actually happens, my money is going for a 360, if sony want to pull this kind of crap they can find someone else to play their games.

[Erdrick Holmes]

Yet another potential reason to not buy this console.