Sony does it again!
13 November 2005 @ 11:32
Sony, not content enough alienating customers of its music business by installing rootkits under the excuse of Digital Rights Management, has done it again. This time it’s their games business, though!
A recent patent filed by Sony describes a technology which would tie a video game (or potentially any other digital media) to the first device it was played in, thus making impossible the sale of second hand games which, if you think about it the way they do, equates to lost revenue. I don’t know about you, but we’ve got a lot of second hand games we would have never bought new, ever, so surely it gives them more exposure that way?
Anyway, imagine this scenario: someone steals your brand new PS3 console. Or it breaks. You just got paid so you go out and buy a new PS3 to replace it, but all of a sudden your games refuse to play! How did that happen? Hmm.
I think Sony have lost yet another potential customer. But that probably doesn’t matter, they’ll probably find a way of bringing the law down on people who refuse to buy their stuff.
Update: I’ve just heard of yet another piece of malicious DRM Sony uses on its CDs…
Ah but had you noticed in iTunes that now if you try to access the CDDB that it requires that you have bought the tune from iTunes store, thus you can’t directly check tracks you might have ripped off one of your own CDs.
Not difficult to get round, but inconvenient, and aren’t Sony now Apple’s partners in HD-DVD technology…
Good to see you are in the Blog business again.
Your bro’