PlayStation Takes a Sudden Anti-Consumer Stance, Seemingly Updates Usage Terms to Prohibit Resale of Physical Games

Sony has once again quietly updated their policies, leaving many consumers in the dark. However, some Twitter users discovered the new updated policies prohibit the reselling of video games, and it is causing quite an outrage among PlayStation fans.

According to the policy, users must not resell either physical or digital copies of the game unless authorized by Sony or the game’s publisher. Incidentally, many users preferred physical copies over digital ones because of the ability to resell them later. Moreover, secondhand games have always been available at a discounted price, and this was one of the major reasons behind the success of PlayStation 5’s disc version. Hence, even though the disc version costs more than the digital one, fans preferred the former just so they could save money on games later down the line. However, Sony’s latest policy has taken this choice away from consumers.

This new policy is a major anti-consumer move by the Japanese giants, as fans would no longer be owning their physical video games. They would be instead buying a license for the game to run on their consoles. By doing this, Sony also holds the right to lock a user out of their physical copy, regardless of his source, without any prior notice.

Sony’s sudden anti-consumer stance leaves PlayStation fans shocked beyond words

This new anti-consumer stance by Sony is a complete flip to what they initially stood for. The Japanese giants were known to be the biggest supporters of the second-hand gaming market. They even made an official video to show how easy it was to share and resell a physical copy of a PlayStation title.

When it comes to PlayStation’s physical games, the disc usually acts as the Digital Rights Management (DRM), and users cannot access the game without inserting the disc into their consoles. This way, the games are not attached to a single account like digital copies, which makes reselling the game discs possible. However, it seems like Sony’s new policies might link the game’s disc to a single account, preventing a resale of the game.

The PlayStation fans are not delighted to hear about these new anti-consumer policies. They even took a dig at the Japanese giants by sharing their videos which promoted reselling the games. Some even joked about Sony visiting door-to-door to prevent resale. Fans also talked about Microsoft doing the same in 2013 with Xbox copies. This new anti-consumer policy would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the PlayStation fanbase. Many gamers preferred the blue team because it allowed the resale of games. Yet, with this major change, it will be interesting to see how it affects their sales.

It must also be noted that some users have insisted on how Sony already had this point in their Terms of Service for a long time but never enforced it directly. In fact, netizens cited a 2013 Tweet from Shuhei Yoshida, the former President of SIE Worldwide Studios, in which he mentioned how despite the European TOS, users will be able to share and sell their PS4 products. However, with the point still included in the current Usage Terms, the legality of it all appears to be quite muddled. Regardless, readers can rest assured that we will keep them informed if the situation is updated in the future.