The Glade 4.0

Sony has clarified its decision to allow PlayStation 4 users to pass on used games – and the situation won’t necessarily be the completely free market that most gamers first assumed.

At the console’s launch, Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Jack Tretton delighted customers by promising: “PlayStation 4 won’t impose any new restrictions on used games.”

Now, though, the company’s released a little more detail.

“Similar to PlayStation 3 today, PlayStation 4 will not have any gating restrictions for used disc-based games. When a gamer buys a PS4 disc, they have the right to use that copy of the game, so they can trade-in the game at retail, sell it to another person, lend it to a friend, or keep it forever. Furthermore, users will not have to go through activation steps or be charged usage fees when playing used disc-based games on their PlayStation 4,” says the company on its PS4 forum.

It adds: “Don’t worry, the Online Pass program for PlayStation first-party games will not continue on PS4. But basically similar to PS3, we will not dictate the online used game strategy of its publishing partners.”

In other words, gamers will be able to trade discs all they like, and there will be no restrictions on first-party games. However, the online component of third-party games may still be restricted by publishers, for example through an online pass system.

Tretton’s initial announcement was widely seen as a kick in the teeth for Microsoft MSFT +0.44%, which has taken a very different approach with the Xbox One. In a decision that drew widespread criticism from users, it’s built DRM into the system, along with daily authentification checks which mean players won’t be able to play offline games unless they’ve connected via the internet within the last 24 hours.

“Jack Tretton was clearly differentiating his philosophical position on used games,” says Lewis Ward, research manager for gaming at analyst IDC. “It was obviously a direct response to what Microsoft has done with DRM and used games, and I absolutely see it as a throwdown on their vision of console gaming in the future.”

Microsoft’s choice was clearly made with relationships with publishers in mind.

“EA was a big player in this, because they’re on pretty much every platform,” says Ward. “They’ve also been a proponent of finding some way to stop piracy, limit the revenue going into the secondary market and get a share of that. I think Microsoft took that to heart. In the long run – and I mean five years from now – the Microsoft approach would be a net benefit for developers and publishers.”

The PlayStation 4 already has one big advantage over the Xbox One – namely, a price that’s $100 lower. But the DRM issue is important to many gamers. Where things go from here will depend largely on how publishers do or don’t decide to implement DRM – and so far, there’s no comment. If they’re generous to PlayStation users, Microsoft may have to think again.

“I think a lot of policies are not yet determined within Microsoft,” says Ward. “It’s possible that Microsoft may have to take a few steps back on this if the pushback doesn’t soften, and especially if the PS4 comes out of the gate quite strongly at launch.”