PS4 Rumors: Analyst Says Sony Will Not Block Used Games
Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 made headlines this week when it was announced that the company would be dropping its name and calling its new console "Orbis."
There was also news that Sony would be blocking used games on the new system by requiring users to link them up to a PSN account preventing others from replaying what was originally purchased by someone else.
However, according to well-known industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, the possibility of the company doing away with used gaming is highly unlikely.
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Pachter says this is "just a re-hash" of an old rumor that stated that PlayStation 3 would block sales of used games following a patent application. It is also loosely based on the rumor about the new Xbox eliminating used gaming.
He also stated that the "consumer backlash" from blocking secondhand games would be massive and would hurt the company as a whole.
However, he did admit that if used games were blocked, game developers such as EA and Activision would benefit the most since their titles are constantly being traded in and resold due to new a yearly renewal of titles such as Madden Football and NHL Hockey.
The backlash is something companies such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft would want to avoid since all three of them would have to simultaneously agree to go through with the process.
It would also cause GameStop, who is the largest video game retailer in the country to not carry the new console. This would hurt Sony's business considerably if Microsoft and Nintendo did not follow along with them.
However, the rumor of disks being eliminated completely and games being downloaded exclusively online would support this theory.
The new XBox console is rumored to be limiting the purchase of games to its online store. This would make sense for developers who could cut costs by eliminating the production costs of physical games.
