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Fans rejoiced to hear that Sony will not be implementing any new restrictions on used games, but closer scrutiny of the company’s policy showed PS4 users might face separate barriers from third party developers.
Many in the industry gave the PlayStation 4 manufacturer the win in Monday’s press conference showdown, as Microsoft failed to calm consumers worried the Xbox One would change they way they bought, sold, and shared their games.
Sony fired back with a set of bullet points addressing each of these concerns, saying there would be no limits on the use or distribution of used games.
This was greeted by a wave of cheers, but a day later people are already questioning if the Japanese company was being entirely upfront.
In an effort to address these concerns, Sony says it won’t have an online pass program for its games, but won’t force third parties to abandon their own online DRM campaigns.
"The Online Pass program for PlayStation first-party games will not continue on PlayStation 4. Similar to PS3, we will not dictate the online used game strategy (the ability to play used games online) of its publishing partners," reads a statement provided to Gamespot.
"As announced last night, PS4 will not have any gating restrictions for used disc-based games. When a gamer buys a PS4 disc they have 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."
