Sony to Broke Gamers: F*ck You
Yesterday Sony Computer Entertainment of America filed a patent application describing a method for embedding RFID tags in game discs. The intent is to allow the next gen Playstation, codenamed Orbis, to prevent any given disc from functioning in more than one console. Like, ever.
If this super awesome customer loyalty program gets the green light, no more buying used games at Gamestop (whose shares took a nose dive today, thanks to this little nugget of information) or selling them back for a pittance of store credit. No more loaning games to friends or trading on internet swap-meets like swap.com. No sir, Sony wants alls the monies. You budget-minded consumers who can’t afford to buy every worthwhile title at full price can go play fucking Farmville. So what if a game is three years old and already has two sequels by the time you get around to trying it? Tough shit, kid. Sony hates you.
I really REALLY hope this is not the case. But if it is, and the scuttlebutt about the Orbis is true, Sony’s going to need to get comfortable in 3rd place. And I’m going to have to move over to Microsoft’s platform.