The PlayStation 4, which has gained the favor of many gamers because of Sony's seemingly open stance on used games, may end up using DRM or additional fees on second-hand titles. Many assumed that Sony would be very friendly to used game software and allowed such discs to work for free on the PlayStation 4, but that may no longer be the case---according to GameTrailers TV Show host Geoff Keighly.
"Sony I think has been seen as this kind of white knight so far that's not going to restrict used games. Based on some of the things I'm hearing, I don't think that's entirely true. I can't see publishers allowing one system to do one thing more than another," he said.
While Sony has not officially revealed how the PlayStation 4 will work with used games, many are starting to predict that they will follow suit with Microsoft and have fees attached, as well as a specialized system to ensure that publishers and developers receive royalties fees for second-hand games. Back in February when the PlayStation 4 was revealed, Sony Worldwide Studio vice president Michael Denny has this to say on the issue:
"It's not something that I feel I have any further announcement or comment to make on other than to acknowledge with you that it's a massively important issue, and of course we are going to do the right thing."
It will be interesting to see what kind of shifts we could see if both Sony and Microsoft both charge fees for used games, and how it affects sales of the consoles. Some gamers were hoping that Sony would not charge for used games, so that they could buy the cheaper games and save some money. Perhaps Sony will discuss the issue at E3.