Publishers wish to include DRM for used games on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Geoff Keighley indicated on the May 26 episode of Bonus Round.
In the wake of the Xbox One reveal last week, Microsoft offered conflicting information about how the next-gen console would handle used games, including initial reports that indicated that it would charge secondhand players a fee to play. By the end of the day, Microsoft characterized those statements as "potential scenarios." Sources later told Polygon that used games will not have fees.
Sony has yet to confirm whether the PlayStation 4 will support used games. According to Keighley, the "console companies are becoming the bad guys," but it's the publishers that may seek DRM parity across both consoles.
"Sony, I think, has been seen as this kind of white knight so far that's not going to restrict used games," he said. "Based on some of the things I'm hearing, I don't think that's entirely true because I can't see publishers allowing one system to do one thing and one [to] do another."
In response to the Bonus Round episode, NeoGAF user famousmortimer created a thread suggesting that GAF members tweet Sony employees like president of worldwide studio Shuhei Yoshida and Scott Rohde, PlayStation software product development head. Using the hashtags #PS4NoDRM and #PS4USEDGAMES, they could make their feelings known and potentially sway the company away from DRM.
We've reached out to Sony to find out more about its used games and DRM strategies and will update this article with more information as it becomes available.
