The gaming community has recently been put into a tailspin about the news emanating from Neogaf that Sony recently filed a patent protecting NFC based technology used to manage content on a physical disc. With people hypothesising that this is Sony's push to quash the used game market, the response has been overwhelmingly negative, despite being based on pure speculation as to the use of the patented technology. GameStop, America's largest dedicated video game retailer, saw its stock battered on the markets fuelled by rumours it was going to lose its used game business with the next generation.
Everyone, including GameSpot's over anxious shareholders, has jumped the gun in concluding that used game sales will be targeted by Sony's wrath, and here's why.
Firstly, Jack Tretton, CEO of SCE America, has come out as being undeniably against the blocking of used game sales. Some of the business decisions made by Sony over the last decade have been questionable at best, but alienating your core userbase at a time when you need them most would be a nail in the coffin of the struggling conglomerate, and they know it.
Secondly, this is simply a patent registration. Companies like Sony have huge R&D departments, who constantly create and innovate in more than just new screen technologies or data storage. Yes, they invent things like NFC DRM, and literally thousands of such inventions don't get real world implementation, but are extremely valuable intellectual property none the less. In short, we don't even know if this technology will be used in Playstation if at all.
Thirdly, believe it or not, Sony would not go out of its way to dramatically damage it huge supply chain partners by taking away half their business. This isn't a case of 'what Sony giveth, Sony taketh away'. Instead, it's a mutual relationship that relies on support of retailers. The counter is, of course, that GameStop and others can't afford to lose Playstation, sans used game sales or not. But as someone who knows retail, I can tell you that this is not how retail relationships work. You don't purposely damage one of your biggest distribution channels- it would hurt sales far too much.
Finally, and most importantly, people are only speculating as to what this patented technology will actually be used to do. Yes, it could theoretically be used to block used game sales by tying the disc to one system or PSN account. It could also be used as a means of managing extra game content, or blocking only parts of a game, such as online play, like is done already with an online pass. There are a myriad of uses for this technology that many, including myself, have not even considered.
The point is, we're all angering ourselves over something that at this stage, is pure, unconfirmed, speculation. Instead, we should wait, and let Sony confirm whether or not the next Playstation will utilise this technology and how.
A number of leaks have popped up that reference Pokemon Black and White remakes in some way. Are they all coincidences or real in 2024?
The Final Fantasy VII Rebirth combat director has expressed that he wants the final part in the trilogy to offer players "even more freedom".
I love the game so far but please don’t make the final part a mini game fest
Everytime I get to a new part in Rebirth it’s “mini game time”
As long as it comes out on PS5 to have the entire series on one platform, do whatever you want
The combat is my favorite thing about Rebirth. Would be really cool if they can improve it even more.
I hope after FF7 Square will either give a new FF game the remake treatment. Or give some of their older titles a remake treatment like Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, even Xenogears.
Wccf tech writes: "Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's scope was impacted by the Xbox Series S hardware limitations, as developers could only make a game that was 25% bigger than its predecessor."
More info from the author of the article, I think: https://www.reddit.com/r/ki...
Quote:
"1) I was told this info from the producer of the game Martin Klíma.
2) He specifically said the game will have only one mode.
3) And this mode is 4K 30 on PS5/XSX and 1440p 30 on XSS.
4) He said that the game is already running north of the 30 FPS cap so the performance should be stable on launch, much better than KCD1.
5) The limitation was XSS because of the 10GB memory. He said that's why they wanted to make the game 25% larger.
6) Speculation on my part: the output resolution is probably upscaled and the reason why there won't be a 60 FPS mode is because it'll most likely be very CPU heavy, like Dragon's Dogma 2 for example."
Doesn't seem like they're adding a 40fps mode on PS5/Series X for launch even if they can handle it.
Remember when xbots were adamant that the series s won’t hold back the gen?
Microsoft just needs to let go of the mandatory parity. Who cares if your grandma doesn’t understand that a game cannot be played on the S. It’s not like it she can buy you a physical game for it anyway. Before buying the game put up a notice that it only works on series X. If you’re buying for a friend-allow for a refund.
Bam. Everyone is happy. Most series s owners are for casuals that want Game Pass anyway and most likely don’t purchase most games.
If the developers want it to run on S, let them figure it out.
“During the event, the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 producer also revealed that on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the game will run at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second“
Another “creative decision” right? 🤦♂️
I wrote a fairly similar piece, but you posted 30 minutes before me. Oh well, we both have our speculation on the matter. Great minds think alike :) +1 approval
Except SONY came out and said they aren't blocking used games for the PS4.
FUD i guess