Sony worldwide studios chief Shuhei Yoshida deflated rumors that the PlayStation 4 will not play used games today during an interview with Eurogamer.
Rumors that Sony planned on closing the resale loop began after the console-maker patented a technology for software that could prevent the console from playing previously registered games. Based on the patent, all game discs would come with a pre-recorded code that imprinted on the first console it was installed on. After that, the console would only play that machine.
Now that the PS4 has been announced and Sony is free to discuss the console, Yoshida pointed out that they didn't wish to anger consumers:
"Yes. That's the general expectation by consumers," said Yoshida. "They purchase physical form, they want to use it everywhere, right? So that's my expectation."
Another Eurogamer source claims that the anti-used property technology was never intended for the PS4.
At the same time time, Sony has also taken measures to encourage digital distribution and digital streaming, reducing consumers' use disc-based games and, in turn, used game sales.
Meanwhile similar rumors about the next Xbox, which hasn't been announced, have not been addressed. If Microsoft were to include that kind of technology while Sony did not, the consumer backlash could be catastrophic.
