PlayStation 4 will support lending, trading, reselling, and indeed playing your games on your console in pretty much the same way as we have been since they came on floppy discs. No DRM, no restrictions, no online requirements, and no authentication. If anyone still thought that this was a minor issue for gamers, the reaction to that news will surely have disavowed them of that assumption. In the conference centre, the room went madder than it would have if Naughty Dog had shown up with Uncharted 4.
I think an important distinction is being glossed over. Sony specifically said "disc based games" when speaking of not needing online connection. The question becomes how many games going forward are going to be solely "disc based". The devs are itching for money from the resale market......and they are going to get it one way or another. In the other thread I linked that Sony will be charging 50 bucks a year just like Microsoft to play online multiplayer games.
Smells like political double talk from Sony to me.
Netflix revealed that its subscribers view content on the PlayStation 3 more often than any other device in the living room. Holding that top slot means Sony's console remains ahead of the Xbox 360, Apple TV, Roku's various streaming devices, and other hardware. In a statement, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says the PS3 has even topped the PC "at times" to become the service's most popular platform overall — though it appears that's not presently the case.
I cancelled my Gold Subscription amongst all this. I won't be getting an Xbox One at all, so theres no need to continue it. Plus I have my PS4 pre-order in.
Personally I think PS4 is the way to go. They made the decision to go with (faster) GDDR3 as system memory, while the Xbox One is essentially a glorified computer (With standard DDR3) that could spy on you at any given point.
An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.
These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.
