NEWS: More Digital Rights Mania from Sony

Information has recently come to light pertaining to a US patent held by the Sony corporation that could implement very stringent DRM (digital rights management) on future Sony hardware and/or software.



The patent in question doesn't specificly mention the Playstation 3, but this is without a doubt the biggest piece of hardware on the horizon for Sony. If they chose to inplement this hardware DRM in the PS3, it would pretty musc assure you could only play games you purchased on your system. No rentals from Blockbuster or swapping games with your friends allowed. Seems to me that your PS3 would have to be connected to the internet for this to be possible across the board. I haven't heard much about Sonys online strategy for the PS3, but this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth after the rootkit fiasco.

Related News Links:
patft.uspto.gov
www.sysinternals.com
updates.xcp-aurora.com

If this is the case, well then, I have no choice but to switch to xbox plain and simple. I prefer the games that come on the playstations, and was planning on getting a ps3 about a year after it's release. Now I will probally never buy anything sony period if this software is used.

Edit: and reading through the contents, I just realized something. If my ps3 breaks and I have to get a new one. All the money I spent on games is gone. Also with how easy the ps2 games scratched and were useless, that xbox 360 really looks nice right about now.

[edit on 10-11-2005 by silentlonewolf]

Have already put Sony on my "Brands not to buy" list. More info like this just tells me I made the correct decsion.

This kind of thing is where the elites who run this company show just how out of touch they are with common average people. It seem unlikely that Sony couldn't predict the outrage and bad business karma that these DRM issues would generate, unless they just don't care or are too far seperated from the rest of us that they really don't understand why this upsets people.

Its just something else for mod chips to bypass. There is no copy protection method that cannot be cracked eventually. No doubt there will be a work around then a circumvention of this new DRM technique. Oh well, the cycle continues.

For those interested,
There is a removal tool available to remove the Sony DRM
www.sophos.com...

Yeah, that's related news link #3...(different site though), even though that's not what this treads about....

Sony have a million and one different patents, out of which only a few have made it, trust me this isn't going to make it for the PS3, I've been following the ps3's development since it was announced way back when in 2000. Even if they do aim to use this for say ps4, I'm sure it'd be implemented in away where all these concerns would be addressed. They simply wouldn't shoot themselves in the foot. If you choose to alter your purchasing plans on the ps3 over this then your a fool, plain and simple.

No rentals from Blockbuster or swapping games with your friends allowed. Seems to me that your PS3 would have to be connected to the internet for this to be possible across the board.

That doesn't sound quite right. It'd kill the ps3. It must only be denying copied discs or something.

There is no way in hell I ever buy anything from Sony. And never anything that incorporate DRM at all from any company, period.

Everything has limits. I buy software, when it is worth and the price I can afford. When any game maker goes over the top with the protection, it never ever get a penny from me and so should react others, unless they want to live in nazi state...

A nice example could be Counter Strike. I own the orginal, and TWICE. Yep, bought it 2x to show the support, even I hated the number of files (what about one big datafile, do not slowing down my HDD?!) and such, it was still worth to buy the Half Life gold edition with CS included. Since patch 1.6, witch introducted Stream, I stoped playing it and I never ever will play anything Steam based. For the very same reasons VALVe never get a peny from me for HL2, even it looks beautifully and I rate it far above the Doom3, Quake4, F.E.A.R. and CoD2 ganes...

One has to be completely out of his mind to even consider buy anything from Sony anymore. Is not the rootkit enought?!

When it get to the moment, where legit. customer worry about inserting the CD into his/hers computer, something is SERIOUSLY wrong

The recent stories about Sony's use of rootkit software and other draconian approaches to the protection of "Intellectual Property" have persuaded me to stop buying all Sony products.

This is a shame, because Sony has made some of my favorite products. I saw bad things coming when their mp3 players started requiring the ATRAC garbage.

Unfortunately, I think it's a matter of the ENTERTAINMENT branch of Sony (Sony Music, Sony Pictures, etc) driving the HARDWARE branch into some very bad decisions.

I think eventually, the entire scope of copyright law and "intellectual property" is going to have to be rethought. What was the last time a law was disregarded and broken by such a huge portion of the public? I think it was prohibition, where there were laws against the manufacture and sale of alcohol, but nobody complied. Finally, it took a consitutional amendment to end that madness. Something equally dramatic will have to be done about the copyright laws that have made so many decent citizens into criminals.

that would be illegal in Germany, they have a law stating that things must resellable (is that word real?)

How can you sell on games that you don't like / finished / bored of etc.?

not a wise move if they do it. But with the CD thing in past few weeks, it is quite plausable.

it.slashdot.org.../11/11/1927225&from=rss

Sony has just pulled their trojan horse off the market due to the HUGE outcry prompted by the discovery.

I would be very suprised to see Sony use the patented software in the 1st generation PS3, but it wouldn't be a huge shock to see it implemented in a later version, or the PS4 (as someone mentioned earlier). The whole rootkit thing makes me think the are far more corcened about their profits than public opinion. But you would think a big company like Sony would have more sense than to try to implement either DRM scheme. Seems like some lawyer would have pointed out to them that the rootkit was illegal, and common sense (if they have any) should tell them the manual registering of game software would be a public relations nightmare. Hopefully it's a technology that will be left on the drawing board.

Originally posted by yadboy
The patent in question doesn't specificly mention the Playstation 3, but this is without a doubt the biggest piece of hardware on the horizon for Sony. If they chose to inplement this hardware DRM in the PS3, it would pretty musc assure you could only play games you purchased on your system. No rentals from Blockbuster or swapping games with your friends allowed. Seems to me that your PS3 would have to be connected to the internet for this to be possible across the board. I haven't heard much about Sonys online strategy for the PS3, but this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth after the rootkit fiasco.

I'm a poor college student, but If I had any money to bet then I'd bet you that shortly after the Playstation 3 is released there will be modchips put out that allow you to download games onto a hard drive or play them from a burned DVD (if ps3 games are going to be in DVD format) as well as circumvent any digital rights management that might come with it.

Originally posted by ShakyaHeir

I'm a poor college student, but If I had any money to bet then I'd bet you that shortly after the Playstation 3 is released there will be modchips put out that allow you to download games onto a hard drive or play them from a burned DVD (if ps3 games are going to be in DVD format) as well as circumvent any digital rights management that might come with it.

Your probably right, but the problem w/ mod chips is if you play online Sony will be able to tell that your playing on a console w/ a mod chip, and could keep you from playing online. That's assuming they manage the network like Microsoft does with Live (most mod chips won't work w/ Xbox Live).

For someone like me it doesn't matter, because I tend to play single-player games mostly, but more and more people will be playing online w/ the next-gen systems.