Sony anti-used game patent leads to GameStop stock plunge

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GameStop's stock price dropped six percent on Thursday following reports that new technology patented by Sony could eliminate the pre-owned games market.

The technology - which tags individual game copies with information about previous use - could potentially be used to restrict the use of a game to one machine or user account. This could mean bad news for the US retailer - a major player in the pre-owned market.
The market responded to the news with selloffs of GameStop shares, resulting in the retailer's share prices falling by $1.57 to $24.09.

Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities moved to appease investors, claiming Sony would be unwise to implement the technology to its full potential. "Sony would be materially hurt if its console blocked used games and competitor consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo did not," Pachter wrote in a note to investors.

"We think the reaction is overblown," he continued. Indeed, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton is reportedly against moves to implement technology designed to block used games.

Elsewhere, an analyst for Janney Capital has noted a similar pattern in the lead up to the PS3's launch.

Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/385005/sony-anti-used-game-patent-leads-to-gamestop-stock-plunge/

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"Sony anti-used game patent leads to GameStop stock plunge" :: Login/Create an Account :: 105 comments

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AnkokuPosted:

I have been telling my cousin why PS3 sucks so much. Now i have a even better reason.

AR15Posted:

phlegm Woah %6 that sucks for GameStop


Agreed, going to hurt GameStop quite a bit.

ImNotPhlegmAnymoreOKPosted:

Woah %6 that sucks for GameStop

Third_EyePosted:

MPAA This will only lead to Sony going bankrupt in the avalanche of court cases from second hand shops and customers alike. If they had any sense they'd back out now, it's like Ford banning their cars from the second hand market, not gonna happen, ever.


Interesting analogy, seriously. If all these old cars weren't allowed to be resold, then there would be no way to get them anymore. Sony is doing this solely for profits, but on the flip side, less and less people will buy their games. This can be a flaw in the foreseeable fully-digital age.

MPAAPosted:

This will only lead to Sony going bankrupt in the avalanche of court cases from second hand shops and customers alike. If they had any sense they'd back out now, it's like Ford banning their cars from the second hand market, not gonna happen, ever.

CyberPunkPosted:

HDITeRRoRiZeI To be honest, im not going to read beyond the first paragraph because i know that this no-pre-owned-games scheme wont work. either because it will be refused, or it will introduce hackers into the situation like Pirated games etc. Since Sony have pretty low security for PSN, i dont think it will be long after this scheme is introduced, maybe 2 month before someone will hack this "Tag" placed on the game. I don`t think this will get anywhere after the release. What do you guys think?


you do realise a pirated game will just be a ripped copy of a physical disc into an ISO or CSO format on a pc that can then be readily republished at home as a pirate copy , meaning its the exact same "tag" as the original disc....

but i do agree if implemented it will be loopholed in no time by hackers, exploitation and probably even be banished by sony themselves. good examples are the effort the began to put into PSP and then gave up XD

HDITeRRoRiZeIPosted:

To be honest, im not going to read beyond the first paragraph because i know that this no-pre-owned-games scheme wont work. either because it will be refused, or it will introduce hackers into the situation like Pirated games etc. Since Sony have pretty low security for PSN, i dont think it will be long after this scheme is introduced, maybe 2 month before someone will hack this "Tag" placed on the game. I don`t think this will get anywhere after the release. What do you guys think?

L33t-Ninja-MuchPosted:

GBE It is really hard to get a game messed up on PS3, Idk why but I wish Xbox was like that.


still xbox is better

SosaPosted:

It is really hard to get a game messed up on PS3, Idk why but I wish Xbox was like that.

SynybunPosted:

Moan
Pimpstar
-Syn
THuNdErModsCoD I have never and never will buy anything after a ps2. My parents bought the ps2 for us when we were children and now we have xbox's. Microsoft>Nintendo>Sony.


Same, the ps2 was the last good console by sony.


i agree i remember i loved the ps2 and now i play xbox and would never buy another sony console
I started with the ps1, and then got a ps2 a few years later, and then I got my first xbox, and i was sold.

Same with me, I started out with the PS2


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