Sony Bombarded With Anti-DRM Campaign

 

Since the public reveal of the Xbone and the statements issued by Micrososft executives regarding used games there's been a great number of questions surrounding the next-generation console cycle as a whole, and whether or not Microsoft's closest competitor, Sony, would follow suit with used games DRM on the upcoming Playstation 4 console.

Up until this past weekend some statements, seeming to indicate that Sony was possibly planning to allow the PS4 to operate relatively DRM-free in the same manner as the PS3, had many assured that the next console cycle wouldn't be a complete wash. Popular thought was that one could always just switch from supporting Microsoft to supporting Sony to avoid having their expected consumer rights removed. However, on the latest episode of the Gametrailers show Bonus Round, host Geoff Keighley made the following statement regarding DRM on the next-gen machines:

"The one thing that is amazing to me is that right now we're not hearing a lot from the game publishers about what their view is on this. The console companies are becoming the bad guys. And, you know, Microsoft is getting beaten up a lot on it. Sony, I think, has been seen as this kind of white knight so far that's not going to restrict used games. Based on some of the things I'm hearing, I don't think that's entirely true, because I can't see publishers allowing one system to do one thing and one do another."

 Within hours of that episode of Bonus Round hitting the internet, gamers on several sites, beginning first at NeoGAF and spreading to reddit, 4chan and other online communities, began mobilizing to flood Sony with requests to not implement used game DRM on the PS4. While some have taken to single e-mail campaigns to express their concerns, the majority of the effort has been centered around social media, most notably on Twitter.

In the last few days Sony execs who are on Twitter have been hit with 24 hour a day barrage messages from all over the world asking them not to restrict consumer rights on their new console. The hashtags #PS4NoDRM and #PS4USEDGAMES have been wildly successful and gotten the attention of many mainstream games sites like MCV and Eurogamer as well as popular games personalities like Angry Joe and Jim Sterling. While it's absurd that things have gotten to the point where fans have to mobilize just to not be screwed over by the entertainment industry they enjoy, it's good to see an effort is being made. Hopefully the corporate execs across the industry, not just at Sony, are paying attention.