Relax: Sony’s Not Stopping Anyone from Reselling Physical Game Copies
Following some online misconceptions that Sony – particularly its PlayStation brand – was banning the resale of pre-owned physical game copies (initially prompted some misinformed outrage among fans), a report from the folks over at IGN better clarifies the “supposed ban” of physical PlayStation media.
The confusion originated from a clause spotted in Sony’s Terms of Service which states the following:
“You must not resell either disc-based games or digital games, unless expressly authorised by us and, if the publisher is another company, additionally by the publisher.”
With that being said, this clause has always been a part of PlayStation’s ToS, going as far back as the original PlayStation console. Others were also quick to point out that companies such as Microsoft also had a similar clause which was always included with Xbox systems.
Years back, a similar issue was raised, with Sony’s former PlayStation President Shuhei Yoshida clarifying that owners are always free to share and sell their game copies.
At the moment, there’s no check or method in place that will physically prevent players from reselling or sharing their physical game copies, so as it stands, there’s no legal repercussions to be expected from doing so (you know, as long as it doesn’t involve any separate illegal activities).
Source: IGN