[acemanwise]

Digital Dilema: Why A Digital Future Might Not Be So Bright
source:gamentrend.com

Quote

The Internet is a wonderful thing. It allows people free access to the hardest hardcore pornography, it offers access to every piece of information ever, allows people to stay in touch over continents, allows people to shoot each other in Call of Duty, and perhaps most importantly, allows people to upload funny pictures and videos of cats and dogs. But guess what? There is something that I’m not happy about, and I’m going to let you all know what it is right now.

As well as all these wonderful uses of the internet, a worrying trend is taking hold, and that is, the trend of the digital download. Let me explain. Call me a Luddite, but I don’t like all this digital download nonsense. OK, it’s fine for music, much easier to download the few good tracks on an album than have to buy 12 songs and 10 of them be [censored]. Yes it’s easier to sit at home and look at itunes or Amazon, and click your mouse as all the latest tracks from Lady GaGa or Justin Bieber, or whatever all you crazy kids are into these days, get downloaded right to your hard drive. It’s OK for music, but it’s not OK for decent honest mediums of entertainment, like films, TV, games and books. ‘Why?’ I don’t hear anyone ask, well if you just hold on a second, I’ll tell you.

http://gamentrain.co...t-be-so-bright/

[acemanwise]

What Impact Would Locking Out Used Games Have On Next Gen Systems?
source:playstationedge.com

Quote

Used games. It’s a divisive factor in the gaming world. Next generation rumors are rife with used game theories. Both Microsoft and Sony have both been in the gaming news with their next generation projects and alleged quotes that these systems will not play used games. That games will be locked to your account or to your console. If this is true, it impacts not just the Used game market, but game rentals, households with multiple gamers, and loaning or borrowing games between friends and family.

So what is the reality of it all? Is it really coming next generation? Would it kill the used market? Would it make games cheaper? No. In all honesty the first company to do that would be committing suicide. Why?

To start with, we need to look at one of the largest portions of gamers that would be impacted. Families. Dad’s a gamer. Junior’s a gamer. Little Suzie’s a gamer. Even Fluffy is gaming now in her cat tree and Fido’s got a smart phone. In households with multiple gamers there tends to be a lot of game sharing.

Such as my house. My daughter and I both love the Ratchet series. My daughter and I shared the games, each of us had our own save files on the PS2. As for the PS3 versions we had our own PS3s. I did buy 2 copies of All 4 One, but buying 2 copies of 1 game gets expensive after a while. Can you imagine needing to buy 4 copies of one game? Or even buying 2 copies of 1 game time and time again? Or worse yet, try telling Johnny he has to share his gamer account with Suzie so that she can play the new CoD herself? Not. Happening.

http://playstationed...xt-gen-systems/

[acemanwise]

4 Reasons Why Collectors Will Hate the Next Console Generation
source:gamepodunk.com

Quote

Some of the rumors are worrying gamers, such as the idea that used games will either be disallowed, need to be re-purchased, and other things. Although it could be just speculation that new systems are going to be against used games, you've got to expect that something about it is true or why else would we keep seeing the rumor? So yes, many gamers are becoming concerned about the next generation but there's a group of gamers who will have an even bigger issue with the generation - game collectors.

Game collectors encompass a whole range of people. It may be those who simply purchase neat games and keep them instead of ever trading or selling them back. Some are the kind of people who try to buy all the games in a specific genre or series that they love. Others attempt the maddening goal of owning each and every game for a specific console. The furthest realm of game collectordom is people who do all of these things combined, and maybe even with an emphasis on sealed titles. Mostly though, if you're the kind of person who loves to pick up games and keep them in your ownership then you might consider yourself a collector too. Why would game collectors of various degrees dislike new consoles though?

http://www.gamepodun...generation-r484

[acemanwise]

TERMS OF SERVICE AND USER AGREEMENT (U.S. PSN Feb 2012)

Points of Interest in bold

TERMS OF SERVICE AND USER AGREEMENT

Version 13 (February 7, 2012)

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE AGREEMENT AND INDICATE WHETHER YOU AGREE TO ITS TERMS BY CLICKING THE "ACCEPT" OR "DO NOT ACCEPT" BUTTON AT THE END OF THE AGREEMENT. ACCESS TO THE SONY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INCLUDES ACCESS TO PLAYSTATION®NETWORK ("PSN"), THE MUSIC UNLIMITED SERVICE (“MUSIC UNLIMITED”), THE VIDEO UNLIMITED SERVICE (“VIDEO UNLIMITED”), AND THEIR ASSOCIATED STORES AND VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE "SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES"), AND CERTAIN THIRD PARTY SERVICES. ACCESS TO THE SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES IS EXPRESSLY CONDITIONED UPON ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU CLICK THE "DO NOT ACCEPT" BUTTON, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REGISTER AN ACCOUNT FOR PURPOSES OF ACCESSING THE SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES. SUCH AN ACCOUNT MAY BE BRANDED “SEN” OR, IN LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES, “PSN”. REGARDLESS OF BRANDING, SUCH ACCOUNTS ARE REFERRED TO IN THIS AGREEMENT AS “SEN ACCOUNTS”.

THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS LICENSE TERMS COVERING YOUR USE OF CONTENT. THIS AGREEMENT IS A CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU AND SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC ("SNEI") AND CAN BE ACCEPTED ONLY BY AN ADULT OF LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOUR SEN ACCOUNT IS REGISTERED. If you are under the legal age of majority, your parent or legal guardian must consent to this Agreement and Privacy Policy. By clicking the "ACCEPT" button yourself, you affirm that you have reached the legal age of majority and accept this Agreement. You also affirm that you accept this Agreement on behalf of, and all legal and financial responsibility and liability for the actions of, your child and you hereby expressly ratify and confirm any acts of your child and all users of your subordinate accounts ("Sub Accounts").

NOTE: THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISION IN SECTION 15 THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND WITH RESPECT TO ANY "DISPUTE" (AS DEFINED BELOW) BETWEEN YOU AND SNEI, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC, THEIR AFFILIATES, PARENTS OR SUBSIDIARIES (ALL ENTITIES COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO BELOW AS "SONY ENTITIES"). YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISIONS AS FURTHER DESCRIBED IN SECTION 15.

This Agreement applies to software, content and services and access to same, including subscriptions, data, fixes to the SEN First Party Services, updates to the SEN First Party Services or new content releases, and related materials, provided through or in connection with SEN First Party Services.

By accepting this Agreement, you agree to its terms and to abide by all SEN First Party Services policies. You agree that you will not directly or indirectly use SEN First Party Services (i) in any way for any commercial purpose, (ii) in any way that violates the law or the Community Code of Conduct, or (iii) in any way that harms or has the potential to harm SNEI, its affiliates, including its parent company, its subsidiaries, licensors, providers or partners or fellow SEN First Party Service users. You agree that you will not use any unauthorized hardware, including peripherals not sold or licensed by a Sony company such as non-licensed game enhancement devices, controllers, adaptors and power supply devices (collectively, "Non-Licensed Peripherals") or unauthorized software to access or use SEN First Party Services or any content or service provided on or through SEN First Party Services.
1. ACCOUNT REGISTRATION

To access SEN First Party Services, you must create an appropriate SEN Account. You may license and view content on certain of your Authorized Devices depending on the specific SEN First Party Services you are using. “Authorized Devices” means your Authorized Download Devices and your Authorized Streaming Devices. “Authorized Download Devices” means activated PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems, PlayStation®Vita systems, select personal computers, select mobile telephones, select tablets and other SNEI-authorized download devices. “Authorized Streaming Devices” means activated select televisions, select Blu-ray® Disc players, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems and other SNEI-authorized streaming devices. Through Music Unlimited, you may purchase a subscription and access content on activated PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems, PlayStation®Vita systems, select personal computers, select mobile telephones, select televisions, select Blu-ray Disc players, select tablets and other SNEI-authorized devices (“Music Unlimited Devices”). Through Video Unlimited, you may license and view content on all Authorized Streaming Devices (except the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita systems, for which video content is available through PSN) and select personal computers, select mobile telephones and select tablets that are Authorized Download Devices (“Video Unlimited Devices”). Through PSN, you may license and view content on activated PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®Vita systems if those systems are Authorized Devices for that content type (“PSN Devices”).

You may also be able to participate in the online PSN community (including chatting via voice and video with your friends) and play games online. If you registered for an SEN Account that was or, in limited cases, is branded a “PSN” account, you will not have to create a separate SEN Account because your account will be transitioned into an SEN Account. SEN First Party Services may not be available, or may not be supported, in some countries and some languages. SNEI reserves the right to deny the creation of any account at its sole discretion. Currently, there is no charge to create an SEN Account, but there may be charges associated with certain online content or services available through SEN First Party Services. All information provided during account registration must be truthful and accurate. SNEI reserves the right to cancel any SEN Account that uses or that was created using untruthful or inaccurate information.

There are two types of accounts: Master Accounts and Sub Accounts. All accounts have an associated mailbox for receiving electronic text mail. If you have reached the legal age of majority, you can create a Master Account for yourself. Where available, each Master Account can create up to six (6) associated Sub Accounts. You are not permitted to create Sub Accounts for adults or persons under the legal age of majority who are not your children or for whom you are not the legal guardian. Your children must be of a certain age in order to have a Sub Account. Sub Accounts may not be available in all countries. Deletion or termination of a Master Account may result in the deletion and termination of all associated Sub Accounts.

A Master Account has access to and control over the following aspects of its Sub Accounts: (i) financial aspects; (ii) content availability and (iii) certain communication features. Text mail from SNEI that relates to a Sub Account's purchases will be sent to the mailbox of the associated Master Account. At its sole discretion, SNEI may send text mail to the Master Account relating to the Sub Account's other activities. The Master Account holder is jointly and severally legally and financially responsible for the actions of his or her Sub Account holders.

Both Master Account and Sub Account holders select their own sign-in ID and password to gain access to their accounts. SEN Account holders may be required to select their own Online ID to access PSN. All users should safeguard their sign-in ID and password to prevent use by any other user. Certain information, which may include the Online ID, "About Me" statement, avatar pictures, country/area of residence, preferred language and recently played game titles, may be provided to all SEN First Party Service users, including children. SNEI has no liability for any unauthorized usage of any account.
2. PARENTAL CONSENT AND PARENTAL CONTROLS

Where Sub Accounts are available, a child under the legal age of majority can only have a Sub Account associated with a Master Account of the child's parent or legal guardian. If you are creating a Sub Account for a child, you must provide (i) your consent for SNEI to collect, use and disclose, pursuant to SNEI's Privacy Policy, your child's personally identifying information to third parties for the purpose of allowing your child to participate in SEN First Party Services; (ii) your consent to your child’s communications with others through the Sony Entertainment Network as described in this Agreement and SNEI’s Privacy Policy; and (iii) your credit card information if requested by SNEI for Sub Accounts for children under the age of 13 in the United States and Canada or under the specific age applicable to your country. Your credit card will be used to verify parental consent under laws requiring you consent. You will not be charged a fee for creating the Sub Account. If you do not consent to the collection and disclosure of your child’s information as described in SNEI’s Privacy Policy, you will not be able to create a Sub Account. If all requested information is provided, a separate email containing a code will be sent to the Master Account's email account with instructions to complete registration by entering the code into the Sub Account using a personal computer. You will need to create for your child an Online ID that will be associated with your child's SEN Sub Account. Please note that the Online ID is viewable by all SEN First Party Services users and, depending on a user’s activities, the Online ID may be publicly available and viewable via the Internet by those outside the SEN First Party Services. For example, if a user submits a posting to an online blog related to the SEN First Party Services, that user’s Online ID may be associated with the post in a manner that is publicly available.

The Master Account may restrict the ability of a Sub Account to communicate with other SEN First Party Services users by setting the Restrict Chat option to “YES,” which is the default setting. Please beware of limitations to the Restrict Chat option. With Restrict Chat set to “YES,” your child still may receive text emails from PSN users, including adults, in your child's account mailbox or via Group Messaging in the PlayStation®Vita system. The parent's Master Account will not be notified of text emails sent to a child's Sub Account mailbox. In addition, the Restrict Chat option may not apply to certain types of interactive features in game content that may be used to facilitate user communication. As the parent or legal guardian, you are responsible for monitoring your child's access to or use of SEN First Party Services, as well as any communications made or received by your child on or through SEN First Party Services.

The Master Account may restrict a Sub Account’s access to game and video content if the content is rated by using the Restrict Content setting. Some content may be objectionable to or inappropriate for some users, including children under a certain age, which may vary from country to country. Please consider your child's age and check any content ratings and descriptions where available, before you access, download or purchase access to any items or permit your child to do so. In some cases, third parties provide ratings or descriptions for items, and SNEI cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Not all content is rated.

Some content that you access on your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, PlayStation®Vita system, other Authorized Device or other Music Unlimited Device may be accessible by all users of that system or device. Please monitor all access to content that may be objectionable or age inappropriate. Parental controls implemented through these devices may not apply to certain types of content that may be used to facilitate user communication, certain categories of downloadable content or certain categories of streamed material. Parental controls may also not apply to content that is not rated. Your child may not be able to access some content or play games rated for users older than his or her registered age. In some countries, parents and legal guardians with Master Accounts will be permitted to set their parental controls to override restrictions on certain materials for associated Sub Accounts. Please see the following websites for more information: http://playstation.com/ and http://sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/.
3. COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT

You must adhere to the following rules of conduct, and also follow a reasonable, common-sense code of conduct. Users are required to take into consideration community standards and refrain from abusive or deceptive conduct, cheating, hacking, or other misuse of SEN First Party Services. Rights of other users should be respected.

The actions that are prohibited include the following:

You may not engage in deceptive or misleading practices.
You may not abuse or harass others, including stalking behavior.
You may not take any action, or upload, post, stream, or otherwise transmit any content, language, images or sounds in any forum, communication, public profile, or other publicly viewable areas or in the creation of any Online ID that SNEI or its affiliates, in their sole discretion, find offensive, hateful, or vulgar. This includes any content or communication that SNEI or its affiliates deem racially, ethnically, religiously or sexually offensive, libelous, defaming, threatening, bullying or stalking.
You may not organize hate groups.
You may not upload, post, stream, or otherwise transmit any content that contains any viruses, worms, spyware, time bombs, or other computer programs that may damage, interfere with, or disrupt SEN First Party Services.
You may not use, make, or distribute unauthorized software or hardware, including Non-Licensed Peripherals and cheat code software or devices that circumvent any security features or limitations included on any software or devices, in conjunction with SEN First Party Services, or take or use any data from SEN First Party Services to design, develop or update such unauthorized software or hardware.
You may not modify or attempt to modify the online client, disc, save file, server, client-server communication, or other parts of any game title, or content.
You may not cause disruption to or modify or damage any account, system, hardware, software, or network connected to or provided by SEN First Party Services for any reason, including for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in a game.
You may not attempt to hack or reverse engineer any code or equipment in connection with SEN First Party Services.
You may not provide anyone with your name or any other personally identifying information other than your Online ID, nor the name, password or personally identifying information of any other person or business through any means, including messaging, chat or any other form of network communication.
You may not take any action that SNEI or its affiliates consider to be disruptive to the normal flow of chat or gameplay, including uploading, posting, streaming, or otherwise transmitting any unsolicited or unauthorized material, including junk mail, spam, excessive mail or chain letters.
You may not introduce content that is commercial in nature such as advertisements, solicitations, promotions and links to web sites.
You may not introduce content that could be harmful to SNEI or its affiliates or their licensors, or players, such as any code or virus that may damage, alter or change any property or interfere with the use of property or SEN First Party Services.
You may not upload, post, stream, access, or otherwise transmit any content that you know or should have known to be infringing, or that violates, any third party rights, any law or regulation, or contractual or fiduciary obligations.
You may not impersonate any person, including an SNEI or third party employee.
You may not provide SNEI or any third party company with false or inaccurate information, including reporting false complaints to our or our affiliates' consumer services or providing false or inaccurate information during account registration.
You may not sell, buy, trade, or otherwise transfer your Online ID, SEN Account or any personal access to SEN First Party Services through any means or method, including by use of web sites.
You may not conduct any activities that violate any local, state or federal laws, including copyright or trademark infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, identity theft, hacking, stalking, fraud, stealing or using without purchasing, where payment is required, any content or service and distributing counterfeit software or SEN Accounts.

Unless otherwise required by law, SNEI is not responsible for monitoring or recording any activity on SEN First Party Services, including communications, although SNEI reserves the right to do so and you hereby give SNEI your express consent to monitor and record your and your Sub Account’s activities and communications. SNEI reserves the right to remove any content and communication from SEN First Party Services at SNEI's sole discretion without notice and to terminate any SEN Account through which violations of the Community Code of Conduct occur. SNEI may also take steps on behalf of its device platform partners to disable permanently or temporarily any device on which you receive SEN First Party Services and through use of which you violate the Community Code of Conduct. SNEI may use any data it collects, including the content of your communications, the time and location of your activities, your Online ID and IP address and any other collectable data, to enforce this Agreement or protect the interests of SNEI, its affiliates, SEN First Party Service users or SNEI's or its affiliates’ licensors. Such information may be disclosed to appropriate authorities or agencies. Any other use is subject to the terms of SNEI’s Privacy Policy. SNEI has no liability for any violation of this Agreement by you or by any other SEN First Party Service user.

We and third parties may provide functionality allowing you to recommend your favorite content or services to your friends via the SEN First Party Services. Only send recommendations to friends who you know want to receive them and whose age is appropriate for the content or services you are recommending. If you receive unwanted messages, ask the sender to stop. If they do not, you can add that person to your block list. See your system manual for more information.
4. ACCESS TO CONTENT

All content and services are provided to you by SNEI, including content created or published by third parties. Third parties may administer access to some content or services, including delivery, gameplay, community management or customer service. To enable third parties to provide such access to you, SNEI must provide them with your personal information. If you do not consent to allow us to share your personal information with third parties for the purpose of providing you with access to SEN First Party Services content, you will not be able to participate in any SEN First Party Services. In order to access certain content, you may be required to accept additional content-specific usage terms and conditions of SNEI or third party companies ("Usage Terms"). In the event of any conflict between this Agreement and the Usage Terms or any other terms and conditions in connection with SEN First Party Services or any disc-based product used with SEN First Party Services, this Agreement will control.

You may be able to set your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®Vita system or other Authorized Device to download or receive new content automatically from the SEN First Party Services without further notice to you when you sign into SEN First Party Services. Such content will be subject to the terms of this Agreement.
5. WALLET

All access to content may only be purchased from SNEI using funds from a wallet associated with your SEN Account. Your existing SEN First Party Services wallet will be used to purchase content licenses or services offered on the SEN First Party Services. All transactions made by the Sub Account or the Master Account must be made through the Master Account's wallet. A Sub Account does not have a separate wallet. Master Accounts can set a maximum spending amount for each Sub Account, effective at the beginning of the following month. A Master Account holder can fund the wallet up to a maximum amount determined by SNEI ("Limit"), using either (i) a credit or debit card; (ii) a prepaid card or promotional code with a specified value where available; or (iii) other payment methods approved by SNEI and made available from time to time in each specific country. SNEI has no obligation to reverse or refund unauthorized charges made on your credit or debit card.

Except as otherwise permitted by applicable law or as expressly provided in this Agreement, funds added to the wallet are non-refundable and non-transferable. Wallet funds have no value outside SEN First Party Services and can only be used to purchase access to content from SNEI through SEN First Party Services. Subject to applicable law, wallet funds that are deemed abandoned or unused by law will not be returned or restored.
6. PREPAID CARDS AND PRODUCT CODES

SNEI or its affiliates may provide prepaid cards that allow users to redeem content on SEN First Party Services or fund the wallet. The value of a prepaid card contributes to the Limit. If you acquire a prepaid card that has a value that, when added to the wallet's existing balance, exceeds the Limit, you will not be able to apply the value of the prepaid card to the wallet until sufficient funds have been spent from the wallet to allow the sum of the full value of the prepaid card and wallet to be equal to or less than the Limit. Except as permitted by SNEI, the Master Account wallet will only accept prepaid cards with currency value from the same country as the one designated for the Master Account.

SNEI, its affiliates or third parties may provide product codes which can be used to access content, including promotional content. Product codes may not be available in all countries or to all users, and age restrictions may apply. Some product codes must be used before a specified expiration date and in accordance with specified terms and conditions. Unless otherwise stated, product codes may be used once only by the recipient and may not be transferred or sold to any other person.

SNEI is not responsible or liable for any claims arising as a result of prepaid cards or product codes, including any problems or defects in connection with prepaid cards or product codes. Your use of the prepaid card in the United States and Canada is subject to this Agreement's terms. Additional terms and conditions may accompany the prepaid card or the product code.
7. TRANSACTIONS

All transactions on any SEN First Party Services are solely between you and SNEI. By completing a transaction through your Master Account or allowing a transaction to take place through an associated Sub Account, you are (i) agreeing to pay for all transactions made by the Master Account and its associated Sub Accounts, including recurring charges for subscriptions that are not cancelled; (ii) authorizing SNEI to deduct from the wallet and charge your credit card all applicable fees due and payable for all transactions made by the Master Account and its associated Sub Accounts; and (iii) agreeing to any applicable Usage Terms and the terms and conditions associated with use of the particular content or service. To the extent permitted by applicable law, all transactions are final upon their completion. You may have the option to order a license for certain content from the SEN First Party Services in advance of the time the content is first released for license via the SEN First Party Services. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right to deduct funds from your wallet for any such pre-order at the time of your request, but the content will not be available until the content is released for license via the SEN First Party Services. You may not cancel a pre-order at any time and refunds are not available for pre-orders, subject to applicable laws. Access to content is not transferable except as expressly allowed under applicable terms of service. Prior to completing a transaction, you are encouraged to review the description of the content or service you are licensing and the content itself, where available. SNEI reserves the right to deduct from the wallet any fee, penalty or other charge resulting from a Master Account holder's request to the Master Account holder's credit card company to reverse charges relating to a transaction. SNEI reserves the right to terminate the Master Account and all Sub Accounts associated with the Master Account for failure to complete transaction payments. In lieu of termination of the Master Account, SNEI may elect to provide a mechanism by which a Master Account may fund the wallet to prevent the Master Account and its associated Sub Accounts from being terminated. Except as otherwise provided, all transactions are made in the currency of your country of residence. Features, specifications, prices, services and content are subject to change or withdrawal at any time and SNEI does not provide any refunds in the event of a price drop, a subsequent promotional offering or product removal. Special product, prices and promotions are no longer valid once they are changed or removed. Prices listed do not include sales tax. Applicable sales tax will be calculated and added at the time you complete a transaction. In certain jurisdictions, local laws require that prices include all applicable taxes, in which case this will be indicated at the time of the transaction. To the extent permitted by applicable law, all transactions are subject to the laws of the State of California, County of San Mateo.

You may be able to make transactions only with a designated Sony regional company which is determined by your country/area of residence. Your country/area of residence may be verified by your credit or debit card number and may be rejected if the information does not match. If you are a Master Account holder, you will receive an email summary for each transaction after it is made, if you have given us a valid, current, operational email address. Please print and retain these emails for your records. You can view your transaction history in the account management area.

Errors in listed prices, product descriptions, and associated terms and conditions may occur. If we discover an error in the price of items you have ordered, we will contact you. You will have the option of either reconfirming your order at the correct price or canceling it. If we are unable to contact you, your order will be cancelled.

Upon SNEI's confirmation of your transaction, you may access the item you ordered through your SEN Account that you used to order the item, until such time as SNEI removes the item. We encourage you to download or access the item immediately after completing your transaction. You bear all risk of loss for accessing the content, including completing the download of any content, ensuring that you have the necessary capabilities to view the content, including content provided at high resolution/definition, and for any loss of content you have downloaded, including any loss due to a file corruption or hard drive crash. You are solely responsible if you do not choose to download or access the content before it is removed and for ongoing storage and safekeeping of the content. SNEI is not obligated to provide you with replacement copies for any reason.

If you do not have sufficient funds in your wallet to complete a transaction and you have previously entered your credit card information, we may automatically charge your credit card a minimum amount determined by SNEI ("Minimum Fee") to complete the transaction, even if the Minimum Fee exceeds the total amount of your order. Any difference between the Minimum Fee and the total amount of your order will be credited to your wallet. Additional procedures apply to subscription purchases. Please read Section 11 ("SUBSCRIPTIONS") of this Agreement for details. Payments for access to content or services are not refundable.
8. LICENSE RESTRICTIONS AND CONDITIONS

Except as stated in this Agreement, all content and software provided through SEN First Party Services are licensed non-exclusively and revocably to you, your children and children for whom you are a legal guardian (collectively for purposes of this section, "You" or "Your"), solely for Your personal, private, non-transferable, non-commercial, limited use on a limited number of Authorized Devices in the country in which your account is registered. All intellectual property rights subsisting in SEN First Party Services, including all software, data, and content subsisting in or used in connection with SEN First Party Services, the Online ID and access to content and hardware used in connection with SEN First Party Services (collectively defined as "Property"), belong to SNEI and its licensors. This license and all use or access to Property is expressly conditioned on your compliance with this Agreement's terms, other applicable agreements, if any, and all applicable copyright and intellectual property rights laws.

Your compliance with all of the following are express conditions of Your license to use or access the Property. You may not sell, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, modify, adapt, arrange, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Property. Except as stated in this Agreement or as SNEI expressly permits by SNEI, you may not reproduce or transfer any portion of the Property. You may not create any derivative works, attempt to create the source code from the object code, or download or use any Property for any purpose other than as expressly permitted. You may not bypass, disable, or circumvent any encryption, security, digital rights management or authentication mechanism in connection with SEN First Party Services, Authorized Devices, or any of the content or services offered through SEN First Party Services. You may use the Property only on Authorized Devices. You acknowledge that SEN First Party Services and content or services provided through SEN First Party Services may contain security or technical features that will prevent use of such content or services in violation of this Agreement. Property is not licensed to you for resale, public performance, display, distribution or broadcast. Except as this Agreement expressly grants, SNEI and its licensors reserve all rights, interests, and remedies in connection with SEN First Party Services and the Property. Upon termination of this Agreement, Your Account, or license to any Property, You will immediately cease use of the Property and delete or destroy copies of the Property.

Additional terms and conditions, including use restrictions or requirements, may apply to a particular item. Use or license terms may vary depending on the item. Please read carefully all specific terms of use for a particular item or service before ordering. The restrictions to which a particular item or service is subject are in the sole discretion of SNEI or its licensors and are subject to change at any time. Use of the terms "own," "ownership", "purchase," "sale," "sold," "sell," "rent" or "buy" on or in connection with SEN First Party Services shall not mean or imply any transfer of ownership of any content, data or software or any intellectual property rights therein from SNEI or its licensors to any user or third party. All other company, product, and service names and logos referenced on SEN First Party Services are the marks, trade names, trademarks/service marks, and registered trademarks/ service marks ("Marks") of their respective owners. You may not use or reproduce any Marks without the owner's express written consent. You may not remove any proprietary notices or labels from any content.
9. VIDEO CONTENT

You may use your SEN Account to order video content. Subject to this Agreement’s terms and any additional terms and conditions for the particular item, SNEI licenses digitalized content, including television shows and movies ("Video Content") to account holders in select territories (currently the United States and Canada) for your personal, private, non-commercial viewing in your authorized territory, using a limited number of Authorized Devices during the authorized viewing period ("Authorized Term"). Video Content may be made available to you as a licensed copy for rental for a limited duration (“Licensed Rental Content”) or a licensed copy for an indefinite duration (“Other Licensed Content”). Use of Video Content is subject to certain digital rights management rules and this Agreement’s terms. Except for rights explicitly granted to you, all rights in the Video Content are reserved by SNEI and its licensors.

Licensed Rental Content will have a time period during which you can begin playback ("Rental Term"). The Rental Term for each Licensed Rental Content item will be displayed to you prior to finalizing your rental payment. Once you begin playback of your Licensed Rental Content, that content is viewable for up to 24 hours (“Rental Viewing Period”). After the Rental Viewing Period or Rental Term ends, whichever occurs first, you will not be able to view the Licensed Rental Content unless you obtain an additional license for that content.

You may select the Authorized Device on which you want to view your Licensed Rental Content, but you may view it on only one Authorized Device at a time. For Video Unlimited, you may view the content from any one of your Video Unlimited Devices, except that if the Licensed Rental Content is in high definition format, it may be viewed on only one Authorized Streaming Device. For PSN, you may view Licensed Rental Content from any one of your PSN Devices, except that if the Licensed Rental Content is in high definition format, it may be viewed on one PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system that is an Authorized Device. Licensed Rental Content may not be transferred between an Authorized Download Device and an Authorized Streaming Device. Because the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system is both an Authorized Download Device and an Authorized Streaming Device, you may initiate a stream of Licensed Rental Content on your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and subsequently download that Licensed Rental Content to the same PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. If you downloaded Licensed Rental Content to your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, you may not subsequently stream that Licensed Rental Content on your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The Rental Viewing Period begins when you begin to stream the Licensed Rental Content or begin playback of a downloaded version of that content, whichever you do first. Once playback has started on an Authorized Streaming Device, you may not view that content using any other Authorized Device without a separate license payment. If you start Licensed Rental Content playback on an Authorized Download Device, the account that ordered the Licensed Rental Content may, during the Authorized Term, transfer that content to a limited number of Authorized Download Devices, as described below.

Licensed Rental Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system may be transferred to up to a total of three PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita systems. Licensed Rental Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a personal computer may be transferred to up to a total combination of three PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems, PlayStation®Vita systems and mobile telephones. Licensed Rental Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita system may be transferred to up to one PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and two personal computers. Licensed Rental Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a mobile telephone or tablet may be transferred to up to two personal computers. In each of the above cases, you may only transfer to one of the eligible Authorized Download Devices and following such transfer, the Licensed Rental Content will no longer be available on the sending Authorized Download Device.

You may view Other Licensed Content for an unlimited number of times on Authorized Download Devices only. The account that ordered the Other Licensed Content may copy that content to a limited number of Authorized Download Devices, as described below.

Other Licensed Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system may be copied for use on up to three PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita systems. Other Licensed Content in standard definition format downloaded onto a personal computer may be copied for use on up to a combination of three PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita systems, tablets and mobile telephones. Other Licensed Content in standard definition format downloaded on to a PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita system may be copied for use on up to one PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and two personal computers. Other Licensed Content in standard definition format downloaded on to a mobile telephone or tablet may be copied for use on up to two personal computers. Other Licensed Content in high definition format may be viewed on only one PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

You may have the option to order Video Content in high definition and standard definition format. You acknowledge that delivery of content is dependent on variables not under SNEI's control, including the speed and availability of your broadband or network connection. You may experience delays or technical difficulties caused by or related to such variables. If you have ordered Video Content and view it using an Authorized Streaming Device, you may not be able to view content in the format that you have ordered due to such variables. To the extent permitted by law, you will not receive a refund or credit for any content that you are not able to view or have difficulty viewing due to such variables. We strongly encourage you to order content suitable for your viewing capabilities. You bear all responsibility for ensuring that you have the viewing capabilities to view content in the appropriate format or at all.

Proper activation of an Authorized Device by the account that ordered the Video Content is required for all downloads, transfers, copies and viewings. Video Content is connected to the account used to order that content. An account can activate no more than the maximum number of Authorized Devices, regardless of the number of copies of Video Content ordered. Video Content may not be transferred from one account to another. You may not exceed the total number of accounts on any Authorized Device. Please refer to http://playstation.com/ and http://sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/ for more information on the total number of permitted SEN Accounts. SNEI reserves the right to limit the number of times an Authorized Device may be activated or deactivated.

Downloading or streaming is not permitted outside the Authorized Term. In addition, once Video Content has been downloaded or accessed, you will not be able to download it again without an additional license.

Some content such as movie trailers may not be representative of the actual feature presentation. Digitalized versions of some content may not be identical with the original formatted content or previously released versions of the same titled content.

Video output in certain formats may require additional equipment, sold separately.
10. COMIC CONTENT

Subject to the terms of this Agreement and any additional terms and conditions for the particular content, SNEI licenses to SEN Account holders digital comic book content ("Comic Content") for your personal, private, non-commercial viewing in the United States on up to three activated PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) or PlayStation®Vita systems. Additional software for viewing Comic Content may be required. Except for rights explicitly granted here, all rights in Comic Content are reserved by SNEI and its licensors. Some Comic Content may not be identical with the original formatted content or versions of the same titled content not provided by SNEI.
11. MUSIC CONTENT

You may be given an opportunity to use Music Unlimited to receive music content ("Music Content") for your personal listening. Music Unlimited has certain features that are available without charge and other features that require you to pay fees in order for you to be able to use such features.

The compilation of Music Content available for listening and the features available on Music Unlimited may vary at any time. Certain features of and Music Content available through Music Unlimited are made available to you based upon where Music Unlimited determines you are physically located based upon your IP address. If you choose to use certain features of Music Unlimited, additional terms and limitations ("Additional Music Terms") may apply. Additional Music Terms or information about where to view Additional Music Terms are presented to you at either the time you choose to use those features or as part of the registration process necessary for you to use those features and you agree to be bound by Additional Music Terms.

Your ability to use Music Unlimited on Music Unlimited Devices may be dependent on you registering or providing certain information about Music Unlimited Devices or being connected online to the Internet and the playback or streaming of Music Content may be interrupted if you do not register, provide certain information about your Music Unlimited Devices or Music Unlimited Devices do not remain continuously connected online to the Internet. Some of Music Unlimited features require you to install and operate applications on some Music Unlimited Devices and failure to properly install and operate such applications will mean that you will not be able to use those features of Music Unlimited that rely upon such applications.

Music Content made accessible may only be played on one Music Unlimited Device at one time. Music Unlimited seeks to detect which Music Unlimited Device is receiving streamed Music Content and some of your Music Unlimited Devices may not receive streamed Music Content or may have a stream of Music Content terminated if Music Unlimited detects that you are playing streamed Music Content on another one of your Music Unlimited Devices.

You may elect to use features of Music Unlimited that will result in your historical use of Music Unlimited and music files on your Music Unlimited Devices being examined so that Music Unlimited can extract data about your use and other information about certain of your music files. This data is used to provide certain features of Music Unlimited to improve your experience using Music Unlimited and you consent to such music files and music history being examined.

No ownership rights in Music Content are transferred or assigned to you and all ownership rights in Music Content are retained by the owners of such rights. All rights granted to you regarding Music Content are granted to you personally and by license only. You are not given any rights to use any Music Content for any ringtones or in a manner that also requires a synchronization or public performance license with respect to the underlying musical composition of that Music Content. You are prohibited from reproducing, modifying, publicly broadcasting, repurposing or distributing any of the Music Content.
12. SUBSCRIPTIONS

SNEI may offer you the opportunity to purchase, order or download subscriptions that provide access to particular products or services for a specified period of time. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel the subscription. The cost of each subscription will automatically be deducted from your wallet at the beginning of each subscription term without further notice to you. Subscriptions may not be shared among any SEN accounts, including the Master Account with its associated Sub Accounts.

Some subscriptions may be single-product- or service-specific, while other subscriptions may be comprised of several content items, services or features, which may include special offers, discounted, free, paid-for, exclusive or early access content or automatic download of selected content. Individual content items and service within a composite subscription may also be offered for sale separately as a one-time order or single-product-specific subscription. Subscription charges may be increased at the end of each subscription term. As each product offering will have terms and conditions that vary, please review each product description, cost and subscription term carefully before order, payment or download. As with all orders, please print and retain a copy of your email order receipt for your reference.

SNEI may also offer a free trial period with some subscriptions. If you do not cancel your subscription before expiration of a trial period, your wallet will automatically be charged the cost of the subscription at the beginning of each subscription term without further notice to you. To avoid being charged, you must cancel your subscription prior to expiration. Please review all terms and conditions carefully before you accept any offer or promotion.

If you do not have sufficient funds in your wallet to cover the cost of your subscription at the time the subscription is renewed, the subscription will be cancelled unless the automatic funding feature on the Master Account is set to "ON." If the automatic funding feature on the Master Account is set to "ON," your credit card will be charged automatically the greater of the subscription cost or the Minimum Fee. Every time you or one of your associated Sub Accounts purchases, orders or downloads a new subscription, the automatic funding feature in the Master Account is set automatically to "ON." The Master Account holder may change this setting to "OFF" at any time. However, the setting will return to "ON" upon subsequent purchase, order or download of any subscription, so setting your automatic funding feature to "OFF" may not effectively cancel your subscription. In order to stop receiving a subscription and avoid being charged, you must cancel your subscription in the Account Management area.

If you no longer wish to receive your subscription, you must cancel your subscription by using account management or contacting customer service at www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/support or the address located at the end of this Agreement. Cancellation will take effect at the beginning of the next subscription term. Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, upon cancellation of your subscription or termination of the Master Account or Sub Account, you will not receive a refund or credit for any subscriptions for which you have paid. Further, you will not be able to access content or services provided in your subscription except as permitted by SNEI. Content that you downloaded onto a device and that was provided to you through a subscription at no additional cost beyond the subscription price may not be accessible. Game play information, including trophies earned during a trial offer, promotional period or subscription term may not be available.
13. MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES

From time to time, it may become necessary to provide certain content to you to ensure that SEN First Party Services and content offered through SEN First Party Services, your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system, PlayStation®Vita system or other authorized hardware is functioning properly. Some content may be provided automatically without notice when you sign in. Such content may include automatic updates or upgrades which may change your current operating system, cause a loss of data or content or cause a loss of functionalities or utilities. Such upgrades or updates may be provided for system software for your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system, PlayStation®Vita system or other authorized hardware. Access or use to any system software is subject to terms and conditions of a separate end user license agreement. You authorize SNEI to provide such content and agree that SNEI shall not be liable for any damages, loss of data or loss of functionalities arising from provision of such content or maintenance services. It is recommended that you regularly back up any archivable data located on the hard disk.
14. USER MATERIAL AND INFORMATION

SNEI will collect and share with its affiliate, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (“SCEA”), information relating to your participation in SEN First Party Services, including your sign-in ID, friend's list, communications, purchase history and game play history (collectively, “Information”) as well as your personally identifying information. You may have an opportunity to permit SNEI to share your Information relating to your participation in SEN First Party Services with third parties. If you choose to do so, use or distribution of your Information on any third party website or service may be subject solely to that third party's terms of service and privacy policy. Before electing to share your Information, please be aware of the kinds of Information you will be sharing and review the third party's terms of service and privacy policy. SNEI may also provide your Information to its subsidiaries or affiliates and vendors in order to provide you with the SEN First Party Services. You hereby authorize SNEI to use, distribute, copy, display, and publish your Information for any legitimate business purpose, including tournaments and ranking, without payment to you.

You will have the option to create, post, stream or transmit content such as pictures, photographs, game related materials, or other information through PSN to share with others ("User Material"), provided no rights of others are violated. To the extent permitted by law, you authorize and license SNEI a royalty free and perpetual right to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material for any reason without any restrictions or payments to you or any third parties. You further agree that SNEI may sublicense its rights to any third party, including its affiliates and subsidiaries. You hereby waive all claims, including any moral rights, against SNEI, its affiliates and subsidiaries for SNEI or any third party's use of User Material to the extent permitted by applicable law. By creating, posting, streaming, or transmitting any User Material, you represent and warrant that you have the appropriate rights to use, create, post, distribute, and transmit User Material and to grant SNEI the foregoing license. You further agree to cooperate with SNEI in resolving any dispute that may arise from your Information or User Material. SNEI reserves the right to remove any Information or User Material at its sole discretion.

Some games played on or provided through PSN may have features that allow your information, including game play, Online ID, Friend's list, messages and related gaming information to be recorded by a user and distributed to any third party publicly, including users outside of PSN. You agree that any third party may record, use and distribute such information for any reason without any restrictions or compensation to you. Additional terms and conditions may apply, including SNEI's Privacy Policy, SCEA's Privacy Policy and the terms and conditions of any game publisher or service provider. Please review all terms carefully. If you do not want your information to be used, recorded or distributed, please do not play the game online through PSN.

Through your use of SEN First Party Services, you may be provided with information about SNEI's or a third party's products or services. This information includes, but is not limited to, promotions, advertisements, product placements or marketing materials within SEN First Party Services or a game, irrespective of whether the game is connected with or provided through PSN. You agree that SNEI and its partners and providers may collect information regarding your activities, access, or game play, and may use and distribute such information subject to the terms of SNEI's Privacy Policy or the policies of third parties where applicable. SNEI does not endorse any of the third party products or services advertised, promoted or marketed.
15. TERMINATION / CANCELLATION

If SNEI determines in its sole discretion that you or your associated Sub Accounts have violated any term of this Agreement, the Usage Terms, or any other terms and conditions connected with SEN First Party Services or have otherwise injured or damaged the SEN First Party Services community, SNEI may take all actions to protect its interests, including termination or suspension of your SEN Account (both the Master Account and any associated Sub Accounts), automatic removal or blockage of content, implementation of upgrades or devices intended to discontinue unauthorized use, permanent or temporary disablement of any system or device through which you receive SEN First Party Services or reliance on any other remedial efforts as necessary to remedy the violation. If the violation is in connection with content that you or your Sub Accounts have accessed, you must immediately cease use of such content and delete all copies from all of your devices. Upon termination of your account for any reason, you will not receive a refund for items (including subscriptions and pre-paid products or services), value accumulated on in-game items or any unused balance in your wallet except as required by law or as expressly provided in this Agreement. After your account is terminated, you will not be able to access SEN First Party Services. Any game ranking or scores, or information in connection with SEN First Party Services will not be retained or accessible by you or your associated Sub Accounts. In some situations, we may suspend or terminate your Master Account, but permit you to retain your associated Sub Accounts. If you do not terminate your Sub Accounts, you will be liable for all their acts. You may not alter any of the settings on your Master Account, including parental control settings placed on your Sub Accounts prior to the termination or suspension of your Master Account. Your Sub Accounts will be permitted to use the remaining funds in your wallet provided that the Sub Account has not exceeded the limit you placed on the Sub Account. Additionally, you will not receive further correspondence from SNEI about your Sub Accounts, including purchases made by your Sub Accounts. SNEI reserves the right to bring legal action and to participate in any government or private legal action or investigation relating to your conduct, which may require the disclosure of your information. Unless as otherwise stated in this Agreement, SNEI, at its sole discretion, may indefinitely suspend, or discontinue any and all online access to content at any time, including for maintenance service or upgrades, without prior notice or liability.
16. BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION

Purpose. The term "Dispute" means any dispute, claim, or controversy between you and any Sony Entity regarding any SEN First Party Services or the use of any devices sold by a Sony Entity to access SEN First Party Services, whether based in contract, statute, regulation, ordinance, tort (including, but not limited to, fraud, misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, or negligence), or any other legal or equitable theory, and includes the validity, enforceability or scope of this Section 15 (with the exception of the enforceability of the Class Action Waiver clause below). "Dispute" is to be given the broadest possible meaning that will be enforced. If you have a Dispute with any Sony Entity or any of a Sony Entity's officers, directors, employees and agents that cannot be resolved through negotiation within the time frame described in the "Notice of Dispute" clause below. Other than those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause, you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this Section 15, and not litigate any Dispute in court. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury.

Exclusions from Arbitration. YOU AND THE SONY ENTITIES AGREE THAT ANY CLAIM FILED BY YOU OR BY A SONY ENTITY IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE ARBITRATION TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 15.

RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER WITHIN 30 DAYS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THIS SECTION 15, YOU MUST NOTIFY SNEI IN WRITING WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE THAT YOU ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR WRITTEN NOTIFICATION MUST BE MAILED TO 6080 CENTER DRIVE, 10TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045, ATTN: LEGAL DEPARTMENT/ARBITRATION AND MUST INCLUDE: (1) YOUR NAME, (2) YOUR ADDRESS, (3) YOUR SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES ONLINE ID, IF YOU HAVE ONE, AND (4) A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH ANY SONY ENTITY THROUGH ARBITRATION.

Notice of Dispute. IF YOU HAVE A DISPUTE WITH ANY SONY ENTITY, YOU MUST SEND WRITTEN NOTICE TO 6080 CENTER DRIVE, 10TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045, ATTN: LEGAL DEPARTMENT/ARBITRATION, ATTN: SONY LEGAL DEPARTMENT: DISPUTE RESOLUTION" TO GIVE SNEI OR THE SONY ENTITY YOU HAVE A DISPUTE WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE INFORMALLY THROUGH NEGOTIATION. You agree to negotiate resolution of the Dispute in good faith for no less than 60 days after you provide notice of the Dispute. If the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with does not resolve your Dispute within 60 days from receipt of notice of the Dispute, you or the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with may pursue your claim in arbitration pursuant to the terms in this Section 15.

Class Action Waiver. ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS, WHETHER IN ARBITRATION OR COURT, WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR AS A NAMED OR UNNAMED MEMBER IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION, UNLESS BOTH YOU AND THE SONY ENTITY WITH WHICH YOU HAVE A DISPUTE SPECIFICALLY AGREE TO DO SO IN WRITING FOLLOWING INITIATION OF THE ARBITRATION. THIS PROVISION DOES NOT PRECLUDE YOUR PARTICIPATION AS A MEMBER IN A CLASS ACTION FILED ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 20, 2011.

Initiation of Arbitration Proceeding/Selection of Arbitrator. If you or the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with elect to resolve your Dispute through arbitration, the party initiating the arbitration proceeding may initiate it with the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), www.adr.org, or JAMS www.jamsadr.com. The terms of this Section 15 govern in the event they conflict with the rules of the arbitration organization selected by the parties.

Arbitration Procedures. Because the software and/or service provided to you by the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with concern interstate commerce, the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") governs the arbitrability of all Disputes. However, applicable federal or state law may also apply to the substance of any Disputes. For claims of less than $75,000, the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes ("Supplementary Procedures") shall apply including the schedule of arbitration fees set forth in Section C-8 of the Supplementary Procedures; for claims over $75,000, the AAA's Commercial Arbitration Rules and relevant fee schedules for non-class action proceedings shall apply. The AAA rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. Further, if your claims do not exceed $75,000 and you provided notice to and negotiated in good faith with the Sony Entity you had a Dispute with as described above, if the arbitrator finds that you are the prevailing party in the arbitration, you will be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs as determined by the arbitrator, in addition to any rights to recover the same under controlling state or federal law afforded to the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with or you. The arbitrator will make any award in writing but need not provide a statement of reasons unless requested by a party. Such award will be binding and final, excerpt for any right of appeal provided by the FAA, and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the parties for purposes of enforcement.

Location of Arbitration. You or the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with may initiate arbitration in either San Mateo County, California or the county in which you reside. In the event that you select the county of your residence, the Sony Entity you have a Dispute with may transfer the arbitration to San Mateo, County in the event that it agrees to pay any additional fees or costs you incur as a result of the change in location as determined by the arbitrator.

Severability. If any clause within this Section 15 (other than the Class Action Waiver clause above) is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that clause will be severed from this Section 15, and the remainder of this Section 15 will be given full force and effect. If the Class Action Waiver clause is found to be illegal or unenforceable, this entire Section 15 will be unenforceable, and the Dispute will be decided by a court and you and the Sony Entity you have a dispute with each agree to waive in that instance, to the fullest extent allowed by law, any trial by jury.

Continuation. This Section 15 shall survive any termination of this Agreement or the provision of SEN First Party Services to you.
17. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

YOU AND SNEI AGREE THAT THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CONFLICT OF LAW RULES, GOVERN THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND THE SONY ENTITIES. ANY DISPUTE NOT SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION AND NOT INITIATED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT WILL BE LITIGATED BY EITHER PARTY IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION IN EITHER THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO OR IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA.
18. GENERAL LEGAL

SNEI, at its sole discretion, may modify the terms of this Agreement at any time, including imposing a fee for creating SEN accounts. By accepting this Agreement or by accessing SEN First Party Services, you agree to be bound by all current terms of the Agreement. To access a printable, current copy of this Agreement, go to http://www.sonyenter...entnetwork.com/ on your personal computer. If material changes to this Agreement are made, you will be notified by e-mail or other communication when you sign in to SEN First Party Services. If necessary, you will be given additional choices regarding such change(s). Your continued use of SEN First Party Services, including use of your associated Sub Account(s), will signify your acceptance of these changes. If you do not accept material changes to the Agreement, contact us to terminate this Agreement and your account(s).

This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of the parties, including any successors in interest of SNEI. SNEI has the right to assign any and all of its rights and obligations hereunder to any affiliate(s) or to any company in the Sony family group of companies. In addition to the benefits obtained by Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC under Section 15, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC is a third party beneficiary of this Agreement.

If any provision of this Agreement is held illegal or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

Except as otherwise required by applicable law, this Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California applying to contracts fully executed and performed within the State of California. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, both parties submit to personal jurisdiction in the state courts of San Mateo County, California and the federal courts of the Northern District of California. In the event of litigation to enforce any part of this Agreement, all costs and fees, including attorney's fees, shall be paid by the non-prevailing party to the extent permitted by applicable law.
19. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

All services and content are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" with all faults. No warranty is given about the quality, functionality, availability or performance of SEN First Party Services, or any content or service offered on or through SEN First Party Services.SNEI does not warrant that the service and content will be uninterrupted, error-free or without delays. In addition to the limitations of liability in Sections 1, 2, 12 and 14 of this Agreement, SNEI expressly disclaims any implied warranty of merchantability, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose and warranty of non-infringement. SNEI assumes no liability for any inability to purchase, access, download or use any content, data or service. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RECOURSE IN THE EVENT OF ANY DISSATISFACTION WITH OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND SNEI'S MAXIMUM LIABILITY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT OR WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF OR ACCESS TO SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES SHALL BE LIMITED TO YOUR DIRECT DAMAGES, NOT TO EXCEED THE UNUSED FUNDS IN YOUR WALLET AS OF THE DATE OF TERMINATION. EXCEPT AS STATED IN THE FOREGOING SENTENCE, SNEI EXCLUDES ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA, DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE, AND ANY OTHER LOSS OR DAMAGE SUFFERED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL AND HOWEVER ARISING, AS A RESULT OF ACCESSING OR DOWNLOADING ANY CONTENT TO YOUR PLAYSTATION®3 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM, THE PSP® (PLAYSTATION®PORTABLE) SYSTEM, PLAYSTATION®VITA SYSTEM, BRAVIA® TELEVISION, SONY BLU-RAY® DISC PLAYER OR ANY HARDWARE DEVICE, OR USING OR ACCESSING SEN FIRST PARTY SERVICES. UNLESS THIS PROVISION IS UNENFORCEABLE IN YOUR JURISDICTION, THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS AND DISCLAIMERS SHALL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. Internet Service Provider fees are the full responsibility of the user. Authorized Devices sold separately.

PLEASE CONTACT SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC CONSUMER SERVICES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS VIA OUR WEBSITE http://us.playstation.com/support/ask/ OR BY PHONE AT 877-971-7669 OR AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC CONSUMER SERVICES DEPARTMENT, P.O. BOX 5888, SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, 94402-0888, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON SEN VIA OUR WEBSITE http://www.sonyenter...ork.com/support OR BY PHONE TOLL FREE AT 855-999-7669 OR AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC CONSUMER SERVICE, 6080 CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 1000, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 90045, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

IN ORDER TO CONTACT US BY PHONE FROM LATIN AMERICA, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING:

Argentina: 011-6770-7669

Brazil: 0800-880-7669 (from outside Brasilia) Brazil: 4003 7669 (inside Brasilia)

Chile: 800-261-800; (56)(2)7546333

Colombia: 01-800-550-7000

Mexico: 01800.759.7669

Peru: 0-801-1-7000; (51)(1)511-6100

This post has been edited by acemanwise: 18 April 2012 - 05:27 PM

[NEOGAMES]

Just read most of that user agreement. The proof is all there. I can't wait to see what Ms and Sony announce for the new systems. There has to be some truth to the rumors.

[acemanwise]

NEOGAMES, on 20 April 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

Just read most of that user agreement. The proof is all there. I can't wait to see what Ms and Sony announce for the new systems. There has to be some truth to the rumors.

This statement is the key to the future of digital gaming. If they don't allow you to own a new game then why wouldn't they move forward and do the same with used?

Quote

"Use of the terms "own," "ownership", "purchase," "sale," "sold," "sell," "rent" or "buy" on or in connection with SEN First Party Services shall not mean or imply any transfer of ownership of any content, data or software or any intellectual property rights therein from SNEI or its licensors to any user or third party."

This post has been edited by acemanwise: 20 April 2012 - 04:33 PM

[NEOGAMES]

acemanwise, on 20 April 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

NEOGAMES, on 20 April 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

Just read most of that user agreement. The proof is all there. I can't wait to see what Ms and Sony announce for the new systems. There has to be some truth to the rumors.

This statement is the key to the future of digital gaming. If they don't allow you to own a new game then why wouldn't they move forward and do the same with used?

Quote

"Use of the terms "own," "ownership", "purchase," "sale," "sold," "sell," "rent" or "buy" on or in connection with SEN First Party Services shall not mean or imply any transfer of ownership of any content, data or software or any intellectual property rights therein from SNEI or its licensors to any user or third party."

It's really a catch 22. On one hand the used retail takes a hit and puts more money where it belongs but obviously the consumer gets the short end. Something tells me that neither Sony or MS would actually have a system that couldn't play a used game and I don't think either system is going fully digital. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I think all this speculation has something to do with the format of the copies. Same format, more restrictions. Then again cutting a drive out of a console sounds like something both parties are willing to do.

I haven't been following it too much but it's getting more interesting.

This post has been edited by NEOGAMES: 23 April 2012 - 06:23 AM

[NEOGAMES]

People are bringing up the notion of a price cut on video games. This may actually ring true considering the ongoing events of eliminating used copies.

Both ideas compliment each other, in the sense that developer's could lower the price on SOFTWARE assuming used retail folds.

Obviously it accounts for digital distribution as well.

[acemanwise]

NEOGAMES, on 23 April 2012 - 09:06 AM, said:

People are bringing up the notion of a price cut on video games. This may actually ring true considering the ongoing events of eliminating used copies.

Both ideas compliment each other, in the sense that developer's could lower the price on SOFTWARE assuming used retail folds.

Obviously it accounts for digital distribution as well.

I'm not so sure that eliminating used games would drop the price of video games. In a sense, used games are competition to new games. If anything I'd imagine video games would go up. Don't forget digital distribution is considered an ageless format, meaning it won't ever deteriorate, therefore it would be harder to lose value (at least they will make you believe it's ageless. They will neglect to tell you that it's only around as long as the service that's behind it). The same can be said about the elimination of used games where only new discs were useable.

[coastie65]

In most cases you don't OWN THE SOFTWARE such as a Windows OS. You OWN THE LICENSE to use it. I do take issue that when I buy a retail copy of the disk, I have to deal with a third party such as Steam and Origins ( and in one case Windows Live Games ). There are a lot of folks who can't afford to pay the price asked for a new game and thus the used game market. I can afford to buy new, but also buy a lot of used games as well. The way I see it, with the direction things have been going, they going to 1) kill the PC gaming market, there have been far too many problems associated with the third party crap. 2) the hardware market may take a hit, as peole who would ordinarily buy a console to play used games, will not but them as there wan't be any used games. It is greed driven and folks like Gamestop have been a thorn in their side for a long time. What those idiots don't realize, it is companies like GameStop that help to cut down on pirating to some extent. Gives people an outlet to get games cheaper if they are willing to wait. May need to come down to a gamer revolt of some kind to wake them up and set them straight.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 23 April 2012 - 02:15 PM

[acemanwise]

coastie65, on 23 April 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

In most cases you don't OWN THE SOFTWARE such as a Windows OS. You OWN THE LICENSE to use it. I do take issue that when I buy a retail copy of the disk, I have to deal with a third party such as Steam and Origins ( and in one case Windows Live Games ). There are a lot of folks who can't afford to pay the price asked for a new game and thus the used game market. I can afford to buy new, but also buy a lot of used games as well. The way I see it, with the direction things have been going, they going to 1) kill the PC gaming market, there have been far too many problems associated with the third party crap. 2) the hardware market may take a hit, as peole who would ordinarily buy a console to play used games, will not but them as there wan't be any used games. It is greed driven and folks like Gamestop have been a thorn in their side for a long time. What those idiots don't realize, it is companies like GameStop that help to cut down on pirating to some extent. Gives people an outlet to get games cheaper if they are willing to wait. May need to come down to a gamer revolt of some kind to wake them up and set them straight.

On consoles they don't even license it to you anymore. They SUBLICENSE it to you. That means the consumer has even less involvement. The developer now licenses the software to the console services, who then sublicenses it you (with attached conditions and terms). This alone should drop the price of the software sold on the market because, in reality, it's nothing more than a glorified rental from which you have "access" to games through a service. It costs 18 bucks per month to access Netflix. Fundamentally I don't see a difference other than the fact everyone is misled into thinking they still own video games.

[acemanwise]

Publisher Entitlement Ignored Over Consumer Entitlement In Gaming Media
source:cinemablend.com

Quote

You know what we never hear about? Corporate entitlement in the video game industry. We never hear about it. We never hear about how it's unnecessary to charge $60 for a re-skin job, or how it's unnecessary to always place the blame on consumers when generic shooter number #734 tanks at retail, or how big publishers abuse DLC with day-one DLC, pre-order DLC, and even disc-locked DLC, in which case the latter doesn't even make sense.

Somehow, in this strange universe gamers are the ones to always blame for the problems in the gaming industry...it's somehow the gamer's fault for wanting to be treated respectfully as a consumer.

Forbes recently detailed a breakdown of an article involving the three most sever cases of "gamer entitlement". Boy, if I did an article of the three most severe cases of "publisher entitlement" I'd have a hard time trying to limit it to just three severe cases, but I'm sure Capcom and EA could both fill it out easily.

http://www.cinemable...edia-41622.html

[acemanwise]

A plea for sanity regarding Metacritic and developer bonuses
source:bitmob.com

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Metacritic. The name alone can start arguments in some game-based circles on the Web. I'm not here to endorse or damn Metacritic or the people that use it to give feedback about whether a title might be worth buying or not. No, I'm here to shout out to the dark in hopes that maybe someone somewhere will listen. What am I pleading for? Simple. Stop giving and withholding bonuses based solely off of Metacritic scores.

What brought this to my attention was a GamePolitics article that explained how Obsidian lost out on its bonuses for developing Fallout: New Vegas because the game scored a Metacritic rating of 84 when the contract stated it needed an 85.

And you thought the wasteland was rough.

Now, I'm not privy to the conditions of the contract. It's entirely possible that there were other conditions that might or might not have been met. However, to deny bonuses to a company that made a game that earned $300 million dollars in sales when it was first released in 2010 based on a one point difference from a desired score seems wrong hearted at best and ludicrously stingy at worst.

Metacritic isn't some sort of be all and end all measure of the worth of a game. Certainly, it takes both professional and public opinion into account, but only on a minor scale -- the 84 came from the aggregated scores of 39 professional reviews. Perhaps the most glaringly sad thing is that an 84 isn't even a bad score! There are arguments going around that in terms of rating systems these days, eights might as well be sixes. But putting that aside as neither fault of Obsidian or Metacritic itself, one is still left with a score that seems to indicate that the experience is pretty much in the top percentile.

http://bitmob.com/ar...tic-and-bonuses

[acemanwise]

House Fast-Tracks CISPA Vote, Passes it with Horrible New Amendments
source:gamepolitics.com

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In what can only be described as a dirty hat trick, U.S. House of Representatives quickly amended the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act(CISPA) and then brought the bill to the floor for a vote a day earlier than was scheduled. The fast and dirty vote on the bill led to it being approved by a vote of 248-168 (15 no votes). You can see if your representative voted for the bill by checking out this document.

Pushing the bill through at mach 10 is bad enough, but what's worse are the amendments that Rep. Ben Quayle (R - AZ) managed to get added. These amendments make CISPA infinitely worse than it already was. Here is what TechDirt says the amendments add to CISPA:

Previously, CISPA allowed the government to use information for "cybersecurity" or "national security" purposes. Those purposes have not been limited or removed. Instead, three more valid uses have been added: investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crime, protection of individuals, and protection of children. Cybersecurity crime is defined as any crime involving network disruption or hacking, plus any violation of the CFAA.

Basically this means CISPA can no longer be called a cybersecurity bill at all. The government would be able to search information it collects under CISPA for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as they can claim someone committed a "cybersecurity crime". Basically it says the 4th Amendment does not apply online, at all. Moreover, the government could do whatever it wants with the data as long as it can claim that someone was in danger of bodily harm, or that children were somehow threatened—again, notwithstanding absolutely any other law that would normally limit the government's power.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a lengthy write-up on the other amendments that made it into CISPA here. If you want to see exactly what this bill is all about you can read the entire thing here. Finally, if you want to stop this bill, visit the ECA's Action Page to send your elected representatives a letter strongly expressing you opposition to CISPA.

Ultimately this is a setback for opponents of CISPA, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the this bill will make it to law. In order for it to pass it has to make it through the Senate, and then the President has to sign it into law. The White House has already promised to veto CISPA. Let's see if they keep their word.

http://gamepolitics....-new-amendments

This post has been edited by acemanwise: 29 April 2012 - 08:11 AM

[acemanwise]

Windows 8 dropping the ability to play DVDs
source:news.yahoo.com

Quote

Okay, we get it — DVD is starting to go the way of the VHS tape and film reel. But we've still got hundreds of DVDs in our house, and always pack a few in our laptop case for viewing on those long flights. That's why this news is so frustrating: The upcomingWindows 8 operating system (which you can download and preview now) is dropping the ability to play DVD content.

According to Windows engineering team member Steven Sinofsky (emphasis his), "Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray." In other words: If you want to watch that Bridesmaids DVD on your next plane trip, you're going to have to pay extra for software that will let you play it, even if your laptop already has a DVD drive. And don't think getting Blu-ray is an option — you can't play that straight from the box, either.

If you're left scratching your heads, the rationale behind dropping DVD support is simple: It's about the bottom line. Says Sinofsky, "traditional media playback scenarios, optical media, and broadcast TV, require a specialized set of decoders (and hardware) that cost a significant amount in royalties." Windows 8 will allow customers the option to install a Windows Media Center upgrade to allow DVD playback at extra cost, though Microsoft is not saying exactly how high that cost will be.

Will the move confuse customers when Windows 8 hits stores this October? Almost certainly. Will not including DVD playback hurt sales of Windows 8? Probably not at first, but we're willing to bet the change adds to the level of frustration people sometimes have with a new operating system. And when combined with some of the other frustrations of Windows 8, such as a tablet experience being shoehorned into a PC format, Microsoft may very well be playing with fire. There's a reason why so many people are still running Windows XP on their computer, after all.

http://news.yahoo.co...-171546904.html

This post has been edited by acemanwise: 04 May 2012 - 06:43 PM

[LiveBrianD]

The problem with that is that they'll probably just pocket the extra money, not dropping the price of Windows, ALONG with the extra fee for DVD playback if you want it. (or you can just download VLC) This isn't that big of a deal, I survived without built-in DVD playback in XP, but I still think this isn't a great idea. Yep, that, along with the metro UI, will probably keep a lot of people with Win7. (I, for one, will not be upgrading.)

[acemanwise]

Ownership or Lack Thereof in the Digital Age: The Truth About Digital Downloads
source:gamepodunk.com

Quote

Recently, EA's Origin made headlines again by rectifying a rather worrying issue. Initially, they would revoke access to all the content you purchased through your Origin account if you were banned. While it might seem fine to ban cheaters, it was hardly fair to see that some people got banned without having to do anything nefarious. Origin now allows players with banned accounts to play their games in single-player mode. It's a nice step but it should set off alarm bells in peoples heads. You don't truly own the games you buy when you go digital. If you're unconvinced, then let's take a peek at some popular download services and see their stance on ownership and when to revoke it.

Steam

Quote

"All right, title and interest in and to this Site, the Materials and all associated Proprietary Rights is owned by Valve or its licensors, and no ownership of any of the foregoing items is transferred to you by virtue of this Agreement or Valve's permitting you to use the Site."

"Valve hereby grants, and you accept, a limited, terminable, non-exclusive license and right to use the Software for your personal use in accordance with this Agreement and the Subscription Terms. The Software is licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Software."

GOG

Quote

"You agree that GOG may terminate your log in access to the Service, including your user name and password, at any time for any reason without prior notice or liability. GOG may change, suspend, or discontinue all or any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any feature, without prior notice or liability."

Xbox Marketplace

Quote

"Some content available in the Service may be unavailable from time to time or may only be offered for a limited time due to contractual or other limitations. As such, you may not be able to re-download or re-stream certain content that you have purchased. We have no obligation to provide a re-download or replacement of any content previously purchased. To the extent we receive information from the content owners indicating the date their content will be unavailable, we will endeavor to share this information with you."

gamepodunk.com

[acemanwise]

LiveBrianD, on 05 May 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

The problem with that is that they'll probably just pocket the extra money, not dropping the price of Windows, ALONG with the extra fee for DVD playback if you want it. (or you can just download VLC) This isn't that big of a deal, I survived without built-in DVD playback in XP, but I still think this isn't a great idea. Yep, that, along with the metro UI, will probably keep a lot of people with Win7. (I, for one, will not be upgrading.)

I was not aware of this. As long as there is a work around to get DVD playback I'm fine. Yet I do not understand why people still consider change an "upgrade" as it seems more of a crapshoot than an improvement.

[acemanwise]

[Featurama] Locked Out: A Dalliance With Offline Gaming
source:twinfinite.com

http://twinfinite.ne...-logo-cross.png

Quote

During that interruption, I was unable to see what my friends were playing or what new games, content, and demos were available for download. These are minor issues to be sure and warrant no apocalyptic reactions. Most of my complaints boil down to inconvenience, but over the course of my time offline, I began to notice a trend: gaming has becoming increasingly unfriendly towards offline players. I don’t pose this argument as a revelation, but rather a reaffirmation of a truth we continually ignore.

Whether dealing with digital rights management restrictions or exclusion from ranking systems among friends and competition, the trappings of online play have become barriers to offline players. If this wasn’t apparent in the issues arising from DLC and Online Passes, it’s no longer the case that you can simply purchase a game, put it in your system, and play the full product. Even giving in to publisher initiatives and paying to “complete” a game is not an option for some; their product remains incomplete without that connection that nurtures games post-release.

Problems with DLC and DRM are nothing new to the Xbox 360. The system licenses content to your Gamertag to prevent illegal or profitless sharing. As a result, circumstances such as replaced consoles—a recurring issue with the console—or downloading content with a different Gamertag create avenues for interruption of use.

Despite being a member of Xbox Live for more than 8 years and downloading the expansion to my unique console and Gamertag, I was unable to access that content. Through years with the Xbox 360, I have had my share of red ringed-consoles and assorted repairs; somewhere along that timeline, some downloaded content became alien to my Gamertag and console. By no fault of my own, I had lost the ability to play some games and expansions without being connected to the internet. The message you’ll find introducing this section appeared to me onscreen; it was like heading to your enjoyment vehicle only to realize you had lost the keys.

There is a laborious process to transferring licenses on Xbox Live, which allows blocked content to be played offline again. Unfortunately, it involves deleting and re-downloading the content, a luxury not afforded to offline gamers, if they are lucky enough to score a connection long enough to purchase said content. Each difficulty encountered is another layer of brush players must cut through to play their game. These issues aren’t rampant, but they appeared enough to inspire this piece. It shouldn’t be so difficult to enjoy a video game.

http://twinfinite.ne...offline-gaming/

[acemanwise]

Legal Opinion: How Cloud Gaming Turned Piracy Into Espionage
source:games.on.net

Quote

Piracy’s a dying profession. Pirated games are now lonely affairs, ripped from their multiplayer and online achievements. Such pitiful shadows are worthless to many gamers.

Cloud gaming will continue this trend. Diablo 3 launches next week, being the first online-only game of the series. With critical files stored on Blizzard’s servers and streamed to players in-game, pirating Diablo 3 will be difficult: simply removing DRM won’t work.

Enter the ninja


Bypassing cloud protection requires a form of reverse-engineering. Files need to be intercepted from the server, and reconstructed by the client. Eventually, an emulator is made which mirrors the official server, allowing offline play. While technically possible, it’s no longer piracy: it’s espionage—the realm of ninjas.

Server files are trade secrets. To use the Diablo 3 example again, Blizzard’s not giving the server files to players, nor give any real insight into how they work. Reverse engineering’s the only way to acquire them, which is prohibited by Blizzard’s end user agreements. This combination of secrecy and prohibition makes the workings of the game servers secret.

Secrets deserve to be protected

Piracy is often justified on grounds that it doesn’t hurt anyone. That pirates weren’t going to buy the game anyway, and that piracy is ‘copyright infringement’, not ‘stealing’. However, stealing trade secrets is just that: stealing. Secrets get their value from being, well... secret. The information advantage is lost if a competitor gets their hands on them.

Non-disclosure agreements are used to protect trade secrets in beta tests. A competitor developer can’t mine a beta for game data, because if it showed up in their games, the original developer could take legal action. The only reason that gamers are allowed to play betas is because NDAs protect against corporate espionage.

Cloud gaming also depends on keeping its server files secret. Not only does it protect players against hacks, but the technology itself is valuable. When I played the Diablo 3 beta, for example, I experienced no lag—it felt like a single player game. In a worldwide market, where many customers live far from the server, Blizzard wants to keep this technology from competitors.

Publishers are justified in using the often aggressive means they take to protect their secrets. Taking secrets isn’t a victimless crime—it removes something that’s real.

http://games.on.net/..._Into_Espionage