[acchow]

> and nothing would stop you playing it

Not true for PS5 games. Sony can push a firmware update to disable games, even if you own the disc.

[MYEUHD]

Is there any evidence of this?

They can delist a game from the PS store, but I doubt they would make a game unplayable if it's already installed or if you own it physically.

[fizwidget]

They said “can”, not “has”. Given that it’s a closed platform that Sony has complete control over, they certainly can do it.

You can doubt that they will, but that’s just hope rather than a legal or technical guarantee.

[MYEUHD]

> You can doubt that they will, but that’s just hope rather than a legal or technical guarantee.

It's not based on a legal or technical guarantee. But it's based on what Sony did in the past:

P.T. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.T._(video_game) ) was pulled from the PS store. But Sony didn't make it unplayable if it was already installed. In fact, the wikipedia article says:

> After the cancellation, PlayStation 4 consoles with P.T. installed were listed on eBay for over $1,000

[garciansmith]

I am not aware of a case where they disabled an already-playable game via a firmware update.

But they do require certain firmware updates to play games, at least they did in the PS3 days. If you hadn't updated to that firmware (say, because you didn't want certain features you used like the OtherOS installation to be deleted) your new physical media would not play. I bought Dark Souls on a disc and could not play it on my console.

[rawbot]

AFAIK, every game that required a Firmware update included it in the PS3_UPDATE directory in the bluray, and it being there was part of the certification process. Maybe Dark Souls was just a rare error?

[lurkerforawhile]

Firmware anti-downgrade functionality with eFuses is common across all kinds of consumer devices. The physical evidence is there, if you can find it.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFuse> <https://free60.org/Hardware/Fusesets/#fusesets-07-11> <https://switchbrew.org/wiki/Fuses#Anti-downgrade> <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/google-gives-develop...>

[gosub100]

People play games, not firmware. The claim is not to revoke sonys ability to update the hardware.

[pocksuppet]

New firmware can easily come with new security checks though, and I think other consoles have done this in the past.

[lurkerforawhile]

use your brain

[pocksuppet]

Not true for Blu-Ray movies, either. Just saying that's how it used to be.

[account42]

That's an argument why the DCMA anti-circumvention clauses should be repealed, not an argument for adding more of that crap in the digital realm.