They also announced that the limitations on using and sharing games that was previously proposed were scraped and they were instead returning to the current format. Meaning you can rent, lend, sell, etc. disc based games in the same way you can on current consoles.
There are some very interesting underlying issues that come with this news. With cloud based gaming quickly becoming the preferred form of game storage and acquisition among console manufacturers one has to take into account what exactly that means. Now of course
there are advantages to implementing such a system. The lack of a physical disc reduces the wear on the internal mechanisms of the system, and there’s no worry of being unable to play a game because of damage done to a disc. However some other, more disastrous results become a possibility. An element of control can be achieved by the cloud system, to the extent of always-on DRM.
If a game relies on cloud processing and does not possess any way to be played offline (much like Sim City) then the game is rendered useless.
If this gains more backing in the near future then we just might see an always on connection required for future consoles due to the requirements of cloud based processing. Another aspect that goes hand in hand with the issue of cloud based gaming is the issue of limitations on used games.
Both Sony and Microsoft have made the decision to retain the same policies that are in place on the current generation consoles. Now, I could talk about the harms of used games to the industry all day but despite knowing their detrimental nature, I still understand their place in the market. They’re a way for those with less of a budget devoted to gaming or who maybe just missed a games release, to enjoy the medium. The community has spoken and shown that they don’t want intrusive DRM, however, there were some beneficial policies that Microsoft had in place but were forced to retract them due to overwhelming consumer backlash.