Nick Glover

Today I experienced, perhaps for the first time, a very real example of being stereotyped. In high school, I used to enjoy challenging stereotypes by dressing strangely (but behaving as I normally would), but then I was expecting people to make assumptions about me. Today I was not expecting that. I was driving home from the Post Office when I drove past a lady on the side of the road. She was wearing gloves and the same shirt as another person across the street, so I’m assuming they were there to do some sort of clean-up work. When the car in front of me drove past, she waved the car through as if to say, “Go ahead, you can go through,” but when I drove past, right behind the other car, she motioned as if to say, “Whoa buddy, you need to slow down.” I was going exactly the same speed as the car in front of me, about 30 mph, which was certainly under the speed limit for that road. I can only assume that she assumed since I wasn’t driving an expensive BMW like the person in front of me, but was instead driving a bright orange car, she figured I was an awful driver. I’m not really sure why she was waving us through at all, considering there were only her and her friend (coworker?) on the side of the road and no other work going on. But I was a little peeved that, even though there was no way possible for me to be speeding (I had been behind the other car for quite a while, so it’s not like I was speeding until I got there), she assumed that I was a terrible driver.

Rather than just be a naysayer about new technology, I thought I’d propose a solution that would fix all problems that I–and most people–have with digital downloads (and thus the PSPgo). That solution is license transfers. It sounds simple, but read through and you’ll see why simple license transfers can become the future of gaming.

Problem number 1: I bought games on an old account and can’t play them on my new account. License transfers solve this by allowing me to transfer the ownership from my old account to my new account.

Problem number 2: I’ve got a game (digital download) that I never play anymore, but since it’s not a physical game, I can’t trade it in. License transfers solve that problem, too. You could simply transfer the license to another account, denying you access to the game and giving someone else access to it.

Here’s the kicker that makes this all work: marketplace. Imagine if there was a section on the PSN store for “used” games. Anyone who had a license for a game they no longer play could list the game as available for purchase in that section, thus there would be a finite number of used copies available (much like in a real store). Pricing could either be set by Sony (using some agreed-upon standard) or they could allow users to set their own prices, much like Amazon’s marketplace, allowing you to list games for cheap or free should you so desire (it might be worthwhile to set a maximum price for “used” games, though). That free option would be the key to transferring the license to your own account (for when you set up a new account)–simply allow a private listing that only you have access to or some other similar solution. Sony could even take a small transaction fee, making it a great solution for them.

The PSPgo is a pretty innovative device in that it is a digital download only system, but I think my solution takes that innovation to a whole different level. It is the ultimate solution for the problem of digital content, and whoever adopts it first is likely to be the game changer that shakes up the market.

But that’s just my opinion.

The new PSP Go is a rather ambitious move by Sony to completely forgo physical media and distribute games only digitally. While there are a few obvious downsides to that–for instance, not being able to sell games to make money for new purchases–there are some less obvious ones, at least one of which is entirely the result of Sony’s bizarre account management.

On the Xbox 360, if I don’t like my gamertag, I can pay a certain amount to change it. Doing so allows me to retain all purchases and other account information, but I am no longer stuck with the childish name I had before. On PSN, there is no way to change your name. I should mention that in Japan, as far as I am aware, it is possible to change your PSN name, but for whatever strange reason, Sony has decided to disable that feature for American gamers. That creates a lot of account problems that will become very apparent when the PSP Go hits stores. A while ago, I decided I didn’t like my PSN name and Xbox gamertag, so I decided to change them. On the Xbox, it simply cost a small fee, but on PSN, I had to create a whole new account. Accounts are free, so why not? Of course, in so doing, I am no longer able to use many of my save files without logging into the old account; my PSN purchases are still linked to the old account as well, though I am able to play them with the new account, at least while the old account is still on the system. So far, I only have the minor inconvenience of restarting a couple of games.

About a month or so ago, I wanted to purchase Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters for my PSP. However, my PSP was still set up for my old account. I tried to figure out how to link it with the new account, but there were no obvious instructions on how to do so that I could find at the time. Such instructions were certainly not available on Sony’s web site. So I figured no big deal, I’ll just keep using the old account on my PSP. I don’t play online, so who cares what my name is?

As it turns out, it became a very big deal. Today I wanted to download Final Fantasy VII from PSN. I have it on disc, but I wanted to get the digital copy so I could play on my PSP, too. According to the PSN rules, though, you can only play the game with the account you downloaded it from. That meant it was back to the drawing board with the PSP. I figured out how to swap accounts, so I set up my new account by deleting the old and signing in with the new. I went to Ratchet and Clank to see if it was still working. It was. Having done everything I needed to do, I downloaded FFVII on my PS3, then copied it over to my PSP. When I went to copy it, it told me that my PSP was still activated on my old account and needed to be activated on the new account. I said OK. FFVII transferred and ran just fine. However, now that the PSP is activated on my new account, I can’t play Ratchet and Clank anymore, at least not without re-activating the system on the old account. I can also no longer play the SOCOM game that came with the system (as a voucher for a download).

So what does all that mean for the PSP Go? Well, right now I have two games that are legally mine that I can’t play simply because Sony won’t let American gamers change their account names. That means that when you get a PSP Go, you better be damn sure that you pick the name you want, because if you want to continue playing the games you purchase, you are going to be stuck with that account forever. As far as I am aware (though I have e-mailed them to try to sort it out), you are also unable to transfer those purchases to a new account.

So, congratulations on your upcoming failure, Sony. It could’ve been great, but you chose to hold inconsistent account policies, despite the pleas from many, many gamers for change. Maybe one day you will realize that screwing your customers isn’t the best way to get their money.