I thought this might be a similar situation to Ghost of Tsushima where a PSN account is only required for online play, but Ragnarok has no multiplayer.
I don’t understand why Sony is so insistent on this. PSN is still unsupported in 170+ territories; this requirement is just going to turn most of those “would-be” buyers in those territories into pirates.
At this point I’m convinced that companies intentionally reduce access to their properties because making examples of a few pirates by making them pay millions of dollars is more profitable than legitimately selling games to a few thousand people
Would bet my life that that is why you can’t legitimately buy most old Nintendo games online
I suspect it’s more about tracking users. By requiring psn accounts they can see who also has a ps4/5 but is also buying for PC. In addition gives them more insight into the different markets, etc.
I mean, the whole point of a PSN account is to collect data on you and have greater control over their software.
Sony’s not set up to do business in those countries to begin with, so they’re not really losing anything to piracy from those users. They’ve already had to issue refunds to buyers from those regions with the Helldivers fiasco, so it’s pretty clear that there is something blocking Sony from selling games in those countries. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the required account linking is why Sony can’t sell to those areas.
I thought this might be a similar situation to Ghost of Tsushima where a PSN account is only required for online play, but Ragnarok has no multiplayer.
I don’t understand why Sony is so insistent on this. PSN is still unsupported in 170+ territories; this requirement is just going to turn most of those “would-be” buyers in those territories into pirates.
At this point I’m convinced that companies intentionally reduce access to their properties because making examples of a few pirates by making them pay millions of dollars is more profitable than legitimately selling games to a few thousand people
Would bet my life that that is why you can’t legitimately buy most old Nintendo games online
Are there any cases of such payout actually happening…? I’m not buying it. (Literally and figuratively.)
No.
Commercial pirates or the people who initially leak a title might be targeted, consumers are not expected to pay significant damages.
I suspect it’s more about tracking users. By requiring psn accounts they can see who also has a ps4/5 but is also buying for PC. In addition gives them more insight into the different markets, etc.
I mean, the whole point of a PSN account is to collect data on you and have greater control over their software.
Sony’s not set up to do business in those countries to begin with, so they’re not really losing anything to piracy from those users. They’ve already had to issue refunds to buyers from those regions with the Helldivers fiasco, so it’s pretty clear that there is something blocking Sony from selling games in those countries. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the required account linking is why Sony can’t sell to those areas.