DRM News

As reported on IGN, the newest title in the SOCOM series on PSP will feature some new DRM initiatives. SCEA director of hardware marketing explained the particulars of the system. Basically, anyone purchasing the game will be required to register it through PlayStation Network before they’ll be able to play online. Physical copies will come with a serial key that will be added online while digital purchases will register automatically.

Also, buyers of used copies of the game will have to purchase an entitlement voucher for $20 to gain their own registration key before they can play online.

A notable quote from the interview :

IGN: Why has Sony waited until now to implement this feature for a PSP title? And why for only one title?

John Koller: Today’s consumers are more tech savvy and better connected to the internet than ever before. Piracy continues to be an issue of concern for the PSP platform. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 is a trial run for a new initiative we are exploring for the platform. We will continue to explore this as an opportunity for the platform going forward, but we have no announcements to make on future iterations at this time.

So this is something that could be used again. And if it does achieve some level of success, could we perhaps see it used on the PS3 platform as well?