Sony is playing consumers with E3 PlayStation 4 claims

Sony made a lot of big claims about the PlayStation 4 at E3 2013. The brought the house down with their pro-consumer stance at their pre-E3 press conference. No DRM, no online checks, and no stipulations on used games, the company said just about everything that we wanted to hear. But is it too good to be true? Cliff Bleszinski, one of the minds behind the Gears of War franchise thinks so.

I’d bet Sony has some similar stuff up their sleeves, they’re just playing on internet outrage

Following E3, Bleszinski unleashed a series of tweets that flat out claim that Sony is pulling the wool over consumer’s eyes, in bold attempt to gain public favor ahead of the PS4 launch. Bleszinski said via Twitter: “I’d bet Sony has some similar stuff up their sleeves they’re just playing on the internet outrage for free PR. You’re all being played!”

As someone who’s worked on one of the biggest AAA franchises of the current generation, Bleszinski explains that it’s just not feasible for platform holders to not introduce these types of things in new consoles. “Newsflash. This is why you’re seeing free to play and microtransactions everywhere. The disc based day one $60 model is crumbling.”

Just what Sony would have “up their sleeve” wasn’t explained by Bleszinski. Though Sony did somewhat backtrack on their E3 Press Conference comments when it was later revealed that publishers would determine whether or not a game would have DRM on the system. According to comments from Sony’s Jack Tretton:

“The DRM decision is going to have to be in the hands of the third parties. That’s not something that we’re going to dictate or mandate or control or implement.”