Sony Limits Game Sharing on PS3

It has been confirmed that Sony will be limiting game sharing on the PS3 going forward.  As it stands, you can purchase content in the PlayStation Store and share said content with up to four other people, assuming that your account is activated on their machine.  However, starting on November 18th, this will no longer be the case.

Later this month, the number of PlayStation 3’s that can share content will be limited from four to two.  Once the new limitations are in place, you’ll be able to share 2 on PS3 and 2 on PSP, with no official word on sharing with the upcoming Sony handheld, the PS Vita.

The game sharing on Sony’s console has been a controversial point for developers.  In a gaming landscape that is consistently moving towards a non-sharing, non-preowned environment, its hard to believe that Sony’s sharing program has lasted this long even.

Here’s the official word from Sony

We’d like to inform you of some upcoming changes to the usage policies for PlayStation Network game content. As of November 18, 2011, the number of devices that can be activated on one PlayStation Network account for game content purchased from the PlayStation Store will be updated. For game content purchased after November 18, 2011, a new policy will apply and the number of devices that can be activated will be as follows:

PS3: Users will be able to play the game on up to 2 activated PS3 systems.
PSP: Users will be able to play the game on up to 2 activated PSP systems.

Please note that this update will not affect game content purchased before November 18. The PSP rights include PSP-1000/2000/3000 series as well as the PSPgo system. PlayStation Network users are able to change the activation setting through each device, and Sony Computer Entertainment plans to provide a new PlayStation Network account management website where users will be able to deactivate particular devices attached to their PlayStation Network account via their PC.