Sony and the PlayStation team today ruffled the feathers of gamers out there by announcing a new game-sharing policy. Previously, games purchased on the PlayStation Network (PSN) were downloadable on up to five machines of your choice. This was a mix of PlayStation 3 consoles and PSP units. Realistically though, most people use PSN on their PS3 units and not PSP, thus allowing them to share games like Warhawk, God of War, and LittleBigPlanet with friends by logging onto their console and downloading the title again. Now, Sony is reducing the number of devices that you content can be downloaded upon.

Any content that is purchased after November 18th will be limited to being downloaded on two PS3s and two PSP units. It is unclear at this time if the upcoming PS Vita is under the PSP title or if the Vita will again receive an additional two downloads. Sony also stressed that all current content will still be able to abide to the five machine rule.

 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. 

One problem that has arrived for gamers in the past, even with the five machine rule, is that the only way to deactivate your account from a PS3 unit is to log into account management from that given machine. This tends to be problematic if your machine has died or if you’ve sold your machine and are unable to access it. Sony has commented that, in the near future, there will be a web portable for your PSN account management where users will be able to deactivate a machine without having to actually access it. Personally, this is a feature I’ve longed for, and it’s something that you’ve been able to do with your iTunes account for years.

 We are also working on a new PSN account management website, where users will be able to deactivate their devices at once. 

This news comes at a time where not only has Apple kept their five download policy, but via their new and free iCloud system, users can set up for automatic downloading where purchased items are automatically downloaded across all of your devices.

Updated:

The PS Vita is included as part of the two portable units.

 Game content, including PSone Classics and Minis, purchased from the PlayStation Store after November 18, will be playable on up to 2 PS3 systems and up to 2 portable systems, including PSP, PSPgo and Vita. 

Discuss:

Do you think the new policy is fair?