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Sony details PS4 pricing, used games policy

At its E3 keynote, Sony just unveiled the upcoming PlayStation 4, telling gamers that it will come in at AU$549, and there will be no restriction on used games.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr
2 min read

At its Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) keynote, Sony just unveiled the upcoming PlayStation 4, telling gamers that it will come in at AU$549, and there will be no restriction on used games.

(Credit: Sony)

In direct contrast to Microsoft's announcement a few days ago, Sony has revealed that there will be no restrictions on used games on the upcoming PlayStation 4, releasing an instructional video on how exactly this will be accomplished.

This means that used games can be freely traded in to retail stores; sold, given or loaned between friends; or just, you know, kept. "When a gamer buys a PS4 disc, they have the rights to use that disc. They can sell it to another person, lend it to a friend or keep it forever," said president and CEO of SCEA Jack Tretton at the conference.

Nor will the PlayStation 4 need any sort of user authentication in order to play, unlike the Xbox One, which will require the user to connect to the internet at least once every 24 hours. According to president of Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yushida, the company never considered the possibility of always online, telling magazine Game Informer, "The main reason being that many countries don't have robust internet connections. It makes sense for people to have internet connections to play online games, but for offline games, there are many countries that we saw do not really have robust internet."

The PlayStation 4, which is scheduled for a "holidays" release date this year, will come in at AU$549 (US$399 in the US) — a little less than the Xbox One, which is scheduled for a November release at AU$599 (US$499).