Rumor: Sony to Combat PS3 Piracy with Blu-ray Disc Serial Keys

126w ago - Previously we reported on a PSN ban rumor which was followed by speculation on preventing bans, and today Dutch site PS3-Sense (linked above) claims that according to SKFU Sony plans to combat PS3 piracy with Blu-ray disc serial keys.

Similar to what's been done with PC games in the past, when you buy a PS3 or PSN game you'll get a serial key with it which you can use up to 5 times.

This gives Sony a signal that you are authorized to play the game and that you have a legal copy of the game, and the serial key only works with the same Blu-ray disc with the same serial number.

To quote, roughly translated: "From a very reliable source (SKFU) we have heard a striking new feature of the PS3. The feature would be present even at the PlayStation Network but is currently still hidden.

It is a serial system which Sony will soon start working on. Since the root keys are on the street you can see every homebrew tool (including backup management) make it sound like it was made by Sony. This makes it so hard for Sony to detect and block gamers with backup managers.

The idea is that soon every Blu-ray disc, with a unique number, comes with a serial key. These serial keys then work only with the Blu-ray disc with a matching number.

Therefore, if you have bought a game and put it into your PS3 you will enable it using your serial key, and thus a signal to Sony indicates that you are authorized to play the game on your PlayStation 3.

Reportedly, any serial key may be used only five times, as many PlayStation Store downloads. Given the implementation, according to our source has already been done in the PlayStation Network, and three unknown input fields on the PlayStation Network indicates the probability that this system will be introduced is enormous."