The new software usage terms for Sony’s PlayStation Network have finally been revealed, and if Microsoft’s Terms of Usage rubbed you the wrong way, you’re not going to like this. As per Section 14 of the document, “Are we monitoring PSN?” on PlayStation UK, the company explicitly states that, “Yes but we can’t monitor all PSN activity and we make no commitment to do so. However, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to monitor and record any or all of your PSN activity and to remove any of your UGM at our sole discretion, without further notice to you.
“Your use of PSN and our community features may be recorded and collected by us or sent to us by other users as described in 13.1. Any information collected in this way, for example, your UGM, the content of your voice and text communications, video of your gameplay, the time and location of your activities, and your name, your PSN Online ID and IP address, may be used by us or our affiliated companies to enforce these Terms and the SEN Terms of Service, to comply with the law, to protect our rights and those of our licensors and users, and to protect the personal safety of our employees and users.
“This information may be passed to the police or other appropriate authorities. By accepting these Software Usage Terms, you expressly consent to this.”
The document also states that any software you get is “licensed, not sold, which means you acquire rights to use the Software, as described in these Terms, but you do not acquire ownership of the Software. If you do not comply with these Terms, we can terminate your Software Licence which means you will no longer have the right to use the Software.” That’s an interesting choice of words, especially considering that Sony has been touting how gamers can freely exchange used games and whatnot. We think it would apply to more illegal practices such as piracy and the like, but some clarification would be nice.
That being said, what are your thoughts on the new software usage terms and how will they affect your usage of PSN on the PS4 when it launches on November 15th in North America? Let us know below.