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Sony looking to combat piracy with Socom: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3

'Are you f'ing kidding me?'

Sony looking to combat piracy with Socom: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
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Piracy is heavily frowned upon at Pocket Gamer towers, so in most cases a way of helping control the damage piracy can cause the industry is met with open arms and an invitation to our Christmas party.

However, the release of Socom: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, which features a new registering system that Sony hopes will help combat the huge level of piracy on the PSP, hasn't had such a warm welcome, as many negative comments on the IGN article indicate.

"Socom: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 is the first title to introduce the new online entitlement feature. As with many programs, we're investigating future opportunities, but we have no announcements to make on it at this time", John Koller, the director for hardware marketing at SCEA, told IGN.

Basically, the new system involves registering your copy before you can play Socom: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 online.

All well and good, but there's a downside which quickly becomes apparent if you buy it second hand.

To play the game online with a second hand copy will set you back $20 for the PSN entitlement voucher that unlocks the multiplayer component. That is, if you buy second hand, you aren't getting the full game.

Whilst the idea in itself of registering a game to play it online makes a lot of sense, charging a second hand buyer more money for some of the content is harsh.

"From our research, this will be received quite positively," Koller said. "Are you f'ing kidding me?", was one of many negative replies below. We guess the research team had slightly misjudged the general second hand buyer's receptiveness to paying extra.

Ben Griffin
Ben Griffin
Having said farewell to university life, Ben decided to follow his ultimate dream of getting paid to play games. Luckily, Pocket Gamer was more than happy to help in his quest.