On June 13, 2022, the Playstation Plus (“PS Plus”) format changed, and it now offers three different plans (Essential, Extra and Deluxe).
Many questions have arisen because of this change – such as the number of titles that are now being offered, how content is made available, customer services and rights, data privacy, account ownership, and content itself, for example.
Well, the first step is to understand what this type of service is. PS Plus is not new, and has been part of the lives of Sony users since Playstation 3. What has changed is just the way content (games, in short) is made available.
In the previous model, game availability was limited per month, and content was alternated on a monthly basis. However, if a user added a game to his library and linked it to his account, he could go on using it even after it was removed from PS Plus.
Things have changed in the current scenario, and the subscription is now similar to users’ experience with Xbox Game Pass or even Netflix, in which a catalog of contents is available to subscribers, and in which content can be removed at any time.
One common question is the following: “But what if I'm playing a game and it’s removed while I’m playing – what happens then?” Well, the answer to that is in the platform’s Terms of Use – Terms of Service, which are in fact a contract between the parties. This means that, by subscribing to the plan, users automatically agree with the rules for using that service. And it’s all in those rules, be sure of that.
Which brings us to another question: “But isn't this illegal?” No. Although this is a contract of adhesion, some form of abusiveness or imbalance in that relationship must be demonstrated for its clauses to be considered null or harmful to consumers. This doesn't seem to happen much.
Since Sony owns the platform and the titles that are available there (by ownership or license), it is at the company’s discretion to establish which games are made available or not. This is a fully acceptable and reasonable market strategy.
Moreover, since this is a monthly subscription that grants a license, users do not need ownership of content. In fact, even when a user “buys” a title through physical media, what is being sold is the license to use that copy – but this does not mean that the game, as an intellectual work, becomes the property of that user, however much he “may” (with lots of quotes) sell that physical copy later. But that's a topic for a different article.
Users must also be aware of issues concerning sharing of access credentials. The notorious idea of paying for a single subscription and sharing it with friends is forbidden. Just take a look at item 8.11. Subscriptions expressly state that “you may not share your subscription with other Accounts, including the Accounts of children associated with your Account.” This type of thing can lead to account suspension with no right to reimbursement of what was paid for the subscription, given that it would be a contractual breach.
In sum: the entire contractual relationship of the user who hires PS Plus is governed by the PS Plus Terms of Use[1] and by the PlaystationTM Network Terms of Service and User Agreement[2]. Stay tuned and, if in doubt, read the terms!!
*Marcelo Mattoso Ferreira is a lawyer and partner at Barcellos Tucunduva Advogados. He is specialized in the fields of Games and eSports.
Source: Jurid Newspaper
