The DRM System
At E3 2013, Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes appeared together in an instructional video about game sharing. The video had one step — Yoshida handing a game to Boyes, followed by a hard cut to the PS4 logo and robotic “PlayStation” sound.
Microsoft got slapped by Sony once again. But how?
Weeks earlier, Microsoft had unveiled the Xbox One during a special event during which it infamously spent a little time talking about games. One thing it did mention, however, was a new 24-hour DRM check-in system along with a convoluted family and friend sharing plan. Both made owning and sharing games much more complicated. Consumers were definitely not happy with the news. And so weeks later, Microsoft backtracked and removed the DRM system. But, the damage was already done.