Summary
Many players are reporting that theirPlayStation Networkaccounts have been suspended indefinitely. Digital gaming is a huge part of the current generation. The premise of being able to save shelf space and reduce expenses in producing physical media has caused companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to push through with digital alternatives. However, a few concerns have been raised regarding going digital-only, specifically the possibility of inaccessibility in the future. In 2020,several PS5 users got bannedfor taking advantage of a PS Plus Collection loophole, which meant they also lost ownership of all the digital games they had.
In addition, with the continuous rise of digital sales, someretailers such as Best Buy have considered stopping the saleof physical media. While this may not sound like a big deal, in actuality, this could lead to the depreciation of the preservation of classic games. There are quite a few titles that have come out in recent times that are being sold as digital-only exclusives. However, the bigger scare is that, in the event of a permanent ban, players would be unable to access their prized digital-only collections.
According to The Verge, some users are currently having problems accessing theirPlayStation Networkaccounts. A few users have shared messages from Sony thattheir accounts have been “permanently suspended from PlayStation Network due to the violations of the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and User Agreement.” As an example, Twitter user Michael Dhaliwal shared photos of their experience, further stating that they had been banned with no way to appeal. They also mentioned that they were unaware of any possible reasons for the ban and that no chargebacks were present, indicating that no recent transactions via the network were being penalized. They also shared that customer service was unhelpful, advising simply to create a new account and then ending the interaction.
Miraculously, some users have started to report that their accounts are now accessible again without any issues. Some tweets have stated that upon logging back on, things went back to normal. Some have wondered if this was just another case of thePlayStation Network being down. However, other gamers have mentioned how inconvenient the incident felt and that people from Sony’s PR team should be held accountable for not announcing to concerned users if the system was having problems.
As it stands, there is a discussion to be made regarding the dangers of digital-only gaming.Alan Wake 2’s developers have defended their decisionto go fully digital, and yet times like these give more credence to the questions of digital property ownership. Hopefully, the unexplained bans can be fixed quickly.
