Remember how rumours are to be squashed, abolished, or relished? Well I think this one belongs in the squashed category.

Supposedly Sony has secured a patent that prevents the use of pirated and used software:

”A device and method for protection of legitimate software against used software and counterfeit software in recording media… A specific title code is read, and if this title code has been registered, the main unit shifts to a normal operation. If the code has not been registered, verification software is initiated… If matching does not occur, the disk is processed as illegitimate software… Since only titles for which legitimate software has actually been purchased and which have been initially registered in the machine table can be used, resale (so-called used software purchase) after purchase by an end-user becomes practically impossible.”

The rumour goes that this will be used on the PlayStation 3 (PS3).

Think about it for a minute. Would Sony be that stupid? When a consumer looks at a game machine like the PS3, considers buying it, and hears news like this, they’ll probably consider going to the competition, won’t they? And what if that competition happens to be the Xbox 360, which we all know will make a really strong showing this time around, maybe even dethroning Sony in North America as the console kind? Would Sony really want to give up all those customers this way? I don’t think so.

Joystiq - PlayStation 3 won’t play used games?