By Nelson Schneider - 09/26/26 at 04:25 PM CT
Oh dear, just a couple weeks ago, we had to take a look at just how willfully stupid Sony’s legal arguments have been when it comes to the topic of digital games and product ownership. Well, Sony’s lawyers aren’t the only absolute sh!theads working at the company, as a new patent reveals.
A little while ago, Nintendo got into trouble by trying to patent an incredibly basic game mechanic that has been part of gaming since it was done with pencils and paper instead of microprocessors. Well, it seems that the Big 3 of Nintendo, Sony, and XBOX are in a determined competition to see who can offer the WORST products, while still retaining the largest proportion of their locked-in user-base.
Sony recently filed a new patent for a feature they plan to implement into PlayStation controllers at some undetermined point in the future: A credit card reader. Yes, you read that right. Sony has completely pulled off the mask and are no longer even pretending to be anything but malevolently hostile toward their customers. Even the wording of the patent, which focuses on removing slowdowns and friction in the digital buying process reveals that the company no longer cares about providing a great platform for third-parties to publisher their games – like they did with the original PlayStation – but are laser focused on squeezing as much money out of users as possible.
So if you’re thinking about buying a PlayStation 6 – a $1000+ console with a full Walled Garden software ecosystem, no physical media whatsoever, and now the ability to nickel and dime players at any time – there’s something wrong between your ears and you should probably commit yourself to an insane asylum (if you can still find one – thanks, JFK) and hand over your financials to a responsible third-party via Power of Attorney, as the combo platter of enshittification Sony is cooking makes the decision of whether or not to continue supporting them into the future even simpler than one of the many dementia tests Trump keeps “acing.”
Seriously, this Sony patent is exactly like slapping a coin slot onto their console. That type of idea used to be relegated to the realm of cynical comedy. But now it’s becoming a real thing, and anyone who continues to support Sony is complicit in the downfall of Gaming.
