It could be the end of used games as we know it, or it could be people getting upset over nothing once again. Sony has recently patented a method of using RFID chips on game disks to prevent people from sharing or reselling them. Obviously this has stirred up the great debate on used games once again, but the question is if such technology could make it's way onto the PlayStation 4. Chances are the answer to that question is no.

First of all, it's getting rather late in the development cycle to start tweaking hardware. Both Sony and Microsoft should be preparing to begin production within the next few months, so the time to develop a completely new disk drive has probably come and gone. It's worth remembering that Sony patented a number of ideas for preventing used game sales before the last console launch, but none of them made it onto the PlayStation 3.

Finally, just because you patent an idea doesn't mean you have to use it. They could merely be sitting on the idea to use later, or to prevent Microsoft from taking it. If anything kills used games on the next-gen consoles it's far more likely going to be something software-based preventing online use like we've seen before..