Breakdown
- Ghost of Tsushima is a Sony exclusive being ported to the PC; however, right before launch, they've announced a mandatory PSN policy.
- This has resulted in a situation similar to Helldivers 2 where countries without official PSN support are locked out from the game. Steam has decided to refund the game for these regions.
- There has been no official word from Steam, Sony, or Sucker Punch Productions, but online forums are ablaze with discontentment.
Ghost of Tsushima is the latest PC port for a Sony game that is suffering from the mandatory PSN policy. Despite only the multiplayer requiring a PSN account, Steam has removed it from all regions that don't support PSN.
Initially, it was speculated that since the PSN account is only mandatory for the game's multiplayer section, it's perfectly fine for users to enjoy the single-player mode on their own. We're not sure whether to point fingers at Steam or Sony for this, but ultimately that decision was overturned.
Players from affected countries receive the notification "Hello You are receiving a refund for a game you pre-purchased - Ghost of Tsushima. The publisher of this game is now requiring a secondary account to play portions of this game - and this account cannot be created from your country." directly from Steam.
This has led to many pointing out an earlier statement from Sucker Punch Productions where they promised that Ghost of Tsushima would not require a PSN sign-up. However, this does not seem to be the case as we're now seeing a repeat of what happened with Helldivers 2 recently.
Go to the Steam page for Ghost of Tsushima's Director's Cut. You'll see the information "PlayStation Network Account required for Online Multiplayer (Legends Mode) and PlayStation overlay, subject to the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and User Agreement". The director's cut includes the Ikki Island DLC and makes several graphical improvements to the cutscenes.
This PSN debacle has been making headlines for weeks following the review bombing of Helldivers 2 recently for the same policy. Sony was forced to go back on that after the massive outcry, but they've done it again immediately with Ghost of Tsushima.
At this point, players are speculating that "That means user data is more important than the game itself,". Others agree with this sentiment and point at the TOS "we have to approve of in order to play "our" games. Limited licenses, private arbitration, non class action lawsuits, and on and on. The customer is made to feel as powerless as possible.", they add "Has anyone here actually taken the time out to read them? Horrible, I tell yah."
PSN is currently available in only 69 countries around the world out of a rough total of 190 different countries. So if you're confused about the outrage, this lack of global support is the primary reason. Regardless, we hope Sony does something about this soon if they plan on continuing this mandatory PSN policy.
There has been no official word from Sony, Steam, or Sucker Punch Productions about these refunds and how they plan on proceeding as of yet.
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