Much like Amazon India, Walmart-backed Flipkart has started selling cheap PS4 game codes. On the surface this may seem like a welcome move, but the reality is far from that. Reason being, third-party sellers on Flipkart’s marketplace are selling PlayStation (PSN) accounts for use on PS4 consoles. What this means is, you can play games like Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5, and even the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake at lower price than what a digital copy would cost through the PS Store or on disc.
How this works is, the seller would give you the PSN credentials of an account that has the game you want to buy which you can then add to your PS4. On downloading it, you can play it on your own PSN ID.
“Providing you a digital content with a global PSN ID which will be logged in and your purchase will be downloaded/linked with your own PSN ID,” reads the description for these listings.
While that may be enough for some, it comes with a massive caveat: the sale of PSN accounts is against Sony’s terms of service. This could result in your console being banned from PSN. What’s more is, multiple reports indicate that these accounts are usually acquired by means that are not entirely legal. We’ve reached out to Flipkart for comment and will update this story if we hear from the company.
It doesn’t help matters that these sellers are given top billing and visibility. Searching for most PS4 games shows up the option to buy an account which has it. In addition to the aforementioned titles, a quick search indicates Red Dead Redemption 2 and Spider-Man are just some of the games that can be played via means that are far from legitimate.
This is a disturbing trend for a host of reasons. For one, it appears that none of the publishers with a presence in India such as Sony or Capcom are able to remove such sellers from seemingly legitimate storefronts. Amazon India has such listings for over a month and little has been done to remove them. It speaks volumes of the power and leverage that rests with sites like Amazon India and Flipkart, both of which have pretty much ignored publisher warnings sources speaking to The Mako Reactor say.
Even more disturbing are the lack of safeguards or a vetting process. Readers have spoken to The Mako Reactor about this, stating this wasn’t the first time rogue sellers have shown up on Flipkart. In fact just last year, pirated copies of Watch Dogs 2 were sold on the platform.
