After Amazon India and the Walmart-backed Flipkart, it appears that Paytm Mall is the latest e-commerce marketplace to host third-party sellers looking to offload PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts in the guise of cheap PS4 games. Last night, The Mako Reactor was tipped off that Stucii a known seller of PSN accounts has started selling its wares on Paytm Mall.
Unlike its previous efforts on Amazon India and Flipkart that clearly mentioned that you will be purchasing access to a PSN account to play the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake or Devil May Cry 5, there’s no such description this time around. However the dead giveaway that this isn’t a game code you can redeem on your own PSN account is the pricing. Rs. 980 for Final Fantasy VII Remake is not possible given how new it is. And with deep discounts across the seller’s store page, it’s pretty obvious you won’t be getting game codes.
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.
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 Paytm Mall 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 Hitman 2 and 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 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 undermines Paytm’s other gaming efforts through the likes of Paytm First Games that’s trying to bring esports to a wider audience. Secondly, it’s pretty obvious that there’s no vetting for third-party sellers which could see bigger issues down the line such as pirated or defective goods put up for sale.
Finally, it showcases the gaping divide between Indian companies and their international counterparts, the latter of which eye India as the next big market. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a blatant disregard for consumers and video game publishers though. India’s inaugural Dreamhack event had Nintendo ROMs minus permissions from Nintendo while Flipkart and Amazon India have been home to pirated games in the past.
