Given the nature of prior PSN access, I think Sony may be treading into some legal gray area. One must remember that when you purchase a copy of SOCOM, you're not buying a license; according to US law, you're buying that game. EULAs have zero legal weight whatsoever for a purchased product. The only legal "protections" a maker can have are through copyright law alone. (DRM itself is in legal gray area; it potentially can violate a buyer's own rights under copyright law)
I know one thing, at the very least; very few people will be willing to go along with this. Sony will certainly make close to nothing off of this ham-fisted attempt at money-grubbing. I'm not sure how it'll go legally, since it'll be a ONE-TIME fee, which could potentially be classified as a "sale" rather than "license."
[citation][nom]flea420[/nom]EA I think it was.[/citation]
Yes, EA wanted to profit off of the used games market, but theirs was a more acceptable attempt. (if of questionable chance of success) Their tactic basically equated to offering a special discount on DLC available to used-game buyers; i.e, it actually semi-screwed over NEW game buyers, as the used buyers got the disc for less, and also got DLC cheaper. Something that they can still be lauded for, even though such a program may be liable to fail to gain much ground.
Sony's attempt is far more unacceptable and malevolent; they're basically taking stuff away from used-game buyers. Depending on how they phrased the terms for PSN, it COULD be considered a legal violation. (EA's method was perfectly legal) Potentially unlikely, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sony finds themselves in the courtroom over their tactics. (for the umpteenth time...)