Sony left a lot of questions unanswered with its PlayStation 4 tease last week. And even for those Sony diehards who've already made up their minds to buy the next-generation gaming console, the biggest question is: Will it play used games?

It's quite telling about the state of the game industry today that this is even a question that would have to be asked. For every prior launch of a videogame console in the history of the industry, it would have been a ridiculous question to ask, on par with "Does it use electricity?" or "Does it have graphics?" It's just assumed: You buy your game cartridge or disc, and when you're done with it, you sell it to someone else. And then there's the flip side of that coin: If you don't want to buy a game new, you can wait to pick up a used copy later.

PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's next Xbox are the first two game console launches for which this remains an open question. Why? For a few reasons: The notion of used games has already disappeared from the PC game market; games sold in boxes on store shelves typically include a one-time-use activation key that locks the game to a single owner. Some even go so far as to require that owner be constantly connected to the internet in order to run the game. Publishers have used this feature during this game console generation, but have only gone so far as to lock certain parts of the game away from used buyers. Some games require a secondhand owner to buy an "online pass" before they can use the game's multiplayer functions; some lock single-player content away, like the infamous Catwoman segments in Batman: Arkham City.

So the writing was on the wall even before the rumors started running rampant that next-generation consoles would go whole hog and lock out used games entirely. When Kotaku reported on the PS4's development codename and lack of backward compatibility, it also reported that it would lock out used games. It reported something similar about the next Xbox, a notion that a Square Enix executive echoed yesterday. Earlier this year, an internet sleuth discovered a Sony patent for a "system that reliably restricts the use of electronic content dealt in the second-hand markets."

And then there's the growing realization that used games, on a long enough timeline, are dead anyway: Once the disc is gone and games are download-only, there's no more resale. So all efforts to keep them around are just delaying the inevitable.

So it shouldn't be too surprising that "Will it play used games?" has been an oft-asked question in the interviews with Sony spokespeople following last week's unveiling.

What is a little surprising is that Sony doesn't seem to have its story straight.

Eurogamer asked Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony's worldwide game development studios, if used games would function on PS4. At this, Eurogamer reports that he has to turn to the public relations specialist sitting in on the interview and ask what the official answer was. Following a brief consultation, he said, "Used games can play on PS4."

They can? That's a little different than "they will always, without an extra fee." Nonetheless, many outlets reported this as closing the case for good. But then Game Informer wrote to Sony for a follow-up, and an unnamed spokesperson said this: "We are just now announcing the basic vision and strategy of PS4 and will have more information to share regarding used games later this year. But PlayStation has a long history of keeping its gamers happy and we won't make decisions that damage our relationship with them."

Um: More information? If PS4 can play used games, what more information could there possibly be? The only way there would be any more information is if playing used games on a PlayStation 4 is more complicated (or costly) than simply buying a disc and popping it in.

And today we had this, from PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara: "Well first of all, we haven’t stated that second-hand games... we haven’t made a statement on the second-hand games question," he told Nowgamer. He noted that Sony often files patents which "may never see any application," then reiterated: "The answer to the pre-owned question isn’t clarified just yet and we’re working through that and we’ll announce our position in more detail as and when we can."

This should, for now, put the brakes on the "PlayStation 4 won't block used games" train. If the question had such a simple answer, why all the dissembling and evasion? Perhaps Sony hasn't actually made a decision yet. It does have plenty of time to work out exactly how it might restrict or otherwise seek to control the sale of used games.

Used games are a particular bugbear for certain game developers. Some of them are sure they're the single reason for the console game industry's downfall: They believe that games would sell far more copies if not for the "endless churn" of copies through GameStop stores. Maybe they're right! Or maybe used games actually boost sales of new games, in units or in dollars or maybe even both, by letting players trade in their old games for money towards new ones. Perhaps if players weren't factoring in resale value in their purchasing decision, they wouldn't spend $60 on a new disc in the first place.

Or maybe both phenomena are happening at once, but the benefits outweigh the costs. Or vice versa. Either way, it's looking more and more likely that the used game market will just be killed off entirely before we ever find out for sure whether it was good or bad or neutral. (Oh, and you also kill videogame rentals, too, if you do that. And lending games to friends.)

As I've written before, around the time the first rumors about the next Xbox started swirling, one likely scenario is that used games will function on next-gen consoles, but the "online pass" system already in place will be extended to cover the entire game. If you have a game disc that's already been used in another person's console, when you put it into your machine, it'll tell you that you need to purchase another license. Maybe it'll let you play the game's first level before you do that.

If you buy the game at GameStop, it's likely that the activation codes will be purchased by GameStop and included in your purchase, printed out on your receipt. This is what it did with that Catwoman content for Arkham City. This will allow GameStop to keep buying and selling used games, it'll just make sure that the publishers and developers get some of the money that used to go to the person who traded the game in.

Again: These systems are already in place and used on a small scale by hardware makers, software publishers and retailers. It's just a matter of flipping the switch. Publishers can make their money, GameStop can make their money, and nobody loses out.

Well. Except you, but you're used to it.