Have we stopped caring about really owning our games?

[Frindis]

With most games nowadays, regardless of whether you own a physical disc or get it from Steam, you'll have to rent a license to play the game. Sure, we have some DMR-free platforms out there, but they also have more limitations on what games they can market because of that. I use GOG from time to time, but I prefer Steam and with that, I also sacrifice something, my freedom in a sense. So, why do so many of us do this, when we know we are just renting the games basically and could potentially risk losing them all?

My reason for it is convenience, but since I also use GOG, I like to think of myself as someone who reflects at times on which platform I want to use when buying a game and when I want to own a DMR-free version of that particular game. I do like the feeling of knowing I'll have the game forever digitally and my GOG library (excluding the imported games from other platforms) is around 250 games.

What about you? Do you still care or have you completely gone to the "dark side"?

 

[Colif]

"forever digitally" until the format is so old nothing runs it anymore. It wouldn't be first time.

CD/DVD games that don't need internet to play are more forever than digital copies that reside on a server. But then having hardware that runs the media or the software is hard. VM only go so far.

I accept the new way but I don't think its the last way.

 

[Frindis]

"forever digitally" until the format is so old nothing runs it anymore. It wouldn't be first time.

Wouldn't be afraid of that really. I still can play the old games (SNES, NES, etc) with my controller.

CD/DVD games that don't need internet to play are more forever than digital copies that reside on a server. But then having hardware that runs the media or the software is hard. VM only go so far.

Someone bright will figure it out and if not in my lifespan, I'll just put the game in the Artic World Archive and my grandchildren can play with the future emulator.

I accept the new way but I don't think its the last way.

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'm not concerned about it, there are too many advantages to the current way compared to ownership. It's like movies & TV, most of what I watch I don't own—in fact I don't even have individual licenses, it's more like the Gamepass setup.

Ownership and jewel cases or disc wallets are fine if you have the space for them, are confident your media will not deteriorate over time, can keep them free from damage, and can quickly pick the game you want out of thousands.

None of those apply to me, so digital library is a major blessing for my situation.

Same with books—altho I don't read anymore, if I did I'd never want to go back to the time when I had over 1,000 physical books lining a large wall and spread around in piles. Ebooks forever!

Imagine physically owning over 1,000 of each of games, books, movies, albums, TV shows… to me, that's an irresponsible use of resources if it was indeed possible—never mind the discovery nightmare I mentioned when you want to consume one of them.

 

[Colif]

. I still can play the old games (SNES, NES, etc) with my controller.

not if they had battery backups... those don't last forever. I had Wave Race 64 and its battery died and I couldn't save anything on it.

emulation isn't the same as original.

 

[Frindis]

Ownership and jewel cases or disc wallets are fine if you have the space for them, are confident your media will not deteriorate over time, can keep them free from damage, and can quickly pick the game you want out of thousands.

Space is definitely one of the reasons I switched to digital games. I still own some boxes that are collecting dust in the attic.

Same with books—altho I don't read anymore, if I did I'd never want to go back to the time when I had over 1,000 physical books lining a large wall and spread around in piles. Ebooks forever!

I own a Pocketbook Touch Lux 4 and it is pretty handy for reading/storage and has a very long battery life even with today's standards. I do still prefer the real thing though, it's just something else holding the paper with your hands, bringing a bit more connection to the story

Imagine physically owning over 1,000 of each of games, books, movies, albums, TV shows… to me, that's an irresponsible use of resources if it was indeed possible—never mind the discovery nightmare I mentioned when you want to consume one of them.

I do wonder how the cost of all that is against the cost of having everything digital. Those giant servers need an enormous amount of space and power.

 

[Colif]

Same with books—altho I don't read anymore, if I did I'd never want to go back to the time when I had over 1,000 physical books lining a large wall and spread around in piles. Ebooks forever!

Hi, as someone who trained to work in a Library, I can see both sides. Physical books can't be changed to match the sensibilities of the time. Facts can't be altered to match narratives... I prefer printed form as it was what was originally said. Even if it contradicts what people believe now.

Books still work if you don't have power... though lights don't, but sun does.

 

[Frindis]

emulation isn't the same as original.

You won't get that nice CRT screen feel and such, but using a ROM version with an SN30 PRO+ on a large screen and with the ability to save, change speed, record and probably much more makes it in my eyes at least not a worse experience. Maybe not the same nostalgic feeling, but from my experience it plays the same.

 

[Frindis]

Books still work if you don't have power... though lights don't, but sun does.

I don't really see many cases where you wouldn't be able to read because the power went out. Either you have a power bank or you'll use the sun for powering the charging. You also wouldn't be able to read when it's dark, but we'll be able to use our devices.

 

[Colif]

in emergency situations, you can't rely on power being there.

EMP would break all those wonderful devices.

if technology is always there, then yes... probably won't have a problem but I prefer to be prepared for worst case.

 

[Magatach]

With most games nowadays, regardless of whether you own a physical disc or get it from Steam, you'll have to rent a license to play the game. Sure, we have some DMR-free platforms out there, but they also have more limitations on what games they can market because of that. I use GOG from time to time, but I prefer Steam and with that, I also sacrifice something, my freedom in a sense. So, why do so many of us do this, when we know we are just renting the games basically and could potentially risk losing them all?

My reason for it is convenience, but since I also use GOG, I like to think of myself as someone who reflects at times on which platform I want to use when buying a game and when I want to own a DMR-free version of that particular game. I do like the feeling of knowing I'll have the game forever digitally and my GOG library (excluding the imported games from other platforms) is around 250 games.

What about you? Do you still care or have you completely gone to the "dark side"?

In fact, it’s enough for me that games are downloaded from Steam to the computer. I think I trust this platform. True, there is always a fear of losing your account, so much money has been poured into it..

 

[ZedClampet]

With most games nowadays, regardless of whether you own a physical disc or get it from Steam, you'll have to rent a license to play the game. Sure, we have some DMR-free platforms out there, but they also have more limitations on what games they can market because of that. I use GOG from time to time, but I prefer Steam and with that, I also sacrifice something, my freedom in a sense. So, why do so many of us do this, when we know we are just renting the games basically and could potentially risk losing them all?

My reason for it is convenience, but since I also use GOG, I like to think of myself as someone who reflects at times on which platform I want to use when buying a game and when I want to own a DMR-free version of that particular game. I do like the feeling of knowing I'll have the game forever digitally and my GOG library (excluding the imported games from other platforms) is around 250 games.

What about you? Do you still care or have you completely gone to the "dark side"?

If Steam is the "dark side", consider me Darth Vader. The idea that we're just renting games because of DRM is a little extreme. There are a lot of factors, including the wording of game EULAs (which are not nearly as dire legally as people claim), various consumer protection laws and the potential for very serious lawsuits, that makes me confident that I will still have my Steam library intact on the day I exit this world (on a colony ship. I refuse to die).

DRM free is over-rated in a digital world. If the person you buy from closes shop, you lose the game forever if you don't always have a digital copy somewhere, which with equipment breakdowns is no sure thing. In the choice between Steam DRM and GoG DRM free, I pick Steam because I'm not sure that CDPR, which is a public company so not fully in control of its own future, will keep running GoG forever. I suspect that Steam will be here long after GoG goes away.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I used to care a bit, and then Gabe started offering me sweet discounts. The discounts might not seem as good as they were once but its still pretty great to buy games sometimes only a few months old for 70% of MSRP. That hardly ever happened with discs. I'm not concerned about Steam or anyone else taking my library away from me, guess I just dont think about it.

Maybe worth mentioning also that discs arent forever either. Even if treated perfectly.

 

[Sore But Whole]

I used to care a bit, and then Gabe started offering me sweet discounts. The discounts might not seem as good as they were once but its still pretty great to buy games sometimes only a few months old for 70% of MSRP. That hardly ever happened with discs. I'm not concerned about Steam or anyone else taking my library away from me, guess I just dont think about it.

Maybe worth mentioning also that discs arent forever either. Even if treated perfectly.

To expand on this a little, the only thing I ever really cared about was special edition games with physical materials that you obviously don't get with digital formats. Otherwise, Kaamos hit the nail on the head. That Gabe guy, he's persuasive.

 

[Frindis]

If Steam is the "dark side", consider me Darth Vader. The idea that we're just renting games because of DRM is a little extreme. There are a lot of factors, including the wording of game EULAs (which are not nearly as dire legally as people claim), various consumer protection laws and the potential for very serious lawsuits, that makes me confident that I will still have my Steam library intact on the day I exit this world (on a colony ship. I refuse to die).

EULAs I never read, but probably should now since this topic has piqued my interest. I'm with you on these lawsuits, thinking that chance would be mind-bogglingly little. Still, I'd like to learn a bit more about them and just how well we are protected and how living in different countries would matter regarding it. Like would there be much difference between being outside the EU concerning the European consumer law vs, when consumers and business operators are in different countries and you use something like the Consumer Europe to make the dispute? How easy would it be to go complaining, cost (if any), and the progress itself (some disputes take years to the point of consumers just giving up)

DRM free is over-rated in a digital world. If the person you buy from closes shop, you lose the game forever if you don't always have a digital copy somewhere, which with equipment breakdowns is no sure thing. In the choice between Steam DRM and GoG DRM free, I pick Steam because I'm not sure that CDPR, which is a public company so not fully in control of its own future, will keep running GoG forever. I suspect that Steam will be here long after GoG goes away.

I see your point, but I also think it would not matter that much. Long before GOG closes shop, you would probably have a ridiculously long time to copy your games. That is some flexibility that I think would be much, much harder to do with Steam.

I used to care a bit, and then Gabe started offering me sweet discounts

Ahh, Gabe I swear he is looking more and more like a wizard each year. I do miss the flash sales, though using something like GGdeals makes it almost impossible not to get a good deal at some point.

Maybe worth mentioning also that discs arent forever either. Even if treated perfectly.

Don't tell that to @Colif, his discs are probably from the late 80s/early 90's

To expand on this a little, the only thing I ever really cared about was special edition games with physical materials that you obviously don't get with digital formats. Otherwise, Kaamos hit the nail on the head. That Gabe guy, he's persuasive.

Miss stuff like manuals and statues (they are not completely gone thankfully). Used to own a SWTOR Darth Malgus statue that my nephew got. Now some companies are so sneaky they don't even include a digital copy of their games, so you buy the collector's edition and game separately *cough Blizzard Entertainment cough*.

 

[Brian Boru]

I do wonder how the cost of all that is against the cost of having everything digital. Those giant servers need an enormous amount of space and power.

Far less space than the ultra-enormous [! ] tracts of land needed for the forests to be cut down.

Guessing that the power is also ultra-enormously lower than the power to transport all those loggers, run those chainsaws, transport the lumber, run the sawmills and pulp factories, keep the massive stockrooms and warehouses environmentally on track, ship all… To be continued, just barely started here…

Physical books can't be changed to match the sensibilities of the time. Facts can't be altered to match narratives

You must lead a sheltered life
Best examples of major fact-altered physical books touch on topics we don't discuss in these forums, so I'll just recommend reading some history from different sides of a coin.

Books still work if you don't have power.

But they only work if you have the book. Having power is same as having the book—just sth you do on your way out to no-power land. The assumption of course is you'll still want to read the same book when you read your destination—it sucks you can only bring say 3-4 physical books on the hike, compared to your entire library on an ebook reader; which even with spare battery will be lighter than the bag of books you spent valuable time carefully choosing.

in emergency situations

You're going to have many larger priorities than reading a book.

EMP would break all those wonderful devices … I prefer to be prepared for worst case

Good luck getting your 1,000-book physical library out of the house fire. Statistical fun fact: the number of house fires is still larger than the number of EMP blasts.

I suspect that Steam will be here long after GoG goes away.

You are prob right, but imo that's due to GOG's vulnerability rather than Steam's invulnerability. Gabe is 61, Valve and Steam change course after he's done with it all.

I'm not concerned about Steam or anyone else taking my library away from me

Yeah, me neither—I see it as roughly on the same risk level as a housefire, flood, tornado, hurricane or burglary. I have 3,000 in 6 main libraries, but less than 100 I'd miss if they all went poof. Very unlikely all would go poof simultaneously, so I'd still have 2,000 anyway—diversification is almost always a good long-term strategy.

EULAs I never read, but probably should

They are typically presented in very restricted windows with much in all caps, ie deliberately formatted to make reading them as unappealing as possible—presumably most legal systems only require their presence, not their readability.

I recommend you try EULAlyzer, I found it useful in the past—dunno re current state tho.

 

[Pifanjr]

Like other people said, physical media has a limited lifetime as well and I suspect I would have lost several discs already if I had every game I own on a disc.

Also, I think I have maybe a handful of games at most that I've bought and haven't played yet and it's pretty rare for me to replay games. If I lost my entire Steam library right now I'd still have a ton of games on Epic and vice versa. If I lost access to both I'd still have a bunch of physical games and enough games with GOG, EA, Ubisoft, Battle.net and such to last me quite a while and that isn't even counting all of the free games available online.

 

[Zloth]

What about you? Do you still care or have you completely gone to the "dark side"?

I was born in the dark!

Even those old games aren't owned, they are licensed. Or at least they were - there have been some lawsuits to allow selling used games. I'm not sure where it all ended up. It doesn't seem to matter, though, because most of the old games are CHEAP! GOG and Steam make them easy to get, too. Many are so cheap that, even if I had my basement filled with boxed versions, I think I might just cough up $4 on GOG rather than try to find the game in my collection and then have to re-file it after I was done.

 

[DonovanMelissa]

Is it still possible to find something like this to buy and own completely? In my opinion, everything here is based on subscriptions and copyright. So to speak, a true illusion of product ownership has been created.

 

[mjs warlord]

Hello all ... i have mentioned this in other posts , when i got my first fame with just a keycode in the box for steam i felt cheated cos no physical disc to hold.

Not long after that happened i got a new pc and i ended up with lots of games i can never use again.

The scenario went something like this .... insert cd into pc and then a box comes up for registration and says that keycode abcd12345 and email wizzbang@anybody.com already exists .. of course they do they belong to me.

I tried to surrender my keycodes for a replacement but got no joy , some companies even said email me the receipt for the game to prove you own it ..... excuse me i got it 5 years ago !!!!!!

 

[Frindis]

Is it still possible to find something like this to buy and own completely? In my opinion, everything here is based on subscriptions and copyright. So to speak, a true illusion of product ownership has been created.

Not much digital, with the exception of what was already mentioned in earlier posts. In short words as what I think reflects most of the posts in this thread: We distance ourselves from ownership and trade it up for more convenience. So it is not that we stopped caring really, but it seems to me it is more about moving on to something better for ourselves and also that there is trust with these new platforms selling the games as some have brought up.

Hello all ... i have mentioned this in other posts , when i got my first fame with just a keycode in the box for steam i felt cheated cos no physical disc to hold.

Not long after that happened i got a new pc and i ended up with lots of games i can never use again.

The scenario went something like this .... insert cd into pc and then a box comes up for registration and says that keycode abcd12345 and email wizzbang@anybody.com already exists .. of course they do they belong to me.

I tried to surrender my keycodes for a replacement but got no joy , some companies even said email me the receipt for the game to prove you own it ..... excuse me i got it 5 years ago !!!!!!

If you can't get the password for your email or bank receipt of purchase (if you know the year, then it should be easy to find), then I am afraid you don't have much choice but to buy it again. Maybe there are some consumer rights clauses out there that can back up what you want, but I hardly think so, since it has been this many years, and also if you don't have access to your old email, then the fault is really on your hand. I could be totally wrong though, maybe someone in this thread could arrest me on that. Just speaking from personal experience trying to get an old user account back when I have little to no proof of purchase. On the flip side: A five year old game is probably sold for little these days (do check out GGdeals) if it did not get delisted.

 

[Brian Boru]

Is it still possible to find something like this to buy and own completely?

A nice length of 4x4 timber. Pay for it, take it home and you can do anything you like with it. Saw it up into lengths to make legs for your new DIY desk, or grind it to a fine dust to sprinkle on your chili stew for more fiber. The choice is entirely yours.

It's not ownership in the same way you own your thumb, but close enough for practical purposes.

Created IP is a different product sector, and so has different rules to those for physical commodities and other sectors. 1984 just came out of copyright in the UK, so fire ahead and write your 1985 sequel without fear of litigation. Not in USA tho, it won't be 'free' here for another while.

So the best answer to your questions is—check your local laws. Or laws elsewhere where you can purchase—there is no single standard worldwide.

But we shouldn't manufacture too much concern about all this. There are far more important things in our lives over which most of us have little or no ownership at all. Air, water, electricity, roads etc. Many services provided by outside companies, which can be for-profit depending on the jurisdiction.

 

[Frindis]

A nice length of 4x4 timber. Pay for it, take it home and you can do anything you like with it. Saw it up into lengths to make legs for your new DIY desk, or grind it to a fine dust to sprinkle on your chili stew for more fiber. The choice is entirely yours.

 

[Brian Boru]

What's that, Flappy?

…

 

[DonovanMelissa]

I’m probably too trusting a person who keeps everything on subscriptions, but it’s so convenient for me, you can download and delete whenever you need. And with the small memory on the computer, this is a very necessary advantage.