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[pasterpl]

Thought Steam was good for consumers? Thought the game you paid for is yours to keep? You might want to read their Terms of Service and User Agreement. Or watch this video for a summary of the important bits.





people are against subscription services and one of the cons they list is not owning games anymore, but the same people buy games digitally, where they don’t own games either. Regardless of this, interesting video.

 

[SaturnSaturn]

people are against subscription services and one of the cons they list is not owning games anymore, but the same people buy games digitally, where they don’t own games either. Regardless of this, interesting video.

A really good point you made!

You dont "own" the games you buy on physicaly for consoles anyways tbh, since they require a plethora of patches to even work, if xbox live og psn went down your disc based games would run abysmal, buying physical is still the smart choice for consoles since you can re-sell it.

PC wise it is what it is, with cracks being so available you can just fix your own problems if steam went down or anything else, i look at buying games more as a act of support for developers then ownership.

 

[kretos]

 

[jhjfss]

whatever... Blockbuster is bankrupt, how is gamestop doing?

 

[Sleepwalker]

You don't really ever own the games anyway, just licenses to use them. Games most of the time aren't even complete nowadays in disc form as they need patches and sometimes codes to access content (like the versions that come with dlc)

 

[junguler]

i can't imagine steam being that retarded as to lock me out of my games but even if they did i always have the option to pirate those games and keep playing.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Surprise, you don't own physical games either. Its all licesing, always has been.

 

[Diddy X]

It's not that big of a deal.

 

[Fuz]

Surprise, you don't own physical games either. Its all licesing, always has been.

But nobody can take them away from you.

 

[Guilty_AI]

But nobody can take them away from you.

Nobody can take away the backups on my pendrive either

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[BusierDonkey]

Oh no! Steam ceased to exist or for some reason Valve decided to lock me out of my account because they suddenly hate money because of... greed?

Locks only deter honest people. The locks on games only prevent honest customers from playing them for free. Pirating games is blatant theft, I much prefer supporting my hobby which is why I pay for my games. I give developers and platform holders money so that they continue supporting my hobby and offer me a service I will use. If they break that arrangement I will follow in kind. It doesn't take a lot of effort to play the games I paid for without getting them involved and I am perfectly at ease taking measures to ensure I can access the games I paid for.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

 

[Saber]

I'm honestly scratching my head over this "not own". Does someone go invade my house and pick all the physical games I have because what I have is a license(including old ass generation consoles)?
I can't even count the amount of times I installed and re-installed games on my PS4 without the need of internet and can play with no problems at all.

Seriously, where all this talk about "not owning" come from? My brother even sold his PS4 game to my cousin, no worries.

 

[AphexTwunt]

IDGAF about 'owning' anything.

I'll play the latest greatest and then move on.

 

[Skifi28]

Your digital copies can be taken away, your physical copies can be stolen, degrade over time or require servers and patches that aren't there, you can't be 100% safe either way. In the end they're just games, enjoy them and don't worry what could happen 30 years into the future. Maybe you'll be dead and you won't care.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I'm honestly scratching my head over this "not own". Does someone go invade my house and pick all the physical games I have because what I have is a license(including old ass generation consoles)?
I can't even count the amount of times I installed and re-installed games on my PS4 without the need of internet and can play with no problems at all.

Seriously, where all this talk about "not owning" come from? My brother even sold his PS4 game to my cousin, no worries.

All software works under some type of licensing agreement, you don't really own any of them. Some can be more lenient than others in the rights it grants the user, but it doesn't really matter whether you bought a physical disc or downloaded it through the internet, what you can do with it will always depend purely on the terms determined by the software owner (aka the publisher or developer).

You can buy a physical disc that still requires you to connect to the internet to confirm ownership - in other words, can potentially be rendered unuseable by the publisher or by the closing down of servers.
By the same token, you can download a software you bought from the internet and have full control over it. Install it wherever you want, make backups, etc; no internet required besides for the initial download - some pc stores work like that, most famously GOG, though there are steam games that can also run without requiring internet or steam ever again.

 

[ViolentP]

This thread serves to make those who live in fear feel justified by seeing others doing the same by a different name.

 

[Vae_Victis]

Any digital media of any kind you ever bought is a "license", because you are literally buying the permission to use somebody's else copyright under very specific circumstances that they expressly allow. Music on CD? License. Movie on DVD? License. Video games, be they on disc or in a digital library? License.

Don't believe me? Pick up any video game box from your library, even from a time before digital stores were a thing, and in the fine print at the bottom you will read some variation of "This license if for personal/home use only. Copying, modifying, lending, renting, reselling, exchanging or broadcasting this item is prohibited."

The only difference between a digital store and owning a physical support that stores the data is how well they can go around enforcing these restrictions, and how easily they can mess with practical access to your license.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Good thing we don't need Steam to get our games back IF it is gone from the store...

 

[Saber]

You can buy a physical disc that still requires you to connect to the internet to confirm ownership - in other words, can potentially be rendered unuseable by the publisher or by the closing down of servers.

That is straight not true. I already told you I can install and re-install all my games without the need of internet. Theres no "autentication", the only thing that can occur is them asking for an update, which I can decline from the PS4 warning menu and only occurs when I'm with the internet on.
And this ownership is a different case where the game cease to exist on digital while they remain playable if you got a disk. Borrow, selling, you name it. I can do anything with it and works just fine.

 

[Quasicat]

Your digital copies can be taken away, your physical copies can be stolen, degrade over time or require servers and patches that aren't there, you can't be 100% safe either way. In the end they're just games, enjoy them and don't worry what could happen 30 years into the future. Maybe you'll be dead and you won't care.

Yep, in 30 years I’ll be pushing into my mid 70s and realistically will be playing the only console I have hooked up in my nursing facility, my Super Famicom Classic. Those digital licenses won’t be taken away from me.

 

[Guilty_AI]

That is straight not true. I already told you I can install and re-install all my games without the need of internet. Theres no "autentication", the only thing that can occur is them asking for an update, which I can decline from the PS4 warning menu and only occurs when I'm with the internet on.
And this ownership is a different case where the game cease to exist on digital while they remain playable if you got a disk.

As i said it depends on the terms set by the software owner. Even it happens you didn't came across any of those they undoubtedly exist.

NFS 2015 and The Crew for example require constant internet connection in order to be played even with physical console copies.
One example i personally witnessed was Battlefield 3 on the ps3, where the game came with a serial code that you needed to input in order to play MP. If i tried to re-sell it, whoever bought the copy would be locked out of multiplayer since the code would've been used already.

 

[lmimmfn]

Watched this earlier, what some people especially thos in their teens is the games they play now they will be their retro games in 20 years time and all this online crap takes that away from them.

Even replaying GTA Vice City on steam, its degraded due to many of the songs being removed, luckily i have a CD copy with nocd hack.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I'm not surprised no one on GAF has ever read a EULA.

You don't "own" any software you purchase, what are you buying is a license to use the software. Most software is sold with a perpetual license so you can use it forever after paying once. Stuff like Microsoft 365 changes it to a monthly or yearly license which you renew when you pay your sub. Either way, it's a license. The ownership and rights controlling the software remains with the publisher.

 

[WitchHunter]

x

 

[synchronicity]

Hmm, spoiler...you don't even own your own life - it's going to be taken away. Live and enjoy the moment.

 

[MrFunSocks]

Ugh not this same old "digital bad" argument again.

You also don't "own" the games you buy physically. You own a physical item that has some game executable on it, and you own a license to use that executable. You have zero guarantee that you'll be able to put that in a game console in 10 years time and it still works.

Also do these anti-digital people not realise that you can simply store all your digital games on external HDDs as backups? I have the large majority of my Xbox digital games stored on external drives that are plugged in to my console. That's no different than having physical discs, apart from not having to have hundreds of physical discs.

 

[Dream-Knife]

At least on PC if that happens, you can easily downloaded a cracked version of the game.

 

[Portugeezer]

At least on PC if that happens, you can easily downloaded a cracked version of the game.

TBH that's why I didn't mind digital downloads on PC (not much choice anyway). If publishers screwed me or Steam/etc shuts down, I'd just download that shit for free. No fucks given.

 

[rofif]

My fav example it's gta 4. I've got 360 version on release and steam on it's release.

These rockstar fuckers removed the original music from my game on steam and then added a fucking unbelievable requirement for their launcher.

So after 10 years, they changed my game and made it unplayable without me shit launcher... And all way through never fixed the game but made it worse with each patch. I think after 1.0.3, they introduced new, worse shadows for example.

Meanwhile my 360 copy is still the same thank God. But if it were digital or on bc Xbox one, they remove music too

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Now I'm depressed

 

[kingfey]

I went from the uncle hat with a sword to steam, because, his service made the ISP flag me. Because of that, Steam become my defector for gaming.

Do I own games? not really. 1 indefinite ban can result me losing access to all my games. Same for xbox, playstation and nintendo.

If your PlayStation Network account gets banned, any digital games you may have bought become locked and unplayable. Physical games (disc games) can still be played, but the account in use with the game will not be able to use PSN.



When you get banned, you will lose all the digital content you have purchased over the lifetime of the account. Of course, you will have to buy another physical Xbox and another Xbox Live membership if you want to continue being in the community and continue playing games.

When your Nintendo account is suspended, all downloaded games in your library will be inaccessible and the said account will be unable to transact online. You can continue playing your physical games or those that are in cards.Jul 9, 2021

You really dont own anything. Even your console devices can get banned and pricked by them.

 

[Azelover]

It's like Russell Brand said.. "You will own nothing and be happy"

 

[Sentenza]

But nobody can take them away from you.

Yeah, but you can shove your disks up your ass once they don’t work anymore for a dozen different reasons.

in that sense a Steam copy is not any more risky. If worse comes to worst a cracked copy is TRIVIAL to come by and you are served.

Subscription services or WORSE, streaming services, are whole different beasts. They deny you direct access to files from the get go.

 

[jhjfss]

It's like Russell Brand said.. "You will own nothing and be happy"

fine by me.

 

[M.W.]

What year is it? Physical media is dead, Jim.

 

[20cent]

GOG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Thought Steam was good for consumers? Thought the game you paid for is yours to keep? You might want to read their Terms of Service and User Agreement. Or watch this video for a summary of the important bits.





people are against subscription services and one of the cons they list is not owning games anymore, but the same people buy games digitally, where they don’t own games either. Regardless of this, interesting video.

Us who buy digital don't have to pay to play our games after we buy them.

 

[ViolentP]

I’ve been 100% digital since Steam came out and since the PS3 came out on the console side. It’s too late for any report or internet person to convince me this last decade was a mistake.

 

[Jeeves]

What do people think they're accomplishing by being pedantic and pointing out "physical games are just a license too"? Do they really not understand the practical, real-world difference? I really wonder.

 

[MrFunSocks]

I went from the uncle hat with a sword to steam, because, his service made the ISP flag me. Because of that, Steam become my defector for gaming.

Do I own games? not really. 1 indefinite ban can result me losing access to all my games. Same for xbox, playstation and nintendo.

If your PlayStation Network account gets banned, any digital games you may have bought become locked and unplayable. Physical games (disc games) can still be played, but the account in use with the game will not be able to use PSN.

When you get banned, you will lose all the digital content you have purchased over the lifetime of the account. Of course, you will have to buy another physical Xbox and another Xbox Live membership if you want to continue being in the community and continue playing games.

When your Nintendo account is suspended, all downloaded games in your library will be inaccessible and the said account will be unable to transact online. You can continue playing your physical games or those that are in cards.Jul 9, 2021

You really dont own anything. Even your console devices can get banned and pricked by them.

This isn't true - you just lose the ability to re-download them because you're banned from the service. You can still play any games that you have downloaded offline. You essentially have a physical copy - either on your console or on a external HDD. If my account on my xbox got banned tomorrow for some reason, I have 2 x 4TB drives worth of my digital games that I've bought that will keep working until the physical media they are stored on doesn't anymore, exactly the same as if I had a disk.

This whole ownership argument is like the people that still cry about phones not having headphone jacks. Most people don't care, that's just the crux of it. You might think it's important, most people don't. Most people are more than happy with all the benefits that digital purchases give them, just like they're more than happy with the benefits that bluetooth headphones and earbuds give them.

 

[Kenpachii]

But nobody can take them away from you.

Until sony/microsoft pushes a firmware update stealth mode that blacklists the game. A update u need to play newer games for. Which will make that physical copy instantly useless.

The real problem consoles have, is 1 ruler that rules the product and being completely depended on it.

Anyway

Its a well known thing that digital games aren't technically yours. For PC this is a non issue as you buying a game digital = supporting the developer. There is no way for them to take the game access away from you as u can just straight up get it back elsewhere the next day. It's a non issue.

The only + point physical gives = reselling. Everything else its a outdated medium on every solution possible.

 

[Fbh]

Buying physical copy still gives you a higher degree of ownership than subscription services.

But yeah, you don't really own any digital goods these days. The closest thing you can get on any of the better known stores is GOG. It's technically still the same licensing deal, but since there's no DRM there isn't much they can do to take away my HDD with all my GOG installers.

 

[Fuz]

Yeah, but you can shove your disks up your ass once they don’t work anymore for a dozen different reasons.

My Quake 1 disc still works.

 

[mhirano]

2030
After World War 3, chinese attacks on the US destroyed all Valve servers.
All digital gamer:
Is screwed, there is no Steam to play games
Physical media gamer:
Has a stash full of game discs!

Spoiler

but the electricity infrastructure was also destroyed and all those games are unplayable anyway.
Also, he discovers that the discs can't even feed a bonfire, because burnt plastic stinks and releasea toxic fumes... He ends trading his 200 PS5 blurays for 5 bottle caps

 

[Guilty_AI]

What do people think they're accomplishing by being pedantic and pointing out "physical games are just a license too"? Do they really not understand the practical, real-world difference? I really wonder.

Because it makes no bloody difference. If someone selling a disk copy of a game forces you to connect to the internet or make an account in some service, you'll run in the exact same issues you'd run into if you bought the game digitally anyway.
This discussion about losing games or being locked out of them is a software issue, the medium isn't really important.

 

[Sentenza]

My Quake 1 disc still works.

And it's most likely 200 patches behind the last version available of Quake, anyway.

 

[LazyParrot]

My Quake 1 disc still works.

Just speaking from my own experience, but around a third of my disks from the 90s no longer work.

 

[zcaa0g]

You don't own your games because of laws, you don't own your games because lobbyists of corporations bribed politicians and judges, which THEN determined those laws. Regardless, there are still tens of thousands of games 40 years later that I can still play. I have better things to worry about.