Buying games digitally.
- Thread starter VG_Addict
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Largely? Because it's not something you have possession of. It's a digital copy reliant on a store or publisher client to function.
Some games are more egregious than others in this sense, but let's put it this way: Back when it was new, I bought Spore and I was shocked to discover that there was a 3 installation limit. Not "it can be on a maximum of three systems at once", I could put it on a maximum of three computers, and then I might as well break the disks because they'd be useless to me. Even if I just upgraded the OS on the same hardware and reinstalled the game, it would count as one of my three installations. For most intents and purposes, this meant that what I had was closer to a rental than a purchase. After a certain point, my access to it would effectively be suspended until I made another transaction for it.
As I said though, that's an egregious example. That being said, the principle is the same for any 'online only' game that requires that you be connected to the publisher's servers in order to play, as your ability to continue playing is entirely at the convenience of the server owner. The moment those servers go down, your access to the game ends. And of course, a step down from this is the online store, such as Steam, Origin, Epic, Uplay, Twitch, etc. To be blunt about it, your game library probably consists of more games than you can reasonably install on your computer. What, exactly, do you expect will happen when Valve finally closes shop on Steam and takes the system offline? Your access to your Steam library is entirely subject to the Steam client being online. Think of it like Netflix. You don't own a copy of the video, you're paying for access to their copy.
Some games are more egregious than others in this sense, but let's put it this way: Back when it was new, I bought Spore and I was shocked to discover that there was a 3 installation limit. Not "it can be on a maximum of three systems at once", I could put it on a maximum of three computers, and then I might as well break the disks because they'd be useless to me. Even if I just upgraded the OS on the same hardware and reinstalled the game, it would count as one of my three installations. For most intents and purposes, this meant that what I had was closer to a rental than a purchase. After a certain point, my access to it would effectively be suspended until I made another transaction for it.
As I said though, that's an egregious example. That being said, the principle is the same for any 'online only' game that requires that you be connected to the publisher's servers in order to play, as your ability to continue playing is entirely at the convenience of the server owner. The moment those servers go down, your access to the game ends. And of course, a step down from this is the online store, such as Steam, Origin, Epic, Uplay, Twitch, etc. To be blunt about it, your game library probably consists of more games than you can reasonably install on your computer. What, exactly, do you expect will happen when Valve finally closes shop on Steam and takes the system offline? Your access to your Steam library is entirely subject to the Steam client being online. Think of it like Netflix. You don't own a copy of the video, you're paying for access to their copy.
I wonder if the consoles after the upcoming generation will even have a disc drive anymore. Will they expect everyone to just download all their games they once had again? Backwards compatibility is supposed to be a big thing with XB1X and PS5, but it will be short lived if their successors take away the means for the user base to install existing, owned copies of their software.
- Apr 1, 2009
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Well, its because on most digital platforms you are only getting a license which can be revoked and a lot of online accounts technically can't be passed on to someone else either so it really is more like you are renting. Really the one that is different is GoG since if you buy something there its not allowed to have drm on it so you actually can kinda own the files you get from there.
That's not quite it. You can buy a game digitally and own it, like if you get a game from GOG for example.
But if you buy from Steam, Epic, Origin, Uplay, or any other digital games client like that, then you do not own the game. What you are purchasing instead is a license to play that game on their games service. You don't own the game, just the 'ability' to play it through the service. If the service dies, or a copyright expires etc and the game is removed from the service, then your ability to play that game could vanish in the blink of an eye.
This is why I always, always buy my games from GOG. You buy the game. Once you download it, it's yours to keep forever.
But if you buy from Steam, Epic, Origin, Uplay, or any other digital games client like that, then you do not own the game. What you are purchasing instead is a license to play that game on their games service. You don't own the game, just the 'ability' to play it through the service. If the service dies, or a copyright expires etc and the game is removed from the service, then your ability to play that game could vanish in the blink of an eye.
This is why I always, always buy my games from GOG. You buy the game. Once you download it, it's yours to keep forever.
You'll have to clarify the context of what games they are referring to. DRM platforms like Steam require a Steam account and internet connection to play the games installed in your computer. If you permanently lose access to either of these, you'll lose legal access to those games.VG_Addict said:
When the service Games for Windows Live died, games that needed it became unplayable as they were. For games still supported by the publishers and developers, they created fixes (like with Dark Souls); but abandonware required the users to fix it themselves.
Because there's no way to obtain a legal copy of Scott Pilgrim vs the World made for the xBox 360.
Among many other examples. It's hell for video game archival
Among many other examples. It's hell for video game archival
Should something like the infamous Games for Windows Live occur, you lose access to every game you had on the service.
Sure, that might be expected for an online game, but anything not contingent on multiplayer/online servers (and we'll set aside the debate on people running shards for abandoned MMOs) does kind of pose a question of value. Also its basically killed the idea of rental (other then recent streaming efforts), and reselling your games. Which was often a way to recoup or avoid shelling out for a questionable experience.
Even practically speaking, its something of a market barrier to entry. Your main new consumer for games is well, kids. Kids aren't generally legally able to even register for accounts on those services in most jurisdictions, nevermind maintain a credit card. And while most services do have gift cards available now, shunting out audiences who don't have credit cards (or potentially are in more remote or internation locales where the gift cards aren't) further bites into it. Anecdotally speaking of course, but I'd really chalk up the sudden exit of PC gaming from the mainstream to back when Steam gained dominance. I got basically locked out of it for 8 years (Steam cards didn't exist in Canada and couldn't get a cfedit card at the time). but in general I noticed there was a sharp decline of the proverbial "water cooler" even being aware of PC games.
Sure, that might be expected for an online game, but anything not contingent on multiplayer/online servers (and we'll set aside the debate on people running shards for abandoned MMOs) does kind of pose a question of value. Also its basically killed the idea of rental (other then recent streaming efforts), and reselling your games. Which was often a way to recoup or avoid shelling out for a questionable experience.
Even practically speaking, its something of a market barrier to entry. Your main new consumer for games is well, kids. Kids aren't generally legally able to even register for accounts on those services in most jurisdictions, nevermind maintain a credit card. And while most services do have gift cards available now, shunting out audiences who don't have credit cards (or potentially are in more remote or internation locales where the gift cards aren't) further bites into it. Anecdotally speaking of course, but I'd really chalk up the sudden exit of PC gaming from the mainstream to back when Steam gained dominance. I got basically locked out of it for 8 years (Steam cards didn't exist in Canada and couldn't get a cfedit card at the time). but in general I noticed there was a sharp decline of the proverbial "water cooler" even being aware of PC games.
While I much prefer GOG to the other services/storefronts, there are some games they don't have that you have to get elsewhere. Some of them I understand, particularly ones with an embedded online, so that probably counts as DRM, but others are just wierd. Celeste and Baba is You have been out for quite a while at this point and STILL aren't on GOG because....I don't know. I ended up getting Celeste when EPIC offered it for free and Baba is You on Steam when it was cheap over the holidays. It seems like those games were be right up GOG's alley and yet somehow you still can't get them there. So two lost sales right there just due to not offering it.Squilookle said:
I get most games digitally now because I?ve already sold most of my hard copy library anyways, since I never played them anymore. I?ve only kept a very select few that I might want to reminisce with years down the road. I really don?t care enough about keeping all the old hardware around or rebuying it just to use physical copies anymore.
On PC it?s different. Yeah I?m spoiled by Steam and GoG, and haven?t had a problem yet with either for reinstalling old games. If Steam disappears someday then well, I never had physical copies in the first place. I understand the principle behind always having physical copies in case disaster strikes with these services, but practically speaking I don't even have the time to play a fraction of all the games I?ve gotten on Steam at fractions of the price I could ever sell them for if I had physical copies.
Having said that, I did preorder the FF7 Remake steel book edition because this is something of a monumental release to me and I?m sure many others. At first I wasn't going to, and considered just waiting until all the parts are released in a collection, but who the hell knows how long that would be. Nothing else is really piquing my interest anyways, unless they announce Bloodborne 2 which wouldn?t be happening anytime soon either. I also won?t even be thinking of Elden Ring until I get done with DS3 and Sekiro.
On PC it?s different. Yeah I?m spoiled by Steam and GoG, and haven?t had a problem yet with either for reinstalling old games. If Steam disappears someday then well, I never had physical copies in the first place. I understand the principle behind always having physical copies in case disaster strikes with these services, but practically speaking I don't even have the time to play a fraction of all the games I?ve gotten on Steam at fractions of the price I could ever sell them for if I had physical copies.
Having said that, I did preorder the FF7 Remake steel book edition because this is something of a monumental release to me and I?m sure many others. At first I wasn't going to, and considered just waiting until all the parts are released in a collection, but who the hell knows how long that would be. Nothing else is really piquing my interest anyways, unless they announce Bloodborne 2 which wouldn?t be happening anytime soon either. I also won?t even be thinking of Elden Ring until I get done with DS3 and Sekiro.
Of course they don't have everything. You could say that of any online store. Not only does GOG have to perform a painstaking service behind the scenes to get the games running on modern systems, they have to clear the legal side with everybody who was involved in the original game. This is a lot harder for older titles than new ones. Plus some publishers think that Steam is the only store, which is pretty daft.Dalisclock said:
If a game is only on Steam, of course you'll grab it there, as you don't have much choice. What I'm saying is, if a game is on GOG as well as literally any other store, I will always get it from GOG, because it's the only place that sells me the game, rather than just the privilege of playing that game.
I prefer digital because I can't be bothered with the clutter. But I appreciate you can't sell them on so I get why you wouldn't want digital versions. If the PS5 has PS4 compatibility and i can play my digital games on there that would be amazing.
Digital is the future because it doesn't have physical waste and you don't need to wait for things to be shipped to you to access them. They just need to iron out the laws about how people own the games and prevent the ability from people to remove things from the market altogether like Konami did with the silent hills demo. That shouldn't be possible in an art medium.
dscross said:
?Clutter?? Was life pre-digital availability really that inconvenienced by the clutter of physical games? That sounds like the portion of an infomercial where a minor problem is exacerbated by some frustratingly inept Average Joe just before they reveal the solution for ?ONLY $19.99!!!? Is the tradeoff for dubious ownership of your purchases really the ideal fix? I?m no luddite, but I?ll take my chances with something tangible; reliability is a far more valuable quality than convenience, particularly when uncertainty is the ?comes-with? of the latter.Dreiko said:
Depends on how many games you want (I have a lot), how organised you are with your collecting (not very) , how easily you lose things (my brain is not a tidy brain) and how much space you have to store them (not enough). Digital is much easier for me.Xprimentyl said:
However, with music, I do miss the age of CDs, tapes and records (even though I know some dedicated collectors do have records). I think we are missing a lot of great music because of the digital age because no-one takes the time to listen to things for extended periods of time anymore. That's not the case with games though so the same logic doesn't apply to gaming culture.
I understand individual circumstances will vary and of course digital has its merits, but digital is rearing its head as yet another outlet for senseless glut lauding itself as the solution to the problem it creates, i.e.: would you have as many games were they not so readily available? Again, I?m not against digital availability, just not sold on the idea that it resolves the invented problem of the ?hassle with physical games? and should eventually supplant physical altogether. Digital is fast food; it?ll fill you up, but a steady diet of it leads to diabetes.dscross said:
And this comparative logic defies all reason. Music is far more digestible than games; I can listen to a song or two from an artist in about 8 minutes and decide whether or not I might like them all while jogging or doing my taxes, and services like Spotify allow me easy access to literally hundreds of thousand of artists and songs to explore. And guess what? I?m not paying the same $15-20 as I would have for the physical album!! Music is perfect for digital services. Games, on the other hand, command your full undivided attention, and a good one commands that attention for hours if not days or weeks at a time, so giving access to thousands upon thousands of them at a literal click at the full retail price of a physical copy and the added possibility that one day my access to that purchase could end does little more than waste time, money and add to an inevitable backlog.
I prefer to be more selective when I buy my games, one or two at a time, and in my day to day life, given that I pass dozens of retailers that offer me physical copies of games, I can be bothered to stop for 5 minutes and buy one that comes with a 100% guarantee of permanent ownership. But to each their own. If digital copies shine your shaft, you?ll be plenty happy for the foreseeable future.
I was simply comparing two entertainment types and saying the reason why I personally like digital games but I miss hard copies of music.Xprimentyl said:
I am a musician myself so that probably plays a part in it. People used to take to time to listen and digest a whole album and would listen multiple times through - having a hard copy with a booklet / artwork helped to solidify it as being special as well I guess - but now they tend to jump around and listen to whatever so things don't tend to stick as often, in my opinion. I say this as someone who knows lots of amazing musicians and/or songwriters who I believe could have been signed and made it back in the day but now are lost in all the white noise of the internet. Not saying it's impossible to make it but it's a symptom of shorter concentration spans from people in music.
The reason I don't think this applies to gaming as much is after you buy a digital game you tend to play through the whole thing, which a long experience, more often than not, and so they get massively invested in it irrespective of the form they get it in. That's not the case with music anymore - people tend to jump around with tracks a lot and not let a lot of the tracks grow on them in the same way they once did, or it happens less often at least.