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Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

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Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#71

Post by kubb »

dtagames wrote: post #14
Y_Y wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Library of Congress or the Bodleian or some other prestigous clouty institution could demand that these published artworks be given to them as an unencumbered copy? I know that such a thing might have to include server code and some agreements on runtime environment, but I don't see that as insuperable. This is culture and it's part of our patrimony. The privilege of getting to publish thin…

The problem is the cost and knowledge base required to keep servers running. A game server is a big proprietary ball of spaghetti with hundreds of API endpoints and only the people who built it really know how it works[0]. It's expensive to keep those folks around and expensive to pay for the cloud services and SaaS tools they need to do their jobs. All software has a "lifecycle" and has to be turned off at some poin…

Then how do unofficial WoW, Diablo 2 or Lineage 2 servers exist? Enthusiasts run them for free.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#72

Post by pjmlp »

ferbivore wrote: post #68
proc0 wrote: post #7

I think it's silly that the conversation on preserving games revolves around hardware. The hardware is irrelevant. It's about the right to create digital backup for personal use. Whether the game is downloaded or burned on a disc, it's just software. The main problem used to be about piracy, but I think now it's really about making games as a service (even if they're not online for gameplay) because it allows more fo…

All games with a budget over $10m will be online-only gacha soon enough because it would be fiscally irresponsible to do anything else. The only reason you can still "buy" large games - to whatever extent you still can, you're mostly leasing games if you don't pirate them anyway - is irrationality and inertia on the part of publishers, which I doubt will last forever under shareholder pressure. A lot of games are alr…

The reason being timesharing seems to be the only way to force people to pay for digital goods, including developers.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#73

Post by manojlds »

dmwilcox wrote: post #70

I guess I'm the odd duck with a switch that has never been online. It sounds like the switch2 isn't for me. Sad but I don't want another device that wants to be more than it is, I basically want an updated version of my gameboy from the 90s and that's it. No downloads, no network, no social, just a game you can quietly play anywhere when you have a bit of time, no nonsense

This thing already happens with download only games being sold. At least with the game cards you can sell the card again which you can't with the keys.

So essentially this is an improvement and you won't even know it if you only buy first party games.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#74

Post by jsheard »

kubb wrote: post #71
dtagames wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is the cost and knowledge base required to keep servers running. A game server is a big proprietary ball of spaghetti with hundreds of API endpoints and only the people who built it really know how it works[0]. It's expensive to keep those folks around and expensive to pay for the cloud services and SaaS tools they need to do their jobs. All software has a "lifecycle" and has to be turned off at some poin…

Then how do unofficial WoW, Diablo 2 or Lineage 2 servers exist? Enthusiasts run them for free.

Due to huge reverse engineering efforts which few games get, especially after the official servers have already shut down so there's no reference implementation anymore. For every game which gets unofficial servers, a few dozen never will.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#75

Post by Cipater »

autoexec wrote: post #64
ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imo if Gamepass is allowed to survive, it's end game is a tier, or maybe included at no extra cost with some limitations, a cloud gaming component. Gamepass is the biggest threat in turning games into subscriptions, and unfortunately a growing subset of people will only play games on Gamepass. We've dodged Gamepass exclusives for now, but for how long?

Game pass doesn't seem terribly popular. Xbox in general isn't doing very well compared to the other consoles. I think they'll keep pushing for games as a service though. It's too tempting to keep all that control out of the hands of players.

It's only available in 40 out of 195 countries in the world and they have zero plans to expand it. They must not care much about it.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#76

Post by whitehexagon »

dmwilcox wrote: post #70

I guess I'm the odd duck with a switch that has never been online. It sounds like the switch2 isn't for me. Sad but I don't want another device that wants to be more than it is, I basically want an updated version of my gameboy from the 90s and that's it. No downloads, no network, no social, just a game you can quietly play anywhere when you have a bit of time, no nonsense

Hah, I thought it was just me. Mine was the same, never online, and this key based card thing makes me think that my next, and probably final console purchase, will be a replacement Switch 1. Although I saw the prices just went up, and I didnt even know about the oled version. The main thing that holds me back is the dof blurr in Links Awakening.

I imagine that Nintendo want a slice of this subscription based gaming scam. The HD versions already feel like a step in that greed direction. And I think I saw a collection of Mario 3D games that fell into that same repackage-and-sell-again category, with crazy pricing.

You might like the DE10-nano Mister project. I manged to get some old arcade cabinates running on a big monitor, no frame drops or lag like most emulators suffer, and no stream of 10p coins required. FPGA feels closer in terms of preservation.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#78

Post by detaro »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #29
mystified5016 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately for everyone, all of the "stream games as a service" initiatives failed completely. Consumers aren't really interested due to obvious drawbacks, and vendors aren't interested in provisioning enough or good enough hardware to solve those drawbacks.

Imo if Gamepass is allowed to survive, it's end game is a tier, or maybe included at no extra cost with some limitations, a cloud gaming component. Gamepass is the biggest threat in turning games into subscriptions, and unfortunately a growing subset of people will only play games on Gamepass. We've dodged Gamepass exclusives for now, but for how long?

Game pass already comes with tiers with cloud gaming

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#79

Post by detaro »

autoexec wrote: post #64
ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imo if Gamepass is allowed to survive, it's end game is a tier, or maybe included at no extra cost with some limitations, a cloud gaming component. Gamepass is the biggest threat in turning games into subscriptions, and unfortunately a growing subset of people will only play games on Gamepass. We've dodged Gamepass exclusives for now, but for how long?

Game pass doesn't seem terribly popular. Xbox in general isn't doing very well compared to the other consoles. I think they'll keep pushing for games as a service though. It's too tempting to keep all that control out of the hands of players.

> Game pass doesn't seem terribly popular

It seems fairly popular right now. If you are the kind of person who wants to play many new releases it's a great deal.

But I think it's not particularly sticky: it's a great deal for as long as Microsoft invests into it getting many titles immediately. If they stop doing that, that same audience segment doesn't really have a use for it anymore.

Re: Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

#80

Post by ThatPlayer »

nokeya wrote: post #77

If I give this GameKey card to the friend, will he be able to download and play it? With card inserted, of course. If not - these cards are just glorified activation codes

That's exactly what separates this from activation codes, yes.
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