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Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

arstechnica.com

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Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#81

Post by brewdad »

ndriscoll wrote: post #73
nradov wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just straight up false. Apparently you don't understand bankruptcy law. Courts will prioritize the interests of creditors first. And the notion of a law requiring source code to be released in the public domain is so stupid. The source code is an asset which can potentially be sold to benefit creditors. And often the source code contains IP owned by third parties who wouldn't allow a release anyway.

The law is what the people say it is. As the previous generation that created this system dies their successors can repeal eternal copyright laws and institute consumer protections again. e.g. we can demand source escrow to receive copyright (with a short grace period for current copyright holders to register/set up escrow), drastically shorten the period, demand copyrighted material continue to be made available or…

I wish them luck. I won’t hold my breath.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#82

Post by zf00002 »

augusto-moura wrote: post #59
zeroq wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The discs have been a formality for longer than most gamers understand or want to admit. Sony is discontinuing disc sales as a response to how gamers are buying games not the other way around. On the contrary. It's been a very long process of boiling the frog. I bought a physical release of Spore in 2008 and the game allowed itself to be installed a couple of times. Few years later I bought a single player RPG game…

Steam's policy is that an already published game can only be delisted, allowing old owners to still play the game. I still own the original versions of Skyrim (before Anniversary edition, definitive edition, and all other *ditions), and I can still download it and play it, even though that version is not available for purchase in the store anymore. Xbox and PSN don't have such luxuries AFAIK, after a game is removed…

Steams policy means that Marvel Heroes, a game that was shutdown and its developer closed, can still be downloaded by prior owners and used on the private servers.

Kind of interesting but I also had a game on GOG that got delisted and had to get a refund because it got removed.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#83

Post by Groxx »

MBCook wrote: post #13

Discs don’t matter. The whole “bring back discs” thing is pointless. They’re gone. Period. Rights matter. If we had the same rights with digital purchases we had with old physical games the disc thing would be a much much smaller issue. Would many care outside true collectors? Don’t confuse the two. If you do, and you complain loudly enough, you’ll get the monkey’s paw version of discs. All the downsides of both, no…

It's a proof of purchase that can be transferred without approval by (or knowledge of) the original seller. There is literally no equivalent possible with digital sales, unless you accept flawless, pervasive DRM everywhere.

It doesn't have to be a disc. It almost certainly does need to be physical.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#84

Post by krzyk »

sudobash1 wrote: post #24
MBCook wrote: post #13

Discs don’t matter. The whole “bring back discs” thing is pointless. They’re gone. Period. Rights matter. If we had the same rights with digital purchases we had with old physical games the disc thing would be a much much smaller issue. Would many care outside true collectors? Don’t confuse the two. If you do, and you complain loudly enough, you’ll get the monkey’s paw version of discs. All the downsides of both, no…

Discs do matter in one way. I don't think I have ever seen a digital "purchase" of any significance which I could resell or gift at a later time. Some "in game" things are resellable, but only within the game's ecosystem. All digital games, music, movies, ebooks, audio books, etc are not (AFAIK). So if I get tired of my DVD movie collection, I could sell it or give it to my kids. If I ever decide I'm too old for the…

Spore had that feature that allowed max 3 installs from disc.

So disc or not doesn't really matter.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#86

Post by Barrin92 »

scared_together wrote: post #18
Barrin92 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discs matter because centralized digital distribution is what is eroding your rights . The medium's the message. It's the malleability and ephemerality of digital content that has enabled not just restricting people's rights, but destroying the authenticity of media by arbitrarily replacing its content. The reason Amazon could delete 1984 from your Kindle, is its digital nature. Nobody, except you, can delete a book…

Have you read the article? > For years now, the testers at DoesItPlay have been documenting this trend, testing thousands of physical game releases to see which ones live up to the promise of full “plug and play” functionality without an Internet connection. Thus far, a full 27 percent of the physical releases they’ve tested require some sort of download to fix game-breaking bugs or obtain core game content that is n…

yes but that's exactly my point, if all you get is a code in a box and you rely on online services to download the game that's the dependence you need to get away from.

That example is my case for full, offline, physical copies of a piece of media I can plug and play into my console without an internet connection.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#87

Post by firefax »

CoolestBeans wrote: post #31

The discs have been a formality for longer than most gamers understand or want to admit. Sony is discontinuing disc sales as a response to how gamers are buying games not the other way around. So it's an irrational response but an understandable emotional response. It's a final marker of an era that realistically ended more than a decade ago. That video games are not an island: an enclosed experience of just you, the…

>The discs have been a formality for longer than most gamers understand or want to admit Sony is discontinuing disc sales as a response to how gamers are buying games not the other way around.

I can see where you're coming from, but having recently replayed my childhood copy of MGS, all I can say is don't ask me for Meryl's codec number.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#88

Post by krzyk »

j1elo wrote: post #41

I don't understand how we are running into a future where I cannot buy the equivalent of "PS2 + 5 games" on a second-hand shop. That has been the main way to play games for a lot of people: buy a previous gen pack (with N games included) when the richer neighbour was upgrading to the next gen console. How's that going to work out today or in newer generations?

Old games have big sales, 90% range.

Well at least steam ones.

Re: Just because a game is on disc doesn't mean it will work in the future

#89

Post by Rapzid »

boesboes wrote: post #75

jezus fucking christ, stop defending the fucking corporation sucking everything dry you will own nothing and enjoy it

Stop discounting consumer choice. The market had physical/digital library parity for about 10+ years. PC first and now we are at the end of the decade of console digital choice and.. The market has spoken.
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