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Digital storefronts are a dictatorship

angrod14

Member
- The games you purchase with your hard-earned money aren't yours, but theirs.

- Your account isn't yours, but theirs. They just allow you to use it.

- Your games are tied to your their account. Can't resell, trade-in, transfer.

- Your trophies are tied to your their account.

- Your save data is tied to your their account.

- You are able to play your their games just because they let you, for as long as they want. And you pay them for that.

- Text something they don't like? Get banned.

- Say something they don't like? Get banned.

- Share something they don't like? Get banned.

Fuck this. REBEL. Buy physical. Trade in. Sell. Buy used. Troll everyone in MP. Be a free bitch, baby.

You're entitled to the things you buy. And no one but you, or your fate, should decide how long to play a game.

I went all digital long ago. Can't beat the convinience. But all of this makes me kinda sad sometimes. Perhaps someday I'll go back to physical. Anyways, we need more consumer protections.
 

mansoor1980

Member
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
- Your account isn't yours, but theirs. They just allow you to use it.
- Your trophies are tied to your their account.
- Your save data is tied to your their account.
- Text something they don't like? Get banned.
- Say something they don't like? Get banned.
- Share something they don't like? Get banned.

All this is applicable to physical games as well tho, it's not just a digital storefront issue.

It's more of an issue of having / needing a profile where everything is consolidated.
 

unlurkified

Member
All this is applicable to physical games as well tho, it's not just a digital storefront issue.

It's more of an issue of having / needing a profile where everything is consolidated.
But with physical, you don’t lose access to your purchases when you lose access to your account for whatever reason. There’s always the option of just creating a new account and reinstalling from disc.

Also OP, lol at the spoiler. You gotta put your money where your mouth is.
 
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angrod14

Member
Just don't choose a ecosystem that doesn't respect you, as the customer.
This is pretty much my approach. I was really scared of PSN before because of the terms but, in practice, I've been always treated with respect and never had any sort of issues.

It's just bad bussiness for anyone to not cherish a paying costumer.
 

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
Eh I've been on Steam for nearly 2 decades. No issues from me. Just don't choose a ecosystem that doesn't respect you, as the customer.
The amount of time you've spent with a front end doesn't mean any of the points are untrue. You seem to have fooled yourself into thinking they are though

I guess they've won on their end. They've even got you sticking up for it

I'd call that a win win.
 

geary

Member
What with the new trend where words have lost their meaning. OP, do you actually know the meaning of the word dictatorship?
 

Denton

Member
literally shaking rn

OP, google what DRM-free means and buy only that if you don't want to live under dictatorship
 
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King Dazzar

Member
- The games you purchase with your hard-earned money aren't yours, but theirs.

- Your account isn't yours, but theirs. They just allow you to use it.

- Your games are tied to your their account. Can't resell, trade-in, transfer.

- Your trophies are tied to your their account.

- Your save data is tied to your their account.

- You are able to play your their games just because they let you, for as long as they want. And you pay them for that.

- Text something they don't like? Get banned.

- Say something they don't like? Get banned.

- Share something they don't like? Get banned.

Fuck this. REBEL. Buy physical. Trade in. Sell. Buy used. Troll everyone in MP. Be a free bitch, baby.

You're entitled to the things you buy. And no one but you, or your fate, should decide how long to play a game.

I went all digital long ago. Can't beat the convinience. But all of this makes me kinda sad sometimes. Perhaps someday I'll go back to physical. Anyways, we need more consumer protections.
All great points, but I aint swapping no discs for no one. He says as he looks at his 500+ disc 4k blu-ray collection. We're all a bit weird when we come to our libraries....
 
- The games you purchase with your hard-earned money aren't yours, but theirs.

- Your account isn't yours, but theirs. They just allow you to use it.

- Your games are tied to your their account. Can't resell, trade-in, transfer.

- Your trophies are tied to your their account.

- Your save data is tied to your their account.

- You are able to play your their games just because they let you, for as long as they want. And you pay them for that.

- Text something they don't like? Get banned.

- Say something they don't like? Get banned.

- Share something they don't like? Get banned.

Fuck this. REBEL. Buy physical. Trade in. Sell. Buy used. Troll everyone in MP. Be a free bitch, baby.

You're entitled to the things you buy. And no one but you, or your fate, should decide how long to play a game.

I went all digital long ago. Can't beat the convinience. But all of this makes me kinda sad sometimes. Perhaps someday I'll go back to physical. Anyways, we need more consumer protections.
As a PC gamer, a store digital client doesn’t even make sense to me at all. I was expecting PC games to transition from physical games back then to just downloading games from a developer web page; Today I’m forced to deal with invasive PC clients collecting metrics on me when I want to play my games and an overall forced user experience that is integrated with my games, that is absolutely terrible.
 

King Dazzar

Member
I have around 40 and it kinda feels like a burden sometimes. They fill an entire cabinet. Can't imagine what it would feel like having 500, LOL.
Big walls! Nah, its not too bad. Quality is superior and streaming's all fragmented these days, so just has to be....
 

TrebleShot

Member
There is a way to really own your games if you sail the seven seas.

But I’m a steam bitch and have fallen in line to accept my over lord Gabe
 

Guilty_AI

Gold Member
Fixing a few things, assuming this is PC digital stores.
- The games you purchase with your hard-earned money aren't yours sometimes.

- Your games are tied to their account. Can't resell, trade-in, transfer, but you can back them up assuming no DRM.

- Your save data is tied to your their account. (vast majority of games save locally)

- You are able to play your their games just because they let you, for as long as they want. And you pay them for that. (Again, depends on the game)

- Text something they don't like? Get banned.
- Say something they don't like? Get banned.
- Share something they don't like? Get banned.
(Yup, those are probably the biggest bullshit that can happen to players in those places.)

Fuck this. REBEL. Buy physical. Trade in. Sell. Buy used. Troll everyone in MP. Be a free bitch, baby.

You're entitled to the things you buy. And no one but you, or your fate, should decide how long to play a game.
As i always say, the problem isn't digital x physical, its DRM. Whatever you buy on GOG for example will remain yours as long as you have a backup copy of it. You can't trade it (with the blessing of the law at least) but you can back them up, latest version with all patches and DLC included, which is actually a step above physical in terms of ownership.
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
Going with physical as much as I can, both for movies and games, but lately I've been pivoting more towards digital. It's convenient and sales can often be good, at least for old games. I mainly use PSN so it feels rather safe considering Sony being such a big player in the industry. But it's going to be interesting to see what happens to your library if/when they go bankrupt/change business model/stop producing consoles.
 

hinch7

Member
This is pretty much my approach. I was really scared of PSN before because of the terms but, in practice, I've been always treated with respect and never had any sort of issues.

It's just bad bussiness for anyone to not cherish a paying costumer.
My issue being certain storefronts (mainly consoles) for a certain platform being supported only for finite amount of time before being closed. Nintendo are notorious for this and you have games either locked to legacy platforms, or re-released on current ones. Which isn't really consumer friendly. But yeah.. though I haven't been banned personally, its BS that your account can be. PSN has been pretty decent. Didn't like the price hikes, but the service itself has been okay.

The amount of time you've spent with a front end doesn't mean any of the points are untrue. You seem to have fooled yourself into thinking they are though

I guess they've won on their end. They've even got you sticking up for it

I'd call that a win win.
Physical media for games on PC died a long time ago. Not sure how I'm 'sticking up for it'. I'm sure publishers will find a way to intergrate DRM in their games either way; from Valves inception with Steam.

Better deal with one decent front end than several shitty ones. I've tried most of them and there are some god-awful ones.
 
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angrod14

Member
Fixing a few things, assuming this is PC digital stores.



As i always say, the problem isn't digital x physical, its DRM. Whatever you buy on GOG for example will remain yours as long as you have a backup copy of it. You can't trade it (with the blessing of the law at least) but you can back them up, latest version with all patches and DLC included, which is actually a step above physical in terms of ownership.
DRM-free digital would be a godsend. Perfect solution. Even environmentally speaking.
 

angrod14

Member
I'm not even sure the air we breathe is ours.
Well, according to the stoics, we don't really own anything, because we don't really control the outcome/fate of anything xD. I may legally "own" my car, but I can go out right now and get T-boned by an asshole. Bye bye car. My apartment can crumble or get lost in a fire. I can die at any moment.
 

Skifi28

Member
Well, according to the stoics, we don't really own anything, because we don't really control the outcome/fate of anything xD. I may legally "own" my car, but I can go out right now and get T-boned by an asshole. Bye bye car. My apartment can crumble or get lost in a fire. I can die at any moment.
I also try to worry about every little thing I can't control. It feels great, a life worth living I would recommend to anyone.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
guys, i have a really crazy idea on how to solve this.

what if, company release the full data of the game we bought after like....5 years, for us to backup the full game data including updates in our external harddrives for game preservation? that would be cool.
 

StereoVsn

Member
Well I'm a big advocate for physical media, but if that's not an option then at least get your digital games from stores like GoG since they're DRM free and you can do whatever the fuck you want with them.
For newer games, I sometimes would get them on Steam and if they do have DRM (Steam doesn't require DRM contrary to popular opinion), I'll come back later and grab the game on GOG once the patches come through. A lot of times games will get patched late or sometimes not at all on GoG side unfortunately.
 

StereoVsn

Member
guys, i have a really crazy idea on how to solve this.

what if, company release the full data of the game we bought after like....5 years, for us to backup the full game data including updates in our external harddrives for game preservation? that would be cool.
It's called Good Old Games, but unfortunately far from every game is on the storefront.
 
Oh boy, you have no idea what Nintendo was like back when they were the King of Gaming. They INVENTED region-locking. And thus they were the last to abandon it. Nintendo did many things right, but that is one evil I would never forget.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
And so are the subscription services. Especially so. They decide what you'll be playing while still paying, and for how long and when. Then they pat you on the back on your way out without a parting gift.

Dystopia.
I know. They literally force you to subscribe at gunpoint, too.
 

nkarafo

Member
But, but.... muh digital future! I thought it was for muh benefit! :

"Games's won't need an optical disc or box so they will be cheaper"

"You will be able to buy games from the comfort of your couch"

"You will have more room on your shelf!"

"Changing games is as easy as a button press!, So convenient"


Yeah, this is how they sold it to you and you bought it. They told you it's for your own benefit and convenience and you believed them.

Oh, and that's not even the final form. The "digital future" will become the "Streaming future" soon enough. That's their end game. Because now you do have access to the game files since you are installing them on your local hardware. This way you can at least hack/mod/crack those files somehow to ensure access to your stuff, in 99% of games. With streaming there would be no files in your possession at all for you to have any chance manipulating.

And how are they going to sell you this future? With the good old "convenience for you" marketing trick of course:

"You won't need an expensive hardware!"

"No more installing and waiting! Just pick and play! Gaming will be easier than ever!"


And you will buy it that too. And you will like it.
 

nkarafo

Member
I may legally "own" my car, but I can go out right now and get T-boned by an asshole. Bye bye car. My apartment can crumble or get lost in a fire. I can die at any moment.
You can sell your car before someone T-bones it.

You are mostly at control of your possessions while you are alive. Even upon death you still have some control over your stuff, like deciding where it goes and who will get it.


I'll probably be dead way before I know what happens to my digital purchases. It's reassuring, in a way
People who bought The Crew are dead?

But you are right my brother. Let the almighty retail companies who are omnipresent and immortal take all our meaningless stuff and let them have control over it. Let's pray and worship them and love them. Maybe they will bless us and love us back and let us enjoy the earthly things and human pleasures. Follow their rules and they will let you otherwise they will judge you and use the ban hammer upon you. And if one day a holy server is shutdown forever without warning, don't fret. The Lord giveth and taketh away.
 
All this is applicable to physical games as well tho, it's not just a digital storefront issue.

It's more of an issue of having / needing a profile where everything is consolidated.

As soon as things started needing internet authentication and all that, it has basically all been the same. Other than the fact that you can sell/transfer some boxed software after use, depending on how the keys work.
 
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