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[Fahdis]

After the TMNT Steam delisting in Japan. Here are games you need to buy digitally before you lose them forever in a generalized topic.

Licensed Products: Unless its coming from the source Publisher, let's say Warner Brothers and another studio creates the game. Product will be delisted. Batman from WB Games won't be delisted. Or Naruto from Bandai Namco since they OWN the IP. TMNT Games since not made by Nickelodeon will be due to Licensing. This rule is not always applicable for example the same team Digital Eclipse made Mega Man Collection.

Timeframe: Usually Short.

Publisher Owned IP with Guest Characters/Product: Expect any fighting game with an Ultimate edition to get shafted at some point due to a guest characters licensing agreement. Or a cross over. MK9 comes to mind. Unless that character is just DLC. Marvel games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance disappeared due to the use of Spiderman license... until the next renewal.

Timeframe: No idea.

Car/Jetfighter Games with actual Developers: This is the most normal delisting of them all. The Crew. Dirt. Forza. Ace Combat etc.

Timeframe: 5-7 Years.

Official OST related Delisting: Yea, this one is the weirdest. Usually game is re-released with cut licensed songs. GTA games come to mind.

Timeframe: No idea.

Sports Games: These suck. Inevitable.

Timefram: 3-5 Years.

Feel free to add some more stipulations and corrections. Thought I'd help out some of you.

 

[Guilty_AI]

or you can just browse the web for some "cool alternatives" after they've been delisted.

I certainly haven't played GTA with the butchered OST, i will tell you that.

 

[Punished Miku]

Ubisoft is the main one to watch. They've delisted some absolute classics.

 

[Fahdis]

Ubisoft is the main one to watch. They've delisted some absolute classics.

Even EA seems better than Ubisoft these days. And thats actually a compliment.

 

[Punished Miku]

Even EA seems better than Ubisoft these days. And thats actually a compliment.

Yeah, they even delisted some of the OG Splinter Cell games, and Prince of Persia 2008. Core games. I expect they'll be the 1st to try and copy Nintendo and put legacy content exclusive on their sub.

 

[theStartupSound]

I don’t get these kind of licensing deals. What does the license giver lose, when a 10 year old game, 10 people buying a year (at that time) has something in it with their license.
Just give them a lifetime license for that specific game for 10% more.

 

[Eimran]

Waiting here for the guy who's always in these kinds of threads defending it: who cares, they're old games.

 

[Team Andromeda]

I remember when Fantasia was taken down from the Mega Drive mere months after it was on sale and all stock had to be destroyed.
Its nothing new and for the ones who can't remember do a Google for a bit of irony

 

[RoboFu]

Waiting here for the guy who's always in these kinds of threads defending it: who cares, they're old games.

That's me! Nice to know I'm memorable.

But you guys keep saying " loses ". if you already bought then you lost nothing. Unless it's an online only game in which cases everyone loses even physical.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

This is why I always buy physical copies on console, and my Steam library is extremely small. Even if the game is "better" on PC, I buy it on console. I use Steam for "PC games" like Civilization.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Digital games has that risk of being delisted, that's the advantage to physical games.

 

[Porcile]

It's an absolute inevitability that all these stores will meet their end at some point.

 

[saintjules]

6:30

 

[March Climber]

It's an absolute inevitability that all these stores will meet their end at some point.

Within who’s lifetime?

 

[Porcile]

Within who’s lifetime?

Yours and mine. Easily.

 

[bender]

Yours and mine. Easily.

The sooner the better. Get on that, human.

 

[Sentenza]

It's an absolute inevitability that all these stores will meet their end at some point.

By the time it will happen, it won't mean much anymore.
I had physical copies of games bought after I started a Steam account that stopped working (or got lost or damaged) YEARS ago, while I'm still far from seeing the death of my Steam account.

And what if 30 years from now I may be forced to download illegally (!!!) copies of games I spent 20 dollars on 10 years ago?

Overall, the rhetoric behind this alarmism about the sanctity of physical copies is a clown show.