The ps3 shutdown really does showcase one of the dangers of the digital only future

[AnimaRize]

And the impermanence of it, and how really you don't truly own the games you purchase digitally. It's something that we keep getting reports on how ToS's have clauses that state the can revoke access to media you bought at anytime for any reason. Be it you were account banned because your account owns the items you don't or things like a store shut down restricting access to items you purchased.

As time goes on more and more of these stories to continue to come out more and more people lose access to items They thought would be theirs forever. Sadly we are beginning to learn that this isn't the case. And it isn't just games that have this problem. Movies, tv shows, music, books all of them have this issue as well.

Digital media is the future but thanks to how ToS's are worded it is also making digital media a long term temporary ownership

 

[Rowsdower]

I have games on that have been delisted, and you can't redownload them, but because they're on my console/PC, I still own it and can play it. They haven't been taken away. The games/movies/songs you bought digitally are still on your device; why would they be taken away?

Is this about the CMOS clock/authentication issue? Hopefully Sony can figure out something in the future, or keep the authentication servers up somehow; I think this is unique to the PS3/PS4 though. My friend has had his 360 offline for years, and he can still play his downloaded games with no issue.

The account banning is bullshit, that is a legitimate complaint that a company can revoke access because you broke the rules.

 

[HylianMaster2020]

This is what happens when you have a console supported for 10 years I like digital best way to game don't have to leave the couch to insert a disk and that's important.

 

[Rental]

I'll continue purchasing digital. I much prefer not having discs taking up space.

 

[thediamondage]

Not really, any game you bought on PS3 will still be downloadable. You just won't be able to buy any new ones. The chances of disc/cart damage, system hardware damage, etc imo are far more likely to make you unable to play older games than having digital access.

As someone who doesn't collect stuff it doesn't all matter to me, and I understand the nostalgia for people who do, but really for games you cherish the route is always there to own a gaming PC and run older games in emulation mode forever. And emulators get better and better every year, I have to assume entire generations of games are perfectly emulated now although honestly I don't know anything about it so could be completely wrong.

 

[Joco]

Nothing lasts forever. Even physical games will eventually become unplayable due to disc rot or hardware failure. It's best to enjoy the experiences but not become too attached to ownership.

If that doesn't satisfy you I'd look into emulation.

 

[Speevy]

Having played games for over 30 years, I realize that for people who don't keep older hardware/software in working condition, nothing is permanent.

I owned dozens of NES games, Mom got rid of them.
Dozens of SNES games, same.
About 15 N64 games, got rid of them when I went to college.
Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, DS stuff? Sold hardware and software to Gamestop, ebay, craigslist.

Now you might call me stupid or shortsighted, but I'd imagine that for most people, the experiences are just as fleeting.

Gaming in general is more about the memories of where you were in your life at the time. I look back on my favorite games but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay gets cloudier with each passing year.

 

[TeHi & BuSp]

Another thread??? stop blaming...we have understand for god sake

 

[Hippopuncher12]

PC is the only platform I would ever fully trust to buy digital as my primary buying option to be honest.

 

[lilty]

Personally don't see the issue when the download list will still be available after the store closure. My games are still going to be available to me, I just can't purchase new ones. That's definitely a bummer but it's not the end of the world.

 

[Izzard]

Been that way forever. When SWG (PC) closed down I lost years of work on my characters, houses, ships, everything. It disappeared in a second.

 

[adj_noun]

Long-term temporary ownership is a synonym for life, maaaaan

*inhales*

 

[Mivey]

For consoles, sure.
You don't see Steam just dropping old games from their servers after 10 years if no one has been downloading them for some time, or whatever. There's PS2 era games still on there for anyone to buy and download.

 

[Deleted member 91227]

For me it's just something I was fully aware of and just don't care as it's largely moot for me as someone who very, very replays something barring it being years later and getting a full remake/remaster that makes me want to experience it again with the better graphics and other changes.

It's not good for game preservation, and perhaps people should be given an option to back up their digital games on another drive when stores shut down so they're not screwed if the device they have the games on dies (or they don't have enough storage space to download them all). So I get those concerns. But it doesn't shy me away from digital as someone who just doesn't care about owning my media as I so rarely revisit things. I quit buying music and movies ages ago as I realized we were almost never watching any of the few hundred DVDs/BRs we own (they all went in binders and got stuck in a closet with the cases and inserts recycles aside from a select 20 or so that do get rewatched sometimes like Star Wars, LOTR etc.) or listened to music we owned vs. using Spotify. Media is just pretty disposable, with most things being one and done. Albums less so, but neither of us sit and actively listen to music anymore. It's just background noise while exercising, driving, cooking etc.

 

[Wrexis]

The reason the PS5 has overwhelming backwards compatibility with PS4 is because they learned their lesson from the PS3.
It sucks for PS3 games, it really does, but I don't see this being repeated.

 

[BasilZero]

A physical only future only leads to disc rot (dead battery on cartridges)/data corruption/dead console

Besides, once the servers die/close out completely - you wont be able to install patches for games regardless of whether you buy physical or digital.

Nothing lasts forever in other words.

 

[Arthands]

Let's not make a blanket statement here. You can always buy on GOG for drm-free games, or on Steam whose sole business and reputation revolves around digital games.

 

[Kivvi]

I have games on that have been delisted, and you can't redownload them, but because they're on my console/PC, I still own it and can play it. They haven't been taken away. The games/movies/songs you bought digitally are still on your device; why would they be taken away?

Is this about the CMOS clock/authentication issue? Hopefully Sony can figure out something in the future, or keep the authentication servers up somehow; I think this is unique to the PS3/PS4 though. My friend has had his 360 offline for years, and he can still play his downloaded games with no issue.

The account banning is bullshit, that is a legitimate complaint that a company can revoke access because you broke the rules.

Click to shrink...

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it. Sony needs to comment on it soon, otherwise buying digital games on the ps3 is futile.

 

[Dyle]

These perils of the digital only future threads feel like they're turning into a meme

 

[Valcrist]

For consoles, sure.
You don't see Steam just dropping old games from their servers after 10 years if no one has been downloading them for some time, or whatever. There's PS2 era games still on there for anyone to buy and download.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

These perils of the digital only future threads feel like they're turning into a meme

Click to shrink...

And yet Scott Pilgrim going getting pulled reduced a ton of people who didn't purchase the game on time to begging for Ubisoft to re-release the game for several years because they couldn't purchase it.

 

[Decarb]

It is still one step above renting games on a subscription where you truly own nothing. Plus you haven't really lost your purchases, just the ability to buy new stuff.

 

[Speevy]

The reason the PS5 has overwhelming backwards compatibility with PS4 is because they learned their lesson from the PS3.
It sucks for PS3 games, it really does, but I don't see this being repeated.

Click to shrink...

I think it's more to do with the fact that 99% of games right now are from last generation, some with more upgrades than others.

If for example the PS4 had completely bottomed out in hardware/software sales and people were just not interested in it at the time of the PS5 launch, I think you'd see a very specific delineation between the two machines, with one not needing to play the other's games.

 

[AnimaRize]

I have games on that have been delisted, and you can't redownload them, but because they're on my console/PC, I still own it and can play it. They haven't been taken away. The games/movies/songs you bought digitally are still on your device; why would they be taken away?

Is this about the CMOS clock/authentication issue? Hopefully Sony can figure out something in the future, or keep the authentication servers up somehow; I think this is unique to the PS3/PS4 though. My friend has had his 360 offline for years, and he can still play his downloaded games with no issue.

The account banning is bullshit, that is a legitimate complaint that a company can revoke access because you broke the rules.

Click to shrink...

consoles pc's don't have unlimited space, one day you accidently delete a delisted game it's now gone forever, and honestly that happens when you can't even play stuff you have downloaded, this has happened to me multiple times with my music from amazon, songs i know i own i bought maybe 2 months back, I have called them multiple times to get that fixed to tell them i am never buying amazon music unlimited which is where that music is now apparently locked behind. It still happens it is never going to end

 

[Speevy]

I want Shadow Hearts Covenant. Why will no one port this?

 

[TsuWave]

Digital >

convenience means more to me than holding onto games for a console that came out damn near two decades ago.

 

[Mr. Mug]

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

Click to shrink...

To be fair the OP is mostly about how you don't really own digital games and could lose access to them. As far as I know you can still very much download and play the last renmant (and transformers too, I own it on steam myself) if you bought it before it was delisted.

Not being able to purchase them anymore is an issue but not addressed in the OP.

 

[Rosebud]

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

Click to shrink...

Can't buy them, but I own Transformers Devastation digitally and it's fine on my library.

 

[AnimaRize]

The reason the PS5 has overwhelming backwards compatibility with PS4 is because they learned their lesson from the PS3.
It sucks for PS3 games, it really does, but I don't see this being repeated.

Click to shrink...

amazon repeats it don't see why sony won't, besides people forget this has happened to the wii store this isn't the first time this has happened

 

[Wrexis]

If for example the PS4 had completely bottomed out in hardware/software sales and people were just not interested in it at the time of the PS5 launch, I think you'd see a very specific delineation between the two machines, with one not needing to play the other's games.

Click to shrink...

Both machines are x86 and there's a specific backwards compatibility mode for PS4 in PS5. It wasn't a last minute decision.
Not to mention the fact that the same architect (Cerny) was involved in both consoles.

 

[Valcrist]

To be fair the OP is mostly about how you don't really own digital games and could lose access to them. As far as I know you can still very much download and play the last renmant (and transformers too, I own it on steam myself) if you bought it before it was delisted.

Not being able to purchase them anymore is an issue but not addressed in the OP.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. There are a ton of games I haven't gotten around to buying that are old as hell. I still plan on playing them someday, but when I already have so much on my plate... why should I have to worry about missing out later due to some licensing issue or something along those lines?

 

[RROCKMAN]

Is this about the CMOS clock/authentication issue? Hopefully Sony can figure out something in the future, or keep the authentication servers up somehow

Click to shrink...

Prior to this whole debacle I would though this was the case


Now though? Definitely not. They've definitely made it clear they don't care one way or the other.

 

[Iron Eddie]

Consoles go through so many hardware changes, makes sense why PC is the ultimate place for digital.

 

[Mivey]

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

Click to shrink...

On my Steam account is where it is. And that you can't buy them is not up to Steam at all. If Square is so harebrained that they remove that game without releasing any remaster or whatever, then it's their fault. Same holds for licensed games.
Anything anyone has ever bought on Steam, they can download to this day. That's been true in 2003, and it's true today. It's that track record which makes me trust Steam more than any other fleeting effort of the usual publishers, be they Microsoft, Epic Games, or whatever.

And honestly, people should give Sony more crap for shutting down the servers instead of keeping it alive as long as any functioning PS3 or Vita is around. Given their need for extensive server clusters, I doubt this move is saving them that much money.

 

[rubidium]

I think it goes to all games which requires patch to become final state..

 

[dose]

Yes games are still available to download *at the moment*, but this is one step away from not being able to redownload the games you've paid for. PS mobile games anyone? They're no longer available now, which is bullshit.

 

[Mass Effect]

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

Click to shrink...

That's a Square and Activision problem, not a Steam one. Can't buy Transformers digitally on any platform anymore.

And you're on PC. Those games are still available you know...

 

[Thrill_house]

The only place your digital good are really yours for keeps is pc. MS has been getting really good about preserving their old stuff but time will tell. I hate that I can't access my ps classics and stuff I bought on my ps3. Oh well, fool me once and all.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

Oh yeah? Where is The Last Remnant and Transformers Devastation? Let me know if you can buy them.

Click to shrink...

Owned TLR since forever and still can easily download it if I want to. Also, both games were delisted by publishers, not Steam, you still can buy stuff from 2005 on Steam.

 

[Mr. Mug]

Yeah. There are a ton of games I haven't gotten around to buying that are old as hell. I still plan on playing them someday, but when I already have so much on my plate... why should I have to worry about missing out later due to some licensing issue or something along those lines?

Click to shrink...

Yeah that's fair. Just saying they did address the problems raised in the OP by suggesting steam/PC. Not being able to buy them is definitely also an issue but also to a slightly lesser extent as I believe steam keys still work for those games too (but I bet they're expensive).

 

[Valcrist]

Owned TLR since forever and still can easily download it if I want to. Also, both games were delisted by publishers, not Steam, you still can buy stuff from 2005 on Steam.

Click to shrink...

Doesn't matter, they're still gone. Digital only in this thread only seems to matter for people who buy games immediately. All the responses were "well, I got mine". Yeah, but you can't get yours now if it's gone before you can buy it.

I'm just saying that physical games give you that opportunity to grab them if need be.

 

[Batatina]

I understand this matters to some people. But to give you my perspective I have no interest in playing PS3 games and thus I really don't mind at all. If I had then physical I would have traded them in a long time ago.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

Doesn't matter, they're still gone. Digital only in this thread only seems to matter for people who buy games immediately. All the responses were "well, I got mine". Yeah, but you can't get yours now.

Click to shrink...

You really don't see the difference between Sony shutting down servers and pubs delisting games?

 

[Deleted member 3208]

Doesn't matter, they're still gone. Digital only in this thread only seems to matter for people who buy games immediately. All the responses were "well, I got mine". Yeah, but you can't get yours now if it's gone before you can buy it.

Click to shrink...

It seems you can still get The Last Remnant Steam key through the EU Square Enix Store

Square Enix Store | United Kingdom

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Let's not make a blanket statement here. You can always buy on GOG for drm-free games, or on Steam whose sole business and reputation revolves around digital games.

Click to shrink...

Well to be fair, as unlikely as it is, if those services shut down you'd be up shit creak

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

I think the PS3 is highlighting a danger that has always existed with digital but it's only because there's the realisation that some of that content only exists in that form.

I honestly don't see why they can't keep a store front open if the game are there for redownload anyway.

We're in a very, very disposable media world right now. The fact people are surprised companies don't care about legacy platforms in a world where for less than £20 you can basically have unlimited television content to gorge each month surprises me more.

 

[Rosebud]

Doesn't matter, they're still gone. Digital only in this thread only seems to matter for people who buy games immediately. All the responses were "well, I got mine". Yeah, but you can't get yours now if it's gone before you can buy it.

I'm just saying that physical games give you that opportunity to grab them if need be.

Click to shrink...

What matters is that the money you spend is not wasted.

It sucks that games aren't available forever, but there's no way around licensing.

Well to be fair, as unlikely as it is, if those services shut down you'd be up shit creak

Click to shrink...

DRM free games don't need a service to run (all GOG games, and many Steam games are DRM free)

 

[Valcrist]

You really don't see the difference between Sony shutting down servers and pubs delisting games?

Click to shrink...

I'm not trying to compare them. My issue is with "digital only" as a whole.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

And the impermanence of it, and how really you don't truly own the games you purchase digitally. It's something that we keep getting reports on how ToS's have clauses that state the can revoke access to media you bought at anytime for any reason. Be it you were account banned because your account owns the items you don't or things like a store shut down restricting access to items you purchased.

As time goes on more and more of these stories to continue to come out more and more people lose access to items They thought would be theirs forever. Sadly we are beginning to learn that this isn't the case. And it isn't just games that have this problem. Movies, tv shows, music, books all of them have this issue as well.

Digital media is the future but thanks to how ToS's are worded it is also making digital media a long term temporary ownership

Click to shrink...

Completely agree OP, it's a sad state of affairs outwith the other advantages digital distribution brings for consumers. The days of physical are clearly numbered and with it you don't truly own anything and long term permanence of your purchases is theoretically in doubt

DRM free games don't need a service to run (all GOG games, and many Steam games are DRM free)

Click to shrink...

Indeed true but it'd require a shit load of backups that you must then manage

 

[Rosenkrantz]

I'm not trying to compare them. My issue is with "digital only" as a whole.

Click to shrink...

Well, your disks can become unreadable and pubs ain't gonna press them till the end of time either. I don't see any significant differences between physical and digital in that regard.

 

[Ryu]

I have games on that have been delisted, and you can't redownload them, but because they're on my console/PC, I still own it and can play it. They haven't been taken away. The games/movies/songs you bought digitally are still on your device; why would they be taken away?

Is this about the CMOS clock/authentication issue? Hopefully Sony can figure out something in the future, or keep the authentication servers up somehow; I think this is unique to the PS3/PS4 though. My friend has had his 360 offline for years, and he can still play his downloaded games with no issue.

The account banning is bullshit, that is a legitimate complaint that a company can revoke access because you broke the rules.

Click to shrink...

This. Also the "but what if my console breaks" doesn't count. If your physical games break, they're gone too. Keep care and there's literally no difference aside from not having to care for your plastic packaging that sucks anyway.