PlayStation lawyers have argued that "reasonable" players aren't being deceived by Sony's small print, which says digital game purchases don't grant ownership.
I think the real problem with this is what we’re seeing with software distribution in general. They say, “yes you’re buying a license to the software.” Which in general we have accepted. But at the same time companies get to change the terms of the license at will. And the license is worthless after just a few years as the software becomes defunct.
This is even more pronounced in videogames as once they’re past a certin time if they arent part of a popular catague they just disappear. At least with old games abandonware can be found because the game data is still on old media. In this new ecosystem the publisher can now delete that data off your device whenever they decide that game is abandoned. This includes if the owner of the game hasnt played it in too long. And if you get nostalgic for a classic, “buy it again as part of our subscription service.”
I think the real problem with this is what we’re seeing with software distribution in general. They say, “yes you’re buying a license to the software.” Which in general we have accepted. But at the same time companies get to change the terms of the license at will. And the license is worthless after just a few years as the software becomes defunct.
This is even more pronounced in videogames as once they’re past a certin time if they arent part of a popular catague they just disappear. At least with old games abandonware can be found because the game data is still on old media. In this new ecosystem the publisher can now delete that data off your device whenever they decide that game is abandoned. This includes if the owner of the game hasnt played it in too long. And if you get nostalgic for a classic, “buy it again as part of our subscription service.”