this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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you've never purchased anything digitally, from any of these motherfuckers, just rented them for sometimes what turns out to be an extremely long time, and sometimes not. step right up folks, one born ever minute.
At least there's hope that you can buy movies and shows physically so that can get something resembling proper ownership.
The PC games market is properly fucked. Ever since digital distribution took over, even if you buy a physical game, it's just a fucking digital code (i.e. a rental).
I still think it was a bit stupid that consumers all jumped aboard the digital distribution train without demanding a less stupid system first.
Digital games are a bit different, since you're actually downloading the game files. Games can always be modded to remove DRM, or the systems they run on can be modded. See the 3DS as a good example of the latter.
The best equivalent is game streaming. You never have the game's data in your possession, and a game can be pulled off the platform at any time. Even then though, you're usually paying for the service, not individual games.
Not every game has been cracked, though, so you can't always remove the DRM.
My point, though, is more about what people want to buy. The games industry could've made digital games more resemble "real" ownership, where you could give the games to your kids, etc. Instead, we got games that aren't legally transferable at all, and we decided that piracy groups should be instrumental to preservation. It just feels ridiculous. Would this system actually be any consumer's top choice?