4 ms·

I thought the intent was, "We should make the service trustworthy enough that customers are comfortable not owning things" e.g. Lots of gamers trust Steam. I d

I thought the intent was, "We should make the service trustworthy enough that customers are comfortable not owning things" e.g. Lots of gamers trust Steam. I don't hear of high-profile games going missing from Steam. And unlike a console or streamed game, at least you can back it up and try to crack the DRM in the future. Can't say that about basically any video platform.

incrudible 3y ago
In this case you actually did get a physical copy, the digital one was just a bonus. Nothing stopped you from selling the physical copy and keeping the digital one either.
wlesieutre 3y ago
Generally when a game goes missing from Steam you can still play it, they just stop selling new copies due to licensing agreements on things like music expiring. But The Crew is making news recently for planning to pull the plug on their servers. This will also kill its single-player components because Ubisoft are dicks who made the single-player still require servers. https://www.ign.com/articles/the-crew-delisted-from-all-digital-storefronts-servers-shut-down-early-2024 https://www.ign.com/articles/the-crew-delisted-from-all-digi...
- A4ET8a8uTh0 3y ago
  My household has simple rules: no Ubisoft, no Sony, no Blizz/Activision. It helps that all three have been getting progressively worse over the years.
  - bryondowd 3y ago
    Just out of curiosity, why Sony? Only negative thing I can recall hearing about them is blocking cross play to protect their console lead, which didn't seem too unreasonable to me.
    - wlesieutre 3y ago
      The Funimation shutdown is Sony Going back further, installing a rootkit on to customer computers to prevent ripping audio CDs
    - pixelatedindex 3y ago
      I think there was a Discovery snafu as well? Like if you bought titles from the Discovery Channel on PSN, you don’t have access to those anymore. But I do think Sony should get a pass here. Or you have to blanket ban all digital goods but that seems detrimental. I understand the feeling though, as I too don’t buy anything digital outside of Steam.
      - Hamuko 3y ago
        >Like if you bought titles from the Discovery Channel on PSN, you don’t have access to those anymore. That was cancelled. https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/21/24011168/sony-playstation-discovery-shows-not-removed https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/21/24011168/sony-playstatio...
    - faeriechangling 3y ago
      I know somebody who has been boycotting them since the rootkit scandal
      - breckenedge 3y ago
        That was such a terrible move. For people who don’t know: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_roo...
    - serf 3y ago
      Well, there was the rootkits, the carpet-pull with regards to the PS3 and OS compatibility promises, the lawsuits against geohot, the SWAT raids and lawsuits against graf_chokolo, and now the digital library shit that's going on with Funi just adds to the history.
shantara 3y ago
The games regularly get pulled from Steam by the publishers, usually when a license for some ingame music expires, but the customers who already own the game typically retain the access to it. The latest high profile case was the removal of Spec Ops: The Line just last week. Which is especially troubling, because it’s an important part of the gaming history, and it happened with no warning.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  Wow, wtf. The music industry really is a disease. How can a license to use a song in a game lead to the game not being sold any more. Why would you ever use such a song in a game…
  - fbdab103 3y ago
    Especially for a AAA release, licensing music seems like little to be gained. Music games (eg Rockband), I can understand. People want to play music they know. There are very few musical tie-ins in a video game that seemingly make the difference.
    - jen20 3y ago
      GTA Vice City is one where I can think of where the 80s soundtrack makes the game!
      - ChoGGi 3y ago
        I always found it odd how VC and SA had much more recognizable licensed music, while 4/5 went with less known stuff. Or maybe I'm getting old :)
        Macha 3y ago
        I think it's also why games with licensed vehicles are way stricter on how they're presented now (no damage models, etc.). As the big brands became more away of video games as a big thing, they held closer control and pricing compared to it being "ehhh, whatever" remnant income
jcl 3y ago
I think Ubisoft’s intent was more to make customers comfortable with the idea of paying for short-term or ongoing access to content. Their shutdown of online services and DLC for some of their Steam games a few years ago did not exactly inspire confidence. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-titles-pulled-from-steam-may-lock-out-players-who-bought-them https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-titles-pulled-from-ste...
- ChoGGi 3y ago
  When you think of 90%+ of your (PC) customers as thieves then it's easy to be scummy?
laserbeam 3y ago
Nope. It simply meant "We like owning things and renting them out indefinitely." It has nothing to do with trust.
somat 3y ago
I think a large part of steams success is that they have not messed up... Yet. The other online game marketplaces look at steams success and want their piece of the pie yet forget this critical fact. It takes a long time to trust a company to guard the keys of the digital items you "own". sarcastiquotes because ownership is very weak with these services. Anecdotal evidence.. myself, It took me 5 years of steam behaving itself before I bought anything on it. I am perhaps not a reference customer. I am a bit paranoid, I really dislike this "half" ownership that online purchases grant you, drm makes me nervous. yet still because steam has remained a stalwart reliable service, it has faded into the background, unobtrusive, and most of my games are on it. I still get a bit sick to my stomach when I think what I will lose when, not if, steam management starts "messing up"

incrudible 3y ago

In this case you actually did get a physical copy, the digital one was just a bonus. Nothing stopped you from selling the physical copy and keeping the digital one either.

wlesieutre 3y ago

Generally when a game goes missing from Steam you can still play it, they just stop selling new copies due to licensing agreements on things like music expiring. But The Crew is making news recently for planning to pull the plug on their servers. This will also kill its single-player components because Ubisoft are dicks who made the single-player still require servers. https://www.ign.com/articles/the-crew-delisted-from-all-digital-storefronts-servers-shut-down-early-2024 https://www.ign.com/articles/the-crew-delisted-from-all-digi...

A4ET8a8uTh0 3y ago
My household has simple rules: no Ubisoft, no Sony, no Blizz/Activision. It helps that all three have been getting progressively worse over the years.
- bryondowd 3y ago
  Just out of curiosity, why Sony? Only negative thing I can recall hearing about them is blocking cross play to protect their console lead, which didn't seem too unreasonable to me.
  - wlesieutre 3y ago
    The Funimation shutdown is Sony Going back further, installing a rootkit on to customer computers to prevent ripping audio CDs
  - pixelatedindex 3y ago
    I think there was a Discovery snafu as well? Like if you bought titles from the Discovery Channel on PSN, you don’t have access to those anymore. But I do think Sony should get a pass here. Or you have to blanket ban all digital goods but that seems detrimental. I understand the feeling though, as I too don’t buy anything digital outside of Steam.
    - Hamuko 3y ago
      >Like if you bought titles from the Discovery Channel on PSN, you don’t have access to those anymore. That was cancelled. https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/21/24011168/sony-playstation-discovery-shows-not-removed https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/21/24011168/sony-playstatio...
  - faeriechangling 3y ago
    I know somebody who has been boycotting them since the rootkit scandal
    - breckenedge 3y ago
      That was such a terrible move. For people who don’t know: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_roo...
  - serf 3y ago
    Well, there was the rootkits, the carpet-pull with regards to the PS3 and OS compatibility promises, the lawsuits against geohot, the SWAT raids and lawsuits against graf_chokolo, and now the digital library shit that's going on with Funi just adds to the history.

shantara 3y ago

The games regularly get pulled from Steam by the publishers, usually when a license for some ingame music expires, but the customers who already own the game typically retain the access to it. The latest high profile case was the removal of Spec Ops: The Line just last week. Which is especially troubling, because it’s an important part of the gaming history, and it happened with no warning.

Aeolun 3y ago
Wow, wtf. The music industry really is a disease. How can a license to use a song in a game lead to the game not being sold any more. Why would you ever use such a song in a game…
- fbdab103 3y ago
  Especially for a AAA release, licensing music seems like little to be gained. Music games (eg Rockband), I can understand. People want to play music they know. There are very few musical tie-ins in a video game that seemingly make the difference.
  - jen20 3y ago
    GTA Vice City is one where I can think of where the 80s soundtrack makes the game!
    - ChoGGi 3y ago
      I always found it odd how VC and SA had much more recognizable licensed music, while 4/5 went with less known stuff. Or maybe I'm getting old :)
      - Macha 3y ago
        I think it's also why games with licensed vehicles are way stricter on how they're presented now (no damage models, etc.). As the big brands became more away of video games as a big thing, they held closer control and pricing compared to it being "ehhh, whatever" remnant income

jcl 3y ago

I think Ubisoft’s intent was more to make customers comfortable with the idea of paying for short-term or ongoing access to content. Their shutdown of online services and DLC for some of their Steam games a few years ago did not exactly inspire confidence. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-titles-pulled-from-steam-may-lock-out-players-who-bought-them https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-titles-pulled-from-ste...

ChoGGi 3y ago
When you think of 90%+ of your (PC) customers as thieves then it's easy to be scummy?

laserbeam 3y ago

Nope. It simply meant "We like owning things and renting them out indefinitely." It has nothing to do with trust.

somat 3y ago

I think a large part of steams success is that they have not messed up... Yet. The other online game marketplaces look at steams success and want their piece of the pie yet forget this critical fact. It takes a long time to trust a company to guard the keys of the digital items you "own". sarcastiquotes because ownership is very weak with these services. Anecdotal evidence.. myself, It took me 5 years of steam behaving itself before I bought anything on it. I am perhaps not a reference customer. I am a bit paranoid, I really dislike this "half" ownership that online purchases grant you, drm makes me nervous. yet still because steam has remained a stalwart reliable service, it has faded into the background, unobtrusive, and most of my games are on it. I still get a bit sick to my stomach when I think what I will lose when, not if, steam management starts "messing up"