this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
757 points (98.5% liked)

Technology

59626 readers
2952 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Pohl@lemmy.world 192 points 11 months ago (8 children)

I have content I purchased on steam 19yrs ago. Shit was built for completely different hardware but I can go install and play it right now. The physical console games I bought that year only work in consoles that have long since broken. I can go play HL2 whenever I want, to play my copy of THPS3, I have to find and buy a PS2 that still works.

Digital ownership can apparently work just fine

Sony is reminding us that Sony is a shitty company. The company that bought you amazing technology like the memory stick (tm) probably cannot be trusted.

[–] HKayn@dormi.zone 106 points 11 months ago (32 children)

Don't find yourself in a false sense of security.

Your games on Steam are just as ephemeral as any other digital content purchased online.

[–] prole@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

True, but at least at this point, Valve is not a publicly traded company. Gabe clearly understands that piracy is an availability/distribution problem.

[–] stardust@lemmy.ca 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Even then in a worst case scenario due to the open platform piracy is a possibility. That's where some of the peace of mind comes from compared to purchasing of digital goods for a closed system.

[–] Aurix@lemmy.world 29 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Pirates are the librarians of the new age. But I caution you, much media cannot be found as soon as you step of the path of the big releases. So it really isn't the final solution.

[–] stardust@lemmy.ca 14 points 11 months ago

It's the best we've got unlike the rather ridiculous proposals of backing up their own games some have made. Average person does not have the storage or the determination to digitize everything and keep it safe in case of corruption with multiple back ups.

load more comments (6 replies)
load more comments (30 replies)
[–] burliman@lemm.ee 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Agreed. Physical ownership is the shelf of old DVD and CDROM PC and XBOX classic game boxes in my basement that take up space, collect dust, will never work again, and will only be a remembrance of nostalgia for a bygone day. Plus I’ll probably never seriously want to play them again… let’s be honest. I can watch a video of someone else playing, it scratches the same itch, and saves me the trouble.

I like digital ownership, but there needs to be protections so we can’t be screwed.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago (6 children)

I've never even owned a PlayStation but I've owned enough absolute shit made by Sony that I started boycotting them like 15 years ago. They really are a truly shit company. It always amazes me they are considered a quality brand.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (3 children)

there's been instances of issues with steam games. like paid characters and skins in games being removed after the ip owners decided it was worth more money. dead by daylight did this multiple times.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Or GTA getting patched to remove music from a game you already "own".

[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 11 months ago

As is tradition at this point, those that pirated the game get a better experience

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's not just PCs and Steam. I can still play my original Xbox games from 20+ years ago on my Series X (they predate Xbox Live, let alone the Xbox Live Store), and I can still play the digital and physical Xbox 360 and Xbox One games that I bought in those eras as well.

Gamers (and legislators), give Sony and Nintendo way too much of a pass for shitting on backwards compatibility.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] shrugal@lemm.ee 77 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (4 children)

We need to stop calling it digital "ownership"! You don't get to own anything as a customer on these platforms, because rights that can be taken away on a whim are no rights at all.

[–] ultra@feddit.ro 78 points 11 months ago (2 children)

If buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't stealing.

[–] obamabinladen@fanaticus.social 26 points 11 months ago

It never was

[–] shrugal@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip 12 points 11 months ago (5 children)

In the case of pc platforms like GOG, and itchio, if you get a drm free version of a title, theres nothing the company can do to both stop you from storing it on an external storage (or multiple) if you wanted. They wouldnt be able to revoke it if its a single player game.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] PlatinumSf@pawb.social 74 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Remember the time when Sony invented rootkits to make their drm stronger? Pepridge farm remembers.

[–] DrMango@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago (9 children)

Remember when Sony made you use a proprietary mini SD card for your handheld instead of just allowing the format that was already in place and widely adopted?

[–] sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz 25 points 11 months ago (2 children)

PSVITA COULD HAVE WON THE HANDHELD WARS IF NOT FOR THIS /copium

I’m still salty

[–] Kedly@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago

Pretty sure the Vita was just entirely abandoned, it would have been a powerhouse even as it was if Sony hadnt done so

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] PlatinumSf@pawb.social 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Remember when Sony stopped us all from having easy access to high density compact disc storage by slapping obnoxiously large fees onto blueray decoding licensing that they still maintain today? Or how about that whole… betamax… actually I’ll just leave that one to history.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 62 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Playstation keeps reminding us that digital ownership is not ownership.

[–] Vendul@feddit.de 31 points 11 months ago

Obligatory if buying isn’t owning then piracy isn’t stealing

[–] boredtortoise@lemm.ee 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah. Digital ownership is very convenient. Sony's model is loanership or something

[–] HKayn@dormi.zone 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It's all loanership, no matter which platform.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"You will own nothing and be happy"

Except they forgot the "be happy" part.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 51 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It should be illegal to take back / away a digital purchase because of a rights change or any other reason. Sure, maybe I lose the ability to download again if the company goes out of business, but other than that, my media, my fucking property. And not in a distribution sense. Like it was a physical copy. It's not like they're allowed to enter my home and steal my blu-rays.

[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 8 points 11 months ago

They're not offering true purchases, they're offering one time payment leases - and they should be forced to market them as such if they're not willing to guarantee perpetual access.

[–] Exusia@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The ps5 and Switch will probably be my last consoles. I will just find ways yo mod the Switch when support dies for it to keep games on the go, and when psn is cut for ps5 that will be it. PC will be my way forward. I won't put up with this "pay for internet twice and still not own your games" stuff after these generations.

[–] stardust@lemmy.ca 11 points 11 months ago

I modded my switch once they started the online subscription. It's a really great jailbreak experience. Got ability to export saves too.

[–] Chakravanti@sh.itjust.works 33 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

Points at the Jolly Roger.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 30 points 11 months ago

If there's DRM involved, then you're renting, not buying. Take that into account when considering how to spend money.

[–] Gutless2615@ttrpg.network 28 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Counterpoint: digital ownership — true ownership when you have the actual files — is amazing. It’s the media panacea we’ve wanted for years. Storage is cheap, content is boundless, and if you curate your own collection you can usually get it anywhere you want.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 27 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

After the spyware disclosure and consent form on launch of Horizon Zero Dawn, I ceased getting anything Sony.

But the recent discontinuation of service shows us the ethic of piracy is (and always was) one-sided. Sony takes what it pleases, and no one is going to enforce otherwise.

We are justified in taking whatever action is necessary to ensure our own survival and fair benefit including violent terrorism so long as the state's agencies are not going legislate or adjudicate fairly but in the favor of plutocrats and corporations.

The whole point of the social contract is equal treatment and preventing the bloodshed of natural disagreement resolution (typically intergenerational family feuds)

Sony can appreciate we just want our shows and tunes and games with little hassle, and not revenge for being a traitor to the peace.

Sony will totally download a bear.

[–] Secret300@sh.itjust.works 26 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What the hell they talking about? Digital ownership is amazing. I can stream all my content from my server and keep it forever as long as I backup regularly. What sucks is buying shit digitally because then you don't own it at all

[–] locuester@lemmy.zip 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah they’re not talking about ownership here. They’re talking about custodial “ownership”. Like when you buy bitcoin and keep in on an exchange - you down actually own it.

Some people think if you buy a movie from Sony or any other online only marketplace you actually own it….

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 8 points 11 months ago

I think "licensing" is the correct word here, instead of "ownership".

The users in question don't "own" anything, they merely "license" it.

[–] yamanii@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

After this I'm getting an external drive and backing my gog library, since it and itch io are the last bastions of ownership (shame I can only pay in USD on itch).

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Not sure why anyone at this point is stoked to own a Playstation. Literally all of their games are going to be on PC, GTA6 will eventually be on PC, not to mention all of the cross platform games on PS5 that are, you guessed it, also on PC.

Between digital storefronts removing content you paid for and the price tag on all new releases, it just doesn't make sense to engage with this new generation of "you don't actually own your games now".

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 24 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Because it costs like a quarter of an equivalent gaming PC, and there's actually an option for physical disc ownership unlike PC.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] LifeOfChance@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Lots of reasons to enjoy having a Playstation. Having a full PC setup is expensive when you factor in more than just the case build. It's nice to have something you can boot up and get right into. Everyone acts like their system is superior but the superior system is whatever one best suits your needs. I personally would absolutely love a PS5 varient that didn't require internet and just let me play my single player games in peace.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›