This kind of thinking is why they're taking so much heat
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2026
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If I won't own them, I'm not buying them. This is them shooting themselves in the feet.
Its not enough they are ditching physical media, they're being this brazen about it.
I can prove in home that I don't own any playstation past the 4.
Let's see who loses.
People need to stop supporting these companies. Stop buying Nintendo. Stop buying Sony.
I heard sega is thinking about releasing a handheld that takes carts 🤞
Where'd you hear that? :o
Then why do they have the word "buy" on the PS store🤨
Because you buy it. It being a limited license of course, not a game.
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"Sony pushes the idea that "reasonable consumers would not be misled" into believing they own the games in their digital library".
Wasn't this the same basic legal outcome Fox News received when they were sued and it was determined that 'no reasonable viewer' would think Tucker Carlson was anything but entertainment? That worked out well.
But people who are easily fooled by such things are exactly the ones who need extra protection. Many laws exist to protect the weaker members of society.
Even if they succeed with a weird judge to prove this.... It's not the point. We want to own stuff, so either make "owning" available or we stop buying/renting.
Also, there is the common online sentiment "If buying isn't owning, then piracy is not stealing" and I can't help but believe that this will permiate even deeper into the gaming culture.
If I've already bought it I won't even hesitate to pirate it.
Having backups of owned digital media is just good practice.
Its crazy how everybody got used to rental prices as high as physical copy.
Most people don't know they are rentals
Imagine how well digital games would sell if they showed up in your cart like: 1 x Revokable License for God of War $69 See Terms and Conditions* [Confirm Payment]
- Terms: we will do whatever the fuck we want. Conditions: whenever we want.
There's a reason they say "Buy" instead of "Pay".
It's been going on for generations, but it's no less dishonest for all that. Software sellers write complex EULAs for which the only valid answer is "Agree" because the store won't take an open box back and the software won't install unless we pretend to agree, so even us legitimate software enjoyers are pirates in our hearts. Meanwhile normies don't even think about it that much. Fuck this whole system, but double fuck an online service that says "purchase" but will steal it back later. Fuck that.
1x temporary license to play. Duration of license unspecified.
Pretty sure in the past it was at least considered a lifetime license.
*Lifetime for the time the product/service is alive
If they end the thing, they can just pretend they did a rewrite and invalidate the current version/not develop it any further and maybe offer a migration discount (lol).
I'd prefer the model of "Buy version X for at least x years of feature updates and Y days of security updates".
If I don't own them, no reason to pay for them ever.
That's why you should buy physical disks. In the worst case you can re-sell them to someone else.
Or buy games without DRM. Like on GOG.
Also wait until development of the game is really done. That way the game is better and cheaper and works on cheaper hardware.
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Nothing new. This is the same bullshit legal framework that underpins the entire software industry and extends back to the mid 90s. It's just front-and-center in games now because the industry has transitioned from a growth industry to a mature one wherein producers need to extract more revenue per user and predictably enshittify their platforms to do so.
I've basically decided that I will not buy any game that I cannot play offline. If I do a buy game, I will also pirate it to ensure continued access. If I can't pirate it, I won't buy it.
Fuck em.
They are not wrong tho
They are wrong, you can buy digital downloads from other platforms like GOG, Itch.io, Humble Store, and keep the files forever. There is no DRM on those purchases, no way for the seller to revoke it in any way. Sony could operate their store that way too but choose not to.
They are not wrong, when it comes to their platform
The courts still need to weigh in on this. If you purchase a license to use the software, the company shouldn't have the power to revoke that license without cause. The license should last as long as the copyright/patent/etc. does.
im just glad i didn't invest in a console or a gaming PC because game streaming is going to be the norm very soon.
Hah, no it isn't. They want it to be, but it'll only be clueless poors that use it, and then the price will creep up super quickly and it'll be full of ads and everything is a subscription and your favorite games will just randomly disappear and you won't be able to do a damn thing about it and suddenly you'll go "shit, I should have just bought a computer."
If you trust streaming gaming to be handled responsibly then you should really ask yourself why these companies want so badly for you to not only not own your games but also not even own your hardware, and why you even entertain the notion that the companies offering it will behave any better when they have total control over your entire gaming ecosystem.
That opinion sounds like it is from 1985.
I've still got an OnLive console in my closet gathering dust! Bring on the streaming revolution!
I should clean out my closet.
It’s a bolder than usual move for Sony to announce the end of physical media prior to a new console launch, and launch this “you don’t own the digital games you buy” campaign at the same time.
The usual easy strategy is first you end physical media sales, let people be content with the idea that they own their digital games at least so that the only thing people think about is the convenience of digital, then after you launch your new console, get everybody locked in, that’s when you launch the “Oh you don’t own these digital games btw” campaign.
The fact that they’re just doing all of this at the same time means they know they won’t lose any money over it because we’re sheep and the consumer just doesn’t care anymore
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