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BertramDitore@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Your anger is entirely justified, and I share it. This whole licensing issue is a massive problem and shows how little publishers care about their customers. That said, this has always been the case, they’ve just covered their legal bases by updating their TOS.
But to answer your question, there’s no reason to keep using steam, other than it’s one of the easiest ways to legally game. It’s totally your preference if you want to keep supporting their business. There are lots of ways to illegally game, or pay way more for some DRM-free games that you can actually own, but then you’ll be extremely limited in your selection. I’ve invested so much time and money in my steam library, that I’m basically locked in (they count on this, of course). Sure I own a bunch of games on GOG, but they represent a tiny fraction of my overall library.
This is a totally unsatisfying answer, but your only actual recourse, if you want to keep using steam, is to reach out to them and express your displeasure at their updated TOS and its implications. But it’s an industry-wide problem, so I think we’re out of luck until Congress gets involved and changes how digital ownership works.
FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Can you be a little more specific with your definition of this and always? I am old enough to remember that when you purchased a physical copy of a game, you got the game in it’s entirety in perpetuity. Eg: I still have my Donkey Kong cartridge for my Atari 800. To be a little more current, I have a copy of Kerbal Space Program from the company that I can download the entire copy of the game and install it on my pc. So what do you mean by your comment, as I remember a time when it wasn’t the case that you were only purchasing a license? Or do you mean that it’s always been the case with these services?
I was just had by rockstar when they cut off certain people who paid to play GTA Online and are now blocked. I will be voting with my wallet and never purchasing another rockstar game in the future, and in case they ever happened to see this, I was considering picking up the rdr games not only on pc, but my xbox and maybe even the switch. It has soured me to the point where this steam issue more of a concern and something I will be keeping an eye on.
Also, one last comment about your last line. We don’t need congress to get involved if we as a collective of gamers just gathered together and stopped “licensing” their games. Just like if everyone, instead of complaining about the price of beer and hotdogs at stadiums, would just stop buying them for a while, the people raping our wallets would be forced to bring prices down. But alas, I think the chances of that happening are next to zero.