Submitted 1 month ago by Buttflapper@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
You always bought a license you always buy licenses for digital product’s, even GOG is technically a licens, shure you get a offline installer, but the game in your library is a license.
A game without Servers is also not doing much nowadays, shire you can install it but most games need a Server connection.
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.
That said, this has always been the case, they’ve just covered their legal bases by updating their TOS.
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.
This has always been the case when “buying” things on Steam. Almost every digital good you buy is like that
Only thing that changed is legislation is finally catching up and these companies won’t be allowed to use the word purchase/buy anymore in the near future
It’s always been the case when buying games period.
Highly, highly recommend using GOG. Buying is owning. There is no DRM and they even provide offline installers for the games you buy.
But they updated the terms of use and apparently now, stating that buying is not owning
This has always been the case for Steam and every other service that isn’t GOG.
You do not own the games you buy on gog either, they just let you download it drm-free, which lets you keep it even if they revoke your liscence
Destiny is a little different because the vaulting was done by Bungie, not by steam.
So if you’re talking about Mercury, Mars, etc, that was removed from the game ENTIRELY. It’s not a Steam thing.
Sounds like your problem is with live service games, not Steam.
Not live service the whole buy now*
By purchasing this you down own it, you are purchasing a license.
This is why above all I prefer roms and emulators. I have already paid my dues years ago on the consoles. I have steam and the deck to support Linux as the rest are anti consumer and dont give a shit about linux.
I know enough people have already said it, but the whole “you’re licensing not buying” has been a thing for as long as I’ve used Steam.
The answer to your question though, for me anyhow, is convenience. It is very easy to buy games on Steam, there are frequently sales where you can get games for lower prices. It’s super easy to play your games with a friend using Steam’s in-game overlay, and it also gives a unified platform where you can show off achievements, clips from your gameplay, screenshots, share guides about games, browse forums about your games, etc.
On top of that, Steam has become a trusted name for many people, myself included. While they can take your games, legally speaking, they don’t- and they’re very often pro-consumer in a way that many other companies aren’t. (To address your Destiny example, Destiny is the one that decided to sunset half their fuckin’ games it was one of many reasons I stopped playing. Didn’t matter where you bought it from, you gotta connect to Destiny’s servers to play at the end of the day.)
On the contrary, they’ve done many things that are helpful to gamers- and yes they also help Valve/Steam, but comparing to others in their field, it’s worth noting imo. Steam pushed VR adoption ahead significantly with their Index headset. They’ve done phenomonal work in making gaming on Linux viable without extra work from game devs, which is especially great with how Windows keeps getting worse and worse. Up until recently, if you had a legal dispute with them, while it WAS subject to arbitrition, they would pay all legal costs, whether you win or lose. (that has since changed after a law firm took advantage of that to try to pin Valve with hundreds of individual claims in order to get a payout, but I digress).
I’ve got my issues with them- being a TF2 player, I’m still sore over their treatment of the TF2 bot crisis and their overall neglect for their older titles. They need to get their shit together for moderation purposes, the amount of bot accounts and scams are downright shameful, especially with how obvious it is once you know the patterns. But overall, when compared to their competitors such as Epic (for game distribution) or Ubisoft, Activision, etc (for game development), they’re one of the better companies imo.
atrielienz@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Buying isn’t owning from literally any game company. When you buy digital you own a license to play that game. The license can be revoked at any time.
When you buy a physical game you still only buy a license to play that game, and the license can be revoked at any time. The only difference here is you own the physical disk that media is on, and it’s harder (not impossible) for the owner of that media (the one who sells the license) to revoke the license to that media.
I appreciate that people are pissed about this but it was a thing before digital media took off and the only difference between a steam game and a game from Epic is the inclusion (on Epic) of an offline installer store that allows you to install the game without connecting to the internet.
It’s the same license.