If I won't own them, I'm not buying them. This is them shooting themselves in the feet.
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2026
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yeah but they don't own their feet
Digital feet only, you say?
Its not enough they are ditching physical media, they're being this brazen about it.
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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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 🤞
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Plus Microslop
Pirate away. If you don't know ask. Fuck the system.
You can't steal what you can't own.
If I've already bought it I won't even hesitate to pirate it.
Having backups of owned digital media is just good practice.
granted limited access to software that can be revoked at any moment.
If it is that, then it may not be called a purchase. Simple.
Turns out I was granting limited access to my money that can be revoked at any moment.
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It should be called renting (or something similar). But then, that would likely mean an expectation of a lower price tag and they wouldn’t want that. Who would rent a game for $80? Even if the rental is a decade or longer. Probably people out there that would and currently do this.
I would agree, but most leases have stipulations that restrict voiding the contract "at any moment". You have to do something to violate the lease agreement most times so this is even worse than renting.
But then, that would likely mean an expectation of a lower price tag and they wouldn’t want that.
In other words, they want to commit fraud with impunity. Because that's what lying about the difference between a sale and a rental is: fraud on Sony's part.
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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.
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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.
Piracy has never been stealing, whether you were allowed to own the thing or not. Piracy is a copyright infringement.
if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing.
Piracy isn't stealing either way. It's just copyright infringement.
Sadly, catchy slogans don't hold up in court. Better to buy from distributors who don't try to make that claim, like GOG - even if they won't put Nine Sols on the store to avoid offending many gamers.
Sadly, catchy slogans don't hold up in court.
Idk, OJ floated by on his.
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I can prove in home that I don't own any playstation past the 4.
Let's see who loses.
If I don't own them, no reason to pay for them ever.
Its crazy how everybody got used to rental prices as high as physical copy.
Most people don't know they are rentals
"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.
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If I don't own, I won't buy. Good luck.
Already lost my PS4 collection for not logging in 3 years.
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does anyone know why Sony is so intent on ensuring that I never become a console gamer and give them money?
like how does this benefit them?
I worked for the major streaming company when the service was launched in Japan. Sony (among others) said that streaming would never take off in Japan because Japanese consumers are too tied to physical media. This was probably 2014. It's probably been the slowest place in the world to change, but it has changed. Sony understands the consumer preference for digital media as well as anyone. They just know that resistance and opposition will fade over time.
They are a fairly adaptable company (as Japanese tech companies go), and if they get it wrong, they will pivot, but there is nothing pro-consumer about the company. They didn't put Blu-ray players in PS3s because it was good for consumers, they did it because it was good for Sony's entertainment business. And people often forget that part of the Blu-ray spec was mandatory internet connectivity so that the content licensor could revoke content licenses. We haven't "owned" physical media since DVDs.
This is the company that brought you Memory Stick after all. They've been anti-consumer ever since the Walkman was a huge success. It benefits Sony by making people buy more copies of the same thing. You might not buy any, but if the optimization is right, enough people will.
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This kind of thinking is why they're taking so much heat
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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🎶🎶oh, the pirate's life's for me🎶🎶
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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Going to court to prove they're arseholes. Nice.
If you want to stop it, write to your representatives. EULAs do not override local laws.
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.
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