How much longer do you think buying a hard copy of many games will be required?

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Anarchist420

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Feb 13, 2010
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The tyrants at the DoJ have pretty much took down every site that allows downloading older PC games, so now it's required to hunt down a hard copy.

How much longer do you think it's going to be that way before every publisher puts every title it ever made up for sale as a download? A lot of games that are just 2 or 3 years old can't be had without hunting down a hard copy and that's ridiculous. I meant to download Spider man web of shadows a few months ago and I should've because now I'd have to order a used copy or pay too much for a new one that the makers don't even get profit for anymore.
 
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janas19

Platinum Member
Nov 10, 2011
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10-20 years?

I'm not too distraught over this, for every law or advancement that occurs, there usually comes a way to break it. Does it suck what the DoJ did? Yes. Very much. Will this be the end of free older games? Let's hope not.
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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The dickhead tyrants at the DoJ have pretty much took down every site that allows downloading older PC games, so now it's required to hunt down a hard copy.
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GoG.com and Steam, PSN, Xbox and wii/3DS stores.

You can legally play many older games now, and the number will increase over time.

From your P&N threads you don't believe in copyrights or ownership of IP though, so you apparently think you should be able to "infringe" any game you want without ever paying a publisher or developer.
 
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Anteaus

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2010
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3-8 years. Many of the hard copies already require internet connections for installation and/or play. Every month the percentage of games that mandate internet access for installation is increasing. We are at a pivotal point in how software is sold.

The good news is that sites like GOG and Steam are constantly adding older games to there catalog that have been out of print for ages. Today it is actually easier to find many older games than it was even a few years ago. Developers are making money again on IPs that have been dead for years.

Of course you have to pay for them, which is fine unless your advocating piracy :p
 
ImpulsE69

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
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It is true, with pure digital distribution, companies that would have stopped selling their goods years ago due to stores making room for newer material, are given new longer life than ever before. Sure, the old defunct companies may not be in luck, but going forward smaller devs actually stand a chance to bring in more money over a longer period of time than in the past where they usually only made money over a short period that their goods would be on a store shelf.
 
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maniacalpha1-1

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2010
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The real question is, WHEN games become available only digitally, will we have received changes to the law that protect the consumer by making sure that your purchase of a game is actually considered a purchase, and not a lease that's subject to arbitrary and/or capricious revocation at any time.

Of course, technically in that respect, if online activation DRM is present, you may have physically bought the disc, but a gaming company could refuse to grant your account activations for artibitrary or capricious reasons.
 
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bononos

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Aug 21, 2011
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maniacalpha1-1 said:
...... for artibitrary or capricious reasons.
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Even assuming (unlikely) there is no chance of getting 'cut off' for arbitrary/capricious reasons, I would prefer a mandating an option for hardcopy purchases for gaming. I want to buy a game the same way I buy a book or a kitchen knife.

There is simply no way to ensure that god-like DRM corps are actually being fair or even doing their jobs properly. I lost my Steam a/c when Steam said I was hacking VAC. No arguments no appeal no way to contact anyone.
 
Phynaz

Phynaz

Lifer
Mar 13, 2006
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So you're saying because it can be hard to find it's okay to pirate.

Kids now days.
 
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maniacalpha1-1

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2010
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bononos said:
Even assuming (unlikely) there is no chance of getting 'cut off' for arbitrary/capricious reasons, I would prefer a mandating an option for hardcopy purchases for gaming. I want to buy a game the same way I buy a book or a kitchen knife.

There is simply no way to ensure that god-like DRM corps are actually being fair or even doing their jobs properly. I lost my Steam a/c when Steam said I was hacking VAC. No arguments no appeal no way to contact anyone.
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I'm not saying that this is something that should be sent to court, but the law should at least require that in cases like this, a neutral arbiter who is an expert in hacking should be retained to review the company's proof to determine if it's valid. But no appeal of any kind, just the company's own word for it? Just no.

And yes, when you buy a game from steam, obviously it's because you've paid for it, you should receive a copy that can be backed up on disc and requires no further internet connection to install(obviously that means you won't be able to download patches but at least you will always have day 1 product).

I don't like pirating any more than the gaming companies but shouldn't they be handling pirating the way any business handles fraud like this, by simply raising the price for everyone? Malicious DRM and EULAs that let you take away people's rightfully purchased games hurt everyone in more ways than a simple across the board price increase to make up for the piracy would.
 
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Anarchist420

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Feb 13, 2010
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DaveSimmons said:
GoG.com and Steam, PSN, Xbox and wii/3DS stores.

You can legally play many older games now, and the number will increase over time.

From your P&N threads you don't believe in copyrights or ownership of IP though, so you apparently think you should be able to "infringe" any game you want without ever paying a publisher or developer.
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I'm willing to pay a price I feel is reasonable if they were to actually distribute the full games over the internet.
 
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Anarchist420

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Feb 13, 2010
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ImpulsE69 said:
Speaking of which, apparently Daggerfall is public domain.
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/the-elder-scrolls-daggerfall/

SCORE!

If you want a REAL hard and open adventure, get rid of TES 3-5 and just play 2. It has boobies.

P.S. If you can't find stuff..you're not much of an anarchist. J/S.
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Actually, I knew about the dosgamesarchive and abandonia. I use them and have donated to abandonia, but there are still some games that I have to track down a hard copy of. I could use bittorrent, but I don't feel like fooling with that because it's superslow and I don't really know how to use it. Steam is okay since it's easy to use and it's fast. The problem is that not every game can be conveniently downloaded off the internet for a reasonable cost.
 
Whirlwind

Whirlwind

Senior member
Nov 4, 2006
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It is not required to buy a hard copy right mow.

If I pay a fair amount of money or if i pay full price, which I rarely do....then I want a hard copy.

I mainly use Steam for the deals that are just too damn good to pass up.
 
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Chiropteran

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2003
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Phynaz said:
So you're saying because it can be hard to find it's okay to pirate.

Kids now days.
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Nah. It's always okay to pirate. If the game is not for sale it's even more okay to pirate. If the game is cheap or easy to buy it's still okay to pirate, but you should buy it and support the developer unless they are jerks.

Remember, these game companies exist ONLY to make money. They don't break the law simply because they have the money to change the law. We as consumers don't have that same capability to change the law, so we have to do what we can.

That said, I don't pirate games. I just don't think there is anything wrong with it.

Original copyright length was 14 years, which was about 10 years too long IMO. Through lobbying and pressure various corps have continually fought to extend it. The current copyright laws are absurd and unreasonable.
 
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Anarchist420

Diamond Member
Feb 13, 2010
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Whirlwind said:
It is not required to buy a hard copy right mow.

If I pay a fair amount of money or if i pay full price, which I rarely do....then I want a hard copy.

I mainly use Steam for the deals that are just too damn good to pass up.
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For some games it is. Let me know if you see Spider Man web of shadows on steam as I'm having trouble finding it online.
 
Nebor

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
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Anarchist420 said:
I'm willing to pay a price I feel is reasonable if they were to actually distribute the full games over the internet.
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Cool, well I'm willing to pay a price I feel is reasonable for your car. If you don't agree to my price, I'll just steal your car.
 
Gothgar

Gothgar

Lifer
Sep 1, 2004
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I just bought Dead Island from NE for pretty cheap, but before that, I think Orange Box was my last physical copy of a game.
 
Gothgar

Gothgar

Lifer
Sep 1, 2004
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Also, I didn't install it from the disc either, I just entered the code into Steam...
 
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Xellos2099

Platinum Member
Mar 8, 2005
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Long life hard copy. They will exist as long as isp got a ridiculous small 150 gig limit per month.
 
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