Prohibit publishers irrevocably disabling video games

[spudbynight]

There are a number of issues here that get all wrapped up together.

You get games like "The Crew" which have an online component. This game in particular had an offline mode available internally but Ubisoft chose not to release it.

You then get games without any sort of online component but some form of online activation. These games are then rendered unplayable (legally) once the activation servers go down.

Tech Tangents did a good video on this.

 

[mid_gen]

I suppose so, but who said it had to be open sourced?

It's not simply one server binary to give people self-hosting options, there are loads of ancilliary services that need to function for a multiplayer game to work. It's really not that simple. Not impossible, but not easy.

Practically impossible right now though when there's no funding to even get a game launched, let alone spending extra on making it available for free after revenues have dried up.

 

[Vidar]

This is the problem with all live service stuff, you're not really buying your games anymore, just paying for a licence to play it. It's why I've started collecting physical media again.

I'd love it, if you could buy big box physical copies of PC games again!

 

[Yaayuh!]

Every game, IMO should have an EOL deprecation plan to keep it playable once the publishers are done with it.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Every game, IMO should have an EOL deprecation plan to keep it playable once the publishers are done with it.

Nintendo: Our plan is to EOL the game on our current console and re-sell it to you at a higher price on our next console.

Am I right?

 

[Zefan]

Nintendo: Our plan is to EOL the game on our current console and re-sell it to you at a higher price on our next console.

Am I right?

Have Nintendo actually done this? I know they turned off online stores for old consoles, but the games still work right?

It's not simply one server binary to give people self-hosting options, there are loads of ancilliary services that need to function for a multiplayer game to work. It's really not that simple. Not impossible, but not easy.

Practically impossible right now though when there's no funding to even get a game launched, let alone spending extra on making it available for free after revenues have dried up.

I understand it isn't ideal, but where one has to err, we should be erring on the side of the consumer. To not take action against this sort of practice is to implicitly accept it.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Have Nintendo actually done this? I know they turned off online stores for old consoles, but the games still work right?

Only if you have the game on your console already. If your console develops a fault, you can’t reinstall it on another console you may own without jailbreaking it and effectively pirating the game.

They put some of those games behind a subscription on the newer console and some of them you just can’t legally acquire anymore because they were digital only.

 

[LostCorpse]

more a fyi if people are or were still playing :

Activision took down Call of Duty game after PC players hacked, says source | TechCrunch

Activision last week brought offline the Microsoft Store version of Call of Duty: WWII as the company was investigating “reports of an issue.”

techcrunch.com

but it just sortof highlights a probbly growing issue in the gaming industry. were security is going to become an ever increasing focus and weakspot i feel.
faster development times and deadlines may factor in to issues as well. add in the issues of increasing competition with other titles.

i thought worth highlighing in this thread.