On digital media

Ubisoft Exec Says Gamers Need to Get 'Comfortable' Not Owning Their Games for Subscriptions to Take Off - IGN

"One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don't lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That's not been deleted. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.

again,

So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time now. Back in the day, we used to own physical copies of every media. I remember owning VHS, then DVDs, and Blu-rays. From Vynil to cassettes then CDs in the music medium. On video games, we had our cartridges and discs.  So we had a sense of ownership with physical items, that's what physical items gave to us, a sense of tangible ownership.

I cannot tell you how many physical copies of my favorite movies or series I own, I do not remember and they are all tucked away in some plastic bin in the garage. But I do know I have over 300 movies in my Movies library. Here is the question, do I own these movies? I did pay monies for them but do I really? I remember one instance where, as it has happened many times (😅), I had lost my wallet, thus the CC had to be canceled and because I had forgotten to change it and Apple could not charge me for a subscription, I could not access my over 300 movies in my library, because there was a billing problem. In other words, I do not own shit, if anything is just the right to stream. This makes me very uncomfortable. I get a little anxious about it and get paranoid.

I mean, I could start buying physically again, get the code (assuming they still have digital codes), and tuck them away in another bin. Or store digital copies on my own server – that I do not have or know how to set up. Or just come to peace with it, trust Apple servers, and make sure my billing information is up-to-date.

Let's talk about video games now. I see many advantages to subscription services like GamePass. Especially GamePass. You get all these games that probably you wouldn't have bought or old ones that you never did or used to own in older consoles and would love to play on your current one. This idea is great! But what happens if games get removed, or they shut down servers, what then? It is definitely a gamble. I guess that just like my movies, I just need to trust Sony or Microsoft that they'll be up and running forever and ever until the end of times. Besides, you buy a AAA game nowadays and you still have to download gigabytes of content, like the physical disc is just a means to get you content but not the content itself.

Just like with Apple, I am slightly more comfortable trusting my digital media to Microsoft and Sony, ish. Nintendo on the other hand, well, they are no saints of my devotion, as we say back home. So, whenever I can, I will buy a physical copy even if I already own a digital one, especially for indie games, I do not worry about first-party games.

Also, the main advantage of a physical copy of a video game, at least, is the tradeability. You can't trade in a digital copy but you can down the road trade in a physical copy to get a new game, this is something I still do, believe it or not.

I do believe that physical media will be a thing of the past, perhaps, maybe I am wrong. The reality is that streaming and digital content are much more convenient. Easy on-demand access, no plastic bins in the garage or shelves, damaged discs, or lost cartridges. It is accessible and easy to find.

Times are weird, kids!