Game Preservation - Live Service Woes, Physical Myths, and Yuzu

From a live service legislation movement to Nintendo taking down a popular emulator, a few events have occurred within the "game preservation" discussion sphere within the last few months and I want to offer my two cents.
VIDEOS MENTIONED:
"Stop Killing Games" video by Accursed Farms: • The largest campaign e...
Digital Decay of 2000s PC Game DRM by Tech Tangents:
• Digital Decay Of 2000'...
Abandonware Should Be Public Domain: • Abandonware Should Be ...
The Fate of Physical: • The Fate of Physical G...
The Frustration of Digital Gaming: • The Frustration of Dig...
Why Video Games Need Piracy - The Industry's Preservation Problem: • Why Video Games Need P...
Piracy: DRM and "Lost Sales": • Piracy: The DRM Proble...
Instagram: / mildconviction
Twitter (18+): / mildconviction
➤ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
0:53 Stop Killing Games
6:53 Physical Myths
12:10 Preserving Your Own Collection
15:15 Nintendo vs. Yuzu
➤MUSIC CREDITS
Background music by Sezherad:
open.spotify.com/artist/2x2Dn...
➤ MY OTHER VIDEOS
Building Connections: A Death Stranding Retrospective:
• Building Connections: ...
Abandonware Should Be Public Domain:
• Abandonware Should Be ...
The Quality of an Hour in a Video Game:
• The Quality of An Hour...
The Fate of Physical:
• The Fate of Physical G...
What is "Real" Final Fantasy?:
• What is “Real” Final F...
On Remakes:
• On Video Game Remakes ...
2001: The Greatest Year in Gaming:
• 2001: The Greatest Yea...
The Lifespan of an Online Game:
• The Lifespan of an Onl...
The Seventh Generation: Trends, Troubles, and Pure Garbage:
• The Seventh Generation...
Evil Empire: EA's History of Acquisitions and Closures:
• Evil Empire: EA's Hist...
What is Survival Horror? - The Genre's History and Defining Characteristics:
• What is Survival Horro...
"There's Nothing Else to Play":
• "There's Nothing Else ...
Bad vs. Disappointing:
• Bad vs. Disappointing,...
The Frustration of Digital Gaming:
• The Frustration of Dig...
Video Game Completionism - The Fear of Missing Out and Compulsion:
• Video Game Completioni...
What Is a 10/10 Game?:
• What Is a 10/10 Video ...
Analysis: Resident Evil and Inventory Mangement:
• Analysis: Resident Evi...
1998: The Greatest Year in Gaming:
• 1998: The Greatest Yea...
Game of Thrones: A Song of Promise and Disaster:
• A Song of Promise and ...
Why Video Games Need Piracy - The Industry's Preservation Problem:
• Why Video Games Need P...
Piracy: DRM and "Lost Sales":
• Piracy: The DRM Proble...
The Growing Problem of Video Game File Size:
• The Growing Problem of...
Analysis: Elden Ring and Open World Design:
• Analysis: Elden Ring a...
Analysis: Dark Souls II and Creating Build Variety:
• Analysis: Dark Souls I...
Analysis: Devil May Cry and the Perception of Combat Depth:
• Analysis: Devil May Cr...
The Mistreatment of Mick Gordon:
• The Mistreatment of Mi...
Elden Ring Review:
• Elden Ring Review - Th...
#ubisoft #nintendo

[@youraveragejoe9286]

I feel like by the time we have Congressmen who care about games in office, it will be too late for >90% of games. It'll be silent films 2.0

[@NitwitsWorld]

That’s a bad comparison because most silent films were destroyed due to film rot not companies trying to pull DRM on black and white film reels. Bruh! 😂

[@Urvy1A]

Why should they care about games? There are other things that are more important than keeping dead games alive like The Border

[@youraveragejoe9286]

@@Urvy1A True. Perhaps the Library of Congress was what I meant

[@midnightstrike3625]

Game companies are going to suffer when there's another video game crash. I believe that's all this kind of stuff is leading to. Lack of trust from game devs, layoffs, incomplete games being released, too many live service games...I switched to retro last year personally. These companies need a hard lesson!

[@nickm5419]

anything after Xbox 360 and Xbox one? dont bother

[@Doktario_Mystario]

i used to be a Nintendo enjoyer (i had a 3ds and a Switch) but ever since i got my Steam Deck i've been exclusively playing indie games and fan games/romhacks

[@buckroger6456]

Retro is where it's at 💪 proof is in all the remakes we keep seeing along with how most keep begging for remasters/ports/remakes of all these classic games that many called trash a few years ago. PS4 & Switch were my last consoles.

[@buckroger6456]

​@@Doktario_Mystarioindie games have been so good these last few years. I've been eyeing a steamdeck myself just because of that.

[@Doktario_Mystario]

@@buckroger6456 definitively get one, it makes playing PC games so much easier and if you're into emulation it's very easy to install everything with Emudeck

[@midnightanimal4598]

The only real solution is for publishers and developers to stop making games that have an off switch. There is no reason a game like "The Crew" should require a constant connection to Ubisoft servers, and the fact it was designed that way is an inherent flaw. When it comes to things like MMO's, once the company decides it will no longer support the official servers, they should be required by law to provide a way for the community to host their own servers. When a consumer purchases a game, they should be given a perpetual license and the company should have an obligation to provide some means of always being able to access the product.

[@AhPook]

We need to stop harping on physical media as the saviour of ownership with these discussions. Yes, physical media does have a lot of advantages like discussed here, but what we need to do is be fighting for legislation against the scummy practice of basically just renting licensing for digital games. We need to force these companies to allow us to actually OWN digital media, it's the only actual path I see us having for proper preservation of these games.

[@RawrItsJuul]

Why is there no room for both? I don't get why it needs to be an either or. The more options we as the consumer have, the better.

[@Rocky13Ray]

Pple acting like digital even comes close is like comparing wifi to ethernet. No matter how you cut it or WISH it was as good as you think it is not and NEVER WILL BE superior to a cable. Physical is better than digital and plle need to stop acting like they are equal. They are not stop It.

[@AhPook]

@@RawrItsJuulYou've missed the whole point of what I've said if you're asking why not both. I am explicitly advocating for ownership of what you buy, regardless of physical or digital. You can still buy your physical copy, but physical media does not solve the issue and never will be an actual resolution to the issue. The issue lies with companies being able to use language and user agreements that effectively remove your ownership. Harping on physical media as a silver bullet to the issue is a trap that doesn't solve anything, that's my point.

[@AhPook]

@@Rocky13Ray See my response to Juul above. This isn't about which is better, this is about removing a company's ability to have you purchase something and not own it. Physical and Digital are equal if DRM is not present, in every regard (we should also have legislation to remove DRM as a whole, because it is anti-consumer and anti-ownership.) A disc, just like an HDD or SSD, is just a storage medium for data. What matters, is your ability to own the data you purchase regardless of how you purchase it. Data is data, the only difference between digital and physical is ultimately how its stored.

[@RawrItsJuul]

@@AhPook I've not missed your point, I agree with it. The way you phrase things made it sound like you're against the thought of physical media, which is where the confusion came from. It wouldn't be the first time I've encountered someone like that. People are annoyed that it's being brought up in the same discussion. I think both points are important in video game preservation. There is a push against physical media, and it would be a shame if it did. Half of the game sales on playstation are still physical when you break it down. Until such laws are put into place there is not much else we can do, which is a shame for the online games of course. It's not going to happen over night. Things have been getting progressively worse over the years, people have only started noticing now. It's going to be a while before any meaningful change is made. That's why I think it's equally important to keep advocating for all options, so that in the meantime we can preserve the next best thing. For now just keep signing the petitions.

[@CharzaKitsune]

4:45 …yeah, about that. Look into UHD Blu-Rays requiring server-side verification to play. That’s already a thing now

[@overdoseproductions9011]

Yea they locked physical games down also

[@mahkhardy8588]

If the Gov can give money to other countries while also "banning tiktok" then they can also give us this ...

[@CarlMakesVideos]

Some clarification: despite not even being a live service game, The Crew required a constant internet connection in order to play (even though it runs entirely on the client's system). Some time after delisting it, they also shut down the servers that run that, so even if they did not start revoking licenses, the game installed on your system is useless, because there is nothing for it to connect to. This kind of practice is shockingly common, despite seemingly being of no benefit to either party.

[@MrSamPhoenix]

This is a great video outlining what companies are doing with software. I do understand their stance on their IP, but some of their policies and practices are just… stupidly aggressive against the consumer. I wonder what you think about Apple officially supporting emulators in the App Store.

[@BMR86]

I liked all your takes. Great video! More people need to speak out on the problem for sure!

[@Doktario_Mystario]

i would like to recommend Moon Channels video on Nintendo Vs. Yuzu because 1) he is a lawyer 2) he explains what the court documents actually mean and the strategy Nintendo is using to fight emulators

[@MattD402]

It really grinds my gears when I see people on youtube and other social media say "Physical games require day 1 patch to play", "You can't play your discs unless you connect to a server" "Discs are just a licence to download the game". Also I have never had a single disc in my life succumb to disc rot, the disc rot argument is so overblown, like you I still have games and music cd's from the 90's that are still as good as the day I got them.

[@VankKochik]

I mean they are not wrong

[@MattD402]

@@VankKochik Uh yes they are wrong, very wrong. You need to do some research instead of just parroting what they say.

[@buckroger6456]

​@MattD402 I agree with you. I've never updated any of my games and haven't had any issues. I will say I don't buy games published by the big games though so that could be part of it.

[@VankKochik]

​@@buckroger6456The thing is many aaa games have day 1 patch, one great example is hogwarts legacy, it had 55GB update on the Playstation 5

[@buckroger6456]

@VankKochik I know and that's why I don't buy those games. Sell a incomplete game that needs a patch and I'll pass on your game.

[@SteveBrandon]

The only optical format I've ever bought that had an alarming percentage of disks I own that have rotted is Laserdisc (fortunately for me, I only got into Laserdisc just as DVDs were taking over, with the few local Montreal stores that even sold Laserdiscs liquidating them within a year of me getting a player, so I only have a couple of dozen LDs total). Even most of the CDs I had as a kid in the 1980s still play just fine. Getting more on-topic to games, I have had optical disk-based games become unplayable but that was more due to careless handling resulting in the disk getting scratched than it was because of disk rot. I have a few hundred games on optical disk so there's a good chance a handful of them have succumbed to disk rot but , if it is happening in my collection, it would have to be only with games which I haven't played in years or even decades (it's been over three decades since I bought my Sega CD, not that the console or add-on or however you classify it itself has worked for a long time).

[@buckroger6456]

My Sega CD is a model 1 that I got the first year it came out. System still works but definitely needs some maintenance now. Most of the games I own still play but I do have a few that won't boot up so that might be disc rot 😢

[@_thresh_]

I think publishers should be legally required to open source games when they stop supporting them or make them unavailable

[@LaRubiarubina]

regarding preserving your own media, come on guys, have yall forgotten the art of burning discs already ? just grab a bunch of virgin bluray and make a copy

[@kennyholmes5196]

SD cards work better and are more plentiful.

[@LaRubiarubina]

@@kennyholmes5196 that too ! Ita never been easier to make our own preservation

[@syahmiirfan6779]

There are virgin Blu-ray discs? I didn't know that..

[@Bullminator]

Cds, dvs and blurays suck. They damage to easy. Sd cards...you can trow them on ground and they will still keep data. Heck i keep my backup games on outside ssd/hdd and protected inside safe. Yeah thiefs can steal my video games, but not money lol.

[@LaRubiarubina]

@@Bullminator not true, i have blu ray discs from 12 years ago that have no issues whatsoever, unless youre mcscratcher the destroyer himself

[@JammyGuns]

Brilliant video, really good! I actually got into presevation due to one of your older vids a while back and haven't looked back since. I now have all my favourites (when possible) on disc and have even gotten into a bit of PS3 emulation to play and preserve further. I also use GOG. It's taken a couple of shelves but it feels good to have what I consider classics to me, and that can't be altered without my control etc. If I can oneday backup the newer ones in the future then I will. Video games, even the bad ones, are art - it seems insane that they can be taken away and lost forever...

[@bradleyokane]

GOG for DRM free copies of games 👍

[@buckroger6456]

Awesome video 👍 you really covered most of the BS people try to use when people like myself are pro physical games. Physical games in a way are dead. A friend and myself keep noticing year after year that physical games are getting harder and harder to find at stores now. Places like Wal-Mart an target barely carry any physical games these days. Even Best Buy has shrunk their physical media sections down to nearly nothing. Oh, as for the physical copies can't be played talk. Thank you for bringing up that site. I play all my games offline and with zero patches. I get so tired of youtubers saying you need patches to play these games or its not the complete game smh. Now, one of the biggest reasons I buy physical only is because you have more options on where to buy and that prevents price fixing. Plus you have real world value with a physical copy.

[@TioRata]

It's important to always keep backups on an external drive if you buy digital just in case, they cannot go to your house and take it away from you. However, if you own digital games on Xbox, you're screwed.

[@exotic-gem]

Dude, I’m so torn between digital and physical personally… On the one hand, PC gaming is so much nicer than console : I can make crazy remaps, add gyro to games that never had it, and all my PC games are also on my Steam Deck, I can choose between kbm and controller and run other programs… On the other hand, buying a physical game for my PS5 or Switch means I actually own that game, until I either die or lose it. They tie in much nicer to my HiFi equipment, they’re easier to just pick-up and play, and games generally run better because they’ve been tailored to the hardware. I really wish we had physical releases for PC, it would just be the best of both worlds… Right now it feels like no matter which one I choose, I’m making the wrong choice, and it really sucks. Any thoughts ?

[@Bullminator]

You dont realy own a switch game. If console dies, you cant play this games anymore if you have phy edition. You have to dump roms and run them on yuzu.

[@buckroger6456]

No more physical games for PC added with the huge amount of DRM PC was getting in the 00s is why I stopped gaming on PC. Although I've been thinking about going back to PC again because of all the trippy indie games steam gets.

[@baki484]

Lack of physical media is the reason I don't care about the PC platform. There's nothing I hate more than my games being on one account.

[@buckroger6456]

@baki484 that's why I got out of PC gaming in the late 00s. Plus games at that time had forced DRM check ins.

[@baki484]

​​@@buckroger6456 it's sounds like the it's gotten worse (correct me if I'm wrong) with denuvo or whatever it's name is. I've never encountered a PC gamer switch to console.

[@AshnSilvercorp]

12:50 If I truly want to preserve something, it's going on a 3-2-1 storage rule. DRMless storage on 3 personal devices will always be superior even in cases of natural disasters.

[@blackestyang7528]

everybody gangsta against copyright until a corporation starts robbing the smaller devs

[@JimmyBoah]

We should ban DRM and Always Online mechanics. Also, we should hold publishers legally accountable for theft since they're stealing something we paid money for.

[@hgmd3284]

While I like physical games, it’s expensive to have a catolouge of physical games. Personally, if I can play it, I’m happy. But I’ll also support this movement for physical and also greed is inherent in investors and corporate suits, it’s thier job to be greedy, so in reality, they’re the worst people.

[@Bullminator]

You know that ubisoft game with rabbits on switch? Well it doesnt work on yuzu as it needs online connection for the game key to work. If you run the rom for it, the emulator will crash when it comes to game menu where you chose a mode of a play.

[@marcossonicracer]

to be honest i think what really needs to change in this whole battle is the fact that copyright periods are too long, and that the situation changed for us to preserve our history. i'd say 5 years of exclusive rights in the most lenient case, maybe not even give exclusive rights at all.

[@anon_y_mousse]

If you've read any of my other comments in your comment sections, then you already know I agree 100%. My thoughts on what lawmakers should do is reset copyright law back to 1791 terms, where a copyright would expire at 14 years, and then add on that all software that gets published should have the entire source code for it and all assets and tools required to get the software working should be turned over to the Library of Congress at the time of publishing so that if a company stops supporting it or its copyright expires that the entirety of it could be acquired from the LoC by anyone. These feel like completely reasonable terms to me, but I'd love some feedback.

[@fearsmasher1299]

What are the first few games shown?

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

This is honestly just really sad. How is any of this legal and why do people keep defending it?

[@Klowjow]

Honestly your content deserves way more attention. Only critism I'd give is to vary the visual content up a little, even if it's just vaguely related to the topic at any moment. Watching 10+ minutes of random gameplay while you talk can make it hard to focus. I think if this was addressed there'd be no reason your channel shouldn't reach a broader audience. Keep up the great work!

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Ross Boost! Accursed Crew = best crew

[@MiguelDeMarchena]

That is why i decided to not play online games, digital license games or live services games anymore, there are clients like GOG galaxy games where you can buy old games DRM free and you can choose between install or download the installer, once you buy it is yours, my other solution is to go full retro-emulation but what can i say if i am a fossil from the 70s that can play a lot of good old retro games and have fun.

[@infern24]

crap like this is why we need a sonic advance collection.

[@AntyGG-ij3je]

go ross

[@olzhas1one755]

2:28 I feel like they only do this out of spite because of Ross's cause, but don't know for certain.

[@TheMaximus60]

Go 🏴‍☠️

[@zuiop9993]

While there are still a lot of physical sales, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sizeable number of consoles that are rarely or never used to install physical media. There is a certain crowd of people who like phyisical copies, be it for preservation or just because they like to have something physical to put on their shelves. I don't like it when people say they want physical to die. Off course it is more convenient for the platform owners to sell exclusively digital games. As long as there is a large enough crowd that really wants physical games, they will release consoles that will suport that. But why should everyone have to pay more for their console, for something they never use? I think it's inevitable that at some point phyiscal releases will not be available anymore. Just look at most laptops these days and count the ones that that can play DVDs. It's bound to happen to consoles one day. Game preservation works best on PC anyway. If I want to have access to all the games I bought on console, I would have to keep all the hardware around and replace them when they eventually break. That's terribly inconvenient. Meanwhile I can easily play Dune on PC, a game that hasn't been sold in decades, was never digitally released and yet I can enjoy it even if I don't have a copy of it laying around (I have no problem advocating piracy if a company refuses to sell an old game). I don't want to be viewed as a typical PC-Gamer who thinks consoles are trash and PC gaming is king. I think consoles are great for accesibility of gaming and I used to play on consoles when I was younger. Even for someone who prefers consoles it's propably easier to install an emulator on an old laptop to access old games. When I want to play a title I used to play a lot 20 years ago, I don't get the console out of the attic, realise that I can't plug it into my modern TV, get an adapter of amazon, struggle to play it on my couch because the cables on the controllers aren't long enough... I download an emulator and play it on PC, if it wasn't released there. If I really like the console feeling of playing on my TV, then I use HDMI to connect my laptop to my TV.

[@kukukachu]

How about when I bought Fall Guys on Steam and EPIC not only stripped it way from me, Steam, not only didn't give me a refund for this, but EPIC also now forces me to make a 3rd party account to play the game... I REFUSE to make an EPIC account, and I'M PISSED OFF, that a game that I bought can be stripped away from me like that. I'm also PISSED OFFF that companies, like Capcom, add a EULA YEARS LATER, and even though I didn't agree to this, I have to accept their new terms? That's bullshit. We already had an agreement. If the game already had a EULA when I bought it, alright, fine, I hate it, but fine, but to add something like a EULA or 3rd party account requirement AFTER I bought the game should be illegal (Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect etc.). Also, EULAs should BY LAW be forced to be written in a way that anybody that reads can understand what it's saying. They should not be allowed to just copy and past a legal EULA that is pages and pages long. Each part should be about 1 paragraph only and and typed out in a way anyone can read. It is absolutely unacceptable how long we've allowed this. Nobody ever talks about this though, nobody knows how dangerous EULAs can actually be....

[@davecurtis86]

You can't even own a house in the USA.. when your mortgage =$0 you then rent it via property tax and if you don't keep up on those payments they take the house. If any legislation did pass in favour of gamers, it's only because it's meaningless waste of time, crumbs for the peasants to fight over.

[@spardathedevil7956]

If buying isn't owning, then why pirating is stealing?

[@Fla5thgenTryMe]

Youll own nothing and be happy-wef