The ACTUAL problem with an All Digital Games Industry

[@DauthEldrvaria]

Can’t believe the future is looking as dystopian as they imagine it in movies. It went from something we imagine to something THEY desire.

[@Ravix0fFourHorn]

its called predictive programming.

[@Bullminator]

Yarrrrrrr

[@EnclaveEmily]

"physical media degrades, ones and zeroes don't" Don't ask that guy what a hard drive or a server is.

[@caliginousmoira8565]

got two dead hdd's right now that i couldn't get my stuff of off......

[@k4in5037]

@@caliginousmoira8565 that's on you and your lack of planning and backups, do you think that servers hard drives don't die?

[@arostwocents]

The future of literally everything is dystopian (and the present of most things is too) 😢

[@PaulusAlone]

That’s the globalist plan for us plebs (great reset and all) but it needs us plebs t silently comply for it to work…and we don’t have to because WE the people have the numbers (99%) over the globalist (1%) elites.

[@PaulusAlone]

That’s the globalist plan for us plebs (great reset and all) but it needs us plebs t silently comply for it to work…and we don’t have to because WE the people have the numbers (99%) over the globalist (1%) elites.

[@arostwocents]

40:12 great line! ❤ Amazing video. Thoroughly enjoying it! The one channel where videos shouldnt be edited down to half the length. I can feel your anger and disgust and tell it's not just content for you, which makes the videos amazing. So happy i got recommended your channel recently!

[@TheDezembro]

Thank you so much for the kind comment, it means a lot! 😊🙏

[@annettee.neumann5734]

If I really like a game or a movie I get a physical copy of it because you never know. I have a huge movie library and I have a pretty respectable game Library too and when you see games like Evil Within quietly disappear off the PlayStation Store it makes you feel better knowing that you have a physical copy of that game sitting on your shelf.

[@TheDezembro]

Same here, sadly I missed a lot of them though simply by not having money to be able to keep them at the time. It always bothers me to see a game disappear from a digital store, that's the ONE thing the damn platforms should be able to do. But all it takes is a license running out - hell, sometimes all it takes is the license of a SONG in the game running out and they're gone. Or sadly more nefarious reasons in the future such as pulling older games to put them in "classics-style" subscription services.

[@ImmortalComposer]

Companies have perfectly weaponized out tribalism, fomo and desire for convenience that there's no turning back, but I do agree with you. Soon, most of their money will come from subscriptions to game pass that most people will be using. We even attacked pirates very soon after we found how convenient games have become, even though piracy is one of the last ways you're actually holding on to a game you can play without internet access. Impossible to win against large companies as they can be much better organized than us individuals. Holy cow, we even (a lot of gamers) defended the constant price raise and MTX in fully priced single-player games. We're damned.

[@EcardEcardian]

Microtransaction is their big income. Subscriptions and game passes, that is not that big of a income for game companies this days. An ex: One mount in WOW made more money that Starcraft 2 Wings of liberty.

[@escapism6617]

Buy from GOG where possible. You TRULY own the game because you can download an offline installer.

[@Bullminator]

There is one little issue with gog. Its CD Projekt and they are starting to get woke and corrupt. If they fire people there who like games and replace them with weirdors that remove games, you will end up with garbage only.

[@1ViivviiX1]

I was waiting for this one! Sadly some of the issue is already got a forever hold on part of all industries. Hopefully some game devs or studios choose to make a new wave to making physical media. Once its considered retro and people will pour out even more money for that physical media. So they can be some downsides to it, if it happens. But idk, i guess it depends on the person and what they're willing to do to get that security. As someone who has to manage using a 50-60 gig hotspot as my form of internet for years, I understand the taking days to download games/updates. lmao. That Bully game clip had me dead, btw. 😂💀 Great takes as always homie. Hopefully more companies start choosing to show they care about their supporters like the early late 90s - 2000s era. Glad to see your channel's consistent growth. It's well deserved. Keep up the good work, homie. 🙏🔥🖤

[@TheDezembro]

Hey bro, thanks for watching! 🙏✨ The most bizarre part is they're doing this at a time where they're also making worse games. 😂 More money for more value or at least more money for the same value could at least have people thinking. But more money for less value? What is this? A long-form prank? 😂

[@1ViivviiX1]

@TheDezembro True talk, man. Too many big companies are just sinking their own ships. 😂 Ps. Would love to hear your thoughts on my newest video if you ever get like 15 mins and can. It's like a week late dropping, but discusses some of my takes on forced political ideologies in video games, DEI issues, and flaming Matt Hansen from Avowed for being a complete asshat, lmao. 🙏 Together we must keep fighting the good fight. We're on the cusp of change, but need to hold the line until it finally comes to fruition. 🙏🔥🖤

[@TheDezembro]

@@1ViivviiX1 Oh absolutely! Gonna check it out, thanks for the heads up.

[@2dents513]

I work a minimum wage job and don't make that much. Most of the money I use for more important things such as bills, gas, and food. I also put aside some money I have into my savings. So I don't have a lot of money left over to just splurge on something like a video game. When I do decide to treat myself, I am very selective and make sure I'm at least not completely wasting my money. I have both physical and digital games but mostly play on my pc. Some of these prices are actually outrageous, and I just don't see the worth in paying $60-80 for a game. I don't even bother with AAA games unless they're on a massive sale. I've only mostly been playing indie games and even supporting free games with donations because I feel they deserved it.

[@Crimsontears83]

As someone who is 99% digital I want physical to always stay. Going 100% digital in anything gives all the power to the companies. Sure the 1s and 0s don't degrade but you have to hope the companies decide to give you those 1s and 0s. It's convenient and is great in a lot of ways but you need the option. You should never give up your own options. That's how you get a monopoly.

[@voiceofreason4551]

Personally, i always buy physical editions of games for about 30 euros max each and if i really love the game, i get it on Steam on a deep sale too. Did it for Skyrim, Fallout 3/4/New Vegas (mainly for mods), Gas Guzzlers Extreme, Hades and Witcher 3. In case of Steam being unavailable (for whatever reason), i can always play these games on my PS5. And in case of these games getting delisted, i have a physical back-up. All-digital future sounds like a nightmare to be honest...

[@doctoranimationda5491]

One thing we all forget is that actually the digital market is 100% free and there is zero physical data. there is just the code that isn’t material and is just infinitely copyable without any need to care. Which is why digital Piracy and repack are the only true way to play games.

[@caliginousmoira8565]

hear hear

[@Bullminator]

Digital is not free dum dum. It takes your space on disk. Cheapest: Price per TB €11,52 --- €138 12 TB A lot of games have suddeny over 100gb (0,1TB). So you also pay in your space of € 1.1 per large AAA game. Publishers are moving prices of cds/dvds on consumers. At least pirates dont charge you (only cost is elec to run pc and internet).

[@8Aerondight8]

Video game companies are there to sell a product and as such they are completely beholden to their customers. This is why people should never buy into the whole "we're trying to make a community around our game" garbage because they don't care about making communities, they want to make a false feeling of belonging and tribalism that will help mask their shortcomings and shield them from criticism by their brainwashed fans. If they make a game you like buy it, if not then don't buy it even if it means the company goes under. Never pre-order and wait for a few reviews first or in recent cases wait a month or two after release for the imminent patches as the live service model basically is a scapegoat for companies to be lazy and launch unpolished garbage.

[@TantoFaz13]

Consoles moving away from physical medias has ironicaly made me switch to pc finally. At least on pc there are a lot more options and there is always the alternative, you known, if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing.

[@kagekun1198]

It's incredibly cathartic to see someone voice the troubled thoughts I've had about games for a long while. Yes, I too am dreading the day the Cyberpunk and Ghost of Tsushima sequels come out and I hate that. I loved the originals so much and I know it will hurt when the sequels are hijacked by woke ideologies wearing the skinsuits of their betters. And it's fitting that you use Cyberpunk BGMs and footage, because that All Digital Games Dystopia has happened in Night City. It is by no means overt, but tiny slivers like a news piece saying that Arasaka has released a new software patch and buying that new patch is mandatory if you want to keep your place in university or something.

[@TheDezembro]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Yeah, I went to get Cyberpunk footage on purpose for this, seemed fitting with the dark future and all that. 😄 And yeah I think we see that in action in Edgerunners, right? The update David had to buy? If you're new, I cover more of these "ideology-driven" topics in other vids if you're interested. ✨

[@kagekun1198]

I'm no stranger to your channel. I first discovered your videos through the Veilguard dissection. It's pretty nice to see an oasis of sanity in this insane world

[@Sky-Strider]

11:40 Knew you were going to say it, so I was waiting for it. Yes, it's about control, and unfortunately, corporate/media influences (or whatever you want to call it) has succeeded in wearing away at the moral integrity and education of the populace. You're just supposed to unquestioningly accept whatever the company is telling you is acceptable, if not because you shouldn't care about the valid reasons for physical media (or at the very least nonpredatory/exploitative licensing agreements), then because it's inevitable and so you just shouldn't put forth any resistance. It's like the customer is supposed to relinquish all control and free will, and for what? To be taken advantage of? For millions upon millions of dollars being funneled into slop and propagandized remakes that cost more with little to no new worthwhile content added? It doesn't make any sense, and that's before even taking into consideration the lack of economic ramifications of eliminating the avenue and competition that comes with producing and preserving physical games.

[@ograndemito]

Good video, as always.

[@Extremistareterrible]

I'm 43, and I'm completely digital. Most indies do not have a physical copy, and i mainly play indies. I would rather have physical copies as most physical are cheaper in the long run(Dark Souls 3 is still 60 bucks on PSN). I kinda miss having shelves full of games, music, and movies.

[@AshurbanipalSonofAshurhaddon]

Most Indie games can be purchased at GOG, isn't physical media but is DRM free and you actually own de game files permanently (you can download and store the game files on your hard drive). Meanwhile if Steam goes bust for some reason, you will lose your entire game library.

[@Extremistareterrible]

@AshurbanipalSonofAshurhaddon unfortunately, I still have the PSN DRM. I'm a console peasant.

[@100organicfreshmemes5]

​@@ExtremistareterribleYeah see, problem is you're on Playstation. Sony controls the whole store so they have little incentive to put games on sale.

[@Extremistareterrible]

@100organicfreshmemes5 i get plenty of sales.

[@Jonderlei]

I gotta say I had got waaaay way more deals buying games digitally than I ever did physically. Unless I was looking for a old game they were usually full price. Could be different if you could easily pop in every other day but I've gotten so many games at insane deals if not completely free digitally

[@TheDezembro]

As a general comparison I've also gotten more deals digitally, also just with smaller games or older games. HUGE sales for older games & indies. But not with recent or brand new games as opposed to physical stores which often run very valuable sales and naturally drop their prices as time goes by. Gotta find the right gamer-friendly stores, though. How it works here is independent stores slowly drop the price of a new game over-time. (for example, just looked up Silent Hill 2 Remake, it's currently 55€) But they RARELY do sales. BIG retailers though, do MASSIVE sales sometimes. Such as the 3-for-2 ones. I usually check in online once a week. Can consistently find a 3-for-2 sale at least 4 times per year. I know it may not sound like much but if you hold out on some purchases and then take advantage of the 3-for-2 you can save a loooot of money.

[@Jonderlei]

Psn kinda hooked me into digital games because we didn't have to pay tax on them for years.Avoiding 15% on top of my game price was a big deal. Why would I bus across the city just to pay more for a game I wanted? So it became habit I get the value of physical media and I'd like to have the physical copy of a few of my games but its not nessesary for me to have everything like that or my apartment would be more cluttered than it already is. When I was getting the Invincible comics I could've got the digital much cheaper and right away instead of waiting for restock but fuck that only way I'm doing digital comics is if I don't have another option

[@TheDezembro]

I think a great step forward for them would be to knock off the taxes again :/ it would at least drop the price from 80 to 70 on their exclusives, and from 70 to 60 on everyone else. And a 15% off on preorders like physical stores would be a great step too. But as it is, the tax is such a brutal push, and it'll only get worse the more they hike up the prices of standard copies.

[@kyleburke7285]

This is just such great content . I really feel the passion you have for the industry, and i can tell you put a lot of time, heart & soul into this I see you making it far in the youtube atmosphere.

[@akyruz8345]

Good video. I am a video game collector so i always buy physical first and only pre-order if there's a Collectors Edition with physical goods. When a game is "digital-only" i always wait for a 50%+ discount: by this time, if they plan on releasing a physical version it should already be out (many companies hide their intention of releasing a physical version down the line so they can cash-in twice). A piece of advice: check the asian market as they often release physical versions that usually feature english voice/text (play-asia is a reliable source). And it is very true that digital fronts usually only decrease prices when a sequel is out or a sales-season is happening. A couple weeks ago i saw Sekiro was on sale for 50%-off on PSN.... it was 30€ because it's being sold at 60€ still....

[@SinCityRadio2077]

We are all just the Matrix AA batteries for YT with our underperformer videos my friend, you could even do a video about the YT landscape itself, I'm binging all yours vids, glad I found your channel

[@TheDezembro]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it! 🙏

[@Asriel_Cypher]

Here's my feedback on growth on YT... I think it's better if you try to make the videos under 30 mins each. Talk about them one at a time but release 1 per day. You can easily cut up parts and upload 1 by 1 with how much you have to say for now. I recommend doing that. Look at Legendary Drops. They got massive real quick, doing the same exact thing you do, but with a different format that suited better for Viewers in YT Algorithms. It's something to reconsider, if you want growth on the channel. Just a suggestion though. It's your channel on how you want to do things.

[@TheDezembro]

Thanks dude, I appreciate it! 🙏 I definitely want to grow, but I feel like I'm super scattered. I want to do long-form but I also know I should have more of a "name" and subscriber base in order to make them work. So I start writing a script with that in mind, but then they end up bigger, like a thread. Leaving me confused as to where to cut out what. And doing smaller things that leave out necessary context (or that don't flow naturally from a separate point - or TOWARDS an incoming point) feels off. I might be overthinking too much and I'll definitely need to figure it out because yeah, I see it impacting my videos right now VS the 30~ minutes one I started with a couple of months ago. Tomorrow's (or friday's) one should only be around 27 minutes at least so that's progress lol

[@TheDezembro]

@@Asriel_Cypher Got a couple of ideas to try out to cut, rescript a bit, and upload as a separate and smaller vid, linking to this if people want the full thing. Thanks again for the suggestion and feedback 😊

[@Asriel_Cypher]

@@TheDezembro You're welcome. I want more people to voice out our valid concerns and have as much as people with louder voices and the ability to articulate well into words to the world. I hope we can convey our message well into the industry and change it. The louder we are as individuals, the louder we are as a whole, as customers and simply enjoyers of this hobby.

[@Asriel_Cypher]

@@TheDezembro One other feedback or suggestion I have, is with putting BOLD TEXTS in point you want to convey. You can see the people who has comment on what line that they think is great, right? I would take that part in the script, and add in a large bold text in the center of the screen, with what you said. Making the points hard to ignore and see what they listen. For example is when you talked about "Game Devs" or people who worked on the game ruining their perception of the game or impression from their game. I'd put on the text in the middle while saying it out loud. It really gets the points across and people resonate with it easier with the points we all share. Such as; "Devs who ruined potential sales because of politic reasons" line is great to put out in the center of the video, to stress out the point. Like my sentence above about "Bold Texts" are easily seen when put in large text to get points across. Again, these are just suggestions. I want to see how you do things your way. If you don't think the suggestion will fit or prefer it differently, feel free to just ignore. It is your video. All I want to see is your growth and voice reach more people.

[@azoth980]

@@TheDezembro I can only speak for me, but i prefer long form videos which go into detail. There are millions of videos made for the "algorithm", but i prefer quality. And if a video takes over one hour to transport the message, i'm fine with it. Do what you like, but i would prefer that you do what you like than optimise for the algorithm.

[@captaincrunch1707]

It’s an interesting topic .

[@EatWave]

The only benefit that I have seen for gaming is the Good Old Games service which allows one to save DRM free games to wharever format that one has available (even thousands of floppy disks).

[@leinadreign3510]

Instead of Cyberpunk 2077 I would have tagged the game "I have no mouth and I must scream", which is about literally a tech hell.

[@Wolf-4D]

Great video! In 2022 I bought a digital version of John Rambo on Amazon Prime, which was uncut. A few weeks ago I found out that they replaced the 88 minute version with a 75 minute one. Basically they cut out all the reasons why people buy such a movie. There's nothing you can do about it. That is one reason why I went back to buying physical copies a long time ago. I have a huge Blu Ray and music CD Collection. Films, music, books, wherever I can I stick with the physical version, and I do like to own the things I buy, even if a lot of music nowadays is only available as mp3 downloads and I could not resell it if I wanted to. I also lead a life with as few subscriptions as possible. It is incredible how much money people spend on pointless subscriptions every month, including movie and music streaming. Games are the only exception. I don't play that much, so I'm reasonably happy with Steam. I fucking hate fucking launchers, especially GOG (which, unfortunately I have to use for Cyberpunk 2077 as Instant Gaming offered it cheap, but not as a Steam version). Consoles, in my opinion, are grossly overpriced and never worth the money for me. They used to be expensive, now they're just fucking insanely priced. The last one I owned was a PS3 (which was a very good Blu Ray player, too), and most games I bought for the PS3 were physical copies. Today, games are the only thing I need to be online for. Everything else I can do even if the WWW crashes and burns. What you said about the price difference of digital vs. physical copies is true for movies, too. A new film goes for 18 to 19 Euros on Amazon Prime, which is fucking insane, especially considering what I wrote at the beginning. Why is anyone even buying that? I wouldn't pay that for a physical copy. And older ones are still too expensive in many cases, plus you never know when Amazon is going to replace them with a butchered version or removes subtitles or language options.

[@DanteCrowlley]

We know that, but there's no running from the cyberpunk future we're going, you'll be forced to accept the new normal

[@capnphuktard5445]

Well when the government turns the internet off you can come over to my house and borrow one of my games that I have for five different systems.. it's going to cost you though.

[@PaulusAlone]

You’re only forced to accept it if you don’t refuse it in the first place! “By 2030 you will own nothing and be happy”- World Economic Forum. A world where YOU own nothing is a world where you are a slave. It’s like those tea plantations in the Far East where the workers have to rent their buckets and equipment and pay bed and board for the worker barracks they are compelled to live in. That’s the future these globalists are trying to force us into.

[@DauthEldrvaria]

@@capnphuktard5445that’s saddening lol Your gonna kill it though 😂

[@Ghost101]

"You will own nothing, be happy and eat ze bugs!"

[@PaulusAlone]

@@Ghost101 - So true! But be careful how you say it because I think KZbin algorithm deleted my comment here quoting that full VV-3-F line about 2030? 👍

[@knowledgegaming8437]

I'm glad I found somebody that understands the situation. Disc versions are the way to go. I have had people say like the crew even disc versions couldn't be played. Well there is a solution for that. Now starting this year. I buy a console that can be played offline. I download the content to the games. Until a game I really like gets shelf. Then I can still play it offline as long as you don't ever connect to the Internet again. This will be the only way to save games you bought forever. And you can only save so many this way. But it's worth having a backup console always offline once you put all the game you want on it just in case. PS5 and Xbox series X single player games can be played offline. Digital is just getting people ready for live cloud gaming. Where you will only be renting. You don't believe thats the future. Cloud gaming is already in gamepass. Xbox I believe is trying to be a live cloud gaming service for all their games. We will still have consoles. It's just a game you like you'll be renting it pretty much until they wasn't to shelf it. Then you gaming was for basically nothing but memories. Buy physical disc. Save games you buy and save the industry. Never trade convenience for ownership. That's a very bad trade.

[@Walamonga1313]

The prices are def bs. On PC at least you've choices due to various storefronts, but on consoles you can't really do that except for physicals. And now consoles are trying to eliminate physical. Also who remembers when they said "digital will make games cheaper than physical" yeah right, that was also bs. Keep posting all these great videos on important topics

[@Gwa-Senpai]

Idk if u know this now but starfield did have a physical release at launch. However, it was only part of the game on disc, the rest had to be downloaded digitally making the physical copy pointless. I’m pretty sure it’s currently the same as it was at launch.

[@JAKEATO]

Like the tecnology downgrades if you cut things is supposed the prizes are low but with full digital still trying to sell you $70.00 dollars when the companies are left the plastic and physical distribution.

[@leinadreign3510]

I started with buying games ons team, because valve forced it onto everyone who wanted to play Half Life 2 or Counter Strike. Now I have a much bigger Library on GOG. Happened after some titles in my library got censored after the purchase (for example Black Ops, I had the uncensored version, the Ive got it censored). Content gets removed (best example would be the removed music with GTA), and other alterations (for example CnC RA2 Yuris Revenge: The Hollywood level had three special units to free; Parodies of well known stars: Arnie Frankenfurter, Sylvester Stalion and Flint Westwood, with great soundsamples. Now: "Actiohero", "Filmstar"... and generic soldier soudn lines...). I had enough of this and happily buying my games onm gog, downloadinga nd storing them on HDDs. Giving a big 'F' towards greedy Gabes Steam, who brought it upon us. Oh, and Baldurs Gate 3? Yea, I ordered it three times. One for me, two as gifts. And I also got it on GOG.

[@on2thenextthing]

Inevitably they will lower the prices of digital games. When they are dragged before Congress and accused of price fixing and monopolizing the market.

[@muscipFIN]

last time i had physical game copies was as a child, some great rts games. as a student i would borrow or ware games since i was too poor to buy any, and now even with a wage i dont buy games over 20$ unless i know i will play them for hundreds of hours (no pvp slop, singleplayer moddable games for life) or they have a extreme sale be it on steam or a shady 3rd party site

[@electriclott]

I went all digital 4-5 years ago mainly because of lazyness. I did not want to go to a store or wait for a disk. I did not want to get up and put a disk in my console. Recently I have started to rethink this because Im starting to see that microsoft or sony could ban me for off platform conduct( an opinion they dont like) and I could loose access to thousands of dollars of games. Im considering going back to disk, however if there is an online reqirement for a game then having a disk makes no difference.

[@justaquietpeacefuldance]

I can't imagine how stupid and ignorant someone needs to be to argue otherwise and for full digital. They probably forget to breathe when eating and which foot to put forward when walking...

[@Look-at-the-ghost]

What’s funniest to watch people fiercely defend all digital like they’re standing up for something brave it’s not even an idea that they had the CEOs want you to purchase your stuff that way

[@FranklySean]

Steam is a great service and will remain that way as long as Gabe is alive. But Gabe is getting old.

[@Bullminator]

Yeah......i been replacing my steam games with pirate versions just in case. As soon as Gabe kicks the bucket, company will get sold and steam will turn into true monopoly.

[@arjun220]

5-10$ digital games is okay (usually on deep deep sale) but a 100-150$ digital game? is a big No! No!

[@offnet6934]

Problem are that governments don't do they job as always. They don't do anything or even they don't have any idea what they need to do. Regulations by gov. is not ideal but game industry show time and time again that they don't want regulate themselves. If they would behaved themselves they would have 100% free reign to the end of times.

[@eduonkhl]

Overall a good video but I'd like to give some feedback on some half truths and that it's really not about physical vs digital being the largest issue but rather DRM. Yes, you can sell physical media that's one advantage not many think about. However corporations have made sure that only one person at a time can have access to the same copy of the game at any time. Furthermore there is the huge issue that physical media has become a joke in many ways. Worst case being that you get a box with a code inside of it. Second worst case being that the game REQUIRES additional downloads to work at all in addition to DRM checks from servers that you have no control over if they are online or not. So even if you have the full game on the disc it might still become a paperweight should the company decide to take those servers for verification offline or by simply ceasing to exist as a company. As you pointed out yourself, you don’t technically own it. For some reason, though, you keep returning to the idea that physical media represents real ownership when it doesn’t. Ownership of physical media is limited-you're often still subject to licensing agreements and restrictions that prevent true ownership so just because you're able to physically hold something in your hand that does not guarantee access to the actual contents on the disc. The issue here isn't about physical versus digital; it's about DRM (Digital Rights Management). DRM-free games, even when digital, offer far more freedom and ownership than physical media ever could if that physical media still has DRM attached to it. Even in the best-case scenario, where both physical and digital media are DRM-free, the only real difference is that physical media comes with an extra box-something that may or may not be desirable. Personally, I’d prefer to have thousands of games stored on something like two 20TB HDD drives in RAID 1 to always have a backup copy should one drive fail. They take up minimal space compared to the storage units required to house the same games in physical form. Generally speaking the more backups you have the better, especially at more than one place. The only real difference is the medium where the binary code is stored anyway. If something is DRM free (physical or digital) it doesn't matter where it is stored initially because you can copy the data over to the respective other medium and have each copy work independently of each other (Make a digital ISO backup from the disc/Burn the digital version to a disc yourself, yes it's not as pretty, but if you really want to, at least in theory, you can buy those empty disc boxes yourself and get yourself high quality cover art prints, don't know about prints directly onto the disc but the rest if relatively obtainable). Since there is no medium that lasts forever the process of being able to make backups is essential for continued ownership of the product you bought. Your argument about digital media being more expensive overlooks a major point: consoles exist primarily to create a locked-down ecosystem for large corporations. This lets them enforce exactly the type of pricing practices you’re criticizing. On consoles, you have only two options: overpriced digital storefronts and second-hand physical media. Meanwhile, on PC, we have multiple launchers and key-selling websites competing with each other, providing more options and, generally, better prices. As for the DLC with very little content being sold at ridiculous prices, I’d argue that consumers bear most of the blame here. Many companies, like EA, make up to 75% of their revenue from microtransactions, largely because consumers have become too accepting of these practices and because sadly way too many people have zero self control on some of their spending habits. So, while I agree with your criticism of DLC practices, the only real solution lies in consumers changing their spending habits and I just don't see that happening anytime soon so unless the law steps in we'll keep having these "Gold Editions'". Until that happens, there's not much we can do except wait for significant sales or, in some cases, turn to the open seas to avoid supporting these practices while still getting ALL of the content. You should also consider looking into GOG (Good Old Games). While some games on there still have DRM, most are DRM-free, and you can download the latest versions with offline installers. The biggest downside is that many games take years to be made available there. The best solution, in my opinion, might be some form of hybrid system-one that only Steam could realistically implement, given its market power. Steam has such a strong position that publishers have little choice but to comply or lose out on massive sales. Many publishers have tried to cut out the middleman and failed, which is why they keep returning to Steam. Here’s a potential solution: DRM could be allowed at launch, as that's when most sales happen, to satisfy publishers' concerns about piracy. However, any game listed on Steam must have the DRM free installer offline version ready day 1 for Valve for safekeeping and must be updated with every patch to the latest version. This would discourage publishers from removing games after the initial release window. As to when that offline DRM free version will be available to customers, there could be terms in the Steam agreement that requires publishers to release a DRM-free version six months (or a year, depending on what Valve thinks is fair) after launch. Should they fail to do this Valve would have the DRM free version ready to release it themselves (obviously also needs to be in the terms and conditions for publishers and they must agree to Valve being allowed to do so). As for older titles Valve could incentivize this DRM free offline versions retroactively by lowering their cut, for example from 30% to 10%, for a set period of time, to encourage publishers to revisit older titles and make them DRM-free. For live-service titles, the situation is more complicated, and only legal action might be able to address many of the issues associated with them. However, for general multiplayer titles, I believe there should be legal requirements for the server-client components to be released before shutting down servers so anyone can host their own servers should they want to. Publishers should not be allowed to close servers without providing the necessary client-side files. In the case of live-service multiplayer games, all content should be unlocked by default once they’re no longer monetized, especially because players will need to host the game themselves and it would simplify content tracking. This would also allow players to back up their data and preserve their experience. Of course, most of these changes are unlikely to happen, but this would be my ideal scenario for how corporations should treat their customers. If such a system were implemented, I’d feel far more confident in investing even larger sums into building my collection. Let's just hope it won't get any worse like games becoming subscription exclusive where there is no more option to purchase the game but instead you have to pay the monthly subscription like Game Pass (similar to Office 365 or Adobe products which I still don't understand how there isn't a major outrage against that). That model is probably the greatest threat to us consumers because it's anti preservation with pretty much every possible control taken away from you and it's scary how many customers are accepting of this model to the point where it might push companies to no longer sell you the games individually even if you accept all of the nonsense that's standard in the industry today.

[@escapism6617]

Dezembro, you really need to cover GOG!

[@TheDezembro]

Good old Games? I own a couple of old games on there. Nothing against the platform, I know they have a lot of pro-preservation & pro-consumer characteristics just didn't think it was relevant to the overall situation since, when it comes to new & recent titles, if the Publishers kick up their prices, they'll be expensive everywhere :/

[@Zero-no5vf]

Piracy is a necessity at this point

[@escapism6617]

49:40 Yes it is really sad to see this happen to CD Projekt Red - they used to seem so based. They will learn the same lesson as other AAA devs - massive loss of sales. There is still good stuff out there - I'm playing KCD at the moment. Looking forward to KCD2. Warhorse Studios and Daniel Vavra are an example of proper game developers.

[@Bullminator]

Digital media does get corrupted. You need at 3 of same backup as part of hard drive/ssc gets damaged when used a lot.

[@OldyAlbert]

I have no problem with physical existing, it's just that 99% of the games i play are PC indie games that was never physical to begin with so it's not something in my vicinity, i don't even own a disc-drive for the last 15 years.

[@NicholasBrakespear]

"I want to own my games..." Let's clear up some painfully silly misconceptions that plague the entire discussion and cast light on the fact that a lot of gamers evidently don't actually know how any of this works: Firstly, possession is not ownership. Ownership is a matter of law; possession is the physical act of having a thing. A thief might possess what he stole; he does not own it. You ALWAYS bought a license. Since software first existed, you never bought the software itself, you always bought a license to use the software. Even when you buy a movie on a DVD, you're still buying a license; you always bought a license. Always. This is the only way digital media can be sold. You never "owned" software. You cannot own software. It is not possible for you to own software as a consumer. Software is a list of duplicated instructions performed by your computer. For you to own the software, you would need to own the distribution rights. You don't "own" a copy of the software, either. You bought license that gives you the legal right to access and run a copy of the software; not any specific copy, just a copy. This is important - because software has to be duplicated in order for it to run at all; when your machine reads the game data from a disc, it is duplicating that data to memory, so each time you run the game it's a new copy technically. Physical media is just a delivery method. There is absolutely no fundamental difference whatsoever between a copy of a game delivered on a disc, and a copy of a game downloaded from a digital distribution platform. I see a lot of gamers genuinely struggling with this concept - it is ALL digital, all the time, always. The delivery method is entirely irrelevant. If you somehow transmitted the game data to your computer via a series of whistled notes and messages delivered by carrier pigeon? It would still be digital. On the subject of second hand sales, the deciding factor is this: With digital media, it is possible to sell a thing and still have a thing. That's why second hand sales for digital media will always be legally dubious. A lot of people trot out the book comparison, but the actual comparison would be this: Imagine if you were demanding the right to take the contents of a book, print them out again, and sell that printed copy while still retaining possession of the original, and repeat this process however many times you wished. It's not a second hand sale then, but simple distribution, and you don't have the distribution rights. Full digital, full physical - it doesn't matter. That's not the thing that matters, and not the thing that anyone should be discussing. What you should be discussing... is the license. What you should be discussing is the covert change in software licenses over the past couple of decades. There was a time when software licenses entitled you to replacement discs in the event of your disc being damaged; when customer rights were actually baked into said license. That is what you should be discussing. That is what you should be pushing for; that the customer has the ongoing right to access the software, and that every reasonable effort should be made on the part of the publisher to ensure that continued access. On the subject of digital distribution being cheaper - yes, it should be. And it is. If you're not a buffoon. If you're buying from the major publishers, and whining about how "digital only" games should be cheaper? You're the problem, not them. Games from the big publishers represent a tiny percentage of gaming as a whole, and the most expensive. The vast majority of games from indie developers and smaller publishers on Steam are, and always have been, cheaper than traditional physical retail prices. Stop throwing your money away, then whinging about the price of something you really, really didn't need to buy. You're the reason they increased prices in this way. I remember it happening - I remember when Modern Warfare 2 came out on Steam, back in the day. It was full physical retail price. I remember laughing at it, thinking "Activision don't know how digital distribution works". But everyone bought it! At a time when no other games were that expensive on Steam, everyone happily bought it! Stop buying from the big publishers. Just stop. You don't get to feed the monster and then complain that the monster grew bigger.

[@Lyoko42o]

The PS5 Pro is 700. It's 699.99

[@azminek7154]

I don't like digital games... the way GOG does it. DRM free where you can download and archive the installer. That's roughly equal level of ownership to classic physical media with the convenience of digital distribution. I still have a slight preference to (classic) physical. To me a digital version, including physical that's locked to an account doesn't worth more than 20€. Except on GOG. On GOG I'd go as high as 30-40€. Games cost more than ever while the consumer gets less than ever.

[@vkermodekumav8949]

Whoa wait dude! You got one thing incorrect or needs a more detailed explanation. @16:51 Online passes for games back on PS3 and Xbox 360 did not block access to play The full game, it was only for the online multiplayer or exclusive DLC in some cases. You could still play the game offline just fine but if you did buy the game used and the code within that copy was used already, that means that you had to buy the Online Pass from the marketplace. Just to clear that up. I boycotted so many games for that BS. I got fed up with it after Saints Row 3. Tekken tag 2 has[still has? Not sure, I heard a lot of games got them patched out ] one and I didnt get the game for years till it came out on the Wii U, when online passes were long dead. But yeah they suck either way :3 great video so far :3

[@DreamingCactus]

Your physical games are licensed as well and they can take away your physical licenses.

[@o0TraceuR0o]

too much yapping

[@capnphuktard5445]

Then go make your own channel

[@o0TraceuR0o]

@capnphuktard5445 damn a white knight appears

[@19Crusader91]

Signalboosting this video as mutch as i can.

[@FakeXero]

I realized the insane control these companies have when the Darktide beta ended and they forced an "update" via Steam, which deleted the files from your drive. Thats bad enough, but worse is, when I posted my concerns about this on the Steam forums, my post mocked by other players. Players like the first dude at 4:01, I assume.

[@Bullminator]

Or recently with palworld update due to lawsuit totaly fucking up the game. Good thing you can go back to old versions using steam console if you know how to. But you can only play that version in steam offline mode as it disables auto updates.