I just don’t play online games anymore because of this.

Technically, we’ve never owned our games. Even cartridges are meant to be a license to the game. This is one of the many bullshit defenses that games manufacturers use to go after people making tools to dump carts to files and people who develop emulators.

It’s the same argument used by companies against DVD or BluRay ripping.

I get that physical gave us a lot more control over our purchases than digital, and subscription services have degraded that control even further, but I’m tired of everyone framing this as an ownership issue. At best it’s an access and control issue. The whole “you’re just licensing it” problem has been present for decades.

Remember,
if you participate in the subscription nonsense,
then you’re supporting such a future.

If you refuse to buy subscriptions,
then you’re standing up against it :)

If I stop being able to buy games I’m going to stop playing new games that go down this route.

Before: “I love games!”

After: “Fuck video games! 😡”

Most games aren’t fully baked at release anymore. You’re not getting the full experience unless you play it down the line, sometimes years after release.

On top of that, you have to play games on someone else’s time, that is, their license agreement.

If I run out of steam in the middle of persona 3 reloaded, and need to take a break before I revisit it, I don’t want to have to buy it on the subscription platform again to recover my save, or have to keep the foresight that I might not beat it before it disappears.

It’s games. It’s a distraction, a joy. I shouldn’t have to manage anything else or have to pay anything I don’t want to.