Buying physical media is still renting if it uses any sort of internet validation or online check, because those servers aren't guaranteed to always be online in the immediate or far future.
Especially with shared key material that has an expiry in that future, that consumers aren’t aware of or wouldn’t understand if they were.
I must respectfully disagree with your assertion. The non-rivalrous nature of software, as established in numerous legal precedents (see Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984) and Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010)), fundamentally alters the traditional concept of ownership in the digital realm.
While your preference for physical media is duly noted, it fails to account for the evolving landscape of digital rights management (DRM) and end-user license agreements (EULAs). The legal framework surrounding digital distribution platforms like Steam is predicated on a licensing model, not a transfer of ownership per se.
Your concern about account lockouts, while not entirely unfounded, overlooks the myriad benefits of digital distribution, including but not limited to: reduced environmental impact, instant access, automatic updates, and cloud saves. Furthermore, it disregards the legal protections afforded to consumers under various jurisdictions' consumer protection laws.
In conclusion, while your nostalgia for physical media is understandable, it does not negate the legal and practical realities of modern software distribution. The non-rivalrous nature of software necessitates a different paradigm of ownership and access, one that the current legal and technological frameworks are still grappling with.
Very few places sell PC games on physical media anymore and most games don't even have physical media made for PCs in the first place anymore. PC games sold on physical media were already dying 15 years ago, before Steam really took off. Major retailers had already begun drastically downsizing the PC game section, and a lot of games released for consoles first, with PC editions being half-assed ports released much later, if they came out at all.
The modern resurgence in PC gaming only exists because of digital distribution. "Just buy your PC games in the store" hasn't been a viable option in a long time. There is GOG as a DRM-free option at least, if you want to truly have a copy that can't be taken from you.
Are you saying that it’s due to laziness that some $12 strategy game from Eastern Europe that might sell 1000 copies worldwide doesn’t have copies in every Best Buy?
That is the "digital media & software is a rivalrous good therefore not paying for it is stealing" argument that copyright lobbyists have preached to Americans since the "You wouldn't download a car" campaign in the early 2000s