Publishers Have Said the Quiet Part Out Loud About Retro Games

62 pointsposted a year ago
by redbell
(forbes.com)

11 Comments

bobthepanda

a year ago

The linked GamesRadar article has way more substance than the Forbes article, which says a lot of nothing wrapped around one quote from the GamesRadar article.

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/publishers-are-absolutely-t...

mock-possum

a year ago

Wow gamesradar is an ad-infested cesspool

But here’s the meaty bit:

> That ruling cites the belief of the Entertainment Software Association and other industry lobby groups that "there would be a significant risk that preserved video games would be used for recreational purposes." … this also ignores the fact that libraries already lend out digital versions of more traditional media like books and movies to everyday people for what can only be described as recreational purposes.

Exactly. What makes videogames different than books, music, and videos?

ascagnel_

a year ago

The terms under which libraries lend out e-content are awful: e-content expires after either a given number of lends, a period of time, or whichever comes sooner, while a well-maintained library book can last for decades, and it tends to be more expensive than its analog counterpart (eg: an e-book for may cost more than its heavy-duty library-style-binding hardcover).

That said, the key difference is that book publishers decided to offer e-content under an explicit license, while game publishers have not.

mock-possum

a year ago

You know what that’s a fair point, I will give that to you.

I’d gladly give all my old licenses to NES and SNES games to a gaming library if it meant they could preserve them as digital lending material.

JSR_FDED

a year ago

The other bit I found shocking:

We’ve had over a decade to prove that AAA games are not viable in a business sense. The budgets and returns are not sustainable. However, to get these massive budgets off the ground, the industry effectively eliminated mid-tier games.

itronitron

a year ago

if they ban recreational use, would I need a prescription for medicinal use?

mathnode

a year ago

Could this be linked to instead?

CatWChainsaw

a year ago

"What with all the layoffs across the games industry to compensate for rampant budgetary overspending in publishing, the reality behind keeping retro games within a paid walled garden is about charging new money for old rope — and controlling the market to force gamers to play new games."

Technically, you're not forced. I bought Tears of the Kingdom once and I can play it many, many times, and Nintendo can eat shit if it tries to charge me $70 per playthrough.