Sony Removes Digital Libraries That Were Supposed To Last Forever
 

From

Paul Mc Nalley of ReadWrite

At the end of last year, we ran a story that resonated with a lot of people when Sony lost the rights to some digital content it had previously been selling via its online store. This content was subsequently removed from PlayStation owners’ libraries even though they had bought it with their own money.

It caused a bit of a stir and served to highlight that you don’t really own what you “buy” in a lot of cases anymore.

Anyway, they have just done it again, so prepare for another backlash along similar lines.

Sony has confirmed in a rather bland and extensive statement that it will be shuttering the Funimation service – an anime streaming service on 2nd April so that it can focus entirely on Crunchyroll, another similar anime streaming service, and will migrate Funimation subscriptions to Crunchyroll.

Sounds fair enough, until you get to the bit that reads, “We understand that you may have concerns about your digital copies from Funimation. These Digital copies available on Funimation were a digital access to the content available on the DVDs or Blu-rays purchased. Please note that Crunchyroll does not currently support Funimation Digital copies, which means that access to previously available digital copies will not be supported.”

Another kicker is that a juicy price hike to Crunchyroll has also been announced. Previously Anime fans were paying just $54.95 a year for Crunchyroll, but from next January that will almost double to $99.99.

Gizmodo reports that this price hike is not down to a “flood of new shows” from Crunchyroll’s acquisition of Funimation, as they acquired the service two years ago and have only now chosen to put it out to pasture.

While this move affects a very specific audience, ie the anime crowd, consumers are once again left with zero protection against these moves and many are alarmed when they hear comments from industry figures keen on moving everything to digital subscriptions.

Amazon no longer allows purchase through their app.

This is so they don't have to pay Google 30% commission fees.

Microsoft Closing Down X Box 360 Digital Store

Microsoft has confirmed that it will be shutting down the Xbox 360’s online storefront next year. This means that Xbox 360 games and DLC, along with movies and TV shows purchased via the console’s Microsoft Movies & TV app, will no longer be able to be purchased on the Xbox 360 after that date.

Microsoft made this announcement on its website. As per the announcement, “new games, DLC, and other entertainment content” will no longer to be able to be purchased on Xbox 360 after the shutdown. It is important to note that this will not affect on games or DLC that Xbox owners purchased before the shutdown; as long as you own the game digitally, you will still be able to play or redownload it on your old Xbox 360 even after the store goes offline. It is also worthwhile emphasising that digital Xbox 360 games will still remain playable and purchasable via the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S console storefronts as well via backwards compatibility; they simply won’t be able to be directly purchased on the original console’s digital storefront.

I own almost 400 movies on DVD.

I suspect at some point we will have to subscribe to

Amazon Prime Video
Netflix
Disney +
Paramount+
Hulu
Peacock

to be able to watch movies from here on out should we no longer be able to buy movies digitally very soon.

Due to the listed reasons In post 1-

I own Play Station 2 and Play Station 3 games on hard copy actual game disks.

Final Fantasy IX and Tomb Raider I - X I own on hard copy game disks.

Also several games on PS 1 flash drives for my PS 1 mini.

I had gotten

Play Station 1 Classic Mini
Play Station 2 Slim
Play Station 3 Slim

due to software issues for those games for the later systems.

I also suspect at some point you will need both

Play Station 4
Play Station 5

for software issues.

I feel very soon that past system games may be discontinued at some point and we would lose those as well.

I do have the games on hard copy disk I plan to play due to Sony
discontinuing some games digitally and there are some titles I would love to finish.

More updates coming shortly on digital games and movies.

Myself and others who bring up supporting physical copy people already predicted this years ago. We got laughed at and were told off and yet...we got the last laugh...literally. We tried to say we told you so but...here we are.

There's a reason why some of us now call it Soyny. It's not just them that are doing the whole 'You will own nothing and be happy' crap.

This is WHYTF you NEVER trust any company or corporation to have YOUR best interests at heart.
Piracy ALL DAY LONG ITS FAIR GAME MATEY

They will last forever, just not available forever. Their platform, their rules, sadly.

It's unfortunate. It seems like switching to physical media would have been a better solution. Have they faced any legal action or accusations for essentially taking away a product that consumers had already purchased?

You Think You Own Your Digital Games? California Law Says Otherwise
New legislation requires digital storefronts to clarify licensing terms to customers.

By David Wolinsky on September 26, 2024 at 11:44AM PDT

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law, AB 2426, to address concerns over "disappearing" purchases of digital media, including games, movies, music, and ebooks. The law mandates that digital storefronts inform customers they are acquiring a license to use these products rather than indicating actual ownership, as reported by The Verge.

Effective next year, the legislation prohibits digital retailers from using terms like "buy" or "purchase" unless they clearly state that customers do not receive unrestricted access. Retailers must disclose that these licenses can be revoked and provide a list of associated restrictions. Companies that fail to comply may face fines for false advertising.

This law emerges as digital game sales surge and subscription models dominate the industry, prompting questions about ownership. The gaming community is increasingly aware that titles may not be accessible in the future. An episode of GameSpot's Spot On earlier this year discussed a hypothetical scenario in which, wanting to revisit a game like Alan Wake 2 in 2045, players could find it unavailable due to the shift away from physical sales.

The legislation responds to practices by major companies like PlayStation and Ubisoft. Earlier this year, Ubisoft removed The Crew from player accounts after shutting down its servers, while last year, Sony indicated it would remove purchased content from users' libraries before reversing that decision.

"As retailers continue to pivot away from selling physical media, the need for consumer protections on the purchase of digital media has become increasingly more important," said California Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin in a press release. "AB 2426 will ensure the false and deceptive advertising from sellers of digital media incorrectly telling consumers they own their purchases becomes a thing of the past."

While the law raises awareness about the limitations of digital licenses, it does not prevent storefronts from revoking access to purchased content. This legislation reflects ongoing efforts to clarify the nature of digital acquisitions and the evolving landscape of media ownership.

Easy solution: Don?t buy digital games/products you do not actually own, which is pretarded AF.
Gamers have become increasingly dumber over the years.

As a visual novel player, I am frustrated that most VNs outside the more popular ones do not have physical copies and forces me to use digital.

I'm not anti-digital, but the lack of physical for some I play does not amuse me.

I own most games I want to play on game disks for PS2 and PS3.

My issue would be with PS4 - PS11 and any X Box games for digital when I want to play the remaining chapters of a game series.

Now as we're in 2025 the outstanding issue would be PS 1 - PS 3 games and having to pay for a monthly rate for access to those games and those are the ones I own on PS 2 game disks.

At some point these games wouldn't be on the PS server due to lisencing issues mostly.

Most game lines will finish on PS 4 - 6.

That attitude is entirely unnecessary. But I'm going to ignore the rude insults and just say that there's plenty of understandable and justifiable reasons to buy digital.

I buy mostly digital. Why? I don't have space in my apartment for tons of games on my shelf and it's way more convenient to just load it up vs having to swap discs. ESPECIALLY for Switch - I don't want to have to take a ton of carts with me wherever I go.

Not saying that their business practices are good, but if I eventually lose access to what I've purchased, I'm sure I'll have gotten my money's worth out of them by then. Heck, at least half of the Playstation games I play are through PS+ anyways.

I think that the call here is not so much for the purchase of physical media (which will still become outdated and will sooner or later disappear completely), but rather for free piracy of digital copies. Then, even if they stop working one day, it will be much less offensive.

lol, I suppose that's another option too.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely get the distaste. But for me...I can't help but have a sense of "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." For now, I still feel like buying mostly digital is what makes the most sense for me.

For me I have go to games like Tomb Raider , Final Fantasy and Street Fighter which I play pretty regularly.

the reason for physical disks and a memory card is to be able to finish the games I'm playing. When you cancel your subscription you lose access to those games which can take longer than a month to complete.

For RPGs I mainly use physical disks.

As for Digital it would make sense for the Tekken and Street Fighter lines.

My concern would be Tomb Raider which you would only have room for Tomb Raider XI and XII from the Survivor Trilogy (Allowing for DLC) before you would need a 2nd PS system so in the case of Tomb Raider I would use PC for size. Final Fantasy XV is a whale at 50 Gs of space.

I did get Mega Man Legacy 2 and Mega Man 11 however digitally as well as Double Dragon IV.

Played DD IV on my phone and managed an 8.

I have PS1 games digitally on blue flash drives for my PS 1 mini.