Technically... (Gaming)

by Claude Errera , Wednesday, March 07, 2018, 13:09 (2457 days ago) @ Cody Miller

That model never really existed. You can have the one-time physical media purchase, but the actual game content is still only available to you as a license.

I keep hearing this but it simply is not true, or it as least not treated as true. If it were, you could break your game disc, and request a low cost replacement since you already paid for the license. Never have I heard of anyone being able to do that.

Why would the developer need to provide you with a low-cost replacement disc if you broke yours? You might THINK that's a reasonable attitude, but there are no rules that require that, and no benefit to the developer to act that way; lots of replacement parts are super-expensive not because they cost the manufacturer a lot, but because the manufacturer wants to discourage the ordering of said parts.

I guess i don't see how the license agreement obligates the developer to act in a specific way vis-a-vis the actual medium.

(And with downloadable content, you DO see a free replacement if the physical media is damaged; both Xbox and Playstation allow a new download if you get a new console, bolstering the 'only-licensed' argument.)

We were talking about physical sales, not digital. Of course digital lets you re-download.

If you already have a license, the cost of a replacement media disc should not include another license cost, but rather only the cost of manufacture of the new disc.

...plus whatever cost the manufacturer feels like adding to discourage you from ordering replacements. I've had to buy $20 bits of plastic for my refridgerator - pieces that I can now have made for me in a 3D printer for a buck (and THAT allows for a profit margin), but for which there were no alternatives 20 years ago. That's not a 'replacement value', that's a 'we don't feel like dealing with your shit' value.