I have been reviewing my purchasing habits as I have been burned a few times just recently. I have realised that I have become too comfortable buying digital games to then get screwed over by the publisher because they decide to change the terms and conditions after purchase and after the 2 hour refund window has passed.

Recent examples,

Requiring 3rd party accounts (HD2)
DRM and Anti-cheat (EA)
Dropping Steam Workshop support for propriety solutions (PDX)
Games getting outright deleted from existence.(Ubi)

Luckily I hadn't yet purchased HD2 so I have now removed this from my wish list. I am now evaluating whether to continue PC gaming after being on the platform for over 30 years as I am just getting fed up with being treated like an ATM.

I have just acquired an Xbox 360 to take a break from steam for a while and revisit some old classics before the 360 Store is shut down.

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If anyone likes Settlers 2 and 3 then you will like this game. Population and resource management is very important and each decision can have serious consequences. The game has a overall blend of say 85% city building and 15% combat warfare (total war like) but very basic by comparison.

The game is in early access though so bear that in mind. There is no Linux support but steam proton works fine. Would definitely recommend if you enjoy these types of games. I used to love playing settlers 2 back in the day.

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Not purchased any Nintendo Hardware or Software since the SNES.

I guess that is not going to change anytime soon.

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Quoting: Eike

Quoting: finaldestI am very disappointed that valve implemented this feature.

They are only making visible what's already happening. And we can't expect them to somehow stop it.

The Problem is that now VALVE has an official implementation the floodgates are now open.

One of the first publishers to use this will no doubt be Paradox Interactive.

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Quoting: Lofty

Quoting: finaldest

Quoting: Lofty

Quoting: finaldestI am done with this crap.

I am fed up of this complete utter greed. First we lost physical releases along with publishers destroying games preservation. Now they want even more money by charging £100+ for a broken PC game and now I am required to give yet more money to play the game on release day (AKA On time)

I am done. After 20 years I am now going back to the high seas.

i mean, yes and no. You don't have to play these overpriced "AAA" garbage titles, with terrible pricing, optimization, forced agenda's, Scam DLC, Malware DRM. There are hundreds of smaller dev's who would want your support, and of course a long back catalogue of existing games that can be modded. Then there are Retro games of which are still highly enjoyable and again can be emulated to look great.

But i do agree with the sentiment that until people change their buying practices non of this is going to change. And that applies to everything not just video games.

I will continue to support indy devs but I am now done with AAA publisher that implements this.

I am very disappointed that valve implemented this feature.

I don't blame you and i agree. My point was also why even bother pirating it even if it's free ? your still giving a shitty group of people your time and energy.

You know what, You are right.

Sailing High seas not worth it as its just too much hassle.

I will just boycott instead. Ubisoft and EA in particular.

I will give GOG another look though.

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Quoting: Lofty

Quoting: finaldestI am done with this crap.

I am fed up of this complete utter greed. First we lost physical releases along with publishers destroying games preservation. Now they want even more money by charging £100+ for a broken PC game and now I am required to give yet more money to play the game on release day (AKA On time)

I am done. After 20 years I am now going back to the high seas.

i mean, yes and no. You don't have to play these overpriced "AAA" garbage titles, with terrible pricing, optimization, forced agenda's, Scam DLC, Malware DRM. There are hundreds of smaller dev's who would want your support, and of course a long back catalogue of existing games that can be modded. Then there are Retro games of which are still highly enjoyable and again can be emulated to look great.

But i do agree with the sentiment that until people change their buying practices non of this is going to change. And that applies to everything not just video games.

I will continue to support indy devs but I am now done with AAA publisher that implements this.

I am very disappointed that valve implemented this feature.

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I am done with this crap.

I am fed up of this complete utter greed. First we lost physical releases along with publishers destroying games preservation. Now they want even more money by charging £100+ for a broken PC game and now I am required to give yet more money to play the game on release day (AKA On time)

I am done. After 20 years I am now going back to the high seas.

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OMG, I saw this and my eyeballs just popped out.

I just rushed to steam to buy game and then see its 2025 release date and my heart sank. Its now on my wish list so will keep a close eye on this for sure.

Ohh well. I guess its back to waiting on frontier for a planet coaster 2 or water park game.

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15 years to get to 3% and 6 months to reach 4%. That is a 25% increase in 6 months.

That is an exponential increase and a very positive outlook. Is Linux about to go mainstream?

The next quarter will be interesting.

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100% behind this.

I want to see legislation put in place to make it illegal to take away access from a game after purchase and also bring in legislation to allow re sale of digital games.

I would also like to see physical releases with a download code banned. If I buy a physical copy then I want a fully offline playable game on the disk.

If the online multiplayer servers of a game is shut down then the games online portion should be open sourced to allow preservation.

If publishers abandon a game by not releasing a game for active purchase on any platform then that game should be considered abandonware and thus be put into public domain.

We need to fight back.

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