• mesamune@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Or give them the password. They aren’t going to check if your still alive.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        It is bullshit tho. I feel like for how massive these libraries are, I should be able to do that. Even if it requires a death certificate to make the transfer.

        • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          This is what steam is: a lesser form of ownership in exchange for the perks of the platform. I’ve come to prefer physical media first, DRM free second, and steam third. It’s just not as good of a value proposition to me compared to outright ownership (of the license to use the software, I know we don’t own “the game”).

          • Nate Cox@programming.dev
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            1 month ago

            Physical media today isn’t really much better though, increasingly frequently all a disk gets you is a license to activate a digital copy anyways, with a “must be online for first play” requirement.

            • FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.works
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              1 month ago

              That’s exactly how I ended up with a steam account. Bought a Civ V cd and the game isn’t on the cd, just an installer for steam and a key.

              • NoneYa@lemm.ee
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                1 month ago

                You got a CD? Some of these boxes have just a piece of heavy paper with a code to download. Fortnite for Switch immediately comes to mind.

                The only benefit of this is for those who want to pay for cash or those who want a physical box to display.

            • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              It’s sadly true. I have been lucky so far, but I know one day I’ll accidentally give money to a developer who does this

              • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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                1 month ago

                I’m curious what recent games you’ve been able to purchase physical copies of that ran without updating or validating using the internet. I didn’t know any publishers still did that, at least not on PC.

                • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  I admittedly don’t buy many games lately, especially not from the big budget crowd. BG3 seems to run fine without internet, as do Sea of Stars and Noita.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            (of the license to use the software, I know we don’t own “the game”).

            No, you don’t own the copyright, but you do own your individual copy. Don’t fall for the “licensed, not sold” self-serving propaganda.

        • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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          1 month ago

          Add it to the list of ethical circumstances for piracy.

          In fact, for the titles I cared about, I would contact the studio/publisher themselves, explain the situation, send a death cert and a steam account, and see if they would allow a transfer or grant a new key. If not…they’re part of the problem.

        • DudeDudenson@lemmings.world
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          1 month ago

          At the end of the day steam is also selling licenses not games. They might be the least diabolical shop around but copyright laws still apply.