This is easily the biggest public admission to come out of the video game Industry since the Electronic Software Association’s (ESA) founding almost 40 years ago.

For those who might not know, the ESA represents the collective video game industry in the United States. Both legally and as a lobbyist body. In reaction to new legislation introduced in California and the European Union (EU) by the Stop Killing Games Movement, the ESA recently came out and said consumers do not own or have a legal right to the video games they buy as far as they’re concerned. Games you invested your time and money in that get shut down or are otherwise rendered unplayable is by design and is 100% intentional.

I wrote about this here two years ago but the ESA gave a full-throated “FUCK NO, NEVER!” to the Video Game History Foundation’s (VGHF) request to legally allow digital preservation of classic video games on the basis of historical and cultural preservation. Legally, you can make and own a digital backup of physical games you already own for personal use on your computer. The caviat is if the game has some type of DRM and you use third party software to remove the DRM, that is actually illegal. The ESA took someone to court and won to establish the legal precident for that.

Most veteran gamers who are paying attention probably realized this by now but these are some dark, uncertain times for the industry as a whole. I’ll blunt: The industry-wide collapse some have been warning of since the beginning of the decade likely started with the release of the Switch 2. It’s not just the video game industry but the general attitude of corporations in general–especially in the U.S.–is to pass the rising costs of everything on to consumers. Most in the U.S. don’t know this but while the Switch 2 costs $450–soon $500–in the U.S., it still sells for $350 in Japan. The extra $100 is Nintendo passing on the costs of the current administration’s Tarriff War directly onto American consumers. Same with Switch 2 games costing as much as $100 in some cases. Mind you, this is true for digital games as well as physical games. Don’t even get me started on the 1TB Steam Deck now selling to $950. Yes, really. I mean I get it, the price is largely to scare off potential scalpers. The problem is no one is seriously going to pay THAT much for a console that sold for half that price when it was last in stock.

People are getting fed up and this is why we’re seeing a growing number of folks aggressively hunting for older consoles and games for them. This is to say nothing of a surge in people openly pursuing emulation and acquiring R@Ms for the first time in numbers I haven’t seen since the mid-2000s. The ESA’s two-finger salute to consumers is nothing more than another nail in the coffin for the industry. Even worse is all of the nails are 100% self-inflicted. In recent years, some have been loudly talking about The crash of ’83 online. The similarities between then and now are impossible to ignore now. People are just DONE with paying more for less.

Longtime industry devs took notice 10 years ago and now I see why many have been leaving big companies to start their own studios. They saw this coming and got out early. They saw what was coming and left when they could have stayed for money and the IPs they’re known for. Instead, they chose creative freedom. They will be the ones to rebuild the industry after this second crash hits. When the Crash of ’83 happened, the U.S. was the center of the console market. When Nintendo revived the console market in the U.S. in 1985, Japan became the new center. Nintendo built itself as a cultural powerhouse but this shift was cemented with the rise of Sega and later Sony entering the console market.

Most Western gamers don’t know this but the Japanese video game companies not really giving a damn about preserving their own history is deeply rooted in Japanese culture and philosophy. When a work is completed and put out there, they don’t look back. They just move on to the next thing. This why most video game consoles made by Nintendo, Sega or Sony do not have backwards compatability. It’s not just because of technical limitations. It’s because they don’t dwell on the past like most Westerners do but I won’t digress further.

What I will say is everyone who held onto their retro gaming collection or recently started building one probably now feels vindicated. More so given the string of devastating losses Stop Killing Games have been taking in both the U.S. and EU courts over the last month. The ESA is not fucking around. They are working to crush the Stop Killing Games Movement in court everywhere they can as thoroughly and as early as possible.

Something that’s been picking up steam on social media in June is the saying “If buying isn’t ownership, piracy isn’t stealing.” Given Playstation just removed over 500 Movies and TV Shows consumers bought digitally without no refund offered or given–and even worse, no advance notice–people are rushing to buy Blu Ray Players right now. The rising costs of streaming services were already pushing people in that direction. Now it’s accelerating and the rising demand comes almost 10 years after media companies drastically cut back on how many DVDs and Blu Rays they mass produce while stores prettymuch eliminated their movie and music sections.

Speaking of Playstation. They just announced on July 1 they plan to go digital only by 2028. Yes, really. “You will own nothing and be happy” prettymuch. Like I just said: “If buying isn’t ownership, piracy isn’t stealing.” You literally CAN’T do this and expect people to just “accept it”. See, this was the danger some tried to warn the world about all the way back in 2003 with the launch of iTunes after Napster’s RIAA takedown. Some people warned that there would come a time when the content providers would push consumers into buying digital with no consumer protections.

What we’re seeing now is exactly what some tried to warn about 23 years ago: Digital content you bought can be removed from your account with no advance notice or warning and no refund offered. In other words, they take your money and then later, they LEGALLY take what bought with it. In best, that’s called a scam. Are worst, it’s straight-up theft. I’ll use this example that sounds insane but makes the point: Imagine let’s say you buya refrigerator in 2005. 20 years later, the manufacturer comes to your home to take it back because “it’s too old” or “It’s no longer being supported”. They not only don’t provide you with a replacement but tell you that if you don’t voluntarily let them take it, they’ll be back with law enforcement to take it by force.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? 10 years ago, yes. Now? Maybe not as much.

I was just about to wrap this up when I just found out the PS3, PSP and PS Vita digital stores will all be shut down in 2027. The PSP digital store was already shut down a few years ago but you could still buy PSP games via the PS3 and PS Vita. Now all three are being shut down.  So much for my plans on buying a new PS3 and Vita as there were some games I was hoping to finish, many I bought digital originally. I actually still have some Vita and game cards and the memory cards from both of the Vitas I once had as a promise to myself that one day, I would buy new handhelds. I was forced to sell them along with my PS3, Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360 for a personal matter in late 2017. I always believed I’d be able to buy those consoles again within 3 years. Now, that’s impossible with the online stores for all of them shut down and games that would likely require an update on first play possibly not working.

We already know Nintendo and Xbox are not giving up on making digital-only consoles. Now, Sony is letting us know two years in advance that they’re going to stop making physical Playstation 5 games entirely on January 1, 2028. To those like myself who have a PS4 and never got a PS5 by choice, buy physical while you can as they’ve already started to phase out cross-gen releases. If you have a PS5, Switch 2 or Xbox Series X|S now, buy as many physical games as you can NOW while you still can. Otherwise, consider investing in pre-PS3/Xbox 360/Wii consoles. I’m talking about the PS2, Gamecube, Dreamcast, N64, Nintendo DS, Playstation 1, Game Boy Advance, PSP and earlier consoles.

You know, Hideo Kojima predicted this five years ago on Social Media. In a pair of Xitter posts he made on August 5, 2021 Kojima warned there would soon come a time when those who buy digital media would no longer “own” it as it would be cut off with no recourse for the consumer. Those tweets are getting renewed attention now with good reason. The timing REALLY sucks for gamers who rarely buy digital in particular and more so those who usually buy physical in person.

I’ll be blunt: Gaming as we knew it is prettymuch dead and it was the industry itself that killed it. Emphasis on “as we knew it.” Piracy and Emulation will do what the industry refused to do for decades–give us access to games from older consoles–and at this point, I am for it. I’d rather buy a third party handheld, load it with the retro games I want from reliable sources and have that over what the industry is pushing consumers into.

I was already 70% against buying a Switch 2 mostly because of Nintendo forcing people into buying digital. It’s true I have maintained a Steam account for over 15 years now but almost all of the games I play on Steam I also have a copy of on another console. It helps I have a comparatively “small” Steam Library as well. I also didn’t forget Valve has repeatedly said loudly in recent years “FUCK NO” to the idea of people transferring ownership of their Steam account to someone else for any reason which includes when you die. Meaning at the end of the day, you gave likely thousands of dollars to Valve to build a Steam library that you truly do not “own” and becomes worthless when you die.

Valve has made it clear they will suspend Steam accounts people try to transfer to others for any reason because legally, you do not have the right to transfer ownership of the digital library you spent money to build. Why? Because you don’t actually “own” it. It’s in the fine print they know no one reads which states Valve reserves the right to revoke access and the use of user accounts for any or no reason without notice and no refunds are offered or given. As a reminder, some games available on the Steam platform does have DRM that requires an internet connection just to play them.

I’m at the point where I feel like I now have no choice but to repurchase some of the games in my Steam library via GOG.com and other platforms that don’t have DRM strings attached. I buy the game, I decide how I use it. Period. About 10 years ago, I copied the contents of my Civilization IV Complete Edition Install CD to multiple USB Drives. I don’t need the disk to play the game BUT now I no longer need the disc itself when I install the game. The disc is not needed to run the game after it’s been installed and I was pissed Civ V came with Steam integration on that note (I do have the install disc for Civ V as well).

All that said and in closing:

BUY ALL ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA PHYSICAL.

The ESA prettymuch confirmed Digital Games are an industry-wide scam. Of course, this also extends to other kinds of digital media from movies to tv shows to music to books. It’s well known that Amazon has removed books people purchased from their libraries and portable devices via software updates. Yes, really. In the real world, that’s called stealing at best. At worst, it’s censorship. All in the name of “convenience”.

…Ironically, we did this to ourselves.

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I am also now on Patreon. Your continued support is and always will be appreciated.