Do you actually own the games you buy? New Californian law tackles confusion

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As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen more game stores come and go than I can count on one hand. From the golden days of brick-and-mortar gaming to the digital age of instant downloads, the landscape has drastically changed. But one thing remains constant – the feeling of losing a beloved game when a store shuts down or a server gets pulled.

Over time, there has been an increasing number of instances where gamers have been unable to play their games due to different gaming platforms malfunctioning. This is because when you purchase a digital game, instead of owning the item, you are essentially leasing a license that allows you to play it.

Currently, California Governor Gavin Newsom has approved a law aimed at making the distinction between different types of meat products more understandable for consumers.

Do we own any of our games? Not really

As a gaming enthusiast, I can’t stress enough how frustrating it is when digital purchases disappear, like what happened with “The Crew” when Ubisoft took down the servers and removed the game from our libraries. This unfortunate event sparked the creation of the Stop Killing Games initiative. However, more often than not, gamers are left to deal with such losses on their own.

Many issues persist over time due to the current model of licensing games instead of selling them outright. However, the proposed California bill (AB 2426) aims to clarify this distinction from the start, ensuring transparency in the marketplace.

Per the official bill summary itself:

This bill would, subject to specified exceptions, additionally prohibit a seller of a digital good from advertising or offering for sale a digital good… which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good.

Currently, this rule is relevant only in California, but there’s a chance it could expand across the United States and even worldwide. It would be great if that happened, as it seems many people might not realize just how few video games they truly possess.

The specifics about its appearance on online marketplaces are still unknown, but it undeniably moves us closer to the correct path.

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2024-09-27 16:09