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Game Pass Was Supposed To Save Xbox – Instead, It’s Killing the Company (www.ign.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/games@lemmy.world
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"Netflix for games" has proven to be far from the ideal solution.

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[–] 6 points 1 month ago (1 child)

perfectly tuned for it.. for how long though?

That's why GoG introduced the preservation program. So they can continue maintaining that software. But it's a strict list.

How many indie titles on PC aged out of the platform and have no maintainer?

You get what I'm saying? Even the older console titles can still play on the console they were designed for... but PC is so nebulous that both software and hardware can age out of use.

A person who purchased Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for PC would be unable to launch the game in any modern OS. But if they have it on PS1, it still works.

A person who purchased Minecraft in 2011 can no longer play that game on the same computer they purchased it from. But if they purchased Minecraft on PS3... it still works today the same as the day it was purchased.

And once again, I must insist, I am not saying PC is a bad platform. I'm saying PC is a moving platform. Having a set target is a good thing for development and playability. We here are all a-okay with workarounds and emulation layers. But sometimes it's a good thing to just have the person sit down and start playing without troubleshooting.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    perfectly tuned for it.. for how long though?

    Perfectly tuned forever, just keep the game bundled with the same emulator.

    If eventually the system that the emulator runs on diverges too far from what the emulator was able to run on, then wrap it in another emulator to emulate that. Or just update the emulator, DOSBox is under the GPL.

    How many indie titles on PC aged out of the platform and have no maintainer?

    If you have an emulator then you don't need a maintainer. As far as the game is concerned it's still running on the exact same computer that it did when it was first released.

    A person who purchased Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for PC would be unable to launch the game in any modern OS. But if they have it on PS1, it still works.

    They'd need a PS1 emulator for that. DuckStation, for example.

    A person who purchased Minecraft in 2011 can no longer play that game on the same computer they purchased it from.

    The newer versions of Minecraft can't. The old version they purchased in 2011 still can because it hasn't changed.

    I'm saying PC is a moving platform.

    And I'm pointing out that an emulator need not be a moving platform. It can be a frozen snapshot of a particular moment in time. Get a game working on an emulator and you can freeze that emulator's code and configuration and then you'll know that the game will always work on it from then onward. Bundle the emulator with the game, like GOG does, and there's no "fiddling around" - you can indeed just sit down and play it.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    surely you see the irony in suggesting a person wanting to play a PC title use a PS1 emulator. An emulator only possible because it targets a very specific set of hardware.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago

    I just spent a bunch of time talking about PC emulators, why would I just keep repeating myself?

    I just checked, that game came out in 2001 so I assume it runs on Windows 98. You can install that on DOSBox.

    The PS1 hardware isn't being made any more, it's not going to last forever either. PS1 emulators will be needed for that as well.

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