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submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

To preface this, I am a supporter of SKG, my main issue with things like 'The Crew' was an unclear end date and it being terminated without reason. I think that the EU should only allow companies three models of selling products, a product, where when you buy something, it can run offline off the bat. A regulated service, where you SPECIFY clear MINIMUM end dates (the game can be terminated after this date, not HAS to be terminated, to avoid guessing, but can be), and a live service game which has its software turned over to people upon EOL.

I think that second option is where me and alot of SKG people diverge in viewpoints, I dont care about big AAA studios mainly, but games cannot be unique in how it handles services, the whole "can be EOL'ed" at any time for any reason is something which I would not like for ANY service gaming or not, but the whole idea of services which can be taken away is not as much as a issue for me if done responsibly, (minimum date specified clearly, not just in contract, and proper reasons among other things).

The reasoning for this is because, it seems weird to set a entirely new direction for video games, things like, a gym membership, or pieces of software or just something where you have x time with a service. For the most part, they will disclose when it ends, and usually clearly, unlike games, the issue with games might come with guessing the end date, but this can be better solved by just, having a minimum date where after that point, it can, but does not have to be taken down, and any time before that date, I do not care if its difficult for upkeep of the game, even in bankruptcy, there was a contract made and it should be followed.

Exceptions will be if you bought a item from that game which could be revoked upon EOL of that date, so the game should either offer refunds, or just give the software out, (going to what I think should be the third model of how games can be sold), or maybe offer terms on how long you get to retain that item. The reasons I state things like this is because, there isnt that much difficulty in architecting games going forward to be able to be handed off to the community at EOL. But there will be some difficulties and things that need to be maybe dropped when it comes to game development (i am not confident about this point, as maybe anything could be made differently in a way that aligns with how SKG wants it to be). You could say games are not services, but it could be that the thing you purchase is like a service to access that product (like steam, but i might be wrong on this)

I hope that the second way to offer games (regulated services), would be used infrequently, for like niche games, and not abused by AAA companies, and I dont know if it would be. I do not say this for their sake but rather because games cannot be unique in how it offers/forbids live-service games without a EOL plan to send it over to the community but should make sure it is handled responsibly through adding what they would like companies to do, but also the acceptable middleground.

If I am misunderstanding something, please correct me.

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[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

If it is a regular service I just want to pay for the time I'll be using the service, I'd be ok paying only the monthly subscription but not the game itself. I'm not buying a set of weights that only work in their gym.

To give minimum end dates would be to kick the can a bit further because once you pass the minimum date what? Can I terminate the service at any moment just because? We are back at how we were before. If the company is not interested in keep providing a service they should allow others to do so, they can still sell the game in its final state without the obligation of making updates, just let others to run servers if they want.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Besides the obvious issue with "minimum date" that big corpo would just litigate to be able to set the minimum date as "tomorrow" or something to that effect, there are a number of small (for the most part) issues that stem from your assumption that "games cannot be unique in how it offers/forbids live-service games".

Not to mention: operationally speaking, numero 2 and numero 3 are just the same from a consumer perspective anyway. You get a game, that you pay for, and regardless of how well you pay (or not) or your satisfaction with the game (or not), it can be rescinded from you at any time. A "minimum time" does not really change things because just like for things like gyms, which you mention, the provision is not a mutual establishment. One of the parties (the provider) can rescind that deal at any given time within that minimum - maybe the gym does not like your moustache, or they found a client that pays triple what you pay for the given locker.

For numero 2 to function differently and to be felt differently from a consumer perspective, IMO, it has to meet us in the middle through the same path numero 1 does: payment has to be one-time-only. After yo've paid for the acquisition, you get access to the legally promised product for the duration, and after that time, there is no obligation nor provision for either party to care about the transaction having taken place. This would also cover that once the duration is over, you would be able to legally hack into the thingy continue usage by yourself if, for any reason, the corpo failed their mandate to hand over service to the public. In this model, the payment being one-time-only creates an initial balance with the duration of the "first-party" service, since the provider knows after that deadline is over thet can't hit you for piracy, the more if it was their fault.

this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Stop Killing Games

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[EU] Stop Killing Games:

The consumer movement to stop game publishers from intentionally destroying older games with kill switches.

The goal is to reach 1 million signatures in the EU so that the european parliament will respond to the initiative that then leads to regulation that requires end-of-life plans for games to stay playable.


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