It’s always worth checking https://www.doesitplay.org/ if you have concerns like this. It also helps you ensure that your copy remains playable when they shut off the servers some day.

For example Modern Warfare 3 looks like one of the worst offenders with not being playable from disc.

Consoles had a few things going for it, making them appealing over PC:

• More affordable up-front than PC
• Easy to use for tech-averse users
• Tangible sense of ownership

As always though, business execs find a way to ignore common sense and strip out the appeal of anything in existence.

The first point needs no explanation. Most consoles today are quickly approaching the price level for a mid-range PC and have already surpassed the more budget or used models.

As for ease of use, consoles are more and more like PCs today. It’s more or less mandatory on console to take part in scary things such as setting up accounts with 2FA, installing security updates, and worry about account bans when younger siblings/kids borrow the system.

Having physical media meant you could always go back and play something given there was a system to play it on. Going all-digital on console is a dead end compared to on PC. Most of your digital games on PC will follow you onto every new PC you get for years and years to come (although those may be revoked also). Once you replace a console with the next gen thing, your library is barren again. Sure, you can keep your previous gen console around but it seems for every generation the units fail sooner and sooner. I bet in 10 years there won’t be a single functioning PS5 around that hasn’t seen major repairs.

Nintendo decided to boil the frog slowly, the frog being physical media, by making game key cards which can conveniently be disabled when they start competing with remakes and whatnot in the future.

There are already more games released than one can ever dream of playing in a lifetime. Indie developers also release groundbreaking new stuff left and right that will run on ancient PCs, Steam Decks, and older Switch models.

• Hang on to your older consoles and check Gamestop for the titles you missed the last gen, you might find them cheap.
• Get a cheap emulation handheld or jailbreak your old PSP or DS to unlock thousands of genre-defining titles for games coming out today.
• Affordable adapters let you use your fancy 8Bitdo controllers and whatnot on your PS4 with stick drift or otherwise dead controllers.

I literally cannot get FOMO for the new stuff because there are so many options. Battlefield 6 comes with a rootkit? No problem, I just won’t play it. New Capcom game is too expensive? I’m sure I can get a similar fix elsewhere or wait 6 years for a steep discount.

Every time a game company/dev does something questionable like price-gouging aging hardware, introduce digital download-only games on cartridges, make a racist tweet, or revoke games from digital libraries, it helps me strike a bunch of stuff off of my backlog. That gives me more time to play what is left on the list and maybe even to touch grass.

Probably referring to the ecosystem. Most game-launchers and stores on PC (except GOG) constantly do the same kind of license checks we’re currently dragging Sony for before letting us launch games, we kinda just don’t feel it because our PCs are online most of the time.

The current story they’re talking about is a 30 day temporary license from point of purchase of a digital game. Supposedly after the refund window has lapsed, the license renews to a permanent license. If the temporary license expires whilst the console is offline or PSN is offline the game won’t run. Supposedly it’s to prevent people from buying games, taking the console offline, and refunding. In theory it should work like before after the 14 to 30 days.

My scenario is a bit different. None of my digital games will run after dusting off my PS4 and hooking it up. The Internet says it’s because it’s not my primary console, but I can’t make it primary without updating it. That would burn a perfectly good, exploitable firmware that’s currently running. I believe there is a homebrew hack for making it primary again without updating, but I’ll have to look into it once it’s jailbroken.

Looks like I’ll have to jailbreak my PS4 and keep it offline to keep access to the stuff I bought and paid for.

Wouldn’t/shouldn’t investors see huge layoffs like this as a sign that the company isn’t doing too hot? In a logical world the stock price should be plummeting right now… Oh they’re down 25 % so far this year, so maybe it is.

Still on my standard issue 11. Few scuffs and scratches on the edges but otherwise still working great.

Totally with you, we run them into the ground before replacing.

I’d wager the root CA certificates on the device are expired since it hasn’t been updated in ages. So it can’t trust certs signed with the new root CAs.

Persona 5 still, if you can believe it. It appears to be a very long game I’m noticing 100 hours in, but I’m still enjoying it and invested in the plot.

Is this gonna be another huge handheld?

Yeah, it’s generally up to the publishers if they want to use DRM on Steam or not.

Still GOG lets you download offline installers. Then you can archive them however you please. It’s probably worth something for someone not keen on borrowing digital licenses. Only real thing you’re giving up is Steam achievements.

My experience with it on Switch is great. Couldn’t tell it apart from PC honestly and it is well suited for handheld play. Guess it all comes down to availability of cartridges. One thing with the cartridge though is that when Nintendo kills off the patch servers and you decide to play again, it will most likely be whatever version is on the cartridge (still better than no game!). Normally this doesn’t bother me one bit, but this game has gotten a lot of updates adding a significant amount of content. An archived installer from a version you actually played will probably feel more worthwhile to revisit in 15 years or whatever.

No idea how available they are but I know they exist. I also know many releases on Switch were made in limited numbers and thus are really expensive on the secondhand market.

GOG also has it DRM-free if you decide to go the PC route.

This really sounds like it’s by design. The American prison system is designed to keep people in.

Perhaps there is some tech using flash storage that can be read/written by a floppy drive, but I doubt the prison would let it in if it looked odd.

Fun thread! Handhelds are great, wish they still made them in smaller form-factors though. They are getting chonky!

Something about being able to pause/suspend anytime and resume without the whole dance of booting console, then game, then load game etc. just for a bite-sized gaming session. Handhelds also has fewer distractions.

Dusting off my Switch to play games like Persona 5 Royal on it has rekindled my love for good games and made me more averse to live service games. For the longest time I have felt like playing without some externally visible progression (rank, achievements, cosmetics etc.) was “pointless”. The longer I stay away from those kinds of games the more I am enjoying excellent narrative experiences in real games again rather than running around with checklists or playing virtual slot machines.

Stardew Valley I love on PC, but I have without a doubt racked up most of my hours in it on Switch.

Last few playthroughs of Dark Souls 1 was great on Switch too despite lower framerate and less responsive controls.

When it comes to Persona 5, I adored it on PS4 but I didn’t get that far before I got pulled away into other things. Now I’m almost 80 hours deep on Switch and loving it. Makes me want to play the new Persona 3 and 4 remakes but I’m holding off on getting a Switch 2 and I’m not getting anywhere close to those game key cards.

Also excellent on mobile, one of extremely few games permitted to live on my phone.

Don’t VPN services usually require you to pay through means only available to adults? Isn’t that age verification enough?

Ah but nobody ever writes 50GB of data continuously. /s

Playing Persona 5 Royal on the switch every time I have 15 mins or more to spare. It’s almost replaced doom-scrolling entirely for me. Excellent game I failed to get into years ago but this time I think I started while I was in the right headspace.

If you are considering this game and are at all busy, get it on Switch if you can. You frequently go through 40-60 mins of scripted events/dialogue without a chance to save, so the ability to suspend and pick up where you left it is a life-saver. It also prevents me from getting distracted by other games whenever I open Steam. Maybe I’ll finish it this time.

That sounds plausible. I guess we’ll see if real physical games start popping up soon.