I’m usually focused on the end product, in this case the game’s story, rather than how we get it. However, every now and then we’re forced to talk about the delivery system because if we can’t receive the story we can’t interact with it. The entertainment industry has always had an issue with home video, for example, because you buy it once and unless it gets destroyed or a new format shows up they never get your money again. On TV or returning to theaters, and now on demand and live streaming, they still get licensing rights to get money from.
Video games oddly never had that problem until recently, when they were being owned by Hollywood companies or subscribing to their mindset. Video games in arcades and various food establishments (our local Cumberland Farms had a Centipede game) and bars at a quarter a game were still either rented through a third party company or just bought from the game manufacturer. They weren’t getting any more money once it was sold than the company I bought my basic pinball machine from. So the move to home video just cut one middleman out of the field because gamers were still going to stores to get them, and the stores had to buy the cartridges and CDs. It’s only in recent years where that wasn’t enough.
So you had downloadable content (DLC) for bonuses like extra levels and in-game items, which was fine. Then you got loot boxes, items that almost felt required to play a game, especially MMOs that already had a monthly fee going to keep the servers active. Now you have companies who want to get rid of physical copies altogether as another method of getting your money on a regular basis even if you aren’t paying for an online experience. Sony is already plotting to get rid of physical media. As a guy with a declutter side project, I still defend physical media because you buy it, you should own it even when it’s not for sale. Otherwise you just paid for a rental. This led to the Stop Killing Games movement, that has been fighting for physical game and “you buy it, you own it” around the world. And it looks like they finally have an ally in the US government. They could use one in the EU.
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