[HN Gopher] Sega is delisting 60 classic games from Steam, so no...
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       Sega is delisting 60 classic games from Steam, so now's the time to
       grab them
        
       Author : mariuz
       Score  : 31 points
       Date   : 2024-11-07 21:18 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | jm4 wrote:
       | Maybe a controversial opinion, but screw them for delisting
       | games. Why would I buy these games when they obviously have no
       | interest in selling them? To me, this is a license to go download
       | the ROMs.
        
       | keyle wrote:
       | But after that, for reasons that Sega does not make explicit,
       | they will be "delisted and unavailable."
       | 
       | I really don't understand this move. The hard work is putting the
       | games on Steam and making sure they work. Assets, testing,
       | integration. Why take them away?
       | 
       | Anyway I'll never use Steam to buy a game anymore anyway, because
       | you're only really buying a license to rent a game.
        
         | chupchap wrote:
         | > Anyway I'll never use Steam to buy a game anymore anyway,
         | because you're only really buying a license to rent a game.
         | 
         | Hasn't that always been the case for all games purchase for a
         | while now?
        
           | lxgr wrote:
           | I believe GOG still sells a lot of things DRM free.
        
             | jakebasile wrote:
             | They are DRM free, but you are still only buying a license
             | to the game which can likely be revoked under the terms of
             | that agreement.
        
             | dvngnt_ wrote:
             | so does steam. it depends on the publisher
        
             | aquova wrote:
             | Everything on GoG is guaranteed to be DRM-free (see
             | occasional scandal when something sneaks through that has
             | it)
        
           | genewitch wrote:
           | no all, but any that make you sign a EULA before you can
           | start the game, yes.
        
         | margalabargala wrote:
         | > Anyway I'll never use Steam to buy a game anymore anyway,
         | because you're only really buying a license to rent a game.
         | 
         | I wonder if you misinterpreted the article? The games are not
         | being taken away from people who purchased them. They will
         | simply no longer be offered for sale.
         | 
         | I know the DRM exists, but to the extent that you trust the
         | word of Steam and Gabe Newell, they have said they will release
         | a patch undoing all Steam DRM if Steam ever goes out of
         | business.
        
           | vikingerik wrote:
           | It's easy for them to have that intention, but then the
           | realities of operating from bankruptcy court or receivership
           | or being assimilated by Microsoft or Sony could be much
           | different.
           | 
           | I choose to only buy stuff for like $8 and under where I can
           | expect to get my money's worth of gameplay in a short time
           | frame and so not have to worry about any long term
           | sunsetting. That's a reasonable middle ground between fully
           | trusting the platform or fully abhorring it.
        
           | somat wrote:
           | Honestly I doubt that, and not because I distrust steam and
           | gabe newell, in my books steam is one of the good guys, in an
           | industry filled with nickle and dime rent seeking, steam
           | provides a reliable, unobtrusive service. Personally I think
           | their margin is grossly high. And I too hate how many of my
           | games are locked up depending on the benevolence of a
           | corporation. But steam has thus far proved to be a very
           | useful service, mainly by not fucking up.
           | 
           | I just don't think it could happen because when your business
           | is going down in flames, the last thing on your mind is
           | giving away the keys to the kingdom. The normal death spiral
           | is. The business is unable to make a profit anymore and will
           | have to be closed down. however it still has a reputation.
           | somebody will buy the business with the expectation they will
           | be able to make the changes needed to make a profit. these
           | changes are vile, trying to extract any money they can from
           | the corpse. it then gets sold to the next sucker. who repeats
           | the whole repugnant farce. It is almost never a clean death.
        
       | fourfour3 wrote:
       | Do _not_ buy Crazy Taxi from Steam. It has broken input (analogue
       | controls are really digital without fan patches), and does not
       | play the original audio.
        
       | simonlc wrote:
       | My guess is licensing, they probably sold exclusive licenses, and
       | part of that is delisting on other platforms.
        
         | AcerbicZero wrote:
         | Probably this; I wonder if they're all going to Epic for a few
         | years before coming back.
        
         | nitwit005 wrote:
         | Or they think they can make more selling some sort of bundle.
        
         | aquova wrote:
         | I dont think so, they own a lot of these games and IP's
         | outright, and most don't have licensed content. I think they're
         | doing the same thing they did when they removed the Sonic
         | titles from the collection a few years ago -- they're preparing
         | some new title for those IPs, and some of these games will come
         | with, so people will double dip under the guise of cleaning up
         | their offerings
        
       | SllX wrote:
       | Not sure about other platforms but at least on the Switch this
       | doesn't affect the Sega Ages line of games. As far as I can tell,
       | this is specially the line of releases they titled Sega Classics,
       | but the Sega Ages line are typically the best in class individual
       | titles put together by M2.
        
       | ahofmann wrote:
       | All four posts in this thread have obviously not read the article
       | in full. Sega does this allegedly because they want to sell some
       | kind of classics in stores. So while they have this sale, they
       | delist the steam games.
        
       | AcerbicZero wrote:
       | I mean, bold of you to assume that delisting a game from steam
       | would stop me from acquiring it, if I wanted to, but ok.
        
         | Rapzid wrote:
         | I don't think this is about you.
        
       | GauntletWizard wrote:
       | All of the games on this list comprise the "Buy SEGA Mega Drive
       | and Genesis Classics" and "Dreamcast Collection" bundles. My
       | guess is that part of it is the emulation layer - They use a
       | shared backend and launcher for the Genesis games. Maybe they
       | couldn't come to a license agreement with the emulation
       | developer?
       | 
       | The standouts for me are Jet Set Radio and NiGHTS into Dreams.
       | The former is well known for it's soundtrack; Ain't nothing but a
       | funky beat. The latter is unique and doesn't quite work, but
       | there's something compelling anyway about the dreamlike visuals
       | and weird floaty gameplay. Crazy Taxi is one I loved as a kid,
       | but it's a bad port - an "Enhanced Remake" that ruined the game
       | by leaving out it's killer soundtrack and breaking the controls.
       | 
       | https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/10143/SEGA_Mega_Drive_...
       | https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/14082/Dreamcast_Collec...
        
       | rosmax_1337 wrote:
       | If you don't remove old good content nobody will buy the new bad
       | content.
       | 
       | Sounds cynical and it's certainly a practice which isn't exactly
       | widespread, yet.
        
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       (page generated 2024-11-07 23:00 UTC)