DIALOGUE

Issue 359

Dialogue

Send your views, using ‘Dialogue’ as the subject line, to edge@futurenet.com. Our letter of the month wins a 12-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership

What about Bob?

Robert Frazer’s angry dismissal of my blithe dismissal made me curious. Firstly, I agree with Robert’s point about digital landlordism. I don’t actually own much of my games library, because Nintendo and Microsoft can do whatever they want with it at any time. They can modify it without my consent or even knowledge. And I don’t have the freedom to sell it as I would wish. I think this move to digital should be questioned and critiqued because it is at the confluence of so many issues. Robert’s reference to ownership is one of them, and I am in complete agreement with his misgivings. This is another issue around games preservation which is something that this publication does commendable work to unpick, along with important figures such as Frank Cifaldi.

“Digital-only  allows for a richer and more diverse ecosystem of videogames to emerge”

My thoughts are contradictory. On a practical note, I don’t want to own every  piece of media I consume. I’m happy not owning a copy of every TV programme I watch or every radio programme I listen to. I am also comfortable with renting media when that agreement has been made explicit and understood. In the same way I used to use my Blockbuster video card to hire videos, I am comfortable using Game Pass (of which I wouldn’t be averse to a year’s free subscription) as a way of ‘renting’ games. To me, this deal I have made with Microsoft is transparent and understood. I know I don’t own the games I play, and I am reconciled to the fact they may leave the service. Where I agree with Robert is that I am very uncomfortable with issues of ownership that feel murky and are sometimes deliberately obfuscated.