General Category > General Discussion
Do you own digital downloads forever?
Einhander:
I understand that you may not be able to play an online game forever. But will the offline PSN games or Xbox Live games you download, always be on your harddrive in the future? Or can the companies take away the license to play due to DRM?
Megatron:
If you download and install it on your machine, I don't think anyone can take that away. However, services stop supporting certain games due to licenses, for instance, the X-Men arcade game on Xbox live. If you bought it, but deleted it, it has been removed from Xbox Live. So there is no getting that game back.
FritzWhite:
On Xbox, you can play those games, whether signed into xbox live or not, on the original system you purchased them on.
If you want to play those games on a system other than the one you originally purchased them on, you either need to be signed into xbox live on the account you purchased the content with, or transfer the license to the digital content over to the new system to be able to play the games on that new system without being signed into xbox live.
Once xbox live goes down for xbox 360 in a few more years, you will only be able to access your digital content by playing on the original system you purchased it through (or whichever system you transferred the content license to). When that system dies, those games are gone.
I steer clear of digital content for this reason. If Sony or MS allowed you to transfer or redownload that digital content onto the new gen systems, I'd feel differently, but they don't. So I don't spend money on digital games at all.
Einhander:
Someone said that everything is connected. Your account is connected to the games and they have the power to block you from playing the game on your console. Like for instance someone stole the game and was blocked.
wiggy:
--- Quote from: Einhander on January 01, 2015, 05:16:28 PM ---Someone said that everything is connected. Your account is connected to the games and they have the power to block you from playing the game on your console. Like for instance someone stole the game and was blocked.
--- End quote ---
Well if you don't have the console online, then they won't know. That said, I do believe many games require you to be online to boot up at all. Correct me if I'm wrong someone.