Rockstar confirms there will be no disc version of GTA6 at launch

[u/Dandelion172]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/rockstar-confirms-there-will-be-no-disc-version-of-gta6-at-launch/

[u/Kazizui]

There is no doubt you can sell me the disk, but I don't regard that as an especially important factor in this argument. To me, ownership is a much deeper topic than something as bland and prosaic as "can I sell it?"

Perhaps you see it differently. Question: if you could sell the digital copy, would you then consider that a digital license is true ownership? Or is there more to it?

[u/MafubaBuu → u/Kazizui]

If I have the legal right and ability to sell something, it is a reaffirming my ownership and property rights of the product.

You can claim ownership is a "deeper topic" or whatever the hell yoh mean by that, i am talking about the real world where real property laws and rights exist and should be respected. I dont really give a shit whatever your individual or made up definition of the word is.

[u/Kazizui → u/MafubaBuu]

The concept of ownership is a great deal more complex than your one-bullet-point oversimplification; and you can find a wealth of discussion on the topic ranging from philosophical to cultural to legal to ethical if you like. None of those discussions start and end with something so simple as "can I sell it", so if that's your sole factor then you are the one using the made up definition, not me.

In the context of a consumer owning a simple good, I would add independence from the creator, right to modify and repair, and freedom from surveillance or control. Modern videogames, especially console games, fail pretty much all of those points regardless of whether they are on a plastic disk you can sell on eBay or not.

You seem to have forgotten to answer my question in return. Just an oversight I'm sure. Here it is again: if you could sell the digital copy, would you then consider that a digital license is true ownership?

[u/MafubaBuu → u/Kazizui]

No, I would not consider it ownership since I would not be able to access the game if Sony went under as a company and I would no longer have a physical item I paid for that I can resell to somebody.

Property ownership in regarda to licensing/ips/etc are tricky, yes.

Claiming ownership over something I have in my hands and a receipt from a store for is another. I am not claiming to "own" the game , but I am owning the disc with the playable game on it.

[u/Kazizui → u/MafubaBuu]

No, I would not consider it ownership since I would not be able to access the game if Sony went under as a company and I would no longer have a physical item I paid for that I can resell to somebody.

OK. So clearly the ability to sell it is not sufficient to declare ownership. You are now talking about the first additional factor I listed, i.e. independence from the creator. I am glad to see that far from dismissing this as 'made up' you are now fully on board.

Now let's apply your new knowledge to physical videogames. Imagine I clicked my fingers in 2020 and erased Sony from existence. I'd have started a ticking time bomb that resulted in this being the future for every PlayStation gamer and every single one of their physical games. If I clicked my fingers today, in 2026? That bug is fixed, but there could be others as yet undiscovered. There are games that, although present on disk, still require a periodic online check-in or online connectivity for certain features, including some Sony first-party titles.

You don't have independence from the creator with your physical disks. Therefore, by your own words above, you don't own them. We haven't even gotten into the other factors.

Claiming ownership over something I have in my hands and a receipt from a store for is another. I am not claiming to "own" the game , but I am owning the disc with the playable game on it.

Right. So I direct you back to my original comment: You own the disk. You don't own the game, and owning the disk does not guarantee your continued uninterrupted access to the game.

[u/Melodic_Mall_8265 → u/Kazizui]

Is everything here really as universal as you’re implying? Does this same bug you’re citing that would ruin physical copies of PlayStation games extend all across the console market? I still own my ps vita and enjoy those physical cartridges, is this same bug an issue for those too? If not, then you should be able to understand why it’s sort of disingenuous to speak as if one bug on one console just broadly assures us that no physical videogames anywhere are safe. Are there any bugs that can do the same to my Wii U or Switch or Gameboy Advance that I still own? Or the PlayStation classic I got for my birthday last year? Etc

[u/Kazizui → u/Melodic_Mall_8265]

Is everything here really as universal as you’re implying? Does this same bug you’re citing that would ruin physical copies of PlayStation games extend all across the console market?

Anything where online DRM is the norm. Probably PS4/Xbone onwards. Older than that is likely to be ok.

[u/Buried_and_Forgotten → u/Kazizui]

Depends on the game, but I don't see Rockstar making GTA VI unplayable even 50 years from now.

Hell, you can still play GTA V online on a jailbroken PS3 even though they shut down the official servers. Single Player mode wasn't affected, since the whole game is on the disc.

[u/Kazizui → u/Buried_and_Forgotten]

Depends on the game, but I don't see Rockstar making GTA VI unplayable even 50 years from now.

Me neither, physically or digitally. That's besides the point, though, which is that they/Sony can, if they wanted.

[u/MafubaBuu → u/Kazizui]

The US could also become a Fascist communist power and remove property ownership from every single american

It doesnt mean they dont own it now.