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37 points

It should because their use agreement makes it clear that you don’t own the games but are licensing them. That’s pretty much why they had to clarify what they said I’d imagine. IMO, proving the point of the law, really.

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31 points

This is equally true for almost any game ever sold, including physical ones. You only ever own a license that specifies what you can and cannot do with the game. The difference is in what this license is tied to, for example either a physical copy of a given game or an account that can be remotely deactivated taking away all your games. In GOG’s case once you grab the installer, the game license cannot be easily forcibly revoked, just as with the physical copy.

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2 points

It doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t change the point that people think they own digital goods when they don’t. GOG may have a more consumer friendly system in place but it doesn’t change what has happened with people’s music, movies, shows, games and music in games at these digital storefronts, where people have clicked “Buy X” and later on, it’s no longer in their libraries anymore. This has happened even when the business still exists and is still providing digital goods.

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14 points

With GOG, you can buy any game, and you’ll have files to keep. Once you have the installer, you can keep that forever.

Even if your GOG account is hacked, banned, and GOG goes out of business, you can forever install your game onto any compatible machine, even offline, and play the game.

That’s what GOG does differently.

It’s like buying a physical game, except there’s no disc. They can’t revoke your access or deactivate your ability to play the game.

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14 points

Thanks for saying this.

With recent campaigns and rants against digital media, people often claim that “you own the game if you buy a physical copy”. That always makes me sigh, because it’s false.

Not saying there are some advantages for some use cases, but I dislike hyperbole and untruths.

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16 points

That’s just semantics.

When you buy a CD, you don’t own the songs.

But you do have some item that belongs to you.

With Steam, you have a ticket that will let you into Steam to download the game for as long as your account is in good standing and as long as Steam exists.

With GOG, you have a file you can use to install the game on any machine INDEFINITELY. GOG can’t revoke your access for any reason, and if GOG shuts down, you can still install the games.

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7 points
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The difference with physical is that you own the physical medium the license is stored on and are permitted to sell the physical medium with the license. With digital downloads you are not allowed to sell a drive with the files. Since you are technically making a copy.

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4 points

The worth of a gog game secondhand is 0 though. Theres nothing to be made there.

People do sell accounts though.

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