Steam now explicitly states you don’t own the digital games you’re buying

Have you ever bought an app or game from a digital storefront, only for it to suddenly disappear and become inaccessible without warning? It’s both confusing and frustrating, which is why some governments are stepping in and hoping to make things clearer for consumers. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, recently signed a new law (AB 2426) that involves the purchasing of digital goods and services. Under the new law, online storefronts that sell digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows, and ebooks must be explicit as to whether customers actually own what they’re purchasing. Some digital services are already adapting to the new regulations, which aren’t set to be enforced until next year. Steam is one such company, having already implemented a change in the Steam storefront that explicitly notifies customers that they’re purchasing “a license for the product on Steam” and don’t actually own the game outright. What does that mean for you? Well, a license is just permission for you to access content that’s provided by the service (i.e., the game). If the content is made unavailable for whatever reason, you aren’t entitled to access in perpetuity. (As opposed to buying a digital download, in which case you’re buying permission to download and keep said files.) According to Engadget, this new wording in Steam is used in all countries and territories, not just the United States. Further reading: Why digital games can vanish in a heartbeat Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2024-10-11 19:19:30 UTC ]
News tagged with: #game outright #digital services #digital download #explicitly states #digital games #digital storefront #suddenly disappear #gavin newsom #recently signed #digital goods #online storefronts #video games #tv shows #made unavailable #ebooks

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Steam now explicitly states you don’t own the digital games you’re buying'


'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1' trailer shows a lot of action

'Mockingjay' is an adaptation of part of the final book in Suzanne Collins's trilogy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hunger games #final book #suzanne collins


Bookseller Digital Census: fears over future-proofing

Only one in seven people think the industry is ready for the next stage in the digital revolution, The Bookseller’s 2014 Digital Census has found. The survey, from over 1,100 respondents and taken between September and October 2014, found that just 14.7% believed the sector is prepared for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital revolution


Digital storytelling for HoZ Carnivia campaign

Head of Zeus has launched a “fully immersive, story driven” digital marketing campaign to mark the release of Jonathan Holt’s The Abduction in paperback. The novel is the second in the Carnivia thriller trilogy, and the marketing campaign will be hosted on the Carnivia website, with Head of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital storytelling #marketing campaign #drive sales


Kobo Adds Marvel Digital Graphic Novels

E-book retailer Kobo has reached an agreement with Marvel Comics to sell digital editions of its collected graphic novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marvel comics


A Call for Digital Media Ethics

Marcello Vena of AllBrain in Italy is repulsed by a recent report on publishing on Vox.com and calls for a renewed sense of ethics in those covering digital media. The post A Call for Digital Media Ethics appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marcello vena #recent report


Apple and Amazon Have a Problem: People Don’t Want to Buy Stuff Anymore

The failure of the Fire Phone has been widely cited as the reason for Amazon’s disastrous quarter, but a darker cloud has settled over the world’s biggest online retailer. The core of Amazon’s business—its original reason for being: selling books and other media—has grown wobbly. The problem:... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post apple #people don #fire phone #selling books #buy stuff


Best-Selling Author Warns ‘You Might Not Want to Buy’ His Book

Patrick Rothfuss is the author of the mega-bestselling novels The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, and is currently hard at work on The Doors of Stone, the final volume in his epic fantasy trilogy The Kingkiller Chronicle. In the latest episode of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy he discusses... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book appeared #patrick rothfuss #final volume #latest episode


Digital first romance for Corvus

Corvus has signed a novel from Carrie Elks, to be published as part of a digital-first project. Louise Cullen signed UK and Commonwealth rights in Fix You from Lorella Belli at Lorella Belli Literary Agency on behalf of the Bookcase Agency. It will be released as an ebook on 25th December 2014. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lorella belli


Quercus buys second from Neil Spring

Quercus has acquired The Watchers, the second novel by British author Neil Spring. Fiction editor Kathryn Taussig bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Cathryn Summerhayes of William Morris Endeavour. Based on true events, The Watchers is a “spooky, historical thriller” set during the Cold... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #quercus buys #cathryn summerhayes #true events #cold war


Adobe begins encrypting user data collected from Digital Editions app

Adobe Systems said Thursday it is now encrypting data it collects about certain ebooks after facing criticism earlier this month for not protecting the data.The Digital Reader blog reported on Oct. 6 that Adobe’s Digital Editions 4 software, used for downloading and reading ebooks, sent detailed... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading ebooks


Bertelsmann buys e-learning company Relias Learning

Bertelmann is to spend "in the mid-hundreds of millions" in US dollars on American e-learning provider Relias Learning, describing it as the company's "biggest purchase in the US since it took over Random House in 1998". The buy, which will have to be approved by antitrust authorities, is... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #biggest purchase #random house #antitrust authorities


Inside Bloomberg Media’s digital video business

Bloomberg has placed video at the center of its digital efforts, a strategy that is beginning to pay off for the business publisher. The post Inside Bloomberg Media’s digital video business appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital efforts


Roger Rosen Buys Enslow Publishing

Roger Rosen has acquired Enslow Publishing, which does nonfiction titles for children and young adults in subjects that range from biography to science and technology. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nonfiction titles #young adults


Subscriptions will help drive digital growth, says FutureBook Survey

E-books are continuing to provide the strongest growth in digital, according to early results of the FutureBook Digital Census, with a majority of respondents expecting the subscriptions model to become the most viable new model to emerge in the marketplace. So far more than 1,000 respondents... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #early results #push sales #enhanced ebooks


Print Continues to Outsell Digital During First Half of 2014

New numbers from Nielsen Books & Consumer show that ebook sales were outsold by both hardcovers and paperbacks in the first half of 2014. The post Print Continues to Outsell Digital During First Half of 2014 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print continues #ebook sales


Game of Thrones spawns an app to help fans learn to speak Dothraki

Publisher promises it will arm you with enough vocabulary and grammar to have a complete conversation in DothrakiLanguages created for TV shows can have a powerful fascination for fans: just look at Star Treks Klingon language for proof of that. Game of Thrones Dothraki language also fits into... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher promises #tv shows


Digital Newsstand Preps Makeover with Former Time Inc. CTO

Time Inc.’s former CTO, Abe Cytryn, is joining Magzter in the same role as the digital newsstand company preps a series of new features for both publishers and consumers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Print books are outselling digital by a healthy margin

In the first half of 2014, according to a Nielsen Books & Consumer survey, print book sales were more than twice those of digital. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print books


Now You Can Get In on the Facebook Ad Network That Made Millions for the Kardashian Game

Facebook is taking the wraps off its mobile ad network after saying the early results helped lead to big gains for apps like Shazam and game makers like Glu Mobile, the developer behind Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. The company said today that the Facebook Audience Network is now open to all... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad revenue #in-app purchases #mobile advertising #ad server #drive traffic #mobile website