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

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Random House buys digital agency Smashing Ideas

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 05/05/2011 - 15:40 Bertelsmann has acquired digital media agency Smashing Ideas, with the aim of beefing up Random House Inc's digital offerings. The terms of the acquisition were not made public. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC buys Shan's digital backlist rights

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 21/03/2011 - 08:53 HarperCollins is to publish Darren Shan's backlist as ebooks, having concluded a deal with the Christopher Little Agency for the digital rights. Shan has been published in print by HarperCollins Children's Books for a decade... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst To Buy Lagardere Magazine, Digital Units for $889 Million

Hearst Corp. announced today that it has made an offer of 651 million euros (or about $889 million) for Lagardere's international press and magazine business, including 102 titles in 15 countries, and 50 related Web sites. The deal includes publishing rights to Elle in 15 countries as well as 10... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xbox Cloud Gaming may finally let you stream your non-Game Pass purchases soon

Microsoft is expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming’s streaming capabilities to support titles that aren’t on Xbox Game Pass, The Verge reports. The company has stated its plans to let users stream games from their own libraries numerous times over the last few years, going back to the announcement of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-10-12 21:27:59 UTC ]
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GLAAD's first annual gaming report is here to tell us how gay games are

“The game industry is out of step with contemporary media in terms of LGBTQ representation, and it is failing its LGBTQ customers.” This sentiment has felt true for years, and now the statistics in GLAAD’s first annual gaming report prove it. The media watchdog and LGBTQ advocacy group today... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-02-13 14:00:21 UTC ]
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Microsoft wants to stream PC Game Pass games, too

Xbox Game Pass’s streaming powers are remarkable, but so far they’ve been limited to titles that have been released on Xbox consoles. Game Pass includes a ton of PC games (and plenty that are available on both), but in order to play them, you have to download the files locally and play... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-09-18 14:49:58 UTC ]
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Summer Game Fest 2023: All the games announced

After dozens of stories, we’re just about wrapped with our coverage of Summer Game Fest 2023. Following the cancellation of E3 back in March, we had a smaller, stripped-back experience at SGF. It began... before it all began, with Sony holding its own PlayStation Showcase livestream on May 24th.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-16 14:00:53 UTC ]
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Summer Game Fest: Where did all the AAA games go?

It’s a weird year for video games. We’re 19 months into a fresh console cycle and support for the PS4 and Xbox One is finally tapering off as developers shift focus to the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC cloud gaming platforms. The pandemic slowed or paused development on a generation of games, and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-06-20 14:00:16 UTC ]
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Xbox Game Pass will soon let you stream games you’ve already bought

Microsoft has a lot of news for Xbox owners and Game Pass fans this morning. In an announcement post, the company shared its plans to expand the Xbox app directly to Samsung smart TVs, opening up the streaming platform to players in Argentina and New Zealand. There are also some new... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2022-06-09 14:47:28 UTC ]
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Riot Games will donate proceeds from in-game passes to Ukraine relief

Over the weekend, Riot Games announced it would respond to calls from its community to provide aid during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Until March 12th, the studio will donate all proceeds from the sale of Valorant, Legends of Runterra, Teamfight Tactics and Wild Rift battle passes, as well as... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-03-07 20:44:10 UTC ]
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RPG? Puzzle? Parlor Game? Escape Room? This Game Is All Four and More

A new creative endeavor from Hatch Escapes and director Arvind Ethan David turns the life story of Mary Shelley into a hybrid tabletop gaming experience rooted in serious storytelling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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China’s Digital Publishing Innovation Forum : ‘Digital Inheritance’

At a conference in Beijing, publishers are asked to consider how their content could be reformmated for popular digital distribution systems. The post China’s Digital Publishing Innovation Forum : ‘Digital Inheritance’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-16 18:21:48 UTC ]
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Consumer Reports Named Digital Team of the Year at the Folio: Digital Awards

NEW YORK – Digital executives, thought leaders and creators from across the magazine media industry gathered in the Yale Club Ballroom in Midtown on Thursday to celebrate this past year’s greatest achievements in online media at the Folio: Digital Awards. Twenty different prizes, ranging from... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aiming for TV dollars, digital publishers adopt Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings

Publishers including BuzzFeed, Group Nine and Business Insider are investing in third-party measurement to add legitimacy to their video audiences. The post Aiming for TV dollars, digital publishers adopt Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Solutions in India 2018: Relentless Digital Momentum

Maintaining the status quo is anathema to any digital solutions player. Not only is the competition always snapping at their heels but the client base (i.e., the publishing industry) constantly demands something new, unique, and robust to keep the workflow energized, audiences engaged, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Solutions in India 2018: Instructional Design in Digital Publishing

Education has finally started moving. And like events at the edge of a black hole, where the laws of physics stop working, this transformation of education from its traditional methodology is taking place so quickly that it is already happening before we are even aware of it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Solutions in India 2018: Next Steps Toward Digital Accessibility

In 2014, the International Digital Publishing Forum executive director, Bill McCoy, spoke to 'PW' about the organization’s goals, influence, and success in advocating for accessibility in publishing and how ePub 3 will push its agenda forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CoolGames Brought Classic Game Title Tetris to Facebook Instant Games

Games publisher CoolGames launched Tetris on Instant Games, Facebook's HTML5 cross-platform gaming service that allows users to play asynchronous games with their friends on News Feed and Messenger. Developed by CoolGames' in-house studio, Tetris for Instant Games challenges players to earn as... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Acquisitions: Netflix Buys Millarworld; Barnes & Noble Education Buys Student Brands

Netflix acquires comic book publisher Millarworld. Barnes & Noble Education adds positions in Brazil, France, Mexico with Student Brands. The post Acquisitions: Netflix Buys Millarworld; Barnes & Noble Education Buys Student Brands appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Solutions in India 2017: Gearing Up for the Shifts and Twists in the Digital Content Industry

Everything is different, and yet the same. Think about Polaroid cameras, which were first replaced by digicams and later smartphones for snapping instant photos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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