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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Amazon returns pre-order ‘buy’ buttons after 48-hour hiatus

Amazon’s “buy" pre-order buttons have been returned for upcoming titles, after they were removed from not-yet-published books for two days to prioritise stocking other high-demand items during the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 00:36:21 UTC ]
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Rathbones Folio Prize to host digital awards ceremony

There will be a digital award ceremony for the Rathbones Folio Prize tonight (23rd March), after the Rathbones Folio Sessions and gala event at the British Library were cancelled owing to Covid-19. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-22 12:36:29 UTC ]
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Digital Subscription Is Booming in Sweden. Is It Sustainable?

Publisher revenues from digital subscription services surged 36.2% last year over the year prior. But can the trend last? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital bestseller lists: Koontz’s Wuhan tale tops chart

For the week ending 14th March, a seven-day period in which Italy went into lockdown, the UK prime minister said “many will lose loved ones” and the Premier League and professional sport in general was suspended, Dean Koontz’s The Eyes of Darkness topped the Bookstat top 10. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 18:34:33 UTC ]
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Scholastic creates Hunger Games prequel campaign for coronavirus-hit indies

Scholastic UK has created a pre-order campaign for Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games prequel that it says could drive trade to indie bookshops during the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 08:56:22 UTC ]
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Coronavirus: Macmillan and PRH Ease Library Digital Book Availability

Macmillan's John Sargent reverses his controversial stance on library ebooks, and Penguin Random House announces a discounted program amid the outbreak. The post Coronavirus: Macmillan and PRH Ease Library Digital Book Availability appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-17 20:47:59 UTC ]
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Digital Media India: Google Highlights Data, Subscription Products for Publishers

At the recent Digital Media India conference, Rohan Tiwary of Google Asia Pacific, offered updates on some of the company’s ongoing Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-03-17 17:30:42 UTC ]
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Digital Bestseller Lists: Marian holds the Keyes to the top

Eight new titles have flocked into the Bookstat E-Book top 10 for the week ending 7th March, with Daisy Pearce’s The Silence in the number one spot. Of course, Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light also broke into the chart, hitting fourth place with an estimated 20,114 units sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-13 05:16:17 UTC ]
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New York Times Magazine’s Pages Come to Digital Life Through Google Partnership

The New York Times Magazine will come to life this weekend in a whole new way. In partnership with Google Lens, smartphone users will be able to access additional information online that corresponds to the print version of the magazine. Readers who hover their smartphones over many of the pages... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-03-12 13:50:26 UTC ]
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Twitter, Meredith Are Latest NewFronts Participants Moving to Digital-Only Presentations

Just two weeks ago, the International Advertising Bureau had deemed this year's Digital Content NewFronts the "new NewFronts." Indeed, the 2020 slate is going to be very different--just not the way the IAB had initially intended. The spread of the novel coronavirus, which the World Health... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-03-11 20:24:39 UTC ]
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YouTube’s Brandcast NewFront Will Shift to Digital-Only Due to Coronavirus Concerns

YouTube's Brandcast, an annual presentation for advertisers that is part of the Interactive Advertising Bureau's NewFronts in New York, will stream over YouTube instead of the traditional in-person event this year, the company said today. The news comes amid growing coronavirus concerns, which... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-03-11 16:37:06 UTC ]
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Wayne State U. Press Employees Charge Racial Discrimination, Retaliation

The three senior employees at Wayne State U Press who were fired on Feb. 7 and rehired on Feb. 21 have filed a complaint with the EEOC and Michigan Dept. of Human Rights, charging discrimination on the basis of race. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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RBmedia Buys GraphicAudio

GraphicAudio produces dramatized audio content, and its purchase marks RB’s entry into the audio dramatizations market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins buys memoir of Holocaust survivor who drew Auschwitz as child

HarperNonFiction has bought a “unique and poignant” memoir by Holocaust survivor Thomas Geve, told through the drawings of concentration camps he did as a boy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 19:10:45 UTC ]
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A New Strategy for Digital ARCs? (shelftalker)

Why it might be smart to extend e-ARC downloading rights to booksellers a few weeks past pub date. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Digital bestseller lists: Koontz’s prophetic novel hits charts

Alex North's The Whisper Man has claimed the Bookstat E-Book number one for the week ending 29th February. In its fourth week in the top 10, the psychological thriller leapfrogged the previous week's number one, Ali Mercer's His Secret Family. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 16:19:01 UTC ]
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Tennessee Becomes Second State to Propose ‘Parental Review Boards’ for Public Libraries

The bills propose to give elected parental review boards the power to decide which “age-appropriate" materials can be accessible to minors within a public library, with librarians who don’t comply with the board’s decisions subject to prison time. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Bestseller Lists: Secret Family is a winning formula

Ali Mercer’s His Secret Family climbed two places to swipe the Bookstat E-Book number one for the first time, for the week ending 22nd February. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 20:21:16 UTC ]
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Rebellion buys Whitaker's Almanack from Bloomsbury

Graphic novel and genre fiction indie Rebellion has acquired Whitaker's Almanack from Bloomsbury for an undisclosed sum. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 16:18:49 UTC ]
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AT&T boosts spending on R&D after four years of declines amid Time Warner buy, investments

AT&T Inc. managed something it hasn’t since 2014: An increase in spending on research and development. The Dallas telecommunications and now media company increased in investment in R&D last year by about $80 million to $1.28 billion, an increase of about 7 percent, it said in its... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-02-25 16:16:46 UTC ]
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