Affect others? Very likely. It starts with Sony, but I doubt they’ll be the last.
This right here from the article gets to me:
“Is there a way I can save this content?” asked one panicked PlayStation user on Reddit. “I use PS4…But I have bought many seasons of shows such as Dual Survival that I do not wish to lose. I was actually under the impression since I owned it, I wouldn’t ever lose it…”
This is a substantial concern of mine. There are many people who make digital purchases and because they have not been inconvenienced by what licensing entails in comparison to ownership (yet), there’s a passive acceptance of this happening—likely, they don’t know. It’s easy to say they should have read the ToS, but I think Sony owes those users store credit *at minimum*.
If people are content with throwing money at things where a merger could light that money on fire, have at it. But companies NEED to do a better job of informing people and they REALLY need to drop the price of digital purchases. You do NOT have the same rights and access as physical media holders and that needs to be reflected in the pricing. $30-40 seems appropriate. What’s worse, you’re restricted to PSN pricing schemes, so they can lower prices at a Nintendo pace.
I feel bad for owners of the original PS5DE, but I’ll give Sony some credit for allowing slim DE owners a means of adopting physical media now. It’s a way to address a growing concern, but I still contend the general public knows very little about digital purchases.
