Then they can stop pretending and actually sell it as a service. What they're doing now is doing one thing (selling it as a product), while getting the benefits of the other (selling it as a service).

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nfw2 2 hours ago | parent [-]

That is what I suggested. The other poster said what you are suggesting shouldn't be allowed, not me.

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Telaneo 2 hours ago | parent [-]

That's not how I read your suggestions. Your suggestion to just rename the action, which isn't helpful. You're still buying a licence, one that is nominally permanent, meaning it's a product, on the same level as a CD or whatever.

Games are overwhelmingly not sold as services these days (MMOs being the exception, + a few others). The sale of a game as a product is built into the model of 'give money, get permanent access to game'. If that access is not permanent, then you need to set a time limit there. Subscriptions usually do it per month, but you can do whatever you want, except leave the field blank.

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nfw2 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Evergreen licenses are incredibly common when selling software, not just games.

Your suggestions are either:

- make publishers distribute goods without anti-piracy protection

- make buyers pay for games on an ongoing basis rather than just once

Publishers and buyers are generally happy with the current exchange as is even if you aren't. Digital games sales are increasing rapidly ever year while physical sales are declining. Why do you get to be the gaming czar?

	▲	Telaneo 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		With renewal comes repayment, and there's still a set date when you renew. WoW is a service that works like that. The vast majority of games don't use evergreen licences, nor should they, since they usually aren't a service. They don't have to provide a DRM-free version on day 1 if they don't want to. But they do have to provide for a way to use the game after end of support. Doing anything else is unreasonable.