It wasn’t long ago that we were convinced owning hard copies of movies, video games, and music was behind the times, a relic of the past. But recent events have shown us that we were right all along. As we approach one of the most impressive stretches of video game releases of all time, it’s important to recognize that not only are we unable to get hard copies anymore — many future consoles won’t even have a place to play them — but we may not have complete ownership of the product either.
Recently, customers of the PlayStation Network were informed that they would no longer have access to movies they purchased. These aren’t rentals, and they weren’t free movies — these are movies people paid to own. Because the studio pulled its licensing rights, taking the titles off the PlayStation Network, the people who spent their hard-earned money to buy those movies will lose access to them for good. There are also TV shows that people bought to watch. And some of these movies are classics that everyone wants in their collection, like the Rambo trilogy.
Personally, I just dropped $100 on a pre-order of Grand Theft Auto, and I’d like to know that someday it won’t be taken from me because I don’t have the ability to buy a hard copy — even if I wanted to, they don’t sell one. The same could be said for music libraries. On a whim, or because of a contract dispute, you could lose your entire music catalog.
So it may take up a lot of space, but it looks like owning hard copies is the only way you can guarantee you’ll be able to watch, play, and listen for the foreseeable future.
Just a short list of what users are losing:
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Paddington
- Hot Fuzz
- Apocalypse Now
- Rambo (First Blood films)
- Total Recall
- Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2
- Bridget Jones’ Diary
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- From Dusk Till Dawn
