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Modern Gaming Rant


Atari 5200 Guy

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Hey Guys,

One of the first XBOX One games I ever got was called Battleborn made by the creators of Borderlands known as Gearbox.  It was published by 2K.  The game relies on a server-side portion of the game for both Solo and Multiplayer modes.  Without that the game will not work again.

Well, just tonight, my wife read something on MSN's website.  2K is shutting down the game and removing it from its servers by 2021 and has already removed all digital copies of the game from Steam, PlayStation, and XBOX online stores.  While I own a physical copy of the game once the game has been removed from 2K's servers the game will never be playable again, not even in solo mode.  So I basically will have a game that I won't be able to play ever again.  

It saddens me that video games have come down to things like this and is the sole reason why I am against digital only versions of games.  They do have some of their perks but when a game reaches the end of its life they disappear.  How are we to save games for future generations to enjoy if this is how current modern games are being treated?  

I wonder if someone could approach 2K and offer to move the game somewhere else if only to preserve it?  I do own a 1U server that would be perfect for preserving the game.  If nothing else maybe someone could ask 2K to give an alternative like at least allowing those owning the game to download what is needed to keep the solo portion of the game operational.

Rant over...but I really wish these game developers and publishers would do more to preserve their heritage.  Battleborn might not have been met with the same positive experience as Borderlands has but it's still hard work that people put into it that needs to be protected and preserved.

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Well, there's some hope for digital games.  Guess what game reappeared on my XBOX 360 download history?  Forza Horizon!  Some how it returned.  

3 hours ago, StormSurge said:

Ugh, that sucks. 

I've dealt with that on a smaller scale, with the online portion of some sports games being shuttered after a few years, but the offline portion of the game still works fine. This is a different beast altogether is not a good thing for anyone.

Yea, which is the case with all Wii games that had online abilities.  Nintendo has stated that once they shutdown the Wii Shop and online support for Wii games that any offline features of the game will remain intact and playable. 

What Battleborn is doing is more like those games you see on Facebook, AppStore (Apple), or Google Play (Android).  There use to be a neat little Google Play game called Car Town Streets, a game that carried over from the original that appeared on Facebook.  Without warning the game disappeared.  While it's player side remains on my tablet the game is completely unplayable. 

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37 minutes ago, RickR said:

It kills any resale potential on your physical copy too.  Dang.  It sucks. 

Well, I wouldn't want to sell my copy of Battleborn because the game is good and there are small touches in the game, like how the bosses are introduced, that has a Borderlands style.  It's a FPS game with visuals that's got a TRON like appeal (dark colors with bright color outlines), it's very smooth with responsive controls.  The only thing about it was it had in-game virtual currency you could use to get more in-game content.  But you didn't have to spend real money on the virtual money.  You could earn virtual money while playing the game.  It took me a long time to find a copy of the game.  I haven't been able to play it much (looks like I might need to jump on board while I can) but what I have played I have enjoyed very much.

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6 minutes ago, kamakazi20012 said:

Well, I wouldn't want to sell my copy of Battleborn because the game is good and there are small touches in the game, like how the bosses are introduced, that has a Borderlands style.  It's a FPS game with visuals that's got a TRON like appeal (dark colors with bright color outlines), it's very smooth with responsive controls.  The only thing about it was it had in-game virtual currency you could use to get more in-game content.  But you didn't have to spend real money on the virtual money.  You could earn virtual money while playing the game.  It took me a long time to find a copy of the game.  I haven't been able to play it much (looks like I might need to jump on board while I can) but what I have played I have enjoyed very much.

Yes...but what I mean to say is that they've taken something that had value and made it value-less.  Seems like an obvious class-action case, as doing something like that should require compensation to those impacted.  It sure seems to be that being able to buy a physical copy implies long-term value. 

 

 

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The reality is that we never really 'own' our games in this day and age. We are only allowed to use and play the game with our purchase but never own it. We only own a license to use it. This is what is stated in all the agreements that one has to sometimes scroll through when first starting a game or installing something on your computer etc. This is why when games like the new Ion Fury came out, I was totally on board to get it but only wanted the physical DRM free version of the game directly from 3D Realms themselves. 

This will become a common trend going forward and is pretty much 100% with anything that will be using cloud gaming since the main core of the game itself only exists in the offline server you are accessing the content from with your game system being nothing more than a terminal to interact with the game.

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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