Licensing Drama

Random thought I had driving this morning. What does Sony do for their movies sold to stores but the stores haven't sold the movie yet? Does Sony get to take the movies back without compensating the retail stores?

There's a real consumer protection gap that I think lawmakers may need to step in and fill. I'm picking on Sony because they're the latest to do this, but we have other companies like Rockstar that have pulled this, and are showing signs that they will continue to pull this (they've pushed updates to revoke songs due to license expirations, they’re going digital only for GTA 6 - a single player game. Its digital only which means online connectivity is required to unlock the game for release day. You know Rockstar is going to want an online connection for you to play, or at least "for an optimal experience" and go out of their way to make it not optimal for the player if they aren't connected online. For a single player game...).

And yes, Sony did this for purchases on their digital storefront. But what difference does it make? It was a purchase and these companies need to stop calling it that. You are paying for the privilege to stream it, you aren't "buying" it.

I can keep going but I want to hear what everyone else thinks. My take is that companies that deal in digital media need to be clear whether you, the consumer, own the game or if you have access to stream and/or download the media without ownership. Physical media too (you own the damn disc, you own the damn game).