I had to look up Stendhal RPG : looks quite good actually ! Yes, your solution would be a good outcome for people who have invested in that game, and a nice gesture of goodwill as well. Not my idea of ownership, but still… Anyway, my country at least seems too busy electioneering to care for now. We’ll have to see whether the petition gets revived after the dust has settled.

Europeans can save gaming!

"Europeans can save videogames from being destroyed! The European Citizens' Initiative has just launched and represents the biggest and most ambitious chance to create new law against publishers destroying games they have already sold to you. Get EU citizens to sign it!

Link to sign EU initiative:
https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000007_en

Guides on how to sign EU initiative:
https://www.stopkillinggames.com/eci
"

Is there any chance The Crew can be revived?

1,000,000 (and then some) statements of support within one year is a tall order, but as he said, if the initiative manages to stay in the public consciousness and isn't forgotten about in 2 weeks, there's a chance to achieve this.

As per usual I'm going to be the contrarian. I would prefer it if the government did not get involved in this since it will only makes things worse.

I also want to point out that with all the indie and AA games that are available for purchase why are gamer wasting their time and money on forcing shit games and shit studios to remain alive? If you buy a game from a studio that doesn't respect you than you don't deserve to be respected.

I think the reality is the big studios still get the most attention and the interest is still in big studio games even if indie games can do better.

I think corporations can also argue that in selling these online games, they are selling an "experience" like visiting a family an amusement park or watching a movie in a theater as opposed to purchasing a DVD. Given the law on this is also settled in the US, I can see corporations citing the US as precedent of how games "should be treated" to maintain. Ubisoft has made it one of their missions to establish a "new normal" where gamers do not own their games which can be shut off at any time and likely already have lawyers working on a case to enshrine that legally.

Can you elaborate? Why would it make things worse?

Currently, we have to rely on the welfare of corporations for them to release games in an offline state. And even then, they'll likely charge a 2nd price with everything bundled together like Mega Man X DiVE Offline. These original games have all made their payout years ago and they'll squeeze a 2nd release even more from their customers. These AAA corporations absolutely do have the funds and power to make them offline.

And even if they didn't, consumers should be asking themselves if we need more online-DRM games. And it's obvious we can't trust them either because the mass market of PC gamers have a track history of buying against their own good.

This is why the only real option is for consumers to wake up to what these corporations are trying to do and completely reject DRM/always online, so that this doesn't become the 'new normal'. This petition isn't going to achieve anything. It's like trying to force alcohol manufacturers to fund liver transplants, whilst at the same time saying there is nothing wrong with carrying on drinking. Besides, more than likely the politicians will ignore it anyway.

These corporations are literally trying to strip away our ownership of video games with their DRM and planned obsolescence. Consumers have the power to put a stop to it, if they would only wake up and work together!

Yeah, I agree with this sentiment completely and also honestly think Valve must have an amazing marketing team. They are the first company to essentially push "you wont own your games and be happy" by transforming PC gaming into digital only and requiring Steam DRM and they are still considered one of the most loved video game companies in the industry. Good guy Valve did a great job.

Has there really been major policy changes made with just petitions, especially in our more modern era where corporations have much bigger sway thanks to their bank accounts? I also unfortunately think this petition is too small a target when the entertainment industry in general also suffers from "perishible" media such as when people purchase films through streaming services but lose access when the service loses the right to host the film. Expanding this petition to incluide software (maybe legacy support for software) and the wider entertainment industry would get more names on the petition and highlight the potential impact of why DRM and always online servers are bad.

Unfortunately, most of humanity seems willing to give up their rights, if they are offered massive convenience and shiny, sparkly things (achievements, etc.). Valve is really just taking advantage of the flaws of human nature/herd mentality. And they got there first, which means they own the PC game industry forever more.

Sadly true. Valve has effectively capitalized group mentality to garner support.

Europeans can save gaming! (short version)

"Short promotion of the European Citizens' Initiative! If passed, it would create new law to prevent publishers from destroying games they have already sold to you. Get EU citizens to sign it!

Link to sign EU initiative:
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/045/public/#/screen/home

Guides on how to sign EU initiative:
https://www.stopkillinggames.com/eci
"

This statement is factually wrong.
Passing of this initiative does NOT directly or otherwise "create new law". It only forces the European Commission to discuss this matter and come up with some sort of "response" which may very well be "non-legislative".

Here's what the European Citizens' Initiative's webpage states: source: https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/how-it-works_en

EDIT: Also notice the last part ("follow-up"). Even if the initiative passes AND the Commission proposes a legal response (new law?), the European Parliament can still easily shoot this down.

Good initiative. I hope that will go through and change consumer rights for the better.