Hey, it’s Wednesday! And hey, you love it when I complain, don’t you? In probably three minutes, you won’t anymore, because today I’m really worked up and you’ll be too in just a moment.
When Politics Misses Reality
Who’s surprised that laws and regulations from the government sometimes miss the mark when the internet is still “uncharted territory” for many government officials? However, it’s completely incomprehensible to me how a law can come into effect that effectively disenfranchises us gamers.
Anyone who has built up a large collection of games via Steam, Origin, or similar services over the past years will probably be dumbfounded starting January 1, 2016.
Protection of Material Work and Verifiability
The new law with the short, catchy name “Protection of Material Work and Verifiability Law” (SchmArRn-G.) will ensure that virtual consumer goods like video and computer games can only be functionally owned by a person if it can be proven that the person actually owns a game.
This means that either a classic box version of the title must be in the player’s possession, or a physical receipt must be available. Those who have purchased all their games only virtually, such as just a CD key, will be denied access to these games. This law became necessary, according to a Bavarian CSU parliament member: “So much happens on the internet so quickly that hardly anyone can prove what is legal and illegal. It is important to reflect on old values and to prioritize real ownership over some dubious key that consists of just a string of characters and brings no verifiability of real ownership.”
Game Platforms Give Slight Relief
The operators of the major game platforms are trying to mitigate the situation:
Anyone who has built up a large collection of games over the years doesn’t need to worry. Most games have become much cheaper to buy in stores, so one can quickly add their favorite games back to the collection for little money.
Anyone who paid over €60 for a “Mass Effect” back then might be able to buy it again for €5 at the game pyramid or similar offers.
Once players send us a photo showing themselves, the game, and their scanned ID, the corresponding game will be reactivated.
Whether a fee will apply for the manual reactivation of games is not yet definitively clarified, but since this will require new staff, costs of about €3 per title are likely.
