One Of My Favorite Games Has Been Removed From Steam And I Am Sad

@Barighm: Can you explain that in more detail?

@Thanatos2k: a few, because Prince Charming would never settle for you!

@Thanatos2k: I bought it at the original $60 price, and I enjoyed it. The gameplay could have been done better, but the story and the countless ways it can branch were things I really liked about it. Obsidian is very good about those kinds of things, and so was their predecessor, Black Isle (a lot of Black Isle's employees founded Obsidian after Black Isle was shut down).

@Cikatriz_ESP: just thought that I'd throw it out there. who really needs in game music anyway.

@Lach0121: For awhile I thought Rockstar were going to fill that gap with Agent but its seemingly dead. So there are no spy games on the horizon. Even games like splinter cell and mgs although better gameplay wise they don't have the role-playing which this game had.

@gamerboy100: PC. It was bug city. The game also just didn't feel finished. Anthem actually reminded me a lot of Alpha Protocol, in that it seemed like a cool idea that was still very much in development when it had to be wrapped up and rushed out the door to hit a deadline.

@oscardayus:

@redhedjack

He's correct, redhed, this is clearly a feature article rather than news, and I'd imagine the internal style guide of a video game/entertainment media website are far different from, say, AP style, and appropriately so. It's another conversation piece in the discussion of digital media "ownership" essentially presented as a personal anecdote.

No ownership, including physical media, can be truly permanent, and there are pros and cons to physical media purchases as well as digital storefronts and streaming services.

I also happened to greatly enjoy Alpha Protocol despite its flaws from when I played it on the Xbox 360. Music licensing isn't something people always consider regarding the "shelf life" of a game. When studios fold, it can be difficult to find ways to legally monetize their products. IP licenses expire. There are a lot of reasons games can be pulled from sale on digital storefronts.

Physical media is subject to wear and tear, causes clutter and can be "lost" or damaged, and can suffer from obsolescence. Very old NES cartridges can have their internal battery back up die. Older generation consoles aren't typically compatible with current televisions, hence the sale of adapters and retro emulation consoles that work with HDMI.

In the end, for the consumer, it's all about the best compromise between value, ease, and peace of mind. Price is a consideration, almost all games even on a disc install fully to the hard drive, to digital download and "re-download" through a Steam/PSN/Xbox Library is often much more convenient. Peace of mind is the final consideration, and that's up to the individual.

Physical media feels "permanent" to many, but often to each of us hook up all of our older consoles, and test our every cartridge and disc to ensure they still work correctly? And what if they don't? We we immediately scour ebay for a replacement? Do we digitally back up our physical media onto our hard drives, keeping multiple external hard drives for that purpose, while keeping the original physical media in pristine display condition?

Some people do, but for most of it, there isn't the time or the resources or honestly enough reward in doing so. So we find whatever balance works best for our pocketbook, our desire for ease of access and use, and our sense of security in ownership.

Because these priorities vary from person to person, and even then from game to game, there is not, and cannot be, a "right answer" on digital vs physical media. Like everything else, we'll muddle through finding what makes us happy as individuals, and the market will adapt to provide what consumers want to spend money on.