Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York's 15th congressional district has introduced the Power To The Players Act, legislation aimed at protecting consumers by directing the FTC to establish regulations on game ownership. The bill would require that buying a video game grants consumers ownership rather than just a license to play.
For games with online functionality, the legislation mandates providing an offline mode before shutting down supporting servers. This comes as players worldwide scrutinize games with expiration dates despite rising costs, along with aggressive in-game monetization schemes. The bill follows similar efforts like Pennsylvania's Protect Our Games Act, which requires publishers to offer offline mode, community servers, or a 25% minimum refund.
Sony opposes these changes, arguing in court that purchasing a game constitutes a revocable license rather than a durable ownership right.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing