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jmclnx
And yet Sony wonders why people pirate their movies. In this case here the owners who had their movies stolen should be able to steal them back.
robin_reala
Obviously media permanence is the best solution, but in the absence of that we just need laws that say that if the purchase isn’t time limited to something a reasonable user would consider a rental (48hrs? a week?) then companies that withdraw access rights need to refund in full the purchase cost.
WorldMaker
I think the laws we aren't worried enough about needing yet are digital estate laws, too. If I build a massive library in the real world there's no question it's a part of my estate plan for a will and is inheritable by family (or other persons I choose). I've got a massive Steam library. What happens when I pass? Steam's EULA implies that there are not necessarily survivorship rights, the account is mine personally and may shut down or disappear when I pass away. Almost every digital service EULA has and must have logic of that sort to protect itself/simplify account ownership as a concept.

We've got pragmatic answers of password sharing and Steam is one of the better example in the current moment because among other things it has some Family Sharing support. But I can't go to my lawyer and ask for a list of passwords (and device PINs and passkey details etc) to be attached to my will with the explicit idea of divvying up parts of my digital library to different relatives. Lawyers don't really want to discuss detailed digital estate planning today because it isn't allowed by these service EULAs and because they don't want to have to fine tooth comb every single possible service EULA. It's a catch-22 that probably needs real legislation or very expensive very public court cases or both to help push it to the forefront of people's minds (and make it enough of a priority that service EULAs have to adapt).

pluralmonad
Hopefully most of these folks that have been scammed know how to sail the high seas.
lemoncookiechip
If they offered refunds this would still be terrible.

They don't even offer refunds.

trencedamp
I read recently that PlayStation users are moving to PC en masse, and also Xbox has been gutted by layoffs, and there's a backlash against Nintendo for the switch 2 pricing.

Is the age of the console finally coming to an end?

CafeRacer
I've sold my PS5 several months ago. You can get a pretty gameable laptop and gog/steam prices are better. And I can install mods. Tree Sentinel Thomas Mod for example.
mortenjorck
As bad as this is, it’s worth noting that this is the same incident that was widely reported earlier this month. Sony has only rugpulled hundreds of purchased titles from customers once this year.

So far.

cubefox
Interesting also that even this article doesn't mention "DRM" anywhere despite the fact that this is exactly the worst case scenario DRM critics have always warned about.

(Personally I would consider DRM okay if Sony's behavior here was illegal without a full refund.)

goldenarm
IANAL, but is it illegal to have a "Buy" button that is just a disguised "Rent" button?

If not, should we change the law?

acd
Isnt there an issue with "Buy" and different countries marketing laws? Ie it implies "Hold" or "TemporaryKeep".

Guess it will be an upswing of BlueRay movies. Already happening with LPs and CDs

bogometer
if you cant hold it your hands, you don't own it. used dvd and bluray on ebay are cheaper anyway. another underutilized resource - the public library - mine has a huge catalog of movies you can borrow for free.
CommanderData
Everyone of these stories makes a great case for piracy. Torrents or illegal online streaming sites.
xvxvx
They removed ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’. OK Sony, this is war.
chaostheory
I guess they want the masses to start sailing the high seas again
butterfi
Its all a bit hand wavy nonsense. Own a physical copy? How long until its unplayable because either the media corrupts or the player isn't available? The only real "ownership" is the IP, everything else is just renting.
shevy-java
Well - I actually think the problem is not Sony being malicious here, per se, but the legislation. There has to be a guarantee as if it were a physical copy, as-is. The right to repair movement has the same cause ultimately. You purchase something, you own it, no matter what counter-legalese is tried.

The USA really needs to stop being a corporate-country. Weren't the republicans all about the people at one point in time? Now they are all about the billionaires and family dynasties pillaging what they can, with the forerunner the mad orange king pillaging the most. And starting wars he loses by default, after promising to not start wars.

21asdffdsa12
Once its deleted it becomes a indefinite p(irate) license.
xpct
If you bought movies on a digital platform that would later go under (could be Sony one day), what would happen to your collection? Is it transferable in any way? If not, it's already a risk no matter which platform you use.
1970-01-01 

     boolean bought = true;
     boolean owns = false;

        if (bought && owns) {
            System.out.println("Purchase resulted in ownership.");
        } else if (bought) {
            System.out.println("Purchase did not result in ownership. You have rented.");
SlightlyLeftPad
Without laws to force companies to honor this, The only reasonable answer to this ownership issue will end up being piracy. Also, “Buying” the movie and making a copy of it for personal use shouldn’t be illegal.
demosthanos
Recent and very related:

Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation (797 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48745456

So Sony is simultaneously announcing that all purchases will be digital from now on while actively demonstrating that digital purchases aren't actually purchases. They're clearly communicating that they believe in a future where no one owns games any more.