The rank-and-file consumer wanted to believe that "purchasing" something was permanent, but the metaphor is leaky. If I purchase a table from Ikea, then I take the kit home, I assemble it, I store the table, I maintain the table, I clean the table, and I can keep the table around for as long as I can pay rent on the apartment or whever it's being housed.
The same goes for a CD or DVD: you can keep playing it as long as YOU store it, YOU clean it, and YOU have a machine that can decode and reproduce the content.
But with digital intangibles in the cloud, none of this holds true. Your "purchase" belongs to Chad and it's in Chad's garage:
So how can you be sore when Chad tires of the sweet deal you cooked up?
The same type of leaky metaphor happens with "piracy-as-theft". You copied some content and stole it! No it's not stolen: stealing is depriving a rightful owner of property. The rightful owner (or copyright holder) can calculate all their lost revenue and try to hold you accountable for that, but with piracy and copying, nobody's deprived of the content itself. Some cultures accept copying and plagiarism as a great honor and compliment to the original authors...
They were advertised as purchases. That they were not in actuality has a name: fraud.
> So how can you be sore when Chad tires of the sweet deal you cooked up?
Except in the cartoon Chad wasn't paid, whereas in the real life example Sony was. So a more true analogy would be that Chad sold you a fishing rod; you thought it was a purchase and you owned it, and then one day he took it back off you and pointed to the small print you didn't read that stated he could do this.
They know that using terms like "rent" or "lease indefinitely" would reduce their revenue, so they squirrel away legal gotchas that no one ever reads to cover their arse. It shouldn't be allowed.
Just because something is legal doesn't make it ethical. Sometimes the ethical thing to do is ignore the legalities, which is why people are fine with advocating for piracy in cases like these.
(That said, I've _never_ bought an e-book since which didn't have at least one typo or mis-formatted bit of text, including _Dune_ which I didn't get until it had been available as an ebook for _years_)
Now though all blu rays are inorganic and should last about 100 years. Some can last closer to 1000 years.
I let the Deezer bot surprise me OPM and I absolutely loved it
I also use it to listen to the Chinese rap, which would be a pain to get otherwise
Otherwise their human curated playlists are real good
But I agree with you, it's not how you "own" media. You only get the service to access media
The idea that companies can take away games, movies, etc that you've paid for with the expectation you would have them forever is toxic for society.
I was getting concerned, but if only StudioCanal movies are getting pulled as Sony doesn't need to pay for that, *it's but a loss*
The company was bought by the same tycoon who bought mainstream media to get frequencies, then replaced journalists with conservative anchors who ditch the news and rant about feminists and Muslims all day.
They were recently known for Bac Nord. It is honestly a very good cop movie, but that also outrageously rewrites a case in which dirty drug dealing cops were busted, in case some viewers are not willing to make the diff between reality and a good fiction
They made the headline around the Cannes festival this year, saying they should no longer work with woke movies.
Their case is getting embarrassing in France, as their owner is now the first (but not the only) purveyor of obscurantism for the masses
Also, on previous commercial disputes, these french studios and media outlets held an all or nothing stance, often asking to be completely removed from the offering of ISPs if they can't get the money they want.
That's their way of getting what they want ; and as the ones who support this kind of move put it (so pretty much THEM) : you have the right to contract and do what you want with what you own
It's embarrassing enough for Sony or ISPs, it's highly visible to consumers, so they will not accept a middle point like you describe.
IMO If you bought something and someone takes that away, THAT is the actual theft, and you have limited options to alleviate your loss.
Yo ho me hearties...
A CD or DVD? That will hold the soundtrack for all of eternity (or at least as long as the physical medium survives), but for digitally bought games, it's ridiculous that content I paid for can just get silently patched away.
[1] https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/868277-grand-theft-auto...
On their TV offering, in 2018 and 2022, they did pull the rug themselves by stopping to broadcast the free to air outlet which has #1 audience on the market, TF1, and this commercial dispute went to courts
Long story short, it's big business (not just inde studio does politics) and they're notoriously anything but victims at it
The person you're replying to made a case that a person with outsized influence is creating media to stir resentment for attention and your conclusion is "political reasons".
The word "political" always ends up meaning "don't talk about reactionaries throwing rocks"
But him being a "far-right actor" or whatever that means doesn't excuse Sony's anti-consumer actions in the slightest, that's completely missing the point, and turning things political for no reason. And also a logical falacy.
HelloUsername•1h ago
"PlayStation Is Deleting 551 Movies from Customers' Accounts" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48691346 26-jun-2026 208 comments
"Studio Canal Movies purchased on PlayStation Store removed without refund" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48718967 29-jun-2026 125 comments