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SEGA Warns Players They Can't Own Metaphor: ReFantazio

SEGA – everything, customer – nothing.

Metaphor: ReFantazio, a fantasy game from the developers of Persona 3, 4, and 5, will be released on October 11, but if you think you can buy and then happily own the game, you'll be disappointed.

As noticed by X/Twitter user Pirat_Nation, the title's EULA is full of red flags, and the biggest of them all is SEGA warning players they can't own Metaphor: ReFantazio or any digital content related to it.

"You acknowledge and agree that you shall have no ownership or other property interest in the Product, and you further acknowledge and agree that all such rights are and shall forever be owned by and inure to the benefit of SEGA," it reads.

SEGA then says that it grants you "a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited, fully revocable right and license to install, access and use one copy of the Product." Moreover, it can stop offering or supporting online services for Metaphor: ReFantazio at any time, and your account and data might be deleted. In this case, "SEGA shall not be required to provide refunds, benefits, or other compensation in connection with discontinuing such online services."

SEGA

The issue of people not owning the products they pay for has been intensifying lately. Not long ago, the California Governor suggested a new law forcing digital stores to tell customers they don't own content but only get a license to use it. It seems like companies started working on it already. While it's nice to know in advance that you won't have any rights to what you buy, the fact itself is outrageous.

The whole issue started being highlighted when Ubisoft shut down The Crew servers. In response, YouTuber Ross Scott started an initiative against companies canceling games, and you can support him if you agree with the movement.

Read Metaphor: ReFantazio's agreement here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on InstagramTwitterLinkedInTikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more. 

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Comments 19

  • Anonymous user

    And this is why we as consumers need to fight for better rights in regards to digital content ownership.  I can sell my disc to a friend if I dislike the game or never plan on playing it again, why not allow me to do the same with my digital license?  When your game's servers go dark, why not release the code or tools for people to host their own?

    The answer is obvious, of course - bad business.  Why sell one copy when you can sell two, why let people keep playing Big Battle 1 on private servers when they can buy Big Battle 2 and start over, etc.  However, if that is the case, if buying access to content is not ownership of access to said content, then I start to agree with those who say "then piracy is not stealing."

    I do feel that the moment companies shut down servers or pull a game from sale it should immediately be considered abandonware, with the exception of something like rights going from one entity to another that still allow the purchase of said game somewhere from the new company.  It'll never happen, but we need to do something about it.

    Steam shouldn't force a user to literally abandon their $10,000 games library to not accept their new ToS, you shouldn't lose your $3,000 library of PS3/4/5/PSP/Vita games because you said a bad word to someone, you shouldn't lose your $5,000 movie library because Amazon decided they aren't going to host movies anymore.  Consumers right now have ZERO protection, and that's incredibly messed up.

    4

    Anonymous user

    ·18 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    This is a problem created by the consumer. If you don't like these companies having the ability to rug pull what you've purchased then stop buying digital copies.

    0

    Anonymous user

    ·7 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    Now, we are coming into an era where pirating isn't stealing because they won't let us own games we buy. We'll, in that case I'll just pirate every game that releases.

    0

    Anonymous user

    ·10 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    That has always been the case for software.

    0

    Anonymous user

    ·10 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    the people commenting "this is how it's always been" or "it's not the same as owning a couch" is missing the point! you get to choose when you don't want it anymore and give it away. screw you for defending their greed and for not assuming we know where the line should actually be. of course making copies to sell should be illegal. but playing it yourself when you bought it shouldn't be. finding a way to Play a game you paid money for shouldn't be illegal or against anyone's "policies"! and modifying your game shouldn't be any more illegal against policy than painting your car a different color.

    0

    Anonymous user

    ·11 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    Also, buy the physical copy of the game, if available then, and not the digital copy. Problem solved.

    1

    Anonymous user

    ·12 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    At some point people are going to realize consumers have no rights. Just consume product. Don't ask questions. Consume next product.

    2

    Anonymous user

    ·15 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    This is how buying games has been for the longest time. At no point have consumers ever owned the games they play, just as much as you don't own the movies you watch or the books you read. You own the right to read them, watch them, or play them. For most games, your license comes in the form of a physical copy, and for digital games the license just needs to match the account associated with the game. Game companies reserving the right to withdraw online services from games have also been around since their inception. This is nothing new, and this article is baiting readers by sensationalizing game licensing.

    1

    Anonymous user

    ·16 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    The only people who get triggered by this are 100% having the game for free via piracy all the time lol. The bitterness XD

    -3

    Anonymous user

    ·18 hours ago·
  • Anonymous user

    if buying isnt owning, pirating isnt stealing

    4

    Anonymous user

    ·20 hours ago·

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