Can you look at the last 10-20 years of 'changes' in how gaming is designed and delivered to us, and honestly say that, if sweeping changes to the delivery model *had* to be made, that they would really be something we'd be happy with? Or would it just make a massive jump towards even worse territory?

We're paying for colors these days, and artificial rarity on timers so we can get boosters or try our luck on timed gacha drops, and with bigger games this is usually already on top of paying for the game itself as well, not to mention any season passes they throw at us also.

This is the way things have been heading. Forcing a big change will just supercharge it in the same direction.

A lot of people are happy with buying games online. Heck, even I replaced my PS4 games on disk with the ones from the online store.

And if people didn't like them, they would not buy EAs lootboxes for sports games. I don't like them, so I don't. But EA is making a shitload of money out of it, so I suspect someone does.

Crowdfunding platforms made way for small devs to reach an audience without going to a publisher first.

You can't know that, no one can. It may or may not happen, but you can't be sure of it. And even if it does happen, something new will emerge. Better? Worse? Who knows. Keeping the status quo in the whole history of mankind has never been a good solution.

If the gaming industry insists of declining customers their rights ... well, then they will notice how quickly a prohibition of sale can take place and what it means not to be allowed to sell anything anymore.
These guys are not stupid, they know they are not mightier than the law system. They most likely will accept cuts and come up with a solution rather than closing business for good.

Absolutely correct. I can't be 100% sure of that. But I can look at the past decades of transition, development, capitalism and greed as well as general corporate behavior and make a reasonable deduction towards the future that, if something could be monetized even more, chances are extremely high that that opportunity will be grasped.

But yes, a meteor could splatter us all before that happens, or maybe some child will be born that tiktoks such an emotional plea to everyone in the entire world decides to better themselves. I... tend to take a more skeptic approach towards these things overall, because I don't have that high a faith in humanity overall.

Yes, and it is the solution that people should be worried about, which was my whole point. Ownership as it used to exist for a game like we used to have will never be a thing anymore. Because they don't have to offer that anymore. These days they can just switch to it being a service. Selling physical is already disappearing. Digital delivery in no way needs to be on a purchase basis anymore. That's just how it transitioned because that's how it was in the physical space.

And there's never, no how ever going to be a 'prohibition' that's really going to affect anything. I've seen how that ends. It ends with entire groups of so called 'boycotters' having their launch day profile set to 'playing game X' which they were supposedly boycotting'.

The majority of people isn't going to give up their entertainment for 'ownership' anymore. Heck, young adults these days don't even know what that is. They grew up playing games on their phones which never had ownership to begin with.

I don't worry about the unknown, that's my point. If you don't know what it will be, worrying is a waste of time. You bring examples how things went wrong ignoring the aspects that went well (I mentioned a few of them). It's easier than ever for creative people to get their work released.

If you are happy with the status quo, then by all means, keep fearing the change. But if you are not, then I suggest to hope for something better. Stay positive.

There will be bad developments and good ones, as always. But even if it all goes to hell (which I honestly son't believe, there's always a way), I still have well about 4000 games to play, I'm set for life. My Evercade collection alone will keep me busy for the years to come.

No, I am not here to worry. I am here, because I like DRM free games, not because I fear games with DRM.
I like not being tracked. I like a offline installer and then launch the game with a click on the link and get going without starting a launcher first. If I use a launcher anyway - which I do for some achievements once in a while - then it's my decision.

I also cracked my old CD games to achieve to play instantly without having for the CD first. I didn't do so because I feared something or because I was worried about something, but because I preferred it the other way.

Basically I am here for convenience and not because I worry about the future.

I went from a TV Pong set to my Amiga with all it's fantastic jump and runs and first graphical adventuers and strategy games, did first steps on DOS machines, went through the time of multimedia adventures and space simulations, lost countless hours with Jagged Alliance 2, played 3D games, had first online experiences (Doom 1+2 serial, then Quake in LAN, later Jedi Knight via modem), got MMO experiences, got into Open World city games, bought some consoles starting with the XBox Classic (because of Spider-man 2) up to the PS4, play on Evercade now and on Emulators for retro games. have my Simpsons game on the smartphone, even play a asian browser game based on gachas, but so far didn't invest a cent in it.
In every generation I found something to do that I liked and I have no reason to doubt that I will also find games and playstyles that I like in the decades to come - except if I get sick of gaming alltogether and focus on gardening instead.

Not without violation of Business Law and Criminal Law. Our individual inability & financially unfeasible path to lawsuits and getting our rights or money back does not deny the injustice of what Corporations do.