RIP, Games Republic.

GR wasn't a site on the level of Steam or GOG or Amazon or anything, but the uptick in the purchase of digital goods really makes me wonder when--not if--a whole lot of people are going to lose out on a huge amount of media and the money they spent on it. GOG is kind enough to allow for backups on your computer or in the cloud or on a flash drive or where have you, but many types of digital media, like ebooks and movies are generally streamed--temporarily downloaded--instead of being available for permanent download. Sooner or later, Barnes and Noble or Amazon or someone will go out of business, and hundred of thousands/ millions of people will be without their entire ebook/ video/ music/ etc. libraries. Streaming services aren't the answer, either. The t.v. show or album that you love might be available on Netflix or Spotify today, but content licenses expire and then subscribers are left without anything.

It will be interesting to see what will happen when one of the big media companies goes under. I suspect that customers will start demanding protections against this sort of thing, in one form or another.