THE BIG IDEA

A future where you don’t ‘own’ anything has already come for video games

Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions for leading video game publisher Ubisoft, suggested early this year that people need to get “comfortable” with no longer owning the games they buy.

He was discussing the challenges facing the Ubisoft+ subscription service (think: Netflix for “Assassin’s Creed” games), but the comments were widely viewed as an ominous glimpse into the future of digital media ownership — or it would be, if that really existed.

• The FTC notes that you generally don’t own the things you buy digitally; you’re usually just buying a license to use a movie, album, video game, or phone app, which could be revoked at any time.
• Trustworthy digital storefronts shouldn’t do that without good reason, but you never know.

Where do we go from here?

A new California law wants to prevent digital stores from saying you’re “buying” something if really you’re getting a license.

Steam, the megapopular digital storefront for PC games, is already on board.

• Steam updated its checkout page to say you’re buying a “license” for a game, not an actual permanent copy.
• Not everyone just sells a license: Competing retailer GOG put out a cheeky tweet stating that it sells offline installers that “cannot be taken away from you.”

What does all this mean for the gaming business?

Let’s look at one gaming powerhouse, Microsoft, whose Game Pass subscription service is central to this “You don’t own anything” future.

Microsoft put all its published games on Game Pass while investing heavily in gaming studios, but US subscription revenue has been stagnant since 2022. The results:

• Tango Gameworks, which Microsoft acquired in 2021, launched “Hi-Fi Rush” on Game Pass in 2023 to critical acclaim and millions of downloads.
• Many people didn’t mind not “owning” the game, but without translating into actual sales for Microsoft, it shut down Tango in May (plus several other studios that worked on Game Pass titles).

It appears the flailing gaming business will only be on solid footing when you’re paying for industry giants’ services, like Game Pass, and buying digital games that you don’t really own anyway.

The future that Tremblay talked about is already here — and it seems consumers are strangely the ones most comfortable with it.

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RECOMMENDED READING

• Developing trust on a dime — that’s sales in a nutshell, no? That’s why we compiled some expert-backed, credibility-building tactics for all our sales friends.
• One big rule of ours? Never send a subject line that sucks. Here are 100 little hooks to help you spruce up your emails and achieve the open rates your team has always dreamed of.

DATA POINT

Diamonds are forever, but mining might not be. The diamond market is nearly split down the middle: 54% of diamonds sold in US jewelry stores are natural and 46% are lab-grown, according to data from diamond industry research company Tenoris.

While lab-grown stones gain popularity and become less expensive, buyers are still shelling out for bigger, more-expensive natural diamonds, per Axios.

The average natural diamond this year is selling for $6.6k, bumping the average overall diamond price to ~$4.6k — much higher than before lab-grown diamonds became popular. The average natural diamond size is also ~50% larger than it was before lab-grown stones were introduced.

The fifty-fifty split might come down to generational preferences: Younger shoppers are happy to save money when buying a diamond, while older consumers are more attached to the rarity of natural stones.

AROUND THE WEB

🎶  On this day: In 1973, Dolly Parton released her No. 1 hit “Jolene.”

🤕  That’s interesting: Spain holds a biannual human tower competition where people assemble themselves into structures.

🔁  Game: Netflix made an online multiplayer game for its new body-swap thriller, It’s What’s Inside.

🎬  That’s cool: A tool to see who matches your top four Letterboxd films.

🦊  Aww: A very happy fennec fox.

WEIRD PATENTS

On mute: Everyone knows the frustration of constantly losing the TV remote in the couch cushions. That’s why William Murray Jr. of California patented the “TV mute finger ring” in 2004. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a hollow, C-shaped, electronic finger ring with an infrared transmitter to mute your TV. The ring, meant to be worn on the index finger, has a handy button that can be easily accessed with your thumb. No more screaming, “What!?!” when your spouse asks a question from the other room.

SHOWER THOUGHT

Fingernails and hair probably make a noise when growing, it’s just too small and slow to hear. SOURCE

Today’s email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Sara Friedman, and Sam Barsanti.
Editing by: Ben “Bad clogs, good dogs” Berkley.

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