Lobby Responds to Stop Killing Games Movement: A Statement of No Surprise

The European Gaming Industry Lobby, represented by the organization Video Games Europe (VGE), has issued a response to the growing Stop Killing Games movement, which has recently surpassed 1 million supporters. The lobby’s statement, released just hours after the movement reached this significant milestone, delves into the complexities surrounding the discontinuation of online services for video games.

According to VGE, the decision to discontinue online services is a multifaceted issue that requires careful consideration. The lobby argues that this decision must be an option for companies when an online experience is no longer commercially viable, and that players are given fair notice of prospective changes in compliance with local consumer protection laws.

However, VGE’s statement also highlights the inherent challenges of adding an offline mode or keeping an online game running after official support has ended. The lobby explains that many titles are designed from the ground up to be online-only, and that making these games playable offline would be prohibitively expensive for developers to implement.

It’s important to note that VGE is not a government-backed organization, but rather a group that represents the interests of the video game industry. The lobby’s board includes representatives from major companies like Warner Bros, EA, Activision, and Nintendo, which raises questions about their priorities and the potential conflict between business interests and player concerns.

As the same companies that led to the creation of the Stop Killing Games movement, it’s unsurprising that VGE’s statement appears to be more focused on protecting the industry’s business interests rather than addressing the player-centric issues at the heart of the movement.

The statement from VGE can be viewed as a neutral development, neither a positive nor a negative one. It does not directly undermine the purpose of the Stop Killing Games movement, and it will be interesting to see how the European Union responds to this industry lobby’s perspective.

For now, consumers are left with limited options, as John, the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming, points out: “Once you buy a game, you agree to its EULA, and the EULA of all online games cover the fact that one day they will no longer work. So, once you agree to the EULA, you lose any right to complain.” This reality highlights the need for consumers to be discerning in their purchasing decisions and to support companies that prioritize player concerns over pure business interests.

As the debate surrounding game preservation and the discontinuation of online services continues, the response from the European Gaming Industry Lobby serves as a reminder of the complex and often conflicting priorities at play within the video game industry.