So robotcache.com the new digital distribution retailer store that allows us PC gamers to re sell our digitally purchased PC versions of video games signed a deal with twenty two video game publishing companies and will have seven hundred PC versions of video games released for sale.

Now this is another digital distribution retailer store that I 100% support on top of gog.com and then Steam down lower.

So for me it is gog.com, robotcache.com, and Steam.

www.resetera.com/threads/steam-alternative-robotcache-blockchain-app-store-signs-22-publishers-with-700-games- 95-of-proceeds-goes-the-developers.86447/

What are your thoughts on finally being able to re sell your digitally purchased PC versions of video games when you do not want them any more?

I've never (re)sold my hundreds of boxed games, not even the ones I didn't like. And re-selling of digital goods is only possible with heavy DRM (to "disown" the previous user). Not interested.

I have never sold my physical boxed versions of the PC versions of video games that I have purchased for twenty years either, but this is very pro-customer friendly for PC gamers that want to do that.

Surely the only way that is possible is with heavy DRM?

So is it worth being able to sell the games on if you don't even really own them in the first place?

And how does reselling work? I assume the devs are going to get a cut, otherwise they wouldn't agree to it, but will you have to sell at set prices or will you be able to choose your own price? Do you get the lions share of the money or do the devs?

The website FAQ doesn't give an awful lot of info on how it works and mostly seems focused on their block chain mining nonsense...

If that's the selling point, then it's not for me. The cons of DRM outweigh the pros of reselling games, something I have never done.

I believe in 2017 when I first read about robotcache.com is that video games sold on robotcache.com will be 100% Digital Rights Management (DRM) free, at least the singleplayer part of the video games.

How does it work then?
What's to stop me buying my game, downloading the installer or installing it and then selling it on?
If it's actually DRM free then all you need to do is securely back up the files or installer and you can keep playing it even after selling it. The only way I can see that working is if the devs take a huge share of your resale, so they don't really care if you keep the game and you don't recover anywhere near what you paid for it.

And as others have said, I can count the number of games I've sold on when done on one hand... so while it's interesting it's not really a draw for me either.

How's that supposed to work? How do they want to prevent you keeping on using a game you sold?

Honestly I have no idea how they will monitor this data.

Anyways I read more into it and the cryptocurrency they are talking about letting us mine iron like bit coin um is kind of seeming like a very bad idea now.

I will keep a eye on robotcache.com for another year or two to see what happens then. I am 100% not going to be purchasing any video games from them until they are proven to be a good digital distribution retailer store selling video games like gog.com.

I think when they mean "sell", it's on an account basis. Like selling off the license from your account, where it will be transferred to another. And thereafter, the game will be deleted from your library (license revoked). It's the only way I could see it working. You know, I'm not going to give resetera my clicks, but from part of the title in the link that Johnathanamz posted, the developer will get 95% or something.

Piracy in general should not be a worry. You can't sell your games now and nearly everything is up for pirated download over the web.

One sad thing with getting old is getting so cynical and suspicious, not trusting anymore.

I'll pass:-

1. The "Subscriber Agreement" states "Rather, the Subscriptions you acquire grant you a limited and terminable license to access such software or services under the terms of this Agreement, any third-party required end user licensing agreement, and provided that you maintain an Internet connection while using any the software or service. In some cases, you may also be required to install and execute a Robot Cache client application as discussed later in this Agreement."

https://help.robotcache.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013063932

2. Are you even selling them for money? Over half the FAQ for that site goes on and on about mining crypto-currency called "Iron Tokens". Nothing about actually getting paid in cash.

3. Your ability to "release subscriptions" (resell games) is entirely at their discretion "from time to time" (eg, may be available for 1 in 10 games, only during certain periods or exclude DLC). They charge you a fee and can deny any sale for any reason and can make up new rules / restrictions for resale at any time.

So basically, the "subscriber" agreement says it needs yet another DRM'd to the max client constantly running which requires an always on Internet connection, and possibly have the client constantly running in the background that also mines crypto-currency. You can resell stuff for "tokens" but not cash and can be denied on a whim. I'm honestly not that impressed.

Edit: Take away all crypto-mining buried into the compulsory client and just charge & pay out cash, and is it still financially viable? Re-reading the FAQ, the whole things seems more interested in promoting "mining" than selling games. Since you can only mine via their closed source client, how much of a "cut" do they take? Obviously enough to pay for the service / cover the "resale" cost, but then far from the "money" you get back from selling a game being "free", you're basically subsidising that yourself via increased electricity bills? I'd love to see the real maths behind their business model...

Of course, but if the game is DRM free you can sell your licence and still keep the files.

I didn't click the link either, but read that as 95% of original sales goes to devs, rather than the resales but who knows.

So one must remain online and install a client app to check up on you. That certainly is not DRM-free.

it's not DRM free

from an older article (february)
https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/feature/66591/the-argument-for-blockchain-tech-in-digital-retail-brian-fargo-talks-robot-cache/ tbh i am still puzzled how exactly that works on a technical level. My gut feeling is that the whole project only survives by the magic power of the buzzword "blockchain".
though I admit I never bothered to understand the whole blockchain hype.