@Musicsvictim: Updating as they've at least confirmed that the game will not require an online connection outside of installation. Depressing that that needed to be clarified by them, but Ubi didn't do themselves any favours by not creating an offline version of The Crew to lay any suspicions to rest.

@esqueejy: Exactly what they did with Anastasia Romanov for Assassin's Creed Chronicles Russia. They had the opportunity to write "what really happened" (in the AC universe) as they have done with other aspects of history (the implication that Hitler was a Templar pawn that got too big for his boots that was shown in the file puzzles of either 2 or Brotherhood are another example of this).

Honestly my biggest concern with this is that it's Ubisoft Quebec working on this. Given how horrendous I found Odyssey's story it makes me really worried for what they're going to do here. Definitely going to be waiting for reviews and potentially even a price drop. But this could also be the end of my run on Assassin's Creed if the Assassin's Creed Infinity ...thing they are looking at setting up is just an excuse to lock out the ability to play the game once it is no longer profitable to upkeep.

@sebb: The problem with the film industry is the same as the one currently hitting the games industry: both have become vehicles for investment opportunities rather than about making something that people will enjoy. And the only way to continue to support these massive projects is to "ensure" a return on investment by any means necessary. Whether this is by showing investors that a movie will be a guaranteed success because the algorithm said so, or by showing them a new live service game with a 5-10 year support plan that maximizes microtransactions profit whilst minimizing support costs, it's all the same. As long as entertainment is treated this way we'll likely see worse and worse from the bigger companies.

@just1mohr: Completely agree, this is why I'm intrigued to see what form it takes. The most likely one I can think of will be similar to Sony's current offering for PS Plus, which is a monthly subscription that will have a higher price but gain you access to a load of older titles.

But I could be wrong and they could end up doing something good. Do I trust them to do that? Not in the slightest, they are a company and they only exist to make money. Anything that appears to be doing good is likely just for publicity and they will take any knock (initially) for cost if it gets them that. But as I said originally, art preservation is important, and it would be great to have it available in some way, shape or form that doesn't also come with ethical questions around piracy or the like.

I will be intrigued to see what form this takes but any move towards preserving the history of games, especially if it is available to all, is a good thing in my books.

The video game industry as a whole is in desperate need of more people joining unions. Far too many expectations by those in the management roles for people to work later or more hours to get a game out, with no protection when they inevitably get laid off after a project is done because that was always the expectation.

The idea that the union at Raven was created to protect "low talent hires" is utterly laughable. The unionization of QA is important for keeping the skills that those team members will build up protected whilst ensuring they are recognized for the work that they do.

@mediastupid1: Completely fair, I try to stay physical where I can but not always possible as some things just don't get a physical release unfortunately.

And the biggest problem with demos as they currently exist is that they are only available on the games that choose to release them. Having any sort of try before you buy makes me much more certain on when I want to buy something, so using a subscription service for that is a small price to pay for me personally.

@mediastupid1: Definitely agree with ya on the physical vs digital. To add to it though: digital is a great way for smaller companies to put out games without the additional cost of physical copies. And services like GamePass are just the rental for those digital games. So I have no problem with those services existing alongside digital and physical, but as we saw with everyone's response to the Ubi exec saying "Get comfortable with not owning your games" everyone is still going to want to own what they purchase, and those subscription services should act as something to prop up fully purchasable titles, not seek to replace them.

Whenever I find a game I like on PS+ that is going to be available for a limited time, I will pick it up so that I can continue to own it, which essentially makes the services a paid for demo service, which is perfect as it means I no longer need to worry about whether the game I'm interested in is gonna screw me over after install.

@mediastupid1: Agreed, I genuinely reckon we'll see Microsoft bow out of hardware and focus solely on software with GamePass leading their efforts on the Microsoft Store and all other platforms. At this stage hardware has only two "advantages" over PC:
1) Exclusives
2) Hardware features not found on PC
The first is only really held onto by Nintendo, as Sony and MS are both bringing their games to PC (albeit at different rates), and Nintendo have always been a company targeting younger audiences that just happen to also resonate with older fans.
And the second one is a gap that is very quickly closing with hardware like the Steam Deck. Sony hardware barely does anything new that can't also be done on PC, Xbox hardware has never done anything new compared to PC hardware (outside of peripherals like the Kinect) and Nintendo has only recently been in the market of "doing something new" (Wii-Switch era of motion controls, prior to which the industry was still fascinated with pushing newer graphics).

All of this is to say that I reckon consoles are starting to decline. Not rapidly mind, I reckon we've still got another couple of generations of hardware before we see consoles replaced with all digital PC's that specialize in games but can be modded for other purposes. But that's just a gut feeling, and is not based on any sort of data or real knowledge.