This is sad just because of the old names disappearing. A friend of mine killed themselves back in 2017, but we played a few games on ps4 together online back in the day. So I still scroll down to look at that old gamer tag every now and then. Its sad to think of that going away.
An important detail nobody is mentioning is that this is EU only due to privacy laws there. Sony still sucks, etc., but it's important to get the facts straight.
There's totally no EU law forcing companies to delete stuff you bought.
It's this. I don't feel like looking up the relevant part, but feel free to if you like.
The relevant bit is this one here:

It's hard to argue that buying something on a digital platform is not a contract between the user and the platform.
Thanks! The 3 year time limit isn't mandated and was chosen by Sony. I believe other companies have chosen even lower ones.
Which is, of course, wrong: The duration of contract for a store like Sonys is the whole time the store is up and running.
Well, they did it due to the GDPR regulations for some reason, since they don't do it in not-EU places.
They are deliberately misinterpreting that law. This law only applies for data that they no longer have a legitimate reason to retain. It's not just a rolling 3-year counter that starts every time you log out and gets reset every time you log in.
I haven't logged into Facebook in well more than 3 years they haven't deleted my data and that isn't a violation, I haven't deleted my account (I can't I've forgotten the password and no longer have access to the original email, it's my problem).
It's only for things now lapsed gym memberships, or car dealerships keeping your data after you purchase a vehicle from them. They can keep that data for 3 years and then they have to delete it.
What would be the point of misinterpreting it? They have no such limit in the US; if it were for some nefarious purpose you'd think they'd implement it everywhere.
No other online store is doing this. The only one that comes close afaik is Ubisoft (who couldve guessed), but only if you own zero games on that account.
They are required to delete certain data about you if its no longer necessary for their service, but not everything, especially since you have an ongoing contract with them. They either couldn't be bothered to only delete parts of data they consider useless already and instead chose to just wipe everything, or that's their way of malicious compliance.
Under the GDPR, every organisation must:
Define how long each category of personal data is stored Justify each retention period with a legal or operational basis Ensure data is deleted or anonymised once the purpose ends Document all retention rules in a clear and accessible format Apply retention rules consistently across all data systems Ensure third-party processors comply with the organisation’s retention instructions They can define their own reasonable terms. Sony chooses to delete that stuff.
Yeah, that. Other companies have even lower time limits.
their next decision is always the worst
What an excellent way to convince aging gamers to just never buy from Sony again.
Yup, although I haven't purchased a Sony product in over a decade because they started charging a monthly fee for online services I got free on PC. Funny because I was a fanboy like no other during the console wars.
i bought portal2 when it came out on ps3.... it also let me set up a steam account through my ps3, because that was going to be the next big thing (this was before ps+ and multiplayer was still free)
12 years later i got a PC, i downloaded steam.... and when i logged in, there was portal2 waiting for me to download it.
sony can go fuck themselves

No, I will lose access to Fat Princess!
Oh man I've got this saved on my jailbroken ps3 and it really was such a fun little game I feel like it didn't get the attention it deserved.
The PSP sequel (fistful of cake) is pretty solid.
I didn't even know they made one! Thank you you just gave me a new game to try
I logged into steam after like 15 years and it still worked.
guys let me introduce you to chinese handhelds with 1351251351513 games on, your old shool consoles with physical disk, and remind you of ALL THOSE cool games you always wanted to play but had no time to do so.
how is that even legal?
we need better consumer protection for digital purchases.
Huh. That's actually a little disappointing. I have a couple of exclusives on there that I would prefer not to lose. But I also no longer own any modern PlayStation consoles, nor am I likely to in the future. So trying to decide if this is going to be the thing that makes me leave Sony for good, or if I should just make a little effort to login from time to time.
also found out switch deletes your cloud saves after a while if you stop paying
I've been a hardcore PlayStation guy since I was about 9 when I got my first console the PS1.
Crash team racing is better than Mario Kart 64
Spyro the Dragon is the best 3D platformer of the late 90s.
I've had a PS2.. That still works 22 years later.
I was in the great wars of PS2 vs XBOX.
I like Halo 1 and 2, I like Killzone 1, 2 and 3.
I was there at the beginning.
I was there when Sony moved their PlayStation HQ from Japan to America.
I was there when the quality of good JRPGs and adventure games plummeted so we could be fed a new call of duty and FIFA every year.
These days I'm PC, PS5 and switch. I will not be buying a PS6 or a Switch 2.
It should be mentioned that.. I'd rather throw myself down a cliff than buy an Xbox.
It's not just them. I accidentally ended up in prison for 5 years and lost my Google account, and because I had 2FA set up with email and the phone number I had at the time on pretty much everything that means I also lost my steam account and pretty much every single digital account I had. Thousands of games on different storefronts.
Ironically the only single place that helped me recover my account was the kind folks at Roberts Space Industries. I was an initial backer... Maybe one day the game will be done.
Everything else I pirate now. If you don't own it physically, you don't own it.
Non-spamblog version of the same article: https://www.levelup.com/en/news/playstation-could-permanently-delete-your-psn-account-and-digital-library-for-this-reason/
This is for UK and EU due to GDPR that requires companies delete all user data for inactive accounts. It's a unintended consequences of the law and other gaming companies including Xbox have similar clauses.
The law says they can’t keep your PII after you stop being a customer, not anything about linking your email address to purchases for an entirely legitimate ongoing reason.
My biggest mistake was buying a PS4 instead of jumping to PC a generation earlier than I eventually did.
Sony’s reminding me of their “599 US DOLLARS” era very heavily lately. Gaming has been in such a rough spot lately, it’s a shame.
There are doing a speed run no one wants.
Seems illegal.
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