In all honesty, I don't consider a tool made for the sole purpose of getting stupid people to fork over as much cash as possible art. So I couldn't care less if social games are preserved. However, the article does raise a valid point, and to me points to the biggest flaw in digital distribution or cloud gaming, from both a consumer standpoint and a preserving for future generations standpoint. Unfortunately, I think the most likely outcome is that the big names are just going to keep on Disney vaulting their games once people don't want to pay 60 bucks for them anymore and just re release them in a supposedly better format, but we won't have access to the original once they decide we shouldn't.

I seriously don't get why MS and Sony don't see how important backwards compatibility is. I mean, they could have all of last gen's library available at launch, both to make the transition to a new system painless for people who already have one, and to offer a massive selection of games for new adopters. Especially for people who mostly play one franchise's games, you're not going to get those people to upgrade until there's a next gen version of their franchise. But it seems like an easier sell if you tell them, "You can keep playing your favorite game, plus you'll get benefits x y and z if you upgrade your console." Really, I would be happiest with a simple horsepower boost for next gen, let us keep our gamertags and purchases etc, hell give us an option for a system without a HDD and let us plug our existing one in, then we'll have all our save games available.

I think AC is falling victim to what many great franchises eventually succumb to (I call it clown shoes syndrome) where the previous games not only were amazing, but also were something new and fresh in a marketplace full of copycats. (Big shoes to fill, get my drift?) The problem is, no matter how good a sequel is, it's almost impossible to have the same new and fresh feeling of the previous version. AC2 did manage this difficult feat, but also had the effect of setting the bar even higher for the franchise. So I would love to see Ubi prove me wrong, but I doubt the AC series is going to get better than it is now. But that doesn't mean it's not still going to be great, and continue to be for some time, we just have to judge each game on it's own merits and not constantly compare it to the hero in it's past.

I so want more summer releases. I mean, all last summer the only thing I picked up was Deus Ex:HR, and then starting in October so many games were released that nobody was able to keep up. Just because a game releases in the summer doesn't mean you can't still push it for x-mas. Hell, by then it should have some dlc, maybe a couple of patches, it's better for everyone.

If OnLive would be willing to pay me 40 bucks a month to upgrade my internet, I would happily try it.

Wal-Mart doesn't sell porn, but that doesn't stop people from making and selling porn if they desire to. If you want to sell something in mainstream retailers, you have to stay within those retailer's established boundaries. It's not censorship, it's just game makers wanting to reach a wider audience. And while I would love to see the day when we stop structuring our whole society around children, that's not likely to happen any time soon, so I say just deal with it.

@Fergood - I don't think something as simple as a complete lack of jurisdiction will stop U.S. lawmakers from having their way.

Pretty sad.

If you're not playing Skyrim right now, there's something wrong.

Free to play kills creativity. Unless you get a kick out of finding creative ways to reach into peoples' pockets. It's just a step backwards by people who have no ideas, funded by stockholders who are scared to try something new. And it sucks. The industry is going to crash again if this continues, because people will only allow themselves to be gypped for so long.