Old DOOM games delisted

[Flojomojo]

This isn't the first time they've been removed but this is the first time they've replaced them with new versions with removed features. What a crock. Point to the "I love physical media" crowd. 

 

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1542321Classic Doom games vanish, reappear on Xbox One with features missing

[Atariboy]

Doom Classic Complete happily remains for sale on the PS3.

 

Lousy move, but since things like the 360 disc for Doom 3 BFG Edition still unlocks them on the XB1, hopefully it's just a momentarily issue that needs to be rectified. I'm not sure they're out to force people to double dip when there are still ways to access them (And while I'm skeptical, I've also read that the new native versions of Doom 3 BFG Edition apparently still contain Doom 1 and 2 even though they're making them available as standalone downloads on the same platforms, which is an unusually generous move if true).

 

Assuming it is a glitch rather than deliberate, more disappointing is the apparent always online mandate I'm reading about that they've tied into these. Especially stupid for the Nintendo Switch versions for obvious reasons if you actually can't play them offline in portable mode. 

 

In other Doom news, it appears Doom 64 is resurfacing.

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by Atariboy

[Flojomojo]

I agree they're probably not deliberately trying to be dicks, just being stupidly incompetent as they try to get ALL the Dooms on the same software platform (the new version was built in Unity). 

 

I don't think the Switch version is online only. It DOES require a valid Bethesda.net login to start the game, but after the initial setup it doesn't go online to check. The iPhone version behaves the same way. Annoying to start, especially since there's no user benefit -- wouldn't it be nice to have cross platform cloud saves? -- but once it's in there, it says "login successful" even when offline. 

 

A preventable series of cock-ups. They should have asked us what we thought before launching like this. ?

[DragonGrafx-16]

Hah, I just play Doom on my Dos PC. No DRM, no bullshit, just Doom. Also  I can just play Doom 64 on PC already using  Doom 64 EX.

[Atariboy]

They're even gone on the 360 marketplace itself, although I assume I can redownload Doom from my download history like usual. Rather silly although I'm sure sales of Doom and Doom 2 to 360 owners were getting to be pretty infrequent. 

[Keatah]

8 hours ago, DragonGrafx-16 said:

Hah, I just play Doom on my Dos PC. No DRM, no bullshit, just Doom. Also  I can just play Doom 64 on PC already using  Doom 64 EX.

Absolutely! No nonsense, no DRM, all the free DLC you could ever want or make yourself. Just like it was in the early 1990's. Play legacy Doom on legacy hardware. Or play modernized Doom on modern hardware via emulation/virtualization or even GZDoom. Many possibilities. But you won't have to deal with shit like this:

 

[roots.genoa]

It's obviously a mistake, they're working on it:

It wasn't necessary for Doom 2016, Wolfenstein, and other Bethesda games on Switch so...

Edited July 28, 2019 by roots.genoa

[Keatah]

No mistake. They have to backtrack, because, backlash. There's no mistake about the text, "A Bethesda.net account is required to play this title. Please connect to the internet to continue."

 

That's quite different from perhaps say, "A Bethesda.net account is required for Slayer's Club access."

[digdugnate]

the 'conspiracy theorist' side of me thinks: "Well, of course they can backtrack now, they have more user info from the folks that created accounts!"

[Flojomojo]

Of course it was a mistake. But it was a deliberate mistake, it's not like a play tester would have missed this. It's not a huge deal or anything, just annoying, and the internet is mocking them for it, which is great. 

 

Bethesda has a history of leading the industry in annoying ways. Horse armor. 

[+wongojack]

[roots.genoa]

My favorite (the second one):

 

[Flojomojo]

^^unplanned comedy goldmines are the best

[Atariboy]

They've restored the ability to redownload Doom and Doom 2 on the Xbox One (And I would hope that by extension it also means that a new XB1 owner that bought these off the 360 marketplace when they were still available could go out today and buy a Xbox One and still be able to access them via backwards compatibility for the first time on the newer platform). 

 

Still not sure what the point was to removing them, but most everyone that wanted to buy them has had many years now to grab the XBLA downloads, so not much harm here now that existing owners are again allowed to redownload their purchases (Shame on Microsoft for even letting Bethesda have the option of removing that ability).

 

I'm curious if I could've deleted Doom on my 360 in recent days and redownload it from my download history (Which you couldn't do on the XB1), but didn't want to risk it. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Atariboy

[Keatah]

Bethesda is so fulla shit. A mistake is a mistake is a mistake. And the intent can't be hidden. You can bet they'll try again. Wait till they start limiting content and the ability to do your own mods and ports.

 

https://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/retro/bethesda-blames-error-for-doom-mandatory-log-in-issue/1/

[roots.genoa]

The deliberate mistake theory is not that obvious. Doom 3 also has a popup window on its title screen to connect to Bethesda.net, but you can close the window without logging in. And according to them, that's what was supposed to happen in Doom 1 & 2 as well. So if the mistake was intentional, why wasn't it in Doom 3 as well? To hide the fact that it was intentional? ?

[Flojomojo]

Hanlon's Razor does not apply to Bethesda Softworks. 

[roots.genoa]

Maybe not, but I've seen so many examples of excessive paranoia among retrogamers that I tend to think it was a stupid mistake.