The true horror of PT

So as of lately PT is no more. I don't just mean silent hills was canned, that's been known, but as of a little more recently down this week the very demo of PT is gone. The only way you could possibly play it right now is if you already have it installed on your harddrive right at this very moment, and don't you dare delete it. You wont have it returned to you again. Even if its registered to your account, even in your library, you can't touch it. ..and that manages to be the scariest thing related to this game that was already filled with horror.

I talked about my experience with PT before right here. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I managed to still enjoy it and sort of beat it (basic level of completion, not that crazy puzzle way). I played enough to say it was highly commendable work, and I could see why so many horror fans were excited. Unfortunately both are no longer set to exist. With Silent Hills I kind of get it. Konami is doing a dumb move to mobile gambling apps and hates Kojima, so Kojima is out after MGS5 and nobody wants to deal with each other long enough to make a horror masterpiece. However now they want to pretend PT never existed. I get that they may want to make a statement that its a teaser to a game that just isn't happening, but the fact is its still a rightfully good game on its own. It was such an effective marketing tool because it was so darn fun and came totally unexpected, removing it after already dropping on the best of your gaming industry is just like salting an open wound. Even worse is the implications this may have, as its yet another casualty from the digital side of gaming.

Now I want to be perfectly clear on one thing... I'm not preaching that this will be the case with everything digital, and I don't want to neglect on what good it has done. PT simply put would not exist as an easy physical form, unless it was a promotional give-away with another game, or came with a gaming magazine (you know, those things that practically aren't around anymore). Still what happens when every game has a chance for this to happen? When anyone can pull another Deadpool, or Dream Chronicles, or several demos where they just pull the game from stores? Now PT is among them, and not even previous owners can grab it. The companies are in full control of your stuff, and when they decide you can't enjoy something great, they can pull the plugs. They can choose to snuff out a major piece of someone's work, gaming history, and take the fun right out of gaming if they choose to. This is why we fear the possibility of not only a digital focused future, but DRM, cloud streaming, and other similar stuff. Its going backwards, and instead of giving us a convenience you're creating similar problems to when we only had physical: Copies could be destroyed or become obscurely rare. Only that was more of poor luck, and unless the company had a warehouse full of them like say Atari and ET, you're not likely to see that.

This is a matter of the company being a bunch of disrespectful whiny inconsiderate jerks who rob the fun because they can't get their act together internally, and they unfortunately happen to have the power to do that from most consumers. Early on I was willing to give Konami the benefit of the doubt and wait to see what was happening with their drama, or even suggest that it was another Kojima stunt, but with more clarity coming through in recent weeks things are suspicious about some less noble goals they have. Now there's just no excuse for this move, and quite frankly Konami deserves every bit of the hate people are slinging at it now. I take great offense to people crippling the fun and artistry of gaming, and you can do few things worse than this. Konami is not only selfish in their suspected future goals, but also decided they have to burn bridges wherever they can before making their final move away from the people that made them who they are. It'll be almost painful that I have to give them money in order to enjoy one of the games I'm looking forward to this year, and the only series I care about from this publisher. However I fear they aren't the only publisher out there willing to do this kind of damage with the same power, erasing things that may not be deemed of value to themselves anymore, or to spite other workers at the expense of gamers. So I can only hope that we can hold onto what's left of our physical environment while it lasts, and I urge the naive people out there who insist on a digital only future to stop and think about the consequences of their freedom-sucking ideals. I prefer having a choice, and having my games work for as long as I take care of them.

...and reduce further casualties