I was an early adopter to Google's Daydream VR product. What drew me to Daydream as a platform was how easy and cheaper it was to experience VR (albeit not nearly as high end as other VR platforms like the HTC Vive or Facebook Oculus). I spent around $100 on Daydream applications and games throughout it's life. I was okay with it at the time because I wanted to support the platform and developers because in my mind, this platform was the most cost-effective way to bring virtual reality to the masses. Unfortunately, Google being Google, they decided to kill Daydream in 2019.
One of the last purchases I made on the platform Blade Runner Revelations about a year ago which was launched just after the Bladerunner 2049 film. It was one of the better Google Daydream VR experiences available and I'm also a fan of the original film. However, I recently picked up a used Pixel 2 XL and wanted to try out the slightly larger display only to discover that Blade Runner Revelations has been completely pulled from the Play Store! Here's the link where the app should be. I tried numerous ways to obtain the original APK, but unfortunately I wiped my 2016 Pixel XL so transferring the the application wasn't an option.
What I find particular odd and alarming was also the fact that the original transaction was removed from my Google Play transaction history. I am the type that practices inbox zero, so I wasn't able to pull up my receipt because I deleted the original purchase confirmation email (note to self: don't delete receipts). The only way I was able to pull up any proof of the original purchase was scouring my bank statement.
The story here is that the company and developer Alcon Interactive pulled the game about a year after the I made the purchase, then Google removed the transaction record from my Google Play Order History. This is a very shady business practice by not only the developer, but by Google as well.
The sad thing about this situation is that this has happened to me at least half a dozen times with other games and applications I've purchased from the Google Play Store throughout the years. This is one of the reasons I deleted my Google account and no longer use any of Google's services (except under certain circumstances for work).
We live in an age where we no longer own the things we purchase. The difference between buying content now versus 20 years ago is when we purchase digital content today, we do not own anything - we obtain a license to consume the content temporarily, that is until the platform, company, or developer decides it's no longer making them any money. The content gets pulled from the service and you and I, the customer, have to eat the cost.
This may not come as much of a surprise if you're a user of Netflix or Spotify, but there's other digital distribution services like Amazon, YouTube, or Steam where you "purchase" a book, movie, or a game from their platform, but consumers are seldom aware that they're not actually purchasing property - they're purchasing a license that don't hold their best interests. Additionally, software vendor can delete it from your device at anytime without any warning or explanation.
At the end of the day, where does this leave us? In the situation I shared above, the developer has completely pulled the game I paid for and Google has completely erased the transaction record. Ultimately, this has strongly encouraged me to try and find a pirated version of the game - which is copyright infringement despite the fact that I already paid money to access the game. I believe creators should get paid for their work, but if it means I have pay for a license that could be revoked at anytime, I will more than likely pirate the content instead. On the other hand, this also means finding content on sketchy websites which is especially an issue when it comes to software. Installing a random APK from a sketchy website is not something I'll do or encourage anyone else to do. At this point, I'm simply considering it a loss.
While writing this, I did some searches and found the book called "The End of Ownership" by Aaron Perzanowski which I haven't read yet but intend on checking out. The author shares the story similar to mine (but much more ironic) where Amazon deleted George Orwell's 1984 from Kindles several years ago. Like most of us, these readers thought they owned their digital content... until they didn't.
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