spitman, are you saying that you know something that no one else does regarding the future of VS? Or are you merely throwing hull scrapings at the stevedores?
The same can be said of any software company, can it not? As for your suggestion that you are only "renting" it from them, I suggest you go back and read again. If someone here "loses" their copy and 2 years later asks for a d/l or key from vstep then they might well be told to barnacle off.
My point is that I have purchased disc versions of all the Ship Simulator games and I can install them 10 years from now if I want to and do not have to rely on Vstep for anything because the key came with the disc.
With the Virtual Sailor game the key is tied to the PC you purchased it on... buy a new PC and you will need a new key, they will provide you a new key if it is within 2 years but any longer and you have to buy it again.
I wasn't saying that I know that they won't be around but software companies close all the time, I never would have thought that Midway would be gone now, the publisher of Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the Cruis'n series, NFL Blitz and NBA Jam.
The last thing I want to do is buy Virtual Sailor, spend a couple of years downloading and creating content and they realize that it's all useless now because they are no longer around to give or "sell" me another key. Selling it this way should be illegal. The same goes for companies whos games require a constant internet connection just for a game to function and then they shut down the servers 2 years later and you can't use it anymore. That happens way too often, even EA does it.
I don't care how good the games are, I do not support anyone who sells things this way. It does not stop piracy, it's just a headache for the user and lost sales for the company.
