Hacker News Reader

Comment by muzani | Hacker News Reader

If anyone wants to play the original before getting this one, it's part of the Netflix subscription on mobile.

Btw this sucks. I'm a big fan of World of Goo, and bought it on every platform that I use: directly, on Steam, on Google Play and on Apple AppStore.

Recently I wanted to install it on my phone and found out, that my bought version of World of Goo on Google Play is no longer available, because, surprise, Netflix. Not only it stole my bought app from me, it also prohibits me from buying it again because Netflix is not available in my country.

From what I can tell, it's because the original game was not updated for newer versions of Android. I went to the Play Store, switched to my older Google account, and found it in "manage apps" by switching to "not installed", selecting the "games" filter, and scrolling to the bottom, where World of Goo (the original) says "not available for device". Tapping it shows the listing, where it says "Your device isn't compatible with this version"

Google Play used to show when an app was last updated. This appears to longer be the case. However a reviewer says it has been "abandoned since 2013", which explains why Google Play won't let me play it on a Pixel 6a, with an Android version 10 years newer.

Android just doesn't have the backwards compatibility of Windows or Linux.

Unlikely, because the device I'm referring to here [0] is Android 13, and it plays rather fine on it.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38566303

Maybe it's Android 14 that prevents it from installing? That's what I have. How recently did you install it on that device?

The device originally had Android 12, and got 13 with the OTA upgrade about a year ago, I think.

Yes, sadly that's the issue with mobile platforms, I had a browse through the Android games I got with a Humble Bundle 10 years ago hoping to play Ridiculous Fishing but none of these games work anymore.

> Netflix. Not only it stole my bought app from me

Wow I didn't know this is possible / legal.

How is this possible? Are google plays "purchases" just rental agreements in disguise?

Yes. “Purchase” of any “intellectual property” is essentially a marketing trick that we have come to accept. (Note that when you purchase my physical property, it is now your property. If you purchase my “intellectual property”, it’s almost certainly still my property, you just have some license to it. Which license precisely? Well, read this 50-page EULA.) The closest you can get is a DRM-free copy that you can back up yourself.

In this case, though, I assume that your original World of Goo would still work if you had kept it on your phone (and maybe prevented it from being updated automatically?). It’s “just” that it is no longer available for re-download.

I suspected as much, but it sounds like something that shouldn't be possible or rather, something that shouldn't be done.

I hang out with indie game devs and there's a running joke that it's now possible for indies to sell their soul to corporations. Just sell Netflix exclusive rights to your (mobile?) game. It's no longer a thing limited to SaaS!

Netflix did something fairly shady with Hades a month ago: https://kotaku.com/hades-netflix-iphone-free-android-1851016...

The other running joke with acquisitions is that they can buy your app but you can always just build a similar app. I thought the timing of the World of Goo 2 release is a bit of a coincidence, but maybe I'm just connecting the dots wrong.

I believe you, but... Are you going to the Purchases section of Google Play Store, or just using the main search?

Both. Just disappeared from my purchases. It is installed on one of my devices, and in android there is a button that leads from an app shortcut to Play Store page [0], but pressing it just brings you to a blanc page that displays an endless loading indicator.

[0]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twodboy.wo...

I wonder if this is some kind of regional issue. I also bought this version(about 10 years ago?) and was able to reinstall it and play just fine directly from the link you posted.

EDIT: Looks like it doesn't scale correctly though, and I get a warning that the game doesn't support my version of Android! What a shame.

Installation worked for me just now on my European Samsung Phone with Android 13. Though, I had to go to the app-lib to find it, the search only showed the Netflix Remaster-Version. Maybe you just didn't found it in the list?

I bought it on Steam at launch. Do I not own it anymore either?

I don't think the word 'own' can be fully applied to digital items at all. I've lost count of various apps that were one bought by me and then just disappeared from the stores. The big part of it is constantly changing requirements by the AppStores, for many small developers it is impossible to keep up with all the os updates, reworking of permissions, new privacy policies, etc, for all old titles.

Still in my Steam library.

Yeah. I installed it. It wanted a Netflix account.

I left a negative review. I uninstalled it.

Looks like an interesting game. Why do companies ruin gameplay by requiring an username ?

It originally didn't, but it's part of the Netflix subscription. Someone said there's the premium version out there but I don't see it.

I don't play games on mobile, so I'm a bit surprised Netflix is in this business at all. I didn't know they were doing mobile games.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com