Well I bought WC2 already and have the files. That's the best part of GOG, you can just make your own backup.
I think with hard copies going away, the ability to make backups of what you buy should be protected by law, at least for software that is no longer supported (of course one side effect is that all games become services, but there have been single player games recently that prove it's still a good business model).
We have seen enough cases of how digital copies are ultimately a way for companies to "erase history", so to speak, and this is detrimental not just to consumers but the wider culture. Hard copies was a way to guard against this, but ultimately it is all software anyway, and digital copies should provide a way to truly own what you buy (if it's a one time buy product).
For a very long time “hard copies” were just a physical precache of the download. What you actually paid for was the online store code inside the box. I’ve stopped buying boxes after the second one like this.
The software I bought on CD/DVD was never like that unless you mean needing to contact some activation server. As far as I know, things like the Switch game cartridges are also real (presumably with a similar asterisk). The only annoying things are these installers nowadays you download for e.g. Chrome or, a bit longer ago, Flash, not so much the things sold as copy to own (resellable)
I wouldn't discourage people from buying owned copies, especially when they can find an option free of DRM
CD? Sure, that was entirely in the good era. But the last two games I bought on DVD (something forgotten from EA I think and the nice Mass Effect Trilogy boxset) were what I described - store codes printed in the box, can use the attached physical media to save on downloading time.
Ideally DRM would be banned, as it's in fine a danger for liberal democracy. But there are very powerful interests (including at the state level) that consider DRM worth having even to 'protect' something as trifling in comparison as commercial leisure products.
So I guess we're stuck with personally avoiding DRMed (including online only) media, and supporting the likes of EFF, GoG, and https://www.stopkillinggames.com/
Right, piracy is a real issue here, but I think DRM and making games a SAAS hurts the industry in the long run. I'm still not convinced it's such an issue that it requires these methods of control. Indie games are constantly releasing titles that do well and become huge. If a game is good it will do well regardless because there will be enough people who pay for it, but I get that it's hard to convince large companies of this.
Right, that's the core of the problem. Piracy is indeed part of the reason the industry moves in this direction, but it's a solution that comes at a huge cost to the consumer, and as a consequence to the industry in the long term.
I think with hard copies going away, the ability to make backups of what you buy should be protected by law, at least for software that is no longer supported (of course one side effect is that all games become services, but there have been single player games recently that prove it's still a good business model).
We have seen enough cases of how digital copies are ultimately a way for companies to "erase history", so to speak, and this is detrimental not just to consumers but the wider culture. Hard copies was a way to guard against this, but ultimately it is all software anyway, and digital copies should provide a way to truly own what you buy (if it's a one time buy product).