Software protection becoming an annoyance

DOES NOT WANT!

from JoeUser Forums

It appears companies are talking a lot lately about the same crappy game restraints we as gamers have been trying get rid of. These wastes of time known my names like "DRM" and "activation" are once again becoming popular conversation pieces in the wrong circles.

I get the point, it's to undermine piracy. But let's consider one thing. FACT: The games still get pirated. So what it REALLY does is piss off paying customers. To the point were the adverse effect happens. Take Spore for example, according to Torrentfreak.com it's the most pirated game ever. It already had a half million downloads by mid September. With that in mind, good luck Grand Theft Auto IV for PC. Just so no one gets the wrong idea, I DO NOT approve of piracy. In fact, I think the biggest tool we as gamers have is our "voting with dollars" power. But, when it's easier to install and run the pirated version than the bought and paid for one, we have a problem. It's no wonder why Gabe Newell thinks DRM is dumb.

Unfortunately, everyone doesn't share Gabe's view. In fact, some want software based physical DRM in our game packaging. (This also includes movies and other home entertainment.) The Entertainment Merchants Association thinks home entertainment should have standard "point of sale" activation. So, now the little magnetic strip isn't enough, now it has to run a software check to get unlocked. I worked in retail during the Christmas season before. Even if it only takes seconds, it's going to slow things down considerably. Stores like Best Buy are really going to feel the wait times.

The thing is, DRM is a wonderful wet dream for any electronic entertainment publisher. But, a mere hindrance for any purchaser. It's noble that they try to make them transparent. But, it seems to cause problems elsewhere. Attaching items to an account seems to work smoothly for both the consumer and the publisher. It's not the most transparent, but, it doesn't have many negatives either. Let's hope other's pick up on this trend.

62,470 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Well you've come to the right publisher if you hate DRM!

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Nothing new here... This is the front line in the war against DRM shit. Welcome to the ranks trooper!  :cylon:

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

I wanted to play oblivion this week-end. And for some reason I could not find my cd. I found the box and the manual but not the cd. I('ll let you guess as to what happened afterwards.

 

I just love the fact that this does not happen with Galciv. I never have to look for my cd. What a joy.

Reply #4 from Demigod Forums Top

I bought World of Goo (through Impulse) just to support a DRM-free game developer about a week ago. I have to say it was a good game as well!

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Heh. This movement is growing.

First Steve Jobs, now Gabe Newell, eh?

Frankly, I think the old forms of DRM are slowly dying. They never worked, they didn't stop the pirates, and they inconvenienced the customers.

SecuROM was the only company that really saw any benefits whatsoever. EA didn't really benefit because their games were still pirated. Wal-Mart didn't benefit because they had to deal with returns. The customer certainly did not benefit because they got higher prices, often had to deal with crashes, and often had to deal with false positives and draconian "you're renting not buying" software behavior.

In fact, the customer loses the most when this type of DRM is used. The pirates lose less than the customers.

Frankly, DRM encouraged more copying than ever because it punished the people who did not pirate.

I like this quote by Gabe:

As far as DRM goes, most DRM strategies are just dumb. The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I'll be able to play my game and maybe I won't).

I totally agree with Gabe on this. Give the customer value; don't punish them.

Attaching items to an account seems to work smoothly for both the consumer and the publisher. It's not the most transparent, but, it doesn't have many negatives either. Let's hope other's pick up on this trend.

Agreed. So far, this strategy seems to be the best: It offers benefits to everybody, including the customer. No, it's not totally transparent, and yes I know some people still consider it "DRM," but honestly it's the best compromise.

Reply #6 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting SveNitoR, reply 4
I bought World of Goo (through Impulse) just to support a DRM-free game developer about a week ago. I have to say it was a good game as well!

I played World of Goo for hours this weekend.  I agree, what a fantastic game.

It's Seabass' fault, he was testing it in the office and it looked interesting.  Thanks a lot, Seabass!  :P

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

I played World of Goo for hours this weekend. I agree, what a fantastic game.
My two kids (at home) love that game too.  I keep seeing it at the top of those "Best of 2008 . ." stories (along with Sins of a solar Empire, another game that doesn't get in your way).

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

If my local Best Buy doesn't have it in stock when I go there Thursday (what can I say, I'm still a sucker for tangible property), I am so going to buy World of Goo through Impulse. From everything I've heard and sen about it, it looks like the first game since Lemmings 2 to really have that Lemmings feel.

 

In fact, I may buy it for my mother-in-law, who still has me fire up my 23 year old Amiga 1000 hooked up to our big TV in the living room just so she can play Lemmings.

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

I remember when Software protection used to be fun. Remeber Star Trek 25th Aniversary? If you warped to the wrong system for the mission you were supposed to be performing, you had to fight the owner of whichever neutral zone you had entered. It was worth warping wrongly just for that. Even going back to a planet from a previous mission gave you the pirates. And then of course, there was the uber pirate battle at the end (geez, did the Enterprise ever get mangled...)

Ahh, the good old days....

Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=207262

"The game had a copy-protection system in that the player was forced to consult the game's manual in order to find out which star system they were supposed to warp to on the navigation map. Warping to the wrong system would send them into either the Klingon or Romulan neutral zones, and initiate an extremely difficult battle that often ends with the destruction of the Enterprise."

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top

Nobody told me World of Goo was on Impulse!

 

Yoink...

Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

New plan: I went ahead and bought it on Impulse now, so that I could play it enough to decide if it's worth buying a physical, boxed copy for my wife or her mother.

 

So far, so goo.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

I think games with DRM should be banned from respectable sites like Amazon.com... especially the SecuROM 7 root kit/virus

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top

I think games with DRM should be banned from respectable sites like Amazon.com... especially the SecuROM 7 root kit/virus
Why would a retailer like Amazon want to do that?  How would that make them more money?  There really aren't that many purchasers that know or care about DRM (until they can no longer listen to thier RM-server controlled music of course).

Reply #14 from Demigod Forums Top

Amazon already sells their music DRM free in a new iTunes-esque store, IIRC, and it's cheaper. Apple had several court rulings against them because they charge just under one... of whatever your local currency is. $0.99 doesn't compare to £0.99 or 99 Eurocents. Amazon properly converts their prices, so I pay £0.99 per track from iTunes and £0.59 from Amazon, plus iTunes includes DRM so...

Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top

Here is the second part of an article on developer's counter measures to prevent infringment. Oddly enough Mr. Svensson take a couple pokes at SD and Frogboy in it. 

>:(