DRM Systems and the Publishers Who Love Them

[sbose22]

You sir are an amazing writer

 

[Ph0t0n1c Ph34r]

I already don't buy Ubisoft or EA games because of them buying up all the little developers and leaving us with this gigantic ineffective blob they seem to want to call a company, and which everyone seems to be copying. They have not taken the time to learn how the business functions from the customer's point of view, they only care about themselves. Good luck to them. They will need it with this sort of decision making process.

So what game do you buy? You've pretty much eliminted about two thirds of all game companies. Even Valve has ties with EA.

 

[irrelevantnugget]

Saw someone suggest that the Ubi servers get DDoSed for the first few days after release, so the paying customers will send complaints en masse. Ubisoft will hopefully then see how STUPID the system is.

 

[asiepshtain]

My fellow escapists "Pirates",
EDIT: The final step in DRM will be this: you pirate a game, the game company sees and informs local police officers. Who come to your house and arrest your stealing, stupid, criminal ass. You then go to jail where you fucking belong, you fucking thief.

Well, raise my stocks and call me a prophet, I didn't think it would happen this fast:
http://io9.com/5476421/dark-knight-pirater-sentenced

What you gonna do when they come for you?
Go to jail! Do not pass go! Do not collect 200 dollars.

 

[SarahKH]

There is, as far as Ubisoft's little temper tantrum another two options beyond: Killing 2nd hand market, anti-piracy measure and terminal stupidity; it's an option that most people don't seem to consider for some reason.

Ubisoft, want out of PC gaming. Completely. The majority of their revenue is appearing from consoles and they see no reason to port games to the PC. But they don't want to be the first large publisher to actually come out and say "Screw you! We're taking our ball and going home now." If AC2, Settlers VII, Splinter Cell and all the other announced PC releases are tied in to this system and DON'T sell well, but are heavily pirated it's the perfect excuse to exit stage left: We tried to stop piracy, but we can't and we can't afford to stay around.

The second possibility is a little more odd. Ubisoft is about to go under and they've decided to do as much collateral damage with as much media noise as possible. They aren't going under because of piracy but mismanagement and the current global decline in the economies, but it makes a nice scapegoat whilst those so equipped deploy their golden parachutes.

In some respects all the people spouting off that they're about to pirate AC2 for the lulz or to punish Ubisoft need to engage their brain. Universally, when the torrents/NNTP feeds for AC2 appear and lets be honest they will... LEAVE THEM THE HELL ALONE! If you really want to punish Ubisoft just don't buy it, don't pirate it but keep your fingers crossed it sells enough so that they can't legitimately use it as an exit strategy. If that happens, call them on it, everywhere. Leave the companies reputation so sullied that even console gamers know not to touch them with a 10ft barge pole. Then they get to go bankrupt with the world knowing it was because of their own idiocy and it'll serve as a lesson to all other games publishers that PC gamers won't take much more of this shit.

asiepshtain, oddly enough the link you posted about the Dark Knight? It wasn't the camcorder that had him thrown in jail. It was the selling of bootlegged copies. You seem to have been misinformed: it's not theft. Legally theft is depriving someone of their property. This is Copyright Infringement, it is called that because it is not theft. It's also a civil matter not a criminal one, the police aren't going to arrest someone just for having dubious software/movies/music.. unless you try to sell it (which is a criminal matter). They'd be just as likely to arrest the companies representatives for wasting police time. You are obviously quite passionate in your stance, but throwing around terms like "theft" when you mean "copyright infringement" does little to convey your argument.

Vering off on a tangent. Why do games need all this DRM in the first place? Galactic Civilisations 2. No disk check. No DRM. Nothing beyond a serial number required for on-line play and to get updates. Wildly profitable in its own right. Sins of a Solar Empire, pretty much the same again. The £10 Left 4 Dead sale, it flew off the shelves and I've a hard time believing Valve didn't make money hand over fist that day. Same with 2K and whichever game it was that ran the Steam backend out of available serial numbers. There is proof that if you drop the price to throwaway levels people come in their droves (they'll even buy stuff they skipped the first time as not being for them) and/or if you put them on the honour system and make it clear they are on the honour system... they tend to reciprocate.

 

[Twad]

DRM or whatever, i prefer to use Impulse since it doesnt need to load (like Steam does.. and it take AGES on my PC) when i want to play a game i buyed from them.

With impulse: i payed for the game, and i can play it RIGHT NOW when i want to, this very second, dont have to wait for online activation, and it works even if my Internet connection is down.

edit- as for the pirates, DRM or not, there will always be people to steal stuff off the internet if it means they get stuff for free and anonymously.. whatever the excuse, stealing is stealing.

 

[cieply]

well if anyone here would be so UNJUST to download all these games, he would find out that with pirates everything is smooth and nice. Hell, razor 1911 even got himself a theme song that plays every time you launch bioshock 2... Of course, being a law abiding citizen I know nothin of such atrocities!
Oh btw,
http://weekinthenee.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/sheep1.jpg

 

[Obrien Xp]

I find it funny that this DRM will only make people want to pirate more.

 

[Antari]

I already don't buy Ubisoft or EA games because of them buying up all the little developers and leaving us with this gigantic ineffective blob they seem to want to call a company, and which everyone seems to be copying. They have not taken the time to learn how the business functions from the customer's point of view, they only care about themselves. Good luck to them. They will need it with this sort of decision making process.

So what game do you buy? You've pretty much eliminted about two thirds of all game companies. Even Valve has ties with EA.

I haven't had to purchase any games in a long while. I still play all the old dos/win3.11 era games, before EA's conglomerant spending spree. Most of which are available free, as abandonware these days. Sure I'm not operating with cutting edge graphics, but most of the storylines are 100 times better than anything being released today. Alot more creative, and less concerned by what someone else had done before them. DosBox is probably the best piece of software written in the past 10 years because it works better than actual DOS did.

And atleast with Valve's connections to EA, when it comes to financial timelines and production deadlines, Valve handles everything internally. Out of all the companies out there with any ties to EA, they are still doing the best to keep the flavor of Valve.

Also there are some organized renting places out there. A few of the situations were quite nice, the store owned the account, and you used it during your rent time. If you decide to steal the account or any other actions, you no longer get to rent, so that doesn't happen as often as you might think. As well the store wipes all characters before next rental so there is no point in stealing it anyways. Funny how in a situation where a great deal of trust needs to be put into the customer, things seem to work. Instead of punishing all your customers for something another group of customers did, which seems to be the more common practice today.

But its all relative, if you want to play around with a graphics showcase, goto your nearest game store. If you want a game thats fun, doesn't crash, is well written, and wasn't discounted in any department of development, take a close look at the past. Nature may improve over time, but the game industry as a whole doesn't.

 

[Killerbunny001]

I'll tell you where it'll go from here:

They'll install spyware that they won't tell you about, it'll be part of the game so you can't uninstall it without uninstalling the game, and it'll constantly be monitoring your computer use, so that if you ever go to a website that the company has blacklisted (such as PirateBay, or something with "hacker" in the title), then the game will notify the company and any and all games you have already bought from that specfic company will be considered stolen property, and you will be locked out of those games forever, even after uninstalling and reinstalling.

And they won't tell you why it happened.

Naturally, this is all with the resrictions of having to always be online and having a registered account and all that jazz.

THAT's the only way I can see things getting worse...

We now have spyware in most of the console games and in some PC titles. I don`t exactly know how they are made so that they avoid detection but I`m not a programmer either. The purpose of the spyware is to determine how much you have played the game, how much of this time you spent on the single player and how much only, if you downloaded any DLC etc.

 

[Playbahnosh]

You keep on talking about how copy protection encourages pirates, however on the other extreme you have World of Goo, which was pirated something like 95%. Without copy protection developers might be dealing with the same stuff as 2d boy.

Dude, check you numbers, every game is pirated "something like 95%", and that's the US. In Europe and more like in Asia, it's almost 99%. 98% is the global piracy rate across all platforms. For every legit copy, there are at lest 9 other people who plays a pirated one. Yeah, it's that bad. That contains everyone, who gets a pirated copy (online or offline), even to "try before you buy", and even if these people eventually buy a legit copy, that downloaded warez still counts. You cannot decrease that number with DRMs, only increase it. Many people who download a pirate copy later decides to buy the game because it is so awesome. But if they find, that the game is shit, that will only enforce their notion not to shell out the 60$ before trying the full game, lest they buy a 60$ load of crap. And yes, there are people, who won't buy a legit copy, even if they like the game very much, but they are just assholes. "If you like the game, buy it! Support game developers, who make great games!"

[sub]This post is coming after i've just done a ton of revision on the Vietnam War, so you can tell[/sub]

As the sub-note says, the whole messy DRM situation is just like the Vietnam War; the developers (army) are trying to root out and defeat the pirates, but the pirates look identical to normal, legit customers.

These new steps in DRM are the equivilant of Operation Rolling Thunder; bombing the hell out of everything. Problem is that the pirates have already got Hazmat suits and have bolted. Leaving the normal customers to take the fire.

That's actually a great example. Carpet bombing seems to be the industry standard nowadays, but with all-civilian casualties. And let's not forget how the Vietnam War ended... Just a heads-up, publishers.

 

[w00tage]

I'll throw in a vote for Steam's model not being perfect. I'd had the common crashes with MW2 for awhile and finally managed to fix them. It was running crash free, tested on multiple play sessions for multiple hours each. Which is good, since my friend bought me the game for Christmas specifically so we could have a way of hanging out still. He lives 5 hours away now so it's a way for us to keep in touch a bit, at least until his schedule lightens up and we can hook up an MMO together.

Then Steam auto-downloaded an "update" of some sort and bang - random crashes returned. No patch notes. No warning. No choice as to whether *I* wanted to update the game. Perhaps their developers have never heard of the concept of "stable version"?

So Steam, while pretty ok in other respects, really needs to allow us users a choice for updates, not to mention some information would be nice. Ideal scenario - Steam: "Do you want to install this update? It does this, that and this other thing". Me: "No friggin' way, I don't need any of that and the game is running perfectly. Kthanxbye".

 

[acturisme]

but has anyone ever honestly had to install a game more than 5 times on 5 different computers?

To answer your last question, yes. I was using the game to test different configurations of pc components with Quake 3 Arena.

fair enough, but I highly doubt that the average gamer is going to be needing to do that, thats no disrespect to you but you dont represent the average gamer, maybe like 0.001% of people buying the game, its not enough to sway me

Im not saying that there should be a limit on installs, just that its never been a problem to me, and it does convince me not to go giving away my games to my friends, if i know im going to lose an activation

Im saying that if i have bought a game legit, for the most part DRM hasnt got in the way

So only average gamers should play games in your opinion? How average of you. I was testing systems for customers. I only used the game as a test and wiped it from each system after I got my results. Its my choice how I use the software. I don't think I read anywhere in the terms that I actually had to PLAY the game for my purchase to be legal.

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

but has anyone ever honestly had to install a game more than 5 times on 5 different computers?

To answer your last question, yes. I was using the game to test different configurations of pc components with Quake 3 Arena.

fair enough, but I highly doubt that the average gamer is going to be needing to do that, thats no disrespect to you but you dont represent the average gamer, maybe like 0.001% of people buying the game, its not enough to sway me

Im not saying that there should be a limit on installs, just that its never been a problem to me, and it does convince me not to go giving away my games to my friends, if i know im going to lose an activation

Im saying that if i have bought a game legit, for the most part DRM hasnt got in the way

So only average gamers should play games in your opinion? How average of you. I was testing systems for customers. I only used the game as a test and wiped it from each system after I got my results. Its my choice how I use the software. I don't think I read anywhere in the terms that I actually had to PLAY the game for my purchase to be legal.

you are missing what i mean by average gamer...by average gamer i mean that 98% of the gaming populace are not going to be affected, 98% will probably not have the patience/need to install or play a game 5 times (outside of re-installs due to buggy games, YES a flaw in my argument, i accept it), for most developers that 2% aint gonna be missed

that lost revenue is probably made up tenfold by unpirated copies

...and ffs listen to me, you DO deserve to install the games as many times as you like, im just asking you to not be so ignorant to think that your situation and need for multiple installs extends across every gamer that owns a PC

If you cant accept that you are in the minority then fair do's, I cba to argue with you...just try to consider each angle before you make your mind up

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

So has Shamus been crowned the champion of those against DRM idiocy? It would seem so. I really don't mind rage fests but you should be doing more than ripping into one company or another about DRM's every other article.

You're so much better than that.

Shame on Shamus making people aware of how they're paying to be abused. Suppose he'd stop writing about it if only they'd stop giving him ammunition, eh?

its not abuse...if you dont like it....dont buy the product, ball is in your court mate!

if you buy it, realise its got BAD drm that you cannot live with, take it back, explain that it says nothing on the box about DRM, if they refuse, just dont leave the store till you got a refund

I have done it many times, just keep calm and polite and nobody can deny you a refund

If everybody went out, bought a game, and then took it back to the retailer saying its got unnaceptable DRM, then maybe the retailers would push publishers to change

When only paying customers are being sold the pointy end, yeah, that's abusive in my book. And after being burned by DRM I certainly don't buy first/cry later anymore, since I've gotta read up first or wait to find out the true deal with some of these DRMs. No more impulse purchases anymore, I miss that.

Are you in the States? Retailers here will not take back opened software for DRM complaints, no matter what your beef, no matter how sweet you may be (they will exchange for a new copy, but won't refund). Demanding a refund directly from the publisher, however, might actually work and has the added benefit of telling them to their faces why you're not happy w/the product.

But that's beyond what I was saying in my post. It's folks like Shamus, railing against or at least warning about DRM systems, that do a service for others. Awareness can lead to change for the better, one hopes. I imagine that's always the plan, anyway.

Im in the UK, where there is not one retail manager in any game store in the country who does not cringe and run away at the first sign of conflict in front of customers, it works over here

with regards to the 'pointy end'...nobody took the money from your wallet at gunpoint and forced the game into your hands

'I dont buy first/cry later' good for you, this is the attitude everybody should have

 

[Skratt]

Did I miss a super-secret publisher's meeting that allays all concerns and gripes about DRM? Why is DRM still hanging on?

Somebody is crunching some funny math if you can justify losing money on something that doesn't stop pirates anyway.

 

[Mromson]

I assume they will go out of business next. Surely they won't make money out of this DRM? I mean, come on?

Ubisoft: Go back to Consoles. We no longer want you. /shoo

 

[boholikeu]

I'm working with steam both as a client and a developer and I've seen nothing but troubles including the ones mentioned above. It's a huge pile of crapiness in a sauce of incompetence followed by the smell of money-making waving the flag of "fuck you clients and devers we only want your money so eat shit". I'm not throwing this around without knowing what I do. I know steam since the very beginning so I know very well what it is or rather is "not".

Just OOC what games have you released with Steam? Most small developers I've talked to/read about seem to appreciate the platform, if nothing else than for the simple fact that it gets your name out. What were some of the problems you've had with them as a developer?

You are lucky then. Because I know more people than not which have huge troubles with steam and the customer service gives a shit about it. I just use it with grinding teeth since I have to. Whenever I can I choose games from the shelf instead of steam as it saves me tons of troubles and the game is installed much faster.

Interesting. Most people I know have never had problems with it, and in fact the only "horror stories" I've heard from steam have been in online forums.

 

[Asehujiko]

You keep on talking about how copy protection encourages pirates, however on the other extreme you have World of Goo, which was pirated something like 95%. Without copy protection developers might be dealing with the same stuff as 2d boy.

That might have been the side effect of delaying the launch for everybody outside the usa indefinitely and then making it available several month later without any sort of announcement whatsoever.

You can't fault europeans, canadians and everybody else for pirating a game that they can't possibly get otherwise.

 

[Anibalbox]

Here in Argentina not only you can download pirate games, but you can also go to a STORE (not big chains, of course) and buy the copy there!!! And this is not only for PC games, but for Xbox360, PS2, WII, etc... So it kind of surprises me when all the DRM stuff only is mentioned for PC games in the US. I mean, aren't console games pirated too??
Now, Steam seems great to me. Sometimes original games are even cheaper than copies in it... Hell, I had never bought an original game before Steam in my whole life. And bear in mind that I have been a PC user for only 2 years now (I'm 26). Since my 16s I have had PS (+150 pirate games) and PS2 (+50 pirate games...)
The problem is how easy we can access to pirate games here. We have USD 5 (pirate) against USD 40-60 (original). I think that the ecuation is pretty simple...
And we represent a .000000000001 percent of the market, so it's not gonna change...