How does Steam employ DRM?

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Forgive me if I sound like a tool, but I honestly want to know.

I don't think it's any secret that DRM and similar topics tend to crop up when talking about video games. Whenever this happens, in addition to wondering how EA can be so dumb, I almost invariably see someone labouriously trudge into the discussion, mention how all the plebs are such twits for liking Steam even though Steam has DRM, and promptly leave without answering any responses or elaborating on precisely what they meant.

Anyway, my question to The Escapist is thus: how does Steam employ DRM, and how/why is that a bad thing?[footnote]I know that DRM is bad. I just want to know specifically about Steam.[/footnote]

So, yeah. I don't meant this question as any kind of defence or anything - I just want to know what's what.

 

[DoPo]

Anyway, my question to The Escapist is thus: how does Steam employ DRM, and how/why is that a bad thing?[footnote]I know that DRM is bad. I just want to know specifically about Steam.[/footnote]

You are required to use Steam to launch your games and Steam is responsible for making sure you are authorised to play the game. Pretty simple really. Also, I've got no clue why "DRM IS TEH BADZ" is always thrown around. Digital Rights Management - that's what it stands for, it's a facility (or set of facilities) for securing and making sure access and restrictions to the use of digital goods as according to the license agreement. How is that automatically bad is beyond me. CD key input is also a form of DRM. Quick, hide under the bed now! Because...you...have to type some numbers and letters. Yeah. And that's bad. Definitely bad. Somehow.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Well, when you buy a retail copy of most PC games, you have to register it to your Steam account, making your physical copy untradable/unlendable. Some argue that this is offset by Steam's sales and the generally lower price of PC games, but your mileage may vary.

 

[shrekfan246]

Steam is DRM.

When developers distribute their games through Steam, they've often implemented Steamworks even for physical copies of said games. Meaning that were you to go to a shop and purchase, say, Bioshock Infinite (using it from personal experience, because aside from Starcraft II it's the last PC game I bought a physical copy of), you would not be able to install it without having Steam installed on your PC and with an account set up.

I don't know this from personal experience yet, but I've heard that Steam will throw hissy fits if you go a month or so without reconnecting it to the internet. It also likes throwing a hissy fit about switching to Offline mode -- You can just disconnect your PC from the internet and still play games, but it'll ***** about not being able to connect to 'the Cloud' on certain games, and lord help you if you try swapping to the actual Offline Mode while logged in already without an internet connection. It'll ask if you want to log in Offline if you're just starting it up, but if you've already got it running, lose your connection, and try switching it'll often say that you need to be connected in order to switch to Offline mode. It's a big mess that makes no sense, basically.

Steam got big in the first place because people couldn't play Half-Life 2 without installing it.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

DRM in itself isn't necessarily bad. DRM is bad when it's inconvenient to the user. Steam's DRM isn't bad because it isn't inconvenient. In fact, people like steam specifically because of how convenient it is.

So while steam has DRM in the form of having to register your game to steam, and having to launch steam to play the game, it isn't a bad version of DRM so most people don't have any problems with it.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

DRM in itself isn't necessarily bad. DRM is bad when it's inconvenient to the user. Steam's DRM isn't bad because it isn't inconvenient. In fact, people like steam specifically because of how convenient it is.

I dunno, having to download 12.5 GB of Shogun 2 even though I bought it on disc to avoid a huge download is pretty inconvenient.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

DRM in itself isn't necessarily bad. DRM is bad when it's inconvenient to the user. Steam's DRM isn't bad because it isn't inconvenient. In fact, people like steam specifically because of how convenient it is.

I dunno, having to download 12.5 GB of Shogun 2 even though I bought it on disc to avoid a huge download is pretty inconvenient.

That's not steam's fault. That was a conscious decision by the publisher (Sega) to put as little data on the actual disk as possible. It's their fault that there's nothing on the disk except the activation code for a steam download (probably because it would cost less to produce the disks that way).

 

[Maximum Bert]

Steam is DRM.

When developers distribute their games through Steam, they've often implemented Steamworks even for physical copies of said games. Meaning that were you to go to a shop and purchase, say, Bioshock Infinite (using it from personal experience, because aside from Starcraft II it's the last PC game I bought a physical copy of), you would not be able to install it without having Steam installed on your PC and with an account set up.

I don't know this from personal experience yet, but I've heard that Steam will throw hissy fits if you go a month or so without reconnecting it to the internet. It also likes throwing a hissy fit about switching to Offline mode -- You can just disconnect your PC from the internet and still play games, but it'll ***** about not being able to connect to 'the Cloud' on certain games, and lord help you if you try swapping to the actual Offline Mode while logged in already without an internet connection. It'll ask if you want to log in Offline if you're just starting it up, but if you've already got it running, lose your connection, and try switching it'll often say that you need to be connected in order to switch to Offline mode. It's a big mess that makes no sense, basically.

Steam got big in the first place because people couldn't play Half-Life 2 without installing it.

Yup that was basically my experience I gave up playing Zeno Clash despite really liking it as a game because Steam just would not leave me the hell alone I bought the game from a shop I have the game on disc its here in my hand can I play it can I hell I have to install steam, why?

I dont mind DRM if its invisible cant copy my games easily no problems there I wouldnt expect to be able to do so having to sign up to a service for my offline single player game that I have bought and run it through that service then we have a problem. DRM is never a good thing sometimes its understandable I mean you dont want to make it super easy for people to steal your stuff but making it an inconvenience is enough to stop people taking advantage any more and you really start to punish the law abiding people while still failing to protect your games against those who are determined to rip you off.

Steam is a walled garden it has no reason to be so I should be able to go online download a game from there and thats it I can run it from anywhere there is no offline mode that you can switch on its pointless its there by default I bought a copy of the game that copy is mine. Not according to steam though it just made playing Zeno Clash so much more hassle than it had to be I eventually uninstalled it and havent looked back, my laptop also slowed considerably under Steam yes it was a piece of shit laptop but it would have had no problem running just Zeno Clash under low settings.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

DRM in itself isn't necessarily bad. DRM is bad when it's inconvenient to the user. Steam's DRM isn't bad because it isn't inconvenient. In fact, people like steam specifically because of how convenient it is.

I dunno, having to download 12.5 GB of Shogun 2 even though I bought it on disc to avoid a huge download is pretty inconvenient.

That's not steam's fault. That was a conscious decision by the publisher (Sega) to put as little data on the actual disk as possible. It's their fault that there's nothing on the disk except the activation code for a steam download (probably because it would cost less to produce the disks that way).

The game installed and ran fine when I first bought it (near launch). It's an issue with you being unable to deactivate automatic updates for games that aren't already installed* and being unable to launch games that are downloading an update, even in offline mode.

Now, it's partly Sega/Creative Assembly's fault because the update is almost certainly the Fall of the Samurai expansion. They claimed that the expansion wouldn't split the online playerbase: http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/03/fall-of-the-samurais-new-toys-wont-split-shogun-2s-online-playerbase/

I don't play the game online, but I still can't install the game without also downloading DLC I don't even own.

*[small]You CAN tell Steam not to automatically update the game, it just ignores you. I had the same issue with Sleeping Dogs[/small]

 

[DoPo]

*[small]You CAN tell Steam not to automatically update the game, it just ignores you. I had the same issue with Sleeping Dogs[/small]

That would actually be a bug with the Steam client - I know it occasionally hits some games and is fixed in the next client update or two. Normally, telling Steam to not update anything works.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

*[small]You CAN tell Steam not to automatically update the game, it just ignores you. I had the same issue with Sleeping Dogs[/small]

That would actually be a bug with the Steam client - I know it occasionally hits some games and is fixed in the next client update or two. Normally, telling Steam to not update anything works.

Is this when the game is already installed, though? I'm talking about an update starting when I'm installing from a disc. None of my disc-based games let me get away without updating (though, luckily, most of them are small updates).

If the game is already installed and I tell it not to update then it doesn't, but it's never worked during installation; the update always begins the second it's finished taking the files from the disc.

Of course, given the wildly varying stories about how reliable, or not, the offline mode is, I think Steam might just have a tendency to decide it doesn't like certain users as much as others.

 

[BigOrteil]

The ways in which this is bad for you are various, some of the most obvious being:
- You can't use Steam (Login into your Account) at once on more than one computer, this means that if you have a sibling or a child and want him to play any specific game while you play something else this isn't possible

This part isn't entirely true. I share my account with my brother sometimes and you simply have to go offline mode before he logs in. You can't play online, that's for sure but you both can play 2 single player games without any problems (the one logged in can play online if he wants). Then again, you couldn't both play online with the same game in the CD-KEYS era anyway. So you can both play on the same account at the same time, just not online.

OT : I didn't know you had to reauthenticate every 2 weeks to stay in offline mode. Nice to know. Other than that, Steam isn't unconveniant as much other DRM are, that's probably why so much people can deal with it without going on an anti-DRM rampage.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

- You can't use Steam (Login into your Account) at once on more than one computer, this means that if you have a sibling or a child and want him to play any specific game while you play something else this isn't possible
- You can also not both play the same game at once, with GoG for instance this would be possible

Actually you can. One of the computers just needs to be in offline mode and 2 people can play the same game on different machines. Obviously, both people can't play online but it wouldn't be a problem for single player games or local multiplayer[footnote]Damn it, I got ninja'd while typing[/footnote]

Unfortunately Steam also allows publishers to use other Third party DRM, which makes it even worse and adds to the restrictions you face: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_3rd_Party_DRM_on_Steam

This is only thing Steam has done to piss me off. Its not really Steam though, its more the publishers. Its bullshit that I have to sign up for, and run Uplay to play a game I bought off Steam

Other than that, Steam isn't really a problem for people who downloaded their games from Steam in the first place. I could see why it would suck for people who have to register their physical copies of the games. I'd still rather have Steam then 5 different drm clients managed by a bunch of different publishers. And I usually run Steam in offline mode and I'm rarely prompted to connect. Also, not a lot publishers and developers are willing to play by GoG's rules so until then, GoG won't have much of a selection of games so you won't be able to get you drm free games without pirating [small](Not that I think piracy is a bad form of protest)[/small]

 

[DoPo]

*[small]You CAN tell Steam not to automatically update the game, it just ignores you. I had the same issue with Sleeping Dogs[/small]

That would actually be a bug with the Steam client - I know it occasionally hits some games and is fixed in the next client update or two. Normally, telling Steam to not update anything works.

Is this when the game is already installed, though? I'm talking about an update starting when I'm installing from a disc. None of my disc-based games let me get away without updating (though, luckily, most of them are small updates).

If the game is already installed and I tell it not to update then it doesn't, but it's never worked during installation; the update always begins the second it's finished taking the files from the disc.

Of course, given the wildly varying stories about how reliable, or not, the offline mode is, I think Steam might just have a tendency to decide it doesn't like certain users as much as others.

Ah, sorry, that's for when a game is installed. I've got no experience with installing games from disks, so I dunno if it's possible or not to avoid the updates.

 

[scorptatious]

By the looks of things, Steam itself is DRM. You purchase the games on there, and you need to use it to play said games. That's what it seems like to me. There's probably a lot more to it than that though.

 

[BrotherRool]

By the looks of things, Steam itself is DRM. You purchase the games on there, and you need to use it to play said games. That's what it seems like to me. There's probably a lot more to it than that though.

It's a little worse than that. Games that you don't buy on Steam and are not made by Valve and you bought the physical disc version of still force you to download Steam, create an account, tie that account permanently to the game (So even your brother in the same house can't play the game if they don't have your account password. Used game sales are out of the question) and then validate the game online. And then despite owning the disc, Steam insists on starting itself up every time you play that game

 

[Vivi22]

- You can't use Steam (Login into your Account) at once on more than one computer, this means that if you have a sibling or a child and want him to play any specific game while you play something else this isn't possible

Not really a problem if you use multiple accounts for multiple people. Only a problem if both want to play the same game at the same time, but still not a very realistic problem for most since most households aren't likely to have multiple gaming PC's anyway. So sure, it's a problem for a very small subsection of people, but not a major one, unless you consider two people not being able to play the same game on consoles at the same time from one copy to also be a major issue.

- You can't rent any games if they are Steam-activated, you can also not lend them to friends or sell them on if you don't like em (this is being legally challenged in Germany and if successful has repercussion for the whole of the EU: http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=A87E1DC2-F120-FEDC-798E84EE8A70E1BE )

With regard to renting, I can't think of a time in my entire gaming life (stretching back a full 20+ years) that a rental store rented PC games. Stores would actually have to rent them in the first place for this to be a legitimate complaint against DRM.

- While it provides an Offline-Mode, you have to Login every now and then to Update and Reauthenticate, I've heard every two weeks from people

Is this a recent thing, because I have Steam on my netbook to play games like Doom on the go. I haven't connected it to the internet in at least four years and it has never asked me to login and re-authenticate.

- If Steam is not available because it is down out of whatever reason you aren't able to access, download or play your games

*cough* Offline mode. *cough*

- You are dependent on Steam/Valve as a company since they own your account with your entire games library and could close it any day out of any reason (you would have to legally challenge that)

And you're dependent on your PS2 not dying or Sony continuing to produce them (except they don't now) to keep playing PS2 games down the road. I'm not going to deny that the possibility exists that your Steam games may one day disappear, but without emulation, all of your games will one day be rendered unplayable for some reason or another. People don't seem to realize that all games and platforms have a limited life span, and very little is being done by the industry to preserve older games in any way.

- There's also other ways in which the Steamworks DRM might screw you, for instance if you buy your game on holiday somewhere or get it shipped from another country (this might also matter to you if games are censored for your location) it might employ territory-control and might not Unlock the game in your region. Steam also uses regional pricing while GoG.com employs the same prices worldwide for everyone.

I'm fairly certain that much of this is forced on Valve by other parties. Regional pricing for example is completely up to the publisher, not Valve.

- If you get a copy of a game a few days early and install it from the disc, you will also have to wait till the "Official Release Date" to be able to play it, sometimes it is also regionally different and people in the US get to play ~3 days early while people in Europe have to wait

Again, down to the publisher and completely possible on consoles as well. In fact, in an age where most of us are always connected to the internet this is becoming the norm rather than an exception to the rule, and not something Valve can control. If a publisher says people can't play their game until the official release, Valve can't tell them to fuck off and release their game early.

Unfortunately Steam also allows publishers to use other Third party DRM, which makes it even worse and adds to the restrictions you face: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_3rd_Party_DRM_on_Steam

Valve isn't really in a position to stop big publishers from doing that. As much as people talk about them having a corner on the digital market, that would disappear very quickly if they started trying to push EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and others around.

 

[Bostur]

By the looks of things, Steam itself is DRM. You purchase the games on there, and you need to use it to play said games. That's what it seems like to me. There's probably a lot more to it than that though.

Not quite, some games are distributed on Steam without any kind of DRM, so it seems the DRM is a feature developers can opt out of. Especially old games and F2P games are sometimes DRM free, also any game made in-house by Paradox.

It seems a bit strange when some developers claim they are forced to use DRM when they want to use Steam as a distribution method, some kickstarter projects have used that excuse to put DRM on the Steam version.