Jimquisition: Why PC Gaming Gets Away With It

Jimothy Sterling

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Why PC Gaming Gets Away With It

The Xbox One no longer enforces restrictions on used games, but the debate over console DRM is not over. One lingering question is this -- why are consoles criticized, but PC gets away with it?

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Canadamus Prime

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Man, do I miss the days when I could just pick up and play on my consoles without all the bullshit.
 

Andy of Comix Inc

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So, basically, "PC is an open platform that needs the added security. Consoles are closed platforms that do not deserve any more security."

I'm still mad that retail PC games just come with Steam codes now. I remember being able to install... hell. Even Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once, and now everything is bolted to a single account instead. Fair enough, I guess, there's a demand for Steampowered games, but... yeah. I'm still annoyed about that.

I guess people like me installing Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once are sort of what justified that. Again, the openness of the PC platform dictates that gates have to be closed somewhere. The fact that you can just literally copy the files of old PC games over with absolutely no hassle at all really does make DRM a necessity, and since it is all circumvented eventually anyway, it makes making that DRM appealing in some way to buy into even more of a necessity. Steam's greatest achievement is that it has made people WANT games to use Steam; it has made people WANT a DRM-flavoured copy of their games. Huh.
 

Calibanbutcher

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Jimothy Sterling said:
Why PC Gaming Gets Away With It

The Xbox One no longer enforces restrictions on used games, but the debate over console DRM is not over. One lingering question is this -- why are consoles criticized, but PC gets away with it?

Watch Video

Competition is good for consumers?
*GASP*
HERESY
MONOPOLIES WILL BRING US FULLFILMENT AND ENLIGHTEN US ALL, STOP THIS CONFUSING NONSENSE ABOUT "CHOICE" AND "BENEFITTING THE CONSUMER".


Also: Jim, you wanna take part in one of the next "failcasts"?
 

mike1921

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Andy of Comix Inc said:
So, basically, "PC is an open platform that needs the added security. Consoles are closed platforms that do not deserve any more security."

I'm still mad that retail PC games just come with Steam codes now. I remember being able to install... hell. Even Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once, and now everything is bolted to a single account instead. Fair enough, I guess, there's a demand for Steampowered games, but... yeah. I'm still annoyed about that.
Are you sur you can't just use your steam account elsewhere? I know it's added contrivance but you can still install from disk too with steam so you don't need to download it, so I'm pretty sure you can have it on someone else's computer.
 

Andy Shandy

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Jun 7, 2010
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Yeah, it astounds me that people are seeing PC Gaming as getting away with it.

Still, a good video Jim, even if I am baffled by it's apparent necessity.
 

franksands

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canadamus_prime said:
Man, do I miss the days when I could just pick up and play on my consoles without all the bullshit.
Hear, Hear. I miss the times of old SNES, where you would just pop in the cartridge and play. No loading times, no bullshit.
 

LaochEire

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I don't really post on The Escapist, but can I just say that Steam is an absolute rip off when it comes to new games. In fact over in Ireland Gamestop can undercut Steam with a physical retail copy of a PC game by ?20 euro. I never understood the myth about Steam being this bastion of excellence and the main reason to own a PC.

Sure, it has those great sales and they are great, but if I want a game upon release I would have to wait up to a year before it becomes anyway affordable on Steam.

Honestly, with Steam. I really just don't get it. Someone enlighten me, please.
 

Deacon Cole

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Not to mention that you can put together a gaming PC for the price of a console these days.


So consoles don't even have the lower price point to make them attractive.
 

Charli

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Oh...I thought it was obvious too...I just assumed everyone decrying it was hired by Microsoft and had since plugged my ears to it. Oh well, thanks for clearing it up for the lemmings Jim.

LaochEire said:
I don't really post on The Escapist, but can I just say that Steam is an absolute rip off when it comes to new games. In fact over in Ireland Gamestop can undercut Steam with a physical retail copy of a PC game by ?20 euro. I never understood the myth about Steam being this bastion of excellence and the main reason to own a PC.

Sure, it has those great sales and they are great, but if I want a game upon release I would have to wait up to a year before it becomes anyway affordable on Steam.

Honestly, with Steam. I really just don't get it. Someone enlighten me, please.
Steam is really for people who don't buy on release anyway I find. No one I know does. We're all old and decrepit and don't have the time in our lives to play games on day 1 or even WEEK 1. :p

Also Skyrim was going for cheaper on the PC than the consoles on day one. That was a thing. :)
Got it for 20 quid.

So it really depends on the pressure from the publisher/developer, they decide for steam, not the other way around, then when steam is given the go ahead for a pricecut/sale, they tend to do it.
 

Doom972

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I was hoping he would make a video about it. I gave up on explaining it on forums. Now I can just link to this video.

Andy of Comix Inc said:
So, basically, "PC is an open platform that needs the added security. Consoles are closed platforms that do not deserve any more security."

I'm still mad that retail PC games just come with Steam codes now. I remember being able to install... hell. Even Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once, and now everything is bolted to a single account instead. Fair enough, I guess, there's a demand for Steampowered games, but... yeah. I'm still annoyed about that.

I guess people like me installing Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once are sort of what justified that. Again, the openness of the PC platform dictates that gates have to be closed somewhere. The fact that you can just literally copy the files of old PC games over with absolutely no hassle at all really does make DRM a necessity, and since it is all circumvented eventually anyway, it makes making that DRM appealing in some way to buy into even more of a necessity. Steam's greatest achievement is that it has made people WANT games to use Steam; it has made people WANT a DRM-flavoured copy of their games. Huh.
As a supporter of Steam (maybe even a fan), I do agree that Steam exclusivity is bad for us, and that the retail option should remain. Sadly, it seems that publishers won't release a game on the PC without some anti-piracy measure, and Steam seems to be the most consumer-friendly that they'll accept.
 

Andy of Comix Inc

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mike1921 said:
Andy of Comix Inc said:
I'm still mad that retail PC games just come with Steam codes now. I remember being able to install... hell. Even Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once, and now everything is bolted to a single account instead. Fair enough, I guess, there's a demand for Steampowered games, but... yeah. I'm still annoyed about that.
Are you sur you can't just use your steam account elsewhere? I know it's added contrivance but you can still install from disk too with steam so you don't need to download it, so I'm pretty sure you can have it on someone else's computer.
Oh. Actually, I'm thinking about more sharing between multiple people, not just installing on multiple computers.
 

Okysho

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You know Jim, I used to not like you when you got started.

Now I've been following you through this whole XBone thing. Thanks for showing the people who didn't get it, why they should be pissed (though there were no shortage of angry people) I mean that in earnest, I misjudged you, and I feel that was in err on my part.

Thank god for you Jim, keep fighting the good fight.

Now I'm gonna go through your video back log...

Captcha: miles to go - damned right captcha... damned right...
 

Scars Unseen

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LaochEire said:
I don't really post on The Escapist, but can I just say that Steam is an absolute rip off when it comes to new games. In fact over in Ireland Gamestop can undercut Steam with a physical retail copy of a PC game by ?20 euro. I never understood the myth about Steam being this bastion of excellence and the main reason to own a PC.

Sure, it has those great sales and they are great, but if I want a game upon release I would have to wait up to a year before it becomes anyway affordable on Steam.

Honestly, with Steam. I really just don't get it. Someone enlighten me, please.
Dunno. Maybe it's different on the other side of the Atlantic. In my case, the only games I can count on seeing in store on release day are those made by Blizzard and those with the words "of Duty" in the title. Amazon takes a week to get stuff shipped over here, so if I want something on release day, digital is my only option.
 

PunkRex

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canadamus_prime said:
Man, do I miss the days when I could just pick up and play on my consoles without all the bullshit.
Me to, I REALLY miss backwards compatability... I also have no experience with gaming PC's so I found this vid quit informative, thanks Jim.
 

Lord_Gremlin

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canadamus_prime said:
Man, do I miss the days when I could just pick up and play on my consoles without all the bullshit.
I've just stopped buying games that don't allow for that.
I think one of the better pure console experiences nowadays is PS Vita with it's cartridges.
 

Scars Unseen

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Andy of Comix Inc said:
mike1921 said:
Andy of Comix Inc said:
I'm still mad that retail PC games just come with Steam codes now. I remember being able to install... hell. Even Fallout 3 on multiple people's computers at once, and now everything is bolted to a single account instead. Fair enough, I guess, there's a demand for Steampowered games, but... yeah. I'm still annoyed about that.
Are you sur you can't just use your steam account elsewhere? I know it's added contrivance but you can still install from disk too with steam so you don't need to download it, so I'm pretty sure you can have it on someone else's computer.
Oh. Actually, I'm thinking about more sharing between multiple people, not just installing on multiple computers.
Well yeah, you aren't really supposed to do that. Never were. There just wasn't really anything stopping people until authentication came into play.
 

Arcade Hero X

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LaochEire said:
I don't really post on The Escapist, but can I just say that Steam is an absolute rip off when it comes to new games. In fact over in Ireland Gamestop can undercut Steam with a physical retail copy of a PC game by ?20 euro. I never understood the myth about Steam being this bastion of excellence and the main reason to own a PC.

Sure, it has those great sales and they are great, but if I want a game upon release I would have to wait up to a year before it becomes anyway affordable on Steam.

Honestly, with Steam. I really just don't get it. Someone enlighten me, please.
Here man I live in Ireland too and your a bit wide of the mark really. I have seen copies of terraria go for ?25 quid in GS while it's standard price on steam is ?9.99 also GS matches the price for most new releases.......except COD which is ?10 cheaper than steam for some reason. GS Ireland really can't give a fuck about PC games and as an ex employee I can attest to that I mean there is literally a 1x1 foot spinning shelf thing in my local GS for PC games and most other stores the PC games are hidden away from view while the Steam vouchers are right in your face as you walk in.