Paradox Chief: DRM Is a "Waste of Money"

[Steve the Pocket]

And yet they sell products in steam. Apparently when the drm s beneficial to the company, we don't hear anything.

But they don't sell only through Steam. I checked just now; their Magicka games (the only thing I know of that they make) are available through pretty much every digital distribution outlet in the known universe as well as purchasable as a boxed DVD-ROM. When there's an online store that accounts for the vast majority of DD sales on your platform, it'd be silly to turn them down.

 

[Voltano]

I see your Paradox Interactive CEO, and I raise you Epic Games and Ubisoft, both who have essentially said that the PC market is no longer their primary focus because piracy makes developing for the platform not nearly worth the while that it is on console.

That is publishers moving to a market they feel is 'safe' from 'dirty, foreign thieves' and allows them to control how they want to distribute their game. If that's their choice, then fine. But Paradox Interactive, Valve, Bethesda, CD Projeckt, Mojang, and Croteam are doing quite well on the PC market.

Publishers have a right to distribute their game on any platform they choose, but Wester's argument here is that any game should be easy to pick up and play for any player. Telling the player--whether on PC or console--that they must enter a 27 character key in order to unlock tacked on multiplayer or prove they legally bought all the DLC for "Dragon Age: Origins" will annoy your *customers*.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

It may not work on PC's, but it sure as hell is gonna work on next generation consoles. Mark my words. The Jensen has seen the future.

 

[Vivi22]

I don't suppose he has any numbers to back up the claims that it won't increase sales? Because from what I can see, games with these systems on them sell a hell of a lot more than Paradox Interactive games do.

You can say that it's because they develop for a niche audience, and you're probably right. But until he's outselling games with DRM on them, saying that they don't sell more is purely assumption on his part.

I'm not sure why you would need hard numbers to say DRM doesn't increase sales when you consider no DRM software lasts more than a week or two before being cracked, and those high-selling DRM enabled titles you speak of are among the most pirated games every year.

I mean, you're literally sitting there saying that DRM must work because some titles with it sell really well every year. But the real test of the efficacy of DRM isn't in how much a title with/without it sells, but in how long DRM holds up against those that want to pirate it. The answer is almost universally that no DRM solution holds up for any significant amount of time. And the CEO here is making a very valid argument that you're adding a lot of cost to development and continuing customer support for maybe a few days worth of benefit. But if someone is going to pirate instead of buying new on day one, they're probably going to be willing to wait a few extra days rather than pay $60 just because you put a minor barrier to their piracy in the way.

Sorry Andy, but this part of your story is really REALLY hard for my brain to comprehend in english. "stable, going concern" ? I don't get that.

It's convoluted business speak for saying that Paradox is essentially profitable, has plenty of cash to stay in business, and stuff is all around going well for them. If business execs and accountants simply spoke in plain English they wouldn't be able to convince people that their services are half as valuable as what they put on the bill (and I say this as someone who is an accountant ).

 

[theheroofaction]

Wait a minute, a developer is actually practicing what they preach? cool, I have a sudden urge to support them.

Also, is it just me, or does the game being showcased alongside this statement seem oddly fitting?

 

[Naeras]

That's the first time I've heard a sound explanation as to why major publishers have DRM, and the "it appeases the investors and nothing else"-argument is the most plausible I've heard thus far.

Also? These guys finally got it. Go Paradox!

 

[Zipa]

paradox are one of the few devs that actually get it, they make awesome games and treat customers well. Pity more devs didnt think this way.

 

[Zipa]

And yet they sell products in steam. Apparently when the drm s beneficial to the company, we don't hear anything.

But they don't sell only through Steam. I checked just now; their Magicka games (the only thing I know of that they make) are available through pretty much every digital distribution outlet in the known universe as well as purchasable as a boxed DVD-ROM. When there's an online store that accounts for the vast majority of DD sales on your platform, it'd be silly to turn them down.

Paradox own/are gamersgate as well.

 

[Vault101]

......what? somones finally worked it out?

about...fucking...time

 

[Horton986]

Well to be fair Paradox does have a "DRM" still, if you want access to the support pages on their forums for their games, or patches in some cases you have to register your CD key on the forums

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Hell I bought Deus Ex on Steam because I'm so incredibly lazy that it was worth a couple of bucks to not have to dig the CD and to have it available anywhere, even tho I already owned it.

On the other hand, I've downloaded TV series that I own on DVD, and the DVD has sat untouched on my shelf because the pirated version is better, no ads, no unskippable piracy warnings etc.

No-one is saying piracy is 100% good, or has no victims, but really, paying so much real money to combat a potential threat does seem rather daft.

It's like I only pay for an AV because NOD32 is so damn convenient and leaves me the hell alone. If it was Norton or a freebie, I'd go with the freebie.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

DRM helps sell games in the way that storyline, or voice acting or graphics help to sell a game.

Good, helpful, non-intrusive DRM, that actually brings extra features along with it so you don't feel like they're just punishing the paying customers - Steam, I'm looking at you, enhances the games on that platform, and encourages people to place their games for sale there as they see there's protection in place, without punishing legit customers.

(Unless they're either batshit insane - see people who demand their own DRM on top of the Steam stuff, or greedy as all hell, EA pulling stuff to put on ORigin only.)

Crappy, game locking,half working, bug inducing, customer infuriating DRM however, that'd be a bad thing and not really a sales point.

I'm not anti all DRM, but there's gets to a point where you're spending a million bucks on security to protect something worth ten bucks, knowing there's an unblockable trapdoor that leads directly into the vault anyway.

You print a CD key, it gets typed in and authorised by a central server, they've just proved they bought it and it's legit, now step away and let them enjoy what they're paying you for.

 

[bakan]

snip

haha you raise him with two of the more useless developers. One of them cant get their DRM right (and their DRM is the reason that they are failing on PC) and the other cant be assed to actually test their games before pushing them out...bravo! And the Witcher devs were PROVEN to not know what the hell they were talking about. They claim 4 million pirates got their game, yet their game didnt even break the top 10 pirated games of 2011.

And where is your proof that DRM helps sales? Hm? We have Ubisoft, one of your own examples, that prove that WRONG. Their oppressive DRM has caused more piracy of their titles than anything else. I personally know 12 people who bought Anno 2070 then turned around and pirated it so they didn't have to be online or so they could play it on a few different machines.

Haha, thank you for writing this, as I was just about to write the same.

Seriously, Ubisoft are doing so bad because of their ridiculous DRMs, some friends of mine and myself included stopped buying Ubisoft games after the Settlers 7 debacle.

Even though I would like to play the latest Heroes game, as I always enjoyed the series.

 

[Weaver]

Paradox has a really strong selection of varied strategy games and I'm glad they're a level headed publisher.

 

[Racecarlock]

Oh my god, someone listened to us! *Faint*