Poll: DRM - A necessary evil?

[Ec3437]

This subject is common, especially here at the escapist. I know there's not much controversy among gamers, as in, most of us really hate it, but piracy is still an issue that we can't ignore. Is DRM really all that bad? The way some companies use it now is no doubt backwards and harmful... but I know a huge amount of gamers use Steam and don't complain, even though it uses DRM. Does that mean that it can be used correctly?

It is easy to get angry at some of the worst DRM strategies out there and dismiss it all as the doings of Evil Corporations, but you have to remember that they're doing it in protection from a legitimate threat: piracy. What's your honest, educated opinion on the matter? Is it justified as it is, or is there a way to improve it? Perhaps it should be done away with altogether?

 

[TorqueConverter]

I don't know enough about the topic to really form an opinion. My knee-jerk reaction is no, DRM is unnecessary. Stardock had an anti-DRM stance for the longest time and I'm inclined to agree with them when they say DRM is useless. Their PC games didn't even require the disk be in the optical drive to play the installed game. That's the most liberal DRM stance I have ever seen.

This is ultimately a piracy issue. It is possible to show that piracy does harm but very difficult to show that it does any good. Again, I don't know a lot about DRM but is this analogy accurate?

DRM is like locking your car door. It's not going to stop someone from smashing your window to get into the vehicle but it is a deterrent to those who are less determined to get into your vehicle.

 

[Kahunaburger]

The only people inconvenienced by DRM are people who bought the game.

 

[Antari]

This subject is common, especially here at the escapist. I know there's not much controversy among gamers, as in, most of us really hate it, but piracy is still an issue that we can't ignore. Is DRM really all that bad? The way some companies use it now is no doubt backwards and harmful... but I know a huge amount of gamers use Steam and don't complain, even though it uses DRM. Does that mean that it can be used correctly?

It is easy to get angry at some of the worst DRM strategies out there and dismiss it all as the doings of Evil Corporations, but you have to remember that they're doing it in protection from a legitimate threat: piracy. What's your honest, educated opinion on the matter? Is it justified as it is, or is there a way to improve it? Perhaps it should be done away with altogether?

You cannot eliminate piracy. Because to do so you would have to change either the nature of computers or human nature. Good luck trying to change either.

 

[Ec3437]

I'm not saying that we can eliminate piracy, especially through DRM, I'm just asking if you guys think that there may be a better way to handle DRM aside from removing it completely. Wouldn't a DRM-free gaming world be subject to much more piracy than it is now? Like it or not, some DRM can be effective - just look at how many people use Steam.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

As far as I know I have never been the victim of any DRM issues. I have no problem with requiring an internet connection for most games, especially PC games. I'm less keen on the idea of needing a connection for console games, but it's certainly not a huge issue in my opinion.

 

[ResonanceSD]

It would only be necessary if so much of it wasn't shithouse. GFWL, I;m looking at you. Origin, you too.

I'm fine with Steam and UbiDRM though.

EDIT: And if it actually worked.

 

[Tony2077]

i don't have a problem with drm had a few in the past but those were fixed or just disappeared. we have a few systems that work and other then hoping more companies follow those molds i doubt there anything we can change.

 

[Vault101]

it certainly doesnt reduce piracy..Im pretty sure

 

[DoPo]

Oh god. I wrote a lot about it here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.370375-Exploring-How-Piracy-Should-Be-Handled]. I'll just try to summarise.

DRM, or rather, copy protection has two major uses that deal with piracy. First, it doesn't allow the games to simply be copy pasted, so if Joe Random buys a new shiny game, he doesn't go and give free copies to all his buddies thus making his buddies not buy the game. That's pretty much it for this - it's not trying to stop everybody from making free copies, it's to stop just a random anybody from doing it. Second, to fight zero day piracy. Again, it's not trying to stop anybody from making a free copy at any point in time (although, if that magically happened it'd be great...or just the game sucks bad) but to stop the free copies at or even before release time.

This is what DRM is good at. Or maybe it's OK at. At any rate, these functions it can do the best out of everything else. Pretty much anything added on top might make it not behave properly. And hence cause problems. However, when it does work as intended, you would generally be unaware of it. That shows it's good - if it doesn't bother you, DRM is good.

So inherently DRM is not bad but rather it's abused by publishers who don't know its the true capabilities. It's like they are trying to push a horse to cover for the cow and the dog as well. It's not "evil" it's only being exploited.

However, is it necessary - I'd say yes. For the reasons stated - stop random pirates and stop zero day releases. No DRM just doesn't make much sense. Well, aside from some good publicity, it's not achieving anything, really. No DRM doesn't reduce piracy by any significant portion. At least I haven't seen any evidence for that.

 

[Tanis]

If your game has DRM in it, son, I feel ya.
But I got 99 dollars, ain't 1 going to you.

 

[ResonanceSD]

However, is it necessary - I'd say yes. For the reasons stated - stop random pirates and stop zero day releases. No DRM just doesn't make much sense. Well, aside from some good publicity, it's not achieving anything, really. No DRM doesn't reduce piracy by any significant portion. At least I haven't seen any evidence for that.

And games without DRM (Humble Indie Bundle) get pirated anyway, so what's the point of playing nice with pirates?

 

[Supertegwyn]

I like DRM.

Not trying to troll, I legitimacy like the concept.

Some games do it better than others though.

 

[DoPo]

However, is it necessary - I'd say yes. For the reasons stated - stop random pirates and stop zero day releases. No DRM just doesn't make much sense. Well, aside from some good publicity, it's not achieving anything, really. No DRM doesn't reduce piracy by any significant portion. At least I haven't seen any evidence for that.

And games without DRM (Humble Indie Bundle) get pirated anyway, so what's the point of playing nice with pirates?

None, really. That's why I don't get why some people would think that no DRM is somehow inherently better.

No DRM makes some people more likely to buy the game but at the expense of some other people getting easier access to it. All in all, it's not going to make a massive amount of profits. No copy protection at all is fighting piracy about as hard as hard as going "Pretty please with cherry on top".

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

However, is it necessary - I'd say yes. For the reasons stated - stop random pirates and stop zero day releases. No DRM just doesn't make much sense. Well, aside from some good publicity, it's not achieving anything, really. No DRM doesn't reduce piracy by any significant portion. At least I haven't seen any evidence for that.

And games without DRM (Humble Indie Bundle) get pirated anyway, so what's the point of playing nice with pirates?

None, really. That's why I don't get why some people would think that no DRM is somehow inherently better.

No DRM makes some people more likely to buy the game but at the expense of some other people getting easier access to it. All in all, it's not going to make a massive amount of profits. No copy protection at all is fighting piracy about as hard as hard as going "Pretty please with cherry on top".

Because DRM does not reduce the ability of pirates to steal it at all. Yeah Humble Indie Bundle got pirated. So did Mass Effect 3 which requires origin. So has DRM free witcher 2. So has every Call of Duty game. So has every insanely irrationally DRMed Ubisoft game. Because guess what, breaking DRM is really easy, and once its broken the game can be distributed freely VIA torrents, p2p file sending, or various download services. Sorry to burst your bubble, but every single game that has garnered sufficient interest can be pirated, has been pirated, or will be pirated.

There's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it, so you have two choices:

1) Spend months developing software to stop pirates, that will invariably be broken and bypassed day one of your release. And subsequently every person who steals it will have removed your extra cumbersome software while your actual customers will not.

2) Have no DRM, and say whatever happens, happens: we don't endorse or like piracy but we have no way to stop it.

The effects of which are

1)a. Your customers have a diminished experience(depending on what DRM you used.)
b. Pirates get a better experience from your game.
c. Piracy statistically is not reduced at all.
d. People are less likely to support your company(perhaps negligible.)
e. You waste a bunch of money developing something that didn't work at all

2)a. Your game gets stolen just as much as a DRM protected game.
b. There is no chance of reduced experience for your customers
c. Your company will not take any heat from anti-DRM people, if anything they will like you more. I personally believe Louis CK is awesome, and CD Projekt Red is one of the best developers around.
d. You wasted no money.

 

[ResonanceSD]

1)a. Your customers have a diminished experience(depending on what DRM you used.)
b. Pirates get a better experience from your game.
c. Piracy statistically is not reduced at all.
d. People are less likely to support your company(perhaps negligible.)
e. You waste a bunch of money developing something that didn't work at all

2)a. Your game gets stolen just as much as a DRM protected game.
b. There is no chance of reduced experience for your customers
c. Your company will not take any heat from anti-DRM people, if anything they will like you more. I personally believe Louis CK is awesome, and CD Projekt Red is one of the best developers around.
d. You wasted no money.

Are you aware of the shareholder concept?

Shareholders need to be answered to. If you say "We're releasing this without any security", you're going to lose a shitload of money from the OWNERS of the company.

 

[Indecipherable]

Until someone runs a complex regression analysis with DRM as a dummy variable set to 0|1 then you can't say with any degree of confidence if it does or doesn't influence piracy rates.

I understand that businesses need to protect their property, and if there was a solution that I could come up with that worked then 'fuck yeah!', but right now it can be a pain in the ass.

 

[Indecipherable]

2)a. Your game gets stolen just as much as a DRM protected game.

The problem is this is unproven. There is maths out there (regression analysis) that will assist you in determining its truth, but frankly until you basically get the whole industry's data together you just have people speculating.

 

[DoPo]

However, is it necessary - I'd say yes. For the reasons stated - stop random pirates and stop zero day releases. No DRM just doesn't make much sense. Well, aside from some good publicity, it's not achieving anything, really. No DRM doesn't reduce piracy by any significant portion. At least I haven't seen any evidence for that.

And games without DRM (Humble Indie Bundle) get pirated anyway, so what's the point of playing nice with pirates?

None, really. That's why I don't get why some people would think that no DRM is somehow inherently better.

No DRM makes some people more likely to buy the game but at the expense of some other people getting easier access to it. All in all, it's not going to make a massive amount of profits. No copy protection at all is fighting piracy about as hard as hard as going "Pretty please with cherry on top".

Because DRM does not reduce the ability of pirates to steal it at all. Yeah Humble Indie Bundle got pirated. So did Mass Effect 3 which requires origin. So has DRM free witcher 2. So has every Call of Duty game. So has every insanely irrationally DRMed Ubisoft game. Because guess what, breaking DRM is really easy, and once its broken the game can be distributed freely VIA torrents, p2p file sending, or various download services. Sorry to burst your bubble, but every single game that has garnered sufficient interest can be pirated, has been pirated, or will be pirated.

There's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it, so you have two choices:

1) Spend months developing software to stop pirates, that will invariably be broken and bypassed day one of your release. And subsequently every person who steals it will have removed your extra cumbersome software while your actual customers will not.

2) Have no DRM, and say whatever happens, happens: we don't endorse or like piracy but we have no way to stop it.

The effects of which are

1)a. Your customers have a diminished experience(depending on what DRM you used.)
b. Pirates get a better experience from your game.
c. Piracy statistically is not reduced at all.
d. People are less likely to support your company(perhaps negligible.)
e. You waste a bunch of money developing something that didn't work at all

2)a. Your game gets stolen just as much as a DRM protected game.
b. There is no chance of reduced experience for your customers
c. Your company will not take any heat from anti-DRM people, if anything they will like you more. I personally believe Louis CK is awesome, and CD Projekt Red is one of the best developers around.
d. You wasted no money.

Obviously you didn't read my first comment. Go back and do it. Now, go and look at your front door, especially the lock. I'll wait.

Are you back? Good, now get whatever tools appropriate and remove the lock. It doesn't serve any purpose. Any lock you put there would be useless. Anybody who wants to can bypass it will, it's not a big deal. I have a set of lockpicks myself, bought them from Amazon. Anybody can buy them and it doesn't take a genius to operate them. But any other lock you put is equally useless at stopping every single person from accessing your home. So why have it in the first place? Go and remove it right now to save yourself the headache.

Oh, let me address those effects you mentioned:
1. a) unobtrusive DRM. Look it up.
b) unobtrusive DRM. Look it up.
c) statistically, I want data to back that claim up.
d) it's because of ignorance
e) or you use one readily available. It's the 21st century people, we don't need to reinvent the wheel every fucking time we reach for our car keys.

2. a) only perhaps more because there is nothing to actually stop Joe Random from making free gifts to 10 of his friends. And for that matter any paying customer. A 10 to 1 ration in favour of piracy isn't good, you know.
b) unobtrusive fucking DRM. Look it up, goddamn it. Seriously, how hard is it as a concept that people constantly live in denial of it?
c) good. Now go and shout "Pretty please with cherry on top!" from somewhere high. It is possible you just reduced piracy. Or you might have not.
d) only in wasted sales, you know. But oh wait, you're sure to cover those with the mountains of cash you save by not including copy protection.

Who the fuck came up with the concept that DRM, at its core, is the spawn of Satan and wants to munch on babies while it steals your games? And why in Hastur's name did people believe them?

 

[Ec3437]

2)a. Your game gets stolen just as much as a DRM protected game.

This is where DoPo may disagree with you. What he said was that DRM will simply stop people from copying the game EASILY. A DRM-free game would be loads easier to copy carelessly, and by people absolutely no experience with cracking DRM or piracy. Wouldn't that lead to much more piracy in the long run, if it just means right clicking a file and clicking "copy"?

The best I can do to explain this is to use an analogy (which I think has been used before): Locking your car door won't stop the burglars from breaking open your windows, but unlocked cars will surely be stolen from more.

EDIT: DoPo beat me to the punch with a much meatier fist.