Poll: Whats your view on DRM?

[black_knight1337]

i've been reading convos on other sites lately where there have been major arguments about drm (mostly regarding steam). so i thought i would ask the escapist what their opinion was on this issue. imo drm is an extremely good thing (mostly reffering to steam). it helps cut down video game piracy and it gives the user a tonne of extra features (usually) that enhance my gaming experience. also i have never found drm that actually restricts my access to my own games or has invaded my privacy.

 

[JochemDude]

It's actuelly completly pointless. Crackers will just take the DRM off and people that buy the game have to face the restrictions of DRM.

 

[black_knight1337]

people that buy the game have to face the restrictions of DRM.

what restrictions are you talking about? all the drm ive come across only requires a one time activation and then its anything goes after that.

 

[Uber Evil]

i've been reading convos on other sites lately where there have been major arguments about drm (mostly regarding steam). so i thought i would ask the escapist what their opinion was on this issue. imo drm is an extremely good thing (mostly reffering to steam). it helps cut down video game piracy and it gives the user a tonne of extra features (usually) that enhance my gaming experience. also i have never found drm that actually restricts my access to my own games or has invaded my privacy.

The bolded part is an incorrect statement. Usually the pirates have the game cracked and ready to pirate withing hours of the games release, and people who pirate it won't care about the wait, so it doesn't stop the people who will pirate it.
OT: I'm ambivalent. On one hand, it generally doesn't do anything too bad. On the other, more extreme versions, such as Ubi's can drastically interfere with the game.

 

[FreakSheet]

Steam is a form I like, since it is pretty much always working, and cloud saves, in game browser in stuff is handy. Same with Blizzard for SCII, worked great, barely effected my game.

But when companies can't get their DRM sh** together (looking at you Ubisoft) that's when it becomes a major no.

 

[fenrizz]

There is good DRM and there is bad DRM, but I believe that no DRM is the best.

Steam is a very good example of DRM done right, but I suspect that it was never meant to be a DMR system in the first place.
It feels more like it is a byproduct of the system.

SecuROM and Ubisoft's constant online DRM are examples of doing it completely wrong.
Messing up your PC, cutting off access mid-game if you happen to lose internet connection for a second.
I could go on, but you get the idea.

As a general rule, try not to slap your loyal, paying customers in the face.
We don't like that too much.

 

[Tufty94]

It's not only pointless but it affect the completely wrong people. The people who do download games illegally will just download a cracked version with the DRM removed. So if a game uses always-on DRM then the only people it is affecting are the people who paid for the game, while pirates can continue to play the game with no issues.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

If it doesn´t annoy me or requires personal information from me, I have not problem at all with it.
If it does annoy me, it can fuck off. I wouldn´t pirate a game (having about 200 bucks a month to blow on hobby-stuff), but I would seriously consider playing a cracked version, if the DRM pissed me off.

 

[black_knight1337]

Usually the pirates have the game cracked and ready to pirate withing hours of the games release, and people who pirate it won't care about the wait, so it doesn't stop the people who will pirate it.

good drm would cut back the appearance of pirate versions of games. if there is a game with good drm than it will a)make the cracker cbf or b)make the cracker take significantly longer to make the appropriate cracks. and then for multiplayer focused games it means that there will have to be pirate server systems setup or the cracker will have to find some way to hack the games multiplayer servers.

 

[octafish]

My view?
Securom- Bad.
Always on- Bad.
Limited installs- Bad.
Generally fucking me around- Bad.
Steam pre-ADSL2- Annoying but not horrible.
Steam post-ADSL2- Essential.

Steam works so well for me that I fail to see it as DRM, of course if there is a game on Steam and on GOG, I'll buy it from GOG even if it costs more.

 

[JochemDude]

people that buy the game have to face the restrictions of DRM.

what restrictions are you talking about? all the drm ive come across only requires a one time activation and then its anything goes after that.

Pretty much all DRM hate off currently is going to Ubisoft which is gonna use a always on DRM which means you'll always need a connection to Ubisoft. I also don't see much point in one time activations or any DRM for that sort. If the devs could make the DRM the crackers are sure as shit gonna be able to get it off.

 

[Yossarian1507]

It's pointless. It annoys people, and it takes a week tops for pirates to break it.

 

[fenrizz]

My view?
Securom- Bad.
Always on- Bad.
Limited installs- Bad.
Generally fucking me around- Bad.
Steam pre-ADSL2- Annoying but not horrible.
Steam post-ADSL2- Essential.

Steam works so well for me that I fail to see it as DRM, of course if there is a game on Steam and on GOG, I'll buy it from GOG even if it costs more.

Gotta agree with you there.
Steam is a blessing to us PC gamers with it's cheap games, glorious cloud save functionality and constant deals.

It has allowed me to expand my game library much, much faster than if I had to go to the store to buy each game.
It's also a lot cheaper to buy a new game from Steam than it is from retailer.

But, I don't buy anything of GOG.
I prefer to have all my games in my neat little Steam library.

 

[MercurySteam]

To be perfectly honest apart from the DLC DRM on XBL accounts I really don't have much of an issue with it. I don't tend to mess with my licenses that much and I never buy preowned games plus the majority of my games are on 360 where DRM douchebaggery isn't as persistent as it is on PC (I'm looking at you, Origin).

If it's really that bad for you then just use GOG.com.

 

[Doom-Slayer]

My view?
Steam works so well for me that I fail to see it as DRM, of course if there is a game on Steam and on GOG, I'll buy it from GOG even if it costs more.

Got to agree. I used to hate it but now i really like Steam. On the flipside things like uPlay can suck a **** and die.(in a nice way of course) having to load that stupid thing up EVERY SINGLE TIME on top of Steam, that has no additional features, and takes freaking ages to save my games whenever I close..FOR A SINGLE PLAYER GAME....

Oh and dotn even get me started about how Origin is going to be terrible and sell your credit card into to the russian mafia(they can if they want...really...)

/rant

 

[AngryMongoose]

it helps cut down video game piracy

[[color="{#0000FF}"]Citation Needed[/color]]



Seriously; you would have thought with all the crap people are put through to deal with these fucking DRM systems (No one has an infallible connection; don't pretend your single player game is some kind of MMO) that someone would have produced some evidence that DRM actually helps prevent piracy.

Pirates don't have to deal with DRM; no matter how unintrusive it is, it is an unnecessary addition that only hurts legitimate customers.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Gotta agree with you there.
Steam is a blessing to us PC gamers with it's cheap games, glorious cloud save functionality and constant deals.

It has allowed me to expand my game library much, much faster than if I had to go to the store to buy each game.
It's also a lot cheaper to buy a new game from Steam than it is from retailer.

But, I don't buy anything of GOG.
I prefer to have all my games in my neat little Steam library.

And that is the beauty of Steam.
While it could TECHNICALLY count as DRM (and a rather harsh one at that), it actually offers enough functionality and other stuff, while not being run by a bunch of dicks, that people actually want to use it.
Turns out the quality of your stuff actually has an effect on your customers willingness to put up with you and use your shit.

Also, GOG is boss.
I have now all the games I used to love as a child at my fingertips, ready to go on a moments notice. And many of them are still awesome.

 

[Worgen]

people that buy the game have to face the restrictions of DRM.

what restrictions are you talking about? all the drm ive come across only requires a one time activation and then its anything goes after that.

well there are verious forms of drm, there is securom/targes/starforce and they tend to like to install annoying things on your comp that can cause some system instability or conflict with various programs and its very difficult to remove all traces of them even if you uninstall the games. When I got fallout 3 at the midnight launch the drm on the game prevented me from installing it until they released a fix for it about 12 hours later, also drm tends to make it pointless to do midnight launches for pc games since if you have to activate it online that means they have probably set the timer so that you cant activate it until about noon the next day. Very annoying if your eagerly awaiting a game.

For awhile allot of games had an install limit also and once you reached that limit you had to contact the publisher to be able to install the game anymore, sometimes just upgrading a computer would take up an install, depending on what the drm was using to keep track of on the machine. There is also the hated always online drm, which ubisoft seems determined to keep using despite it costing them sales.

 

[Irridium]

DRM is a cancer upon this industry and completely fucking pointless.

All it does is screw over paying customers. Pirates never have to deal with it. And the real kicker is that those it affects most, people with slow/crappy connections who also happen to be the least likely to pirate, are the hardest hit by it.

It's stupid, backwards, pointless, and useless.

The ONLY DRM system that's actually decent is Steam. And the reason for that is because unlike all other DRM systems, Steam actually tries to give you reasons to use it, instead of a publisher just going "use it *****, our game, our rules, suck it down". I'm paying the $50 for the game, why the fuck do I have to jump through so many damn hoops to play when a pirate gets to just download and play?

But Steam is not the only DRM. It is only one form, and NO OTHER DRM is like that. At all.

And I'm not saying Steam is perfect, it isn't. Not by a long shot, iffy offline mode(why the fuck must I sign in to the internet to start it in offline mode? THAT DEFEATES THE FUCKING PURPOSE OF HAVING AN OFFLINE MODE!), high prices outside of the US, still forced to use it instead of letting the customer choose to use it, but it's by a long shot the best we have.

Publishers can ***** all they want, but right now it's like someone beating up a mugger. I'm certainly not going to feel any sympathy for them what with all the bullshit they put us through, but I'm not rooting for the pirates either. Both sides are pricks who are just making everything worse for the paying customer.

Honestly, I've re-iterated these points so many times it's fucking stupid. The music industry tried this same damn bullshit years ago, and you know what happened? Well people refused to be treated like criminals, so they fucking did something about it, and now DRM in music isn't around that much anymore.

It's really amazing how much bullshit gamers will swallow as long as they get the next hot new game.

 

[Xanthious]

DRM to combat piracy is a joke. It hinders the paying customers far more than it will ever hinder the pirates. Most games are cracked before they are released or within hours and even games that do not get cracked immediately get cracked eventually. I believe even Diablo 3 with it's piles upon piles of DRM will end up cracked and distributed for free. Then again, DRM isn't there to stop piracy. Here let me say it again DRM ISN'T THERE TO STOP PIRACY

DRM is in place to keep the second hand PC market dead and buried and has fuck all to do with piracy. However to come out and say that publishers/developers are intentionally selling you a worthless product would be bad PR. Instead, they use piracy as their whipping boy and it sounds much much better. However, make no mistake about it DRM is in place to fuck the customer over plain and simple. Sound crazy? Ask yourself, which does it do a better job of stopping? Is it easier to go buy a used copy of any recent PC title or pirate it?

It's really amazing how much bullshit gamers will swallow as long as they get the next hot new game.

That's because gamers drank the Kool Aid and largely believe all the lies these publishers spew about DRM. Just look here on the Escapist, Christ you'd think half of the posters here were being paid with the lengths they go to to defend the bullshit these developers pull. Hell, even recently when it was leaked that Origin scanned your entire HDD they still came out in force. They put on their white hats and came riding to the defense of poor old EA who is just trying to scrape by.