Second, I don’t care what DRM you use, you could bury the game in 20 layers of different flavours of DRM goodness and I wouldn’t care a whit, if, and this is a big if, you let me know before I buy the game. This is the same problem I have with EULA’s, you don’t get to see it till you’ve opened the box and have started the installation process, the product is now much harder to return to the retailer.

Now I know some sites like Gamersgate list the DRM used, but if it says Tages, as a user what the hell does that mean to me? If I go into a store and buy a boxed copy of a game that is DRM protected, how do I know? Am I expected to do the research online? Am I expected to know ahead of time that there is a 1% change that the DRM wont like my system and possibly bork other pieces of software? Derek you mentioned voting with my dollar. I do that, but if I’m not informed how am I expected to vote correctly? I say clearly label the box or the on site description not only with the copy protections name but what that mean or at least where I can go to find out more information.

Lastly, don’t use DRM as a method of price fixing (like region codes for DVD’s) or to restrict usage in a specific region (my favourite was when Sacred 2 locked Australian gamers who purchased the boxed game to the European servers while all my mates who bought the steam version were locked to the US servers so we couldn’t play the game with the whole group – this was not explained anywhere I could easily see on the box or on the Steam listing).

I whole heartedly approve of developers protecting their product and their income, particularly if all the middle men (publishers) can be taken out of the equation. Just as long as I get the game at around the same time, for a comparable price as the rest of the world and I can play the game with my friends regardless of where they are and where they bought it. Now I realise that there are country specific legislation that often prevent or delay releases of games (such as Australia’s backward refusal to classify mature games for ages 18+ so they effectively become illegal), I’m not happy about it but I take that up with my government. But if you limit distribution on a site such as steam or gamersgate in order to overcharge to what the market will bear (a common practice with a lot of places that do some rather creative conversions of US dollars to the Euro in order to charge European customers more) or take advantage of region specific conditions (eg: region locked game DVD’s for PAL format TV’s – common box prices for console games in Australia are close if not over $100 which would equate to an $80 price in the US ) then it you that are playing the role of thief.

I think you’re right, most legit users don’t care about DRM. What they care about is being able to get a good game that will entertain them without crashing or harming their system at a price that doesn’t make them feel like they’ve been ripped off. Its when you take away their ability to know that ahead of time that they feel hard done by. This whole DRM debate wouldn’t be the issue it is today if it wasn’t so horribly mishandled by the developers and publishers, which basically boils down to greed and stupidity… but then these two things have been the driving force behind the majority of human history… why should I expect them to change now?

I can safely bet piracy would drop tremendously if a game buyer had an option of at least having one friend to play a game against them without making their friend shell out $50. Especially if the AI in the game gets too boring, or sucks in the first place.

I liken it all to buying a chess game and discovering there are only the white pieces in it. Your neighbor then has to go buy the black set in order to play too.

DRM may be intended for piracy prevention, but I think the real selling point to use DRM is more copies being sold to the home LAN users.

And remember… every time you drop a dime on a company’s product that includes DRM, you just paid them to treat you like a criminal before you have even enjoyed the product!

A lot of people – including myself – will disgree with you there. Just because you want to protect your IP with DRM, doesn’t mean that you are treating paying customers like criminals. It is when said scheme becomes invasive to the point of causing the customer hassle, that one would quite possibly make that argument. But even so, the argument still won’t hold any credence given the fact that all software can and will have problems here and there – not just DRM.

By your missive, you’re saying that Microsoft adding DRM to the OS (by way of online activation) is treating the _entire_ world like criminals. That, of course, is not the case. If you feel that way, then as I’ve said – as have others – don’t buy any product that uses DRM. I hear Linux is nice this time of year.

DRM is simply a mechanism to control your machine at some level with or without your consent if a condition is or is not met. The conditions for DRM are simple in the cases of some older copy protections. A check that sees if you have a valid factory produced Disk. The new ones require that you submit either a key to a central server or even simple identifying information.

Once those companies expire, and they will, you will no longer be able to play your “PAID-FOR” game without resorting to hacking it. I still play games from decades ago where many software companies are long gone, along with any ability to receive support for such games.

It won’t be funny when you can’t play a game that has become timeless for you if DRM or some funky glitch in the protection mechanisms prevents your game from working.

And remember… every time you drop a dime on a company’s product that includes DRM, you just paid them to treat you like a criminal before you have even enjoyed the product! DRM will only cost the producers and comsumers money that would be better spend elsewhere!

I do not disagree with at least some reasonable level of copy-protection. But it should never rise to the occasion of requiring “Activation” or any form of a check in, much less offering code that can potentially debilitate a machine at any level.

Slowly, DRM will be used to assert as much control as possible over your machine while giving the illusion that you still control it.

Besides… one universal truth has pervaded humankind since recorded history. Destroying something is far easier than building it. Cracks will be near instantly available for any game that has any reasonable amount of popularity.

DRM is quickly becoming the same as guns laws. Only the law abiding citizens will be prevented from owning one, while all the criminals still run around with their “goodies”.

how long did it take for pirates to crack the two games you dropped securom into? Before i got into steam distribution, I’d *always* crack my store bought games to get rid of the cd checks which are dark-ages tech nowadays (my notebook doesnt even have a dvd drive).

Since there aren’t any cracks for either game online, I have no idea.

@ Ivan

The problem with my experience is, that I had no chance of knowing that I will have problems with securom or starforce prior to buying those games. You mentioned it in your post too. Yes, I could search internet but in the tame I was pretty unaware what DRM is (although I had smaller problems before). After this I begun my own personal research and after experience with online activation I decided not to buy DRM crippled games (sorry for those strong words, it can´t be described in other words). But i don´t see why a customer should even do so, in short why is he bothered and forced to do so if he wants buy a product. Maybe there are only few of us but even few is too many.

Absolutely. Which is why most online sites and some retail publishers, now also indicate which DRM – if any – the game uses.

Basically, the time it takes to go looking for a crack online, could be spent researching what DRM the game has – and subsequently avoiding it if you want to.

Problem is that osmetimes old DRM cuase problems with new drivers, mechanics etc. What solution is there? Especially when developers/distributors are history? I own some games form Origin and thx for dosbox I can play them even now. And I do. Same goes Fleet Command. And I have some old games that are problematic because of DRM. When using crack to play these games (I already bouhgt and own) am I a pirate? When there is no more tech suppport (running system shock 2 is a good example) does it makes me a pirate? This is too a reason, why i don´t like (and hate internet activation) DRM. It often prohibits me from playing my game in future.

Indeed. The problem is that the DMCA is pretty shady about whether or not you are legally allowed to crack the DRM of a game you own. You can actually make backup copies for personal use though – and they are clear about that.

At the end of the day, cracking a game you own is due to whether or not you can get away with it. Its like the difference between wearing a seatbelt and not. You get caught, you pay.

@ DRJ

Very eloquent and well thought out post in that link; with lots of very good and valid points.

Yeah, I’m a life-long gamer and a game developer. As such, this fence that I’m perched on isn’t that much more comfortable that shoving my head in a blender and pushing the on button.

Anyway, in my case, we have ALWAYS stripped the DRM from our games and released them for free when their shelf life expires. Why? Because I know EXACTLY what you and Ivan are saying about not being able to later play your games. Look at this one downloads chart on FilePlanet and you’ll see that no less than three of our games are on it.

That statement could ring true, if everyone used the same DRM and it was always going to be around. But you yourself discuss switching DRM providers. Companies go in and out of business all the time, different companies use different types of DRM, or even different versions of the same DRM. So can you tell me with a straight face that if I bought a game with Starforce 3.0 on it 5 years ago, I really ought to have it still installed on my system today?

I’m not trying to start a flame war, but I think there are a lot of well thought out, reasonable objections to DRM by individuals who intend to purchase every game legitimately. I do get frustrated when people who object to certain DRM practices are immediately labelled as pirates and thieves. I don’t object to all DRM, but certain forms of it (and the lack of disclosure on the restrictions imposed by DRM) I see personally as unacceptable.