In this article 2D Boy co-founder Ron Carmel thinks that PC DRM doesn’t do much to stop piracy and that the publishers use it more to stop the trade in secondhand games. Which, as I have pointed out before, is pretty much the same as piracy from a publisher’s perspective.
The public really hate DRM because it tries to stop them stealing. The game industry is lucky because we have some of the most effective DRM devices ever invented, game consoles.
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If I may — the public really hate DRM because it impairs its ability to enjoy a full experience of what they bought. The public really hate DRM because it’s an outright accusation from the publishers that they don’t trust them.
I hate buying a CD, and then discovering it cannot run on my CD reader, or that I cannot import it to my iPod.
I hate going to the movies, paying the full price of a ticket, and then being served an ad about “piracy killing cinema”.
What I find ludicrous with those measures, is that they mostly impair the experience of people who are actually paying for it — the true pirates know how to work around this.
So basically, you’ve got publishers alienating their rightful consumers. So tell me, Bruce — how efficient is that?
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“The public really hate DRM because it tries to stop them stealing.”
Nope.
Try to install a legally bought GTA4 DVD (which I did), and a p2p version : you’ll see which one is a pain in the butt : you have to type a code and to install two separate useless apps (game for windows, rockstar social club). And in the end, since you’re using a PC, the game is terribly slow, even if the CG is brand new.
When you pay 50 or 60 euros , you don’t really like beaing treated as a stealer, being forced to installed useless crap and playing a buggy game.
“Which, as I have pointed out before, is pretty much the same as piracy from a publisher’s perspective.”
And, as we pointed out before, this comparison is bullshit. secondhand cars, books, dvds, cds or anything else is ok, but secondhand videogames is stealing ? Come on, Bruce…
Now, just for fun, let’s think about dropping prices : when GTA5 is out, if it costs 60 euros, there is no way I’m going to buy it, after all I explained before ; I will be quite afraid to get another expensive, bad gamer experience.
Dropping prices means less piracy, less secondhand games, and more satisfied customers.
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Having just bought an xbox 360 I have to admit I’m glad there are so many second hand games. Many more good titles than there are for the Wii.
I certainly don’t feel guilty for buying those games. The original owner of the game can’t use them any more. Nice money spinner for the shop though.
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The public have a far better idea what they think than an industry figure with a vestered interest does. The public have spoken. If you continue to ignore them, no wonder the industry is in a moribund state, because you are ignoring your potential customers. No customers = no industry.
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Vestered? I mean Vested. Damn clumsy paws of mine!
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I buy all my software, and the DRM that I hate is the stuff that is poorly written and interferes with other software, or degrades my system performance when I’m not playing the game.
I find CD checks annoying, but the publishers I’ve bought from that used it have all provided patches over time (like Blizzard) that removed it from old games after the game was no longer a big seller, and many places have gone to internet activations instead, so I’m seeing it less and less.