A DRM Rant
Ok so yeah, I'm not alone and this rant will undoubtedly be preaching to the choir, but I'm gonna rant anyway. So here's the deal:
DRM is understandable
DRM that inconveniences legitimate users in ANY WAY is not
Pirates ALWAYS succeed. A DRM technology may have 500 people work on it, the pirates have a population of 3bn to draw on, do you really think you can stop them?
So here are my opinions on acceptable DRM:
Steam: It isn't great, but it allows people offline access, allows you to show your game to your friend, allows you to upgrade your computer (Spore anyone?)
PSN: The PS3 has been incredibly hack proof, hardware is a lot more resilient. Games you download onto upto 7 machines and no need to connect is great. (Capcom can go f**k themselves, continuous online checking, one machine limit and not telling users? I hope someone launches a lawsuit for false advertising, I will not buy any Capcom good until they revise this policy).
XBox: Just go buy a PC, they last longer, have almost the same range of games and if they break (as opposed to when for the XBox) you get to re-download stuff without buying it again!
Wii: As far as I have been able to discover there is effectively no piracy of Wii games without a circuit mod. This means that they have no real need to impose limits on download of software. Each console only has a single user account that can be tied to it. It isn't great that games can't be demoed on friends' consoles if they've been downloaded but the unique nature of many Nintendo games means this is a tolerable penalty.
A few DRMs that have stopped me buying games: BioShock, Assassin's Creed II, SPORE (well I actually bought this, not knowing about the DRM, and regretted it ever since), Final Fight, Settlers 7.
I like playing games offline, I like being offline, I don't like being monitored and anything that does this in a way that inconveniences me is not getting my money.
- Raggy, signing out
DRM is understandable
DRM that inconveniences legitimate users in ANY WAY is not
Pirates ALWAYS succeed. A DRM technology may have 500 people work on it, the pirates have a population of 3bn to draw on, do you really think you can stop them?
So here are my opinions on acceptable DRM:
Steam: It isn't great, but it allows people offline access, allows you to show your game to your friend, allows you to upgrade your computer (Spore anyone?)
PSN: The PS3 has been incredibly hack proof, hardware is a lot more resilient. Games you download onto upto 7 machines and no need to connect is great. (Capcom can go f**k themselves, continuous online checking, one machine limit and not telling users? I hope someone launches a lawsuit for false advertising, I will not buy any Capcom good until they revise this policy).
XBox: Just go buy a PC, they last longer, have almost the same range of games and if they break (as opposed to when for the XBox) you get to re-download stuff without buying it again!
Wii: As far as I have been able to discover there is effectively no piracy of Wii games without a circuit mod. This means that they have no real need to impose limits on download of software. Each console only has a single user account that can be tied to it. It isn't great that games can't be demoed on friends' consoles if they've been downloaded but the unique nature of many Nintendo games means this is a tolerable penalty.
A few DRMs that have stopped me buying games: BioShock, Assassin's Creed II, SPORE (well I actually bought this, not knowing about the DRM, and regretted it ever since), Final Fight, Settlers 7.
I like playing games offline, I like being offline, I don't like being monitored and anything that does this in a way that inconveniences me is not getting my money.
- Raggy, signing out
Right there with you, Raggy.
ReplyDeleteDRM is Defective by Design.
ReplyDelete