DRM Makes Pirates of Us All

[Hooahguy]

would 10-year old games be on steam? i never used steam until ETW.

my impression is that with the new "no-cd" games, you can safely store your cds for future need, like in 10 years.

[Lemur]

Actually, I've had some old game CDs go bad. One of them couldn't have been more than seven years old. Let us all bless Good Old Games for keeping the flame, or I would never have been able to replay Fallout.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I just had to track down the full comic version of the picture you posted in the OP. Normally kids' mascots don't look like they're on so much crack.

CR

[Reverend Joe]

They're also not normally as ironic as a weasel representing a copyright law propaganda machine.

[KukriKhan]

Actually, I've had some old game CDs go bad. One of them couldn't have been more than seven years old. Let us all bless Good Old Games for keeping the flame, or I would never have been able to replay Fallout.

Dude... thanks for that link. I've been hunting an old copy of "Going Postal". (1)

[Gregoshi]

Dude... thanks for that link. I've been hunting an old copy of "Going Postal". (1)

No! No! No! You are supposed to be very offended that the game is offered.

[Caius]

Actually, I've had some old game CDs go bad. One of them couldn't have been more than seven years old. Let us all bless Good Old Games for keeping the flame, or I would never have been able to replay Fallout.

Yet, GoG won't give me a copy of SWAT 3. If I have the CD key of the game I bought, could I download the game and use the key to play it?

[rasoforos]

I really dislike all these 'no-cd' stuff...

When I buy a game I want to own the disk. Look at the box on my shelf.

And what will happen when companies like steam go bust? (just take a look at your old games and you will see that most developers/producers/distributors are not bust)

[ICantSpellDawg]

I really dislike all these 'no-cd' stuff...

When I buy a game I want to own the disk. Look at the box on my shelf.

And what will happen when companies like steam go bust? (just take a look at your old games and you will see that most developers/producers/distributors are not bust)

I own the disk. I doubt that anyone here actually downloaded it. That is an added feature if you can't find the physical copy for whatever reason.

If steam closed down we would still be able to use it. All Steam does is add features that benefit the consumer and strengthen the standing of the developers. There is nothign draconian about Steam. You don't need to be connected to the internet more than once, but if you are it downloads and applys patches for you (unless you don't want it to).

Steam is 30 times better than programs like gator and all that spyware nonsense. You can either view ads for games everytime you log onto steam or you can put a shortcut icon onto your desktop to avoid the ad screen completely. Theve got a self contained online gamers hub with instant messaging capability and an area to write reviews, show your game collection - a mini gamespot.

Additionally, If you go between computers often you can still play online because of the personalized global account. If you forgot to bring the disc with you to install the game, they've got you covered there too.

I don't share the contempt of Steam. Added features that are simple to use and don't slow down your computer while protecting the developers investment is a glimpse of the future. Making life less convenient like the music industry is doing is a glimpse of their funeral.

[Husar]

I really dislike all these 'no-cd' stuff...

When I buy a game I want to own the disk. Look at the box on my shelf.

And what will happen when companies like steam go bust? (just take a look at your old games and you will see that most developers/producers/distributors are not bust)

If Steam goes bust then it's because people didn't buy enough from them.
a lot of other publishers and developers went bankrupt because people copied too many of their games/programs which is why the others invented this DRM stuff in the first place.....
I don't even think we would have this DRM stuff around if it wasn't for the numerous freeloaders.
And now they try to retroactively justify their freeloading because of the evil DRM, but they already copied discettes when there was no DRM around yet.

[ICantSpellDawg]

If Steam goes bust then it's because people didn't buy enough from them.
a lot of other publishers and developers went bankrupt because people copied too many of their games/programs which is why the others invented this DRM stuff in the first place.....
I don't even think we would have this DRM stuff around if it wasn't for the numerous freeloaders.
And now they try to retroactively justify their freeloading because of the evil DRM, but they already copied discettes when there was no DRM around yet.

Freeloading is fine - it means people are using your product. If too many people are freeloading and not enough are buying it means that you:

A) Need to make a better product because the one that you have people use but it isn't good enough to command their purchase.

and/or

B) Need to make your copywrited material more secure.


I never hesitate to pay big bucks for the products that have value. It doesn't even cross my mind to download a cracked copy of Total war because I care if they do well so that they will make more titles. I also don't want a hassle in playign the game and having to find all sorts of cracks etc.

The logical leap that too many companies take is that simply because people are freeloading their product that they would otherwise be buyers if it were harder to get for free. That just isn't true in so many instances. The product is popular because it is free - people learn that they like it. They may have never bought it in the first place, but they use it because it is free. Instead of looking at these people like criminals, view them as samplers. The correct response is to build on the treasure trove of unexpected popularity. Make the product better, create more online opportunities that require authenticity and then you will find that you have a stronger foundation and mroe feedback than you could have ever hoped for. Programs like Steam help here too.


Music has reverted to petty bullying rather than evolution. They should focus on the aspects of music that cannot easily or comfortably be copied; Concerts, merchandise and the associated financial opportunities that come with. The music is free now. They need to cope with this.

[Jolt]

DRM will never destroy them. (Shameless post just to post something I enjoy posting)

[Husar]

Freeloading is fine - it means people are using your product. If too many people are freeloading and not enough are buying it means that you:

A) Need to make a better product because the one that you have people use but it isn't good enough to command their purchase.

and/or

B) Need to make your copywrited material more secure.

Looks like they went for option B because maybe option A is neither very realistic nor very economic given how complicated software is nowadays. That doesn't mean I like bugs but if the company isn't profitable it will go bankrupt. The developers of the Witcher tried to make it a bug-free software but IIRC just installing the big update that was supposed to achieve that caused quite a few problems itself.
It's generally something i would support but I'm pretty sure there would be loads of people freeloading on good software just as well simply because not paying is always more convenient for them than paying.

Lemur's quotes from the RIAA are pretty much bollox of course since we've always been told that we buy the right to use their stuff, not the right to own that medium, so essentially when I got the right to use it, I got the right to use it and I will use it on whatever medium I like or not buy it. I'm certainly not going to buy a song three times, once on CD, one PC MP3 and once from iTunes for my iPhone. By the way iTunes songs work both on the Pc and the iPod/iPhone, so why do they allow that but not copying a CD to your PC? Double standard and full of holes that argument I say. And no, I'm not buying my movies on Blu-Ray AND iTunes either just to have the HD and a mobile version.

[AlexanderSextus]

using DRM to stop piracy is like making marijuana illegal. It doesn't work. people still buy weed and smoke it, and people still pirate games.

[ICantSpellDawg]

You're just saying that because you love both marijuana and digital piracy. The two really aren't all that alike to me. Neither in their application nor in the solution.

[AlexanderSextus]

no actually i'm serious. What was it that Einstein said? oh yeah.

nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.

Neither of those laws can be enforced. like i said, people still smoke weed, and people still pirate software, and it is impossible to stop people from doing either one.

They can arrest people for both, but for every 1 person they arrest, there's 30 more that they didn't catch.

[Lemur]

AlexanderSextus, if we follow that logic, then the prohibition of alcohol would have led to a rise in organized crime, which didn't ... oh, nevermind.

[ICantSpellDawg]

no actually i'm serious. What was it that Einstein said? oh yeah.

nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.

Neither of those laws can be enforced. like i said, people still smoke weed, and people still pirate software, and it is impossible to stop people from doing either one.

They can arrest people for both, but for every 1 person they arrest, there's 30 more that they didn't catch.

If we follow that logic further, why outlaw murders? 50% go scott free and even with the most severe punishments in the western world it doesn't seem to solve the problem. (Yes i recognize that the issues are very different).

I don't care about marijuana legalization, but I do care about digital piracy issues. I don't see them as connected through anything other than the black market. Even then, the majority of file sharing is free, so the black market doesn't even enter into it.