It appears the FTC is looking into the issues with DRM and the effects on consumers and they are soliciting experts on the topic to participate in the discussion. I think this is the PERFECT opportunity for the GBR to be touted on behalf of gamers everywhere. Moreover I suspect several big publishers will have agents participating and we need a publisher who looks out for consumers to be there! Consequently I think this is a job for FrogBoy! Additionally I would like to see the presidents of GPG and ICG there as well.
Up, up and away!!!!...
Hell I'll even kick in for the trip costs if money is an issue.
DRM will be around for a few more years. Big companies have too
much over head in the corporate layout. The bigger the company
the slower it takes to change.
Thats why big software companies like DRM ... They figure it reduces
piracy and helps corporate bottom line. Bottom line .. it's all smoke
& mirrors ..
IMHO ... alot of games that came out last year just ... wasn't that
good ... They should have been put on hold and fix or just canceled ..
The point is if the "bad guys" can get the FTC to agree that DRM is good they COULD require it on all software products. Moreover they could codify their concepts of ownership and resale. SD, ICG &GPG would be compelled to comply. Think about that for a minute...
If the GBR is to have ANY meaningful impact on the industry, then this is the venue to tout it - on a national stage in front of the very organization that has real power to change the playing field for consumers.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm really tired of how companies like EA argue "We include DRM to protect our products from pirates", but then people go around pirating those games saying "We pirate these games because this company tries to include DRM, and we don't like DRM, so we spite them by playing the cracked versions". Grow a backbone people!
For me, I perfer not to acknowledge any games including DRM. I will neither be a paying customer nor a pirate. Being either one somehow helps their cause; either by helping to pay their bills, or being part of their statistics of how many people pirated this game or that game. Besides, if there were no pirates (or very few of them), the arguement for DRM would not only sound stupid... it would be ridiculus.
If DRM is forced on all software products even SD, ICG &GPG products, then probaly the DRM protest will probaly go from verbal protest on the internet to actual protest using physical methods suchs as throwing motov cocktails at EA headqauters for example hell even sending deathreats to the people who made DRM. Hopefully the FTC will have people who have suffered from DRM will have a say. Frogboy, do something, the fate of DRM-free games is in your hands.
Why would he want that? That would also ban Impulse. Impulse is a DRM system. You guys just don't think it is because it's a well-designed system that doesn't inconvenience the original purchaser.
As for the case of DRM being mandatory. That wouldn't happen- there would be a constitutionality argument there- as that would be a clear violation of free speech. Also, most likely Stardock would just outsource Impulse in that case to get around any laws. The US can't regulate international e-commerce.
Well Frogboy and company can speak for themselves as developers as publishers. I can speak for myself as a very vocal antiDRM activist... DRM itself is not intrinsically evil. It is the invasive, covert, underhanded and draconian ways which subvert consumer rights many companies have been implementing that is evil. Moreover anyone that complains seems to get a hit with an unwarranted and in my opinion unjustified shitstorm of righteous indignation from many of the publishers and developers.
True but the problem as I see it is lack of information. A game can be sold with no mention of DRM, meaning the consumer doesn't know if it does or doesn't have it. That IMO is wrong - companies should be required to make sure that if their game can only be run if you have internet access, and will need internet access every 10 days or so, then it says so on the game box/case. Similarly if it will install some external program that can damage your computer not only should they let customers know such a program will have to be installed to play the game on the box, but they should also be liable for damages if they have not made the consumer fully aware of the risk of damage from such products. It could be argued that other companies would have an incentive to promote their DRM-free status (meaning that if a game doesn't do this it likely has DRM) but that's usually a second best situation since not all DRM-free companies do advertise their DRM, making it very difficult to tell from a game case/box what DRM the game has.
I strongly believe in consumers voting with their wallets, but it's only possible if they have the choice of who to 'vote' for in the first place! I now know that EA games are likely to come with DRM and so don't buy them, but had I not been reading these forums quite a bit at the time, I would have likely bought mass effect without realising it had such restrictive DRM that would have stopped me from purchasing it had I been aware.
Here is a more detailed overview of things for the meeting.
tha t ruling could not affect impulse butcuase impulse is on the internet wich is considered international water. so the next time you buy a product off the internet and you pay more becuase you live in austrailia you have a right to take action what they are doing is ilegal.
Stardock is proving with sales which is what is most important to most developpers that DRM is not necessary.
Pirates usually are n ot paying customers anyway. So why waste time. We the players pay for items when we like the items. This is being proven right now.
DRM is not necessary. Something a lot softer is all that is needed.
Yep. Just a reg code would suffice methinks. Hey, that is exactly what SD uses - what are the odds???
I haven't Frogboy's faith in the power of the consumer as such - I've seen too many examples of a bad system becoming 'common wisdom' when it happens to be to the short term benefit of entrenched interests.
Or, to put it differently, if I used my mind control center to implant the absolute knowledge that DRM was a complete waste of time and resources into the minds of stockholders, how many executives would they be forced to fire before they were out of executives that would insist otherwise, since admitting to it would require openly admitting they had been wasting money.
JW
No doubt.
So very true... the worst games are those developed for recently released movies. I wonder how many people never gave PC games another try for entertainment because the movie games were such garbage.
I have sometimes entertained the same consideration. Every time I have been unable to draw any reasonable conclusions.
Honestly, I'm okay with that. Especially after having to reformat my hard drive because I had installed the Spore Creature Creator - which decided to conflict with the WinXP SP3 update.
What? Spore interferred with your ability to install SP3? Did you install it through Steam or purchased at retail?
why do people like Spore so much if it is such a piece of digital infestation.
Some people don't care. I do and haven't purchased it because of that. Although, it's supposedly DRM-free on Steam now, from my understanding.
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