I cringe when someone tries to say their DRM isn’t DRM. There’s nothing inherently wrong with DRM. The problem thus far with it is that the R part of it (rights) is often ignored. A proper acronym for DRM thus far should be DrM . The rights in DRM were supposed to be between both developers and users.
So for months, since the Gamers Bill of Rights was launched we’ve been working on a technology that would provide the kind of protection publishers want and would accept but at the same time would give gamers a lot of the things they’ve been asking for.
The solution we’ve come up with and integrated into Impulse Reactor is called Game Object Obfuscation (GOO). When a developer runs GOO on their EXE, it encapsulates it and Impulse Reactor into a single encrypted EXE. When the user runs the program for the first time, they enter in their email address and serial #. It’s about as easy as logging into a forum except you only have to do this once.
Because the game is tied to a person instead of hardware, they can install on their other machines without being hassled. Also, because it’s all self-contained it makes possible 3 key things:
1. Universal Activation. If I buy a copy of a game from Steam or Direct2Drive or Impulse that is also available on one of the other platforms, I should be able to re-download it form any of the services that it’s available on. That way, if the place I buy from folds, I can still re-download my game from someone else. A Goo’d game makes this possible.
2. Used copies. One thing that holds digital distribution back is that a gamer who buys a game digitally can be made to feel like they’re renting it because the licenses are non-transferable. Publishers, however, really don’t like reselling games (I hate the way it’s currently done). But with Goo, now the game developer and the user can both benefit and let gamers resell their copy to someone else. That’s because the Goo’d EXE is encrypted and the user can voluntarily disable their access from it thus making it transferrable.
To demonstrate the business advantages of this, we plan to use this feature of Goo ourselves on Elemental– it lowers the risk of buying a game and thus can increase sales.
3. Untethered gaming. Because Goo is all self-contained, there’s no third party client floating around. A developer can use this on their game and have it available at retail or other digital distributors.
What’s nice about GOO is that a developer simply runs it on their program. They don’t have to mess with source code or anything. It takes care of it all for them. Legitimate customers end up with something that’s incredibly benign, publishers end up something that protects their rights, and both get something that opens the door to resolving some of the remaining challenges with digital distribution.
Internal beta of Impulse Phase 3 client. UI graphics are not finalized yet. Faster, cleaner, more streamlined view. More major publishers scheduled to come on board in the month of April.
Maybe you hate to make the comparison because you still buy into the ludicrously outdated notion that software is property in the plain language sense of the word. It is really only 'property' because of several hundred years of choices made by a host of different governments in the US and Europe.
A Goo-enabled secondary market makes some sense if you let go of all the property talk and just accept that you want to keep a *license* in good order. Kind of like how you need a valid license to drive your car, maybe with a bit of 'subscription' thrown in if you need or want access to ongoing updates. It's almost a good answer to the sturdy old (c) critique in John Perry Barlow's Economy of Ideas -- it does not completely make the bottle-for-the-wine mistake because it separates IP costs from media costs.
At the same time though, a concept of a "used license" is a bit hard to wrap your mind around. Used physical goods/property have an obvious connotation - everything physical has wear and tear, so when you buy used you're not guaranteed a fresh-from-the-factory product (and in the case of games, no mint condition box/manual, possible cd scratches, cd key used, etc).
But in the case of a digital license, the concept of "used" has no meaning since a used license is never different from an unused one. As such, there will never be a reason not to buy "used" if one is available because there's absolutely no difference. This is of course assuming re-selling of banned/disabled licenses (TOS violations, piracy, sharing, etc etc) won't be possible but that's not a big assumption considering that the publisher would be the one buying back the license and I'm pretty sure they'd want to make sure they didn't disable it first before they bought it.
I suppose from the perspective that if someone wasn't going to buy used he wasn't going to buy at all it makes some economic sense for the publisher to buy back a license but they would still need to buy for less than they re-sell which may or may not eliminate the desire for people to just e-bay it or something for both sides to maximize their desired gains (the seller gets more than re-selling to publisher, the buyer gets it cheaper than used from publisher).
So this system is a bit odd. When it was initially announced, I assumed it would be akin to a paid license transfer, where the seller could transfer the license to another existing account as part of the sale, not that he would sell it back to the publisher who would then put it up as "used".
Well it sounds like Stardock doesn't intend to allow a transfer of any kind that doesn't put the publisher/developer in between it. It's the only way they can get their hands on money in the exchange. And while I realize this is intended for digital distribution, it still begs the question as to what will happen with the retail versions too. As for fresh-from-the-factory products. You mean the buggy as hell releases that the pre-order population gets on release day? Or maybe the fresh new feeling of being forced to use a company's server for that online content they promised and the hours of server downtime that comes with it. Or maybe that, did we promise that feature on our site and on the back of the box... well really we meant it was going to come later with a fresh new patch. If you want to talk about odd, the later you wait to get a game or software, the better it tends to be. You don't get the rushed out product from day one. You get the finally fixed as it was meant to be package. If you wait long enough,there is a gold edition which extra stuff. And you can certainly get mint condition boxes and manuals and cds, it called "Like New." The used CD key is still a problem, but that is part of the DRM, or copy protection, or whatever else you want to call it, argument.
The system is definitely going to be odd, but I don't have much leeway in me for an industry that has tried to stop its secondary market almost from the get go. Forget this digital download excuses, they were saying the same thing when it involved people exchanging games between themselves or going to a place like Gamestop and selling it to them so the company can turn around and sell it for 10 dollars less than the new one. They wanted a piece of the action, and they've been trying to come up with schemes to stop it for years. And suddenly now they have legitimate reasons to want a piece of the action? Maybe so, but I remain skeptical because they cried wolf for so many years before.
I don't really use the secondary market much, not even for my console so it's not as if I have some big stake in this. I just don't buy what is being said. I am a bargain shopper with a limited amount of time, so I follow several games a year, watch their releases and usually due to the incompetency of the publisher and/or developer, find it very easy to dismiss most of them and buy a couple of new ones within a week or two of release. The rest, a couple of years later, might show up as deal I am willing to pick up and by then, might have fixed what the problems were or the reduced price point makes up for the disappointment of lack of expected features. I guess the point is, if I wasn't willing to buy it within a month of release new, then I probably am not going to be willing to buy it at some barely reduced used price anytime soon. So being able to selling and buy used games, isn't my primary concern at all especially since a few of the console games I didn't buy, were released bugs that would make the PC game industry proud and so those used products, if it's not the new disc, could have a problem.
Now the counter point, if I was willing to buy it new at or shortly after release, and they offer a used digital download for a reduced price, then how exactly is that going to benefit the publisher/developer? It's not, so then how is this going to work?
Which is the same thing as what I'm wondering, really. For any other second-hand good, there are tangible and physical drawbacks to it being second-hand. For a digital game license, there isn't.
From the perspective of a buyer, there's absolutely no reason not to buy a "used" license, since in functionality it's exactly the same as a "new", it's just cheaper.
From the publisher's perspective, it can get complex if you put a lot of thought into it. On the one hand there's the potential of lost profit for someone who would've bought a full priced one regardless. On the other, there's the fact that it remains one license so from that perspective, there's potential to make more money per license at the risk of selling fewer unique licenses.
Essentially, say a game retails for $50. They sell it, then buy the license back for $25 and re-sell for $40. Now they've made a total of $65 off a single license. But if that buyer would've bought a full $50-priced one, they're in the hole of $35. I'm sure of course marketing did all of this research to weigh the pros and cons and probably figures it to be worth it, but yeah, it's definitely still odd.
I think they're on crack with the second hand sales idea, but whatever.
Since I'm a collector I don't really give a shit. I haven't even sold Tribes 2, I should have defecated on the cd and posted the picture on their forums, they never did fix the texture leaks for voodoo users...
If I did give a shit, this would all be nonsense because control of the second hand market is predicated by rationalizing an irrational action based on an illogical legal foundation being used as justification to change the laws and make the nonsense binding. The argument is in the wrong place.
But what is the cost of creating a new license? I would think, in terms of the production and publishing costs (whether it be retail or digital) creating new licenses wouldn't be a very large portion of it. I will admit, however, that I simply don't know the answer to that question.
Also, I think that these games wouldn't be sold for even 10 dollars off, maybe like 5, some ridiculous amount that a good sale at Target or Best Buy (assuming there is a retail version available) would beat, and it wouldn't be enough to entice anyone to give the game a second chance/look but make those who wanted the game already really happy.
It would have to be delayed for maybe a few months after launch to keep people wanting to buy it new from buying the used copy, but then we're back to what the gaming industry wanted to begin with, preventing some die-hard fan from running out, buying the game, beating it in a week (or a day for a game like MM Dark Messiah) and then selling it to Gamestop so they can sell it for 10 bucks off the retail price. Again, I keep going back to physical copies but only because we have a rough idea how it works. Since the industry (in general), doesn't like what happens at Gamestop, it seems highly unlikely that they would want to reproduce that model for digital copies even if they get a piece of the action.
I don't know the answer, but it just seems likely that if you release a good enough game, without am endless list of bugs, with features that were orginally promised, without some draconian DRM system that causes people who don't normally pirate games (we already know you aren't going to stop daily pirates from doing it anyway) to pirate the game then you are going to get your usual fan base (assuming its an established series) buying up the game new. After that maybe they need to start strategically lowering the price too eleminate the biggest advantage of a used copy, the price.
I remember back when I was playing Pharoah, i accidently cracked the disc. I looked up information from Sierra to see if there was a way I could get the disc replaced without having to buy the game again. They wanted me to ship the disc to them, pay 14.00 and pay S&H both ways plus if it got lost in the mail, just out of luck. I went and purchased the gold edition for 9.99 instead. Not that I think anyone needs to add a hassle factor to the used market for games, but if the new version is hassle free, close enough in price...
I really start thinking that the rationale behind GOO is to gives various advantages to the publisher in order that they choose a DRM system that is convenient to the end user.
What's the advantage of buying a new digital license instead of a used one?
Perhaps buying brand-new could open the door to exclusive bonuses, and a time constraint could be in place until a game can be resold.
If there's no difference, then what's the point of buying new?
Well, for one a lot of gamers can't wait to get their hands on a brand new game as soon as it's released. Having patience just doesn't happen that much, especially for good games. Besides, second-hand selling usually happens when the interest for a game fades away and the river of profit runs dry. If that secondary market is there, why not take the opportunity to make another buck?
I think that vying to control the second-hand market is better than to try to crush it. That would be (as it has been) yet another reason for resentment and piracy. Ultimately, customers will want to buy more if they are happy with the service and with the options available.
VERY nice
There is no reason not to buy a used version IF there is a copy available.
How can you do that? You just copy and paste the contents of the game directory on another pc, without the impulse client, internet connection or even an install?
And about the Goo, i still don't get it how it works. They say it's only a one time online registration/activation. If this is the case, then what's stopping you to give your standalone goo enabled game to 1000 of people? If they don't use the net for playing the game (for a SP only game, for example, like Braid), then how does it know (the protecton of the game, Goo) that is running on 1000 of computers?
On the "the used version is identical to the new version, so there is no wear and tear effect" thing: Has it been conlusively stated that a "second hand" copy of a game will also be eligable for re-sale under this scheme?
If second hand copies can't be re-sold again, then there's your "wear and tear". (An artificial limitation, I know. But since the companies handle the transfer of the game-key etc. it is something that is well with in their power to do.)
Yes, exactly, then just create a shortcut to the game EXE and you are done.
But it seems (I just tried) that it doesn't work for Demigod so I don't know if it will continue to work for other games either.
I for one don't understand one aspect of Goo: Where does it phone home? If it's to the publisher X, how can anyone tell if that X won't disappear in the future?
Oh, and one more thing:
Why is the retail Demigod marketed as a non-DRM product, when in fact it is, because you need to register it online (and dnl an additional soft), in order to get the deserved support (patches that correct bugs). If i buy the retail dvd of Demigod, and i don't have internet access*, then i'm stuck with 1.0 version of the game forever. Does this seems fair to you, for a DRM "free" product?
*if the patches/updates were manual, standalone patches, that you could dnl from anywhere, then i could take them from a friend that has internet access.
Of course i'm not talking about me, i have 24/7 internet access, but i want to draw attention that automatic updates that are bound to a specific service and need the user to have an internet connection active on the pc that the game is installed, IS a form of DRM! So from my point of view, this is false advertising when they say that the retail dvd with Demigod has no DRM.
And this practice (not releasing standalone patches) is potentially dangerous to the customer, on the long run. I'll explain:
It is clearly used this way to keep piracy away (so the warez users won't get the patches easily), effectively as a form of DRM. The thing is that some *evil* developers/publishers (hint: EA) could release bugged games on purpose (or not bother with a lot of beta testing), because they will keep releasing patches after the launch, to combat piracy (besides the obvious post-game support).
A similar trend, that started as a great idea but now's gone bad, is the releasing of unjustified DLCs that cost money for a feature that normally was supposed to be in the full game, but was cut out in the last moment to make an extra buck with the DLC. One recent example is the multiplayer DLC for Resident Evil 5.
The did something for Heroes of Might and Magic V too, with the random map generator. Late in the game, they decided to add it to the expansion pack instead. I am not a big fan of delayed features for an extra buck. Unfortunately for them, I didn't buy the expansion packs and am probably done with the series all together.
Because it's NOT marketed at DRM free? The retail version is copy protection-free, which is not anywhere close to the same thing. No one ever said there was no DRM at all.
Yes, that is a form of DRM. See previous statement about copy protection vs DRM in general.
If EA is involved, you'd be lucky to see the bugs patched at all. And again, no one ever denied that this was a form of DRM.
Read the news story on the Impulse site:
"Like all Stardock games, the retail version of the game contains no DRM or copy protection"
Well, that is true: you can play the game from the retail version, without the CD in the drive and don't need to connect to Internet in order to play it.
Now, if you want to update your game or want to play multiplayer on Stardock server, there is another story.
Well, there are work arounds to update your game on an offline computer like impulse anywhere.
But if you don't have any Internet connexion available at all, how are you supposed to be able to patch the game?
I've said it before: With a standalone manual patch, you could get it from anywhere: friends, dvds. It's about freedom of choice, that should come with a DRM free game. No net connection, no obligation to install a third party software.
There is two different issue here, there is a world of difference between having to connect online only when you want to update the game, like that was the case, and still is for now, for GalCiv and Sins, and being forced to connect online to reactivate you games everytime you change or upgrade your computer.
For me the former is still DRM-free, as after the update you can play the game on any computer without reactivation, while the later is definetly pure DRM, no difference with Steam or any other online activation DRM scheme.
I realy hope that the retail version of Demigod, or all other upcoming Stardock games, remains DRM-free even after patchs and that it's only the digital version that is Goo'ed otherwise I know that I will be very disapointed...
Well, since version 1.1, Galciv 2 has activation. But it is only needed if you reinstall the game or the OS.
Wrong it's only required when you first install the game, it's not needed when you reinstall the OS, it's not needed when you change your hardware, it's not needed when you change your computer.
And to be 100% sure it hasn't changed since the new Impulse update, I did the test: I started Impulse (to make sure there wasn't any new updates), copied my GalCiv2Ultimate folder to a USB key, plugged the key to my Laptop (which isn't connect to the net and on which Impulse nor any SD games never were installed), then I double clicked on the GalCiv2.exe, and........ the game started without any problem or question, no asking me to activate, no asking me to connect online, not even asking me to enter my serial, nothing. (And it's version 1.53). That's what I call DRM-free.
Well, it didn't work that way 2 years ago, when there was only GC2. maybe they have lifted activation since the game (GC2:DL) is 3 year old.
Maybe, the first SD game I ever bought was Sins, just before Impulse, so maybe 2 years ago they were using DRM on their games and switch to DRM-free later.
Too bad this doesn't work with Demigod.
Oh, and one more thing. If the retail Demigod has Impulse Reactor embedded, why can't you update the game with it? Why you must install the Impulse Client, in order to update it? One of the main points of Reactor was letting the user play the game without an additional client. So why no updates? This is really getting on my nerves, the fact that they force you to install some third party software in order to get updates for the retail dvd. It's like some other game comes out on retail dvd and forces you to install Steam in order to get updates or other things. Updates should be available from anywhere!
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