Forcing Microsoft to reverse DRM will harm the games industry

http://square-go.com/forcing-microsoft-reverse-decision-bad-games-industry/

by SuccintWork • 13 years ago

9 23 13 years ago

square-go.com

tmandarano• 13 years ago

There's no doubt about it. Wish they had stuck to their decision.

mooism2• 13 years ago

The online and DRM policies were designed to drive the industry forward toward a digital future.

If the article attempted to justify this statement, and then attempted to demonstrate that those policies would have the effects they were designed to have, and then finally shown how these effects would benefit the games industry, it would have fulfilled the promise of its title.

Zikes3• 13 years ago

There is nothing in this article to convince me of Microsoft's DRM model as leading us into any sort of growth in the games industry.

If anything, it was entirely a step in the opposite direction. We would have had to relinquish control of our physical purchases to Microsoft's 24-hour scrutiny. They would have unfairly taken a cut of used game sales, in direct violation of First Sale Doctrine.

They would like to try to convince you that all of the great features related to their DRM were completely dependent upon the DRM scheme, but there are still alternatives. Games sharing can still work, if they concede that a small amount of so-called abuse is acceptable.

I've also seen absolutely nothing from Microsoft that would lead me to believe that any of their plans would reduce the costs of games. Every time they mention DRM it's in the context of preventing piracy, which they say drives game prices up. If they had unleashed a DRM scheme and had enough confidence in its efficacy, they could also have announced new pricing schemes as a result, which would have placated the majority of gamers.

mynameisvlad• 13 years ago

Games sharing can still work, if they concede that a small amount of so-called abuse is acceptable.

Publishers would never allow this.

Zikes3• 13 years ago

That's where the real change in gaming needs to take place, with the publishers.

It's been well-proven by Steam et al. that if you price correctly and use an unobtrusive (or even nonexistent in the case of GOG) DRM scheme, people would much rather buy and support their favorite games developers (and publishers) than go through the effort of pirating a title.

That's why games sharing would work with only minimal abuse. Not because it wouldn't be technically feasible for the consumer to abuse the system, but because the barrier to actually owning the games they want to play would be so low that it would become the new path of least resistance.

The sky's the limit if the industry can learn to treat their customers with respect.

Edit: By the way, a version of games sharing already exists on the PS3. If you purchase a game digitally on PSN you can install and play it simultaneously on multiple PS3s as long as your account is on each of them, I believe up to a limit of 5 PS3s.

mikeyG232• 13 years ago

Publishers would never allow game sharing to begin with, its funny how people think that publishers would allow people to share a single game with 10 different people.

There is no way 24-hour DRM or not that they would allow that. Microsoft themselves never clarified how game sharing would work, which means it was just marketing/PR to get people to accept the need for daily online check-ins.

If you think they would actually allow people to share games with 10 friends (with no clear plans or proof of game sharing actually working) I have some snake oil I would like to sell you :p

tmzt• 13 years ago

What I can't understand is why publishers didn't speak up before the reversal, if this is so import to them and such as good deal to customers (lower initial purchase cost.)

mikeyG232• 13 years ago

you dont need 24 hour drm to go all digital, steam does it without that, why cant microsoft?

Also I dont think that "the future of video games" is a future anyone would want where consumers have to ask Microsoft's permission to play our games, or where developers must go by Microsofts rules (such as indies can't self publish, or microsoft taking a cut of used game sales).

Giving Microsoft that much power and control over peoples digital libraries is foolish, and I dont see in any way possible that the game sharing feature (which is the only standout one) would be allowed at all by publishers, or that it would work as they led people to believe. Do you really think publishers or microsoft themselves would allow friend networks to share games with everyone? That would harm profits for them and publishers much more than piracy ever would.

RexRollman• 13 years ago

I call bullshit. DRM has never been good.

angersock4• 13 years ago

Which is why Steam has been such a fail...oh wait, no it hasn't. Maybe, perhaps, DRM can be done in a way that satisfies all stakeholders.

mikelat2• 13 years ago

You can't really compare Steam's DRM to what Microsoft was proposing. Steam doesn't have the online checks and it isn't your only option if you want to buy PC games. A lot of the DRM Microsoft was going to implement simply didn't make sense for a platform that was supposedly closed to begin with.

yamalight2• 13 years ago

And never will be, more to the point. Trying to restrict your customers in how they can use the product is never a good thing.

MiguelHudnandez• 13 years ago

I don't get why it has to be such a big, all-or-nothing deal. Offer the same new games as downloads with the new terms and as discs.

If you want the more modern terms with their conveniences and downsides, buy it online through the console and have it tied to your account.

If you want to buy a disc, you follow the old rules. You must have the disc to play, but you can also loan it to friends or play it offline.

It has worked that way with the existing Xbox 360, except you can't find the newest games online.

overgard• 13 years ago

In summary: "the current state of our industry sucks so we should do everything we can to alienate our most passionate customers because, well, ITS TIME TO PANIC and casual gamers are a bunch of sheep anyway".

glomph• 13 years ago

All these brave pro DRM articles after microsoft drops it...

markbernard• 13 years ago

This is such bullshit. People have been buying and selling used games for the last thirty years. If it is such a detriment to the game industry how come the combined annual gross sales have exceeded Hollywood movies over the last few years?

Forcing Microsoft to reverse DRM will harm the games industry

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