"Stop Bitching, PC Gamers" -Ubisoft

Hell, the price of N64 games is probably why I have less than 10 of em, including some I got used at Gamestop.

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Gabe Newell reiterating his views on piracy.

And this is why I like what Valve stands for and why I consider Steam to be far preferable to say, UbiDRM.

edited 28th Nov '11 7:17:19 PM by EarlOfSandvich

I now go by Graf von Tirol.

On the "Games are too pricey, so nobody buys them!" argument...

I mean I download cracks for games I already own, I don't pirate them. And using cracks is practically a requirement for certain kinds of DRM.

That Gabe Newell post brought to my attention this link, which is one of the first times I feel I've heard a balanced overview of the issue. It brought up a few points that got me to rethink how I viewed things with regards to Steam, DRM, and piracy in general. I love Steam to bits, but I may have become a little too dependant on their service, which is never a good thing. I'm also one of those people who play a game like Assassin's Creed II and don't encounter any problems. I will be buying the sequels. I like the franchise.

Video Game Census. Please contribute.

Now, that was a pretty interesting article.

While I think that the author was a bit biased, he still managed to make some rather interesting points about the Scale of Piracy and DR Ms which I have not heard before and which might make me revaluate my opinion on them.

However I strongly disagree about his PC vs. Consoles argument: He ignores many reasons why consoles are popular and almost outright states that the main reason of their success and why so many PC developers decide to create the games for them, is the lack of piracy, which is pretty ridiculous.

Has a compulsive editing and re-editing disorder.

X3 That's a lot more justifiable, all right.

I don't know about "forever", but they aren't recent developments by any stretch of the imagination.

All your safe space are belong to Trump

If the industry had its way, buying used would be piracy.

And a lifetime in Gitmo.

That is a pretty interesting article, although as mentioned before I wouldn't consider piracy as being the reason of the consoles' popularity, as it has more to do with convenience and, yes, developers knowing exactly what to expect when developing for a console given the consistent hardware. I still don't like DRM, but may consider my view towards them (though I maintain that Securom is not quite as bad as they put it, activation limits aside). And yes, seeing the report, I agree that overdependence on Steam is not necessarily a good thing, although it's convenient.

I especially do agree that there should be more demos and developers should be more honest about implementation of DRM in their software (the From Dust fiasco is a good example of how NOT to present DRM). Also, I still maintain that piracy is still inevitable (DRM or otherwise), and you cannot directly fight it, so the best you can do is ensure that there is a convenience of use (part of the reason why programs like Steam and iTunes are successful), or even provide an incentive to pay (as seen on Mask's link). Also, implementation of always-on DRM on an exclusively single-player game is a dick move (there should be an extremely legitimate reason, and not "herp de derp there be pirates"), and even Steam in its early days doesn't get a free pass for this reason.

edited 30th Nov '11 11:28:14 AM by EarlOfSandvich

I now go by Graf von Tirol.

If the industry had its way, lending your games to your friends would be piracy.

oh wait, it is.

STEALTH!!!

It is? No it isn't. For physical versions, as long as you don't copy it, then it's alright. For the data-versions, then it's technically illegal or in a gray area.

Always looking for a good MMORPG with a great community...

Tell that to the games industry. They hate used games because they don't receive anything after the first sale. Apparently they feel that they need to make money off of one item more than once.

edited 2nd Dec '11 6:28:46 AM by hnd03

So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave Johnson

The idea is that the person who bought the used copy isn't buying a new copy that they would get money off, it is not really an absurd idea. It really depends on how many people who buy used games would buy them brand new if that was an option.

That's vaguely irrelevant to the larger issue, though. Yes, a used copy bought may displace a used copy, but it is the right of the consumer to use the product as they wish. That includes resale.

Home of CBR Rumbles-in-Exile: rumbles.fr.yuku.com

I'm not against bonuses for new copies as opposed to used ones.

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I'm not opposed to them, either.

I am, however, opposed to store-specific bonuses. Uuuuuuggggghhhh.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

Depends on how it's implemented. When it's "here are a few neat little perks. Thanks for buying new!" that's great.

When it's "whoa, whoa, whoa, you wanted an entire game? Well what the hell did you buy used for, then?" that's another matter.

Infinite Tree: an experimental story

That's the worst thing ever.

edited 3rd Dec '11 12:52:49 AM by MrDolomite

@INUH: I've never seen it implemented the latter way. Examples?

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

Most sports games don't let you play the online mode unless you buy it new or get some fifteen-twenty dollar online pass on XBL/PSN.

I've never actually played a game that did that, but as said, they're out there.

Infinite Tree: an experimental story

Being fair to sports games, they as a genre are apparently dealing with some significant transition issues. Apparently, the general player base actually *wants* to move to a subscription system.

Home of CBR Rumbles-in-Exile: rumbles.fr.yuku.com

Picked up the Tom Clancy bundle which unfortunately uses UPlay. I do, however, appreciate that it lets you enter in one activation code after another unlike Steam, which makes you pause for a good minute between each one as you have to click acceptance of their terms again and confirm that yes, this is your code.

x5

Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 also used those. Basically, if you bought the game new, you got a Code to unlock the Cerberus Network which opened up allowing you to download DLC (the way it was phrased made it sound like you get the Zaeed DLC for free, when that's not technically right). If you bought the game used and, thus, DIDN'T get the code, it was $15-$20 just to get the option to download DLC and Patches.