DRM on computer games.. What is acceptable?

[SirFozzie]

Encouraged by a recent controversey regarding Shadowrun Returns and Steam integration (enraging folks who wanted no DRM at all), I wrote an article on DRM for 8BitMind, but I'm interested in seeing what other people say about what kind of DRM is acceptable to you, and/or expected..

[mckerney]

Fine with anything like Steam, UPlay, Origin or Desura where games are tied to an account and you get unlimited installs in any computer as long as the client is non intrusive. Prefer something like it really for automatic updating, especially if it gives other benefits like cloud saves and mod support. For some systems like GFWL (which is thankfully dying off as that could be the biggest hassle of them all) and Origin that have given me trouble in the past I'll probably only use them if a game i really want to play is only available on it.

Won't bother with something like elicense anymore because of the limits and hassles of dealing with them in the past. If I'm not using something like Steam I'd prefer a CD key with no external activation or an some sort of account system like MineCraft.

[Blackadar]

Depends on the type of DRM and the reputation of the company. Let's look at some examples:

Steam - You could question whether or not Steam is DRM at all. It's a game buying platform that sets up the games for you. You can play in offline mode if you choose. At the very most, it's an extremely minor form of DRM and I have no issues with this platform. In fact, I think Steam has done more for the average gamer than anything else in the last 20 years. Their platform enabled online distribution to compete with shops like Walmart and EB, except without the distribution and printing costs. This drove down prices everywhere and also provided a much (MUCH!) larger selection of games with an almost infinite lifespan. It helped spur the indie gaming scene by providing a major online distribution platform that reaches a massive audience. I consider now to be the best time in PC gaming ever and a large part of that has to do with Steam.

Origin - Ok, if I like Steam, I have to like Origin, right? Not really. It's acceptable, but I try to avoid it whenever possible because of EA's reputation for being anti-consumer and petty. Get banned from one of their forums for pissing off a moderator? Oops, your Origin account is locked too! That's unacceptable, but I don't post on EA's forums, so I avoid that. It's not enough to make me pass up a game, but it is a buying disincentive.

Ubisoft UPlay - Now we're getting into unacceptable territory (the old version at least). Limited installs, requires an always-on connection (not possible in all areas, including mine), bad customer support, downed servers with no way to play off-line. Avoid if at all possible. Ubi has modified most of their stuff so it doesn't always require an internet connection, which was a big step. So I now own Settlers 7, Anno 2070 and Dawn of Discovery - purchases made due to their steps forward in viewing DRM and how it punishes existing customers.

EA's Simcity & Always On Connections - Very similar to the old UPlay and requires a login - DRM I find entirely unacceptable. Given EA's propensity to shut down game servers, I have little comfort level that this game will be available 5 years from now (unless they sell a shitload of DLC). I have not purchased one of these games (Diablo was a gift) and will continue to avoid these whenever possible. Frankly, I'd download a pirated copy before putting up with this shit.

GFWL - A lousy piece of shitware, it's best avoided whenever possible. It doesn't prevent me from buying a game, but it certainly doesn't help.

Other DRM:

Limited Installs - The older I get, the more I hate this shit. I've had fits with trying to get FOF installed because I have too many "activations". To be avoided whenever possible.

Rootkits - Gone by the wayside since most everything is digitally distributed.

Code wheels and papers - Ditto.

So in other words, make it thin, unobtrusive and put it in the hands of the (somewhat independent) 3rd party distributor and I don't have much of a problem. Ex. Steam and Desura. The more intrusive and bothersome it becomes, the less I'm likely to purchase the game.

Oh, and piss on the Shadowrun complainers. They still received everything they were promised (I was promised, since I'm also an alpha backer). Fuck them. That kind of bullshit entitlement is why gamers lose DRM arguments.

[SirFozzie]

Thanks, Blackadar, I got into a row on the comments section, and the RPG.NET thread about it, and wanted to get more opinions.. anybody else?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

Steam - You could question whether or not Steam is DRM at all. It's a game buying platform that sets up the games for you. You can play in offline mode if you choose. At the very most, it's an extremely minor form of DRM and I have no issues with this platform. In fact, I think Steam has done more for the average gamer than anything else in the last 20 years. Their platform enabled online distribution to compete with shops like Walmart and EB, except without the distribution and printing costs. This drove down prices everywhere and also provided a much (MUCH!) larger selection of games with an almost infinite lifespan. It helped spur the indie gaming scene by providing a major online distribution platform that reaches a massive audience. I consider now to be the best time in PC gaming ever and a large part of that has to do with Steam.

Steam itself isn't exactly DRM, though it does have a yin DRM system in place this that publishers can use. For games that don't use it you can download the game through the client, close the client and then play the game through its .exe. Most games probably do use Steam's DRM but as you said, for me it's basically never a hassle and has benefits to using it.

Ubisoft UPlay - Now we're getting into unacceptable territory (the old version at least). Limited installs, requires an always-on connection (not possible in all areas, including mine), bad customer support, downed servers with no way to play off-line. Avoid if at all possible. Ubi has modified most of their stuff so it doesn't always require an internet connection, which was a big step. So I now own Settlers 7, Anno 2070 and Dawn of Discovery - purchases made due to their steps forward in viewing DRM and how it punishes existing customers.

The old Uplay was truly awful, though since they moved away from always online its been fine aside from not always having the best uptime for activating games on it.
Like I'd said before, I'd prefer not to have an additional launcher besides Steam but it doesn't really bother me to have to use this.

EA's Simcity & Always On Connections - Very similar to the old UPlay and requires a login - DRM I find entirely unacceptable. Given EA's propensity to shut down game servers, I have little comfort level that this game will be available 5 years from now (unless they sell a shitload of DLC). I have not purchased one of these games (Diablo was a gift) and will continue to avoid these whenever possible. Frankly, I'd download a pirated copy before putting up with this shit.

Yup.

GFWL - A lousy piece of shitware, it's best avoided whenever possible. It doesn't prevent me from buying a game, but it certainly doesn't help.

Happy this seems to be going away with Microsoft's latest releases not even using it. When it worked it was fine but I had frequent problems with it.

Limited Installs - The older I get, the more I hate this shit. I've had fits with trying to get FOF installed because I have too many "activations". To be avoided whenever possible.

Agree here to. A game would have to be amazing for me to put up with stuff like this. Seeing a game use elicense pretty much kills any interest I might have.

[mckerney]

Also agree on the Shadowrun issue. "I backed this as a DRM free game, not because I could get a DRM free copy," seems rather silly to me when they're really not doing anything intrusive. As a backer I'm excited it's going to be on Steam because the workshop should make finding and getting good mods incredibly easy.

[Suicane75]

None.

[Blackadar]

FYI, this is why I worry about EA's DRM:

EA has continued its sweeping company-wide restructuring by shutting down three of its Facebook games.

The publisher said The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society will go offline from June 14th as a result of a large decline in player activity.
In a statement on the closure of The Sims Social, EA said it had made the decision to close the title so it could reallocate development resources to other projects.

EA has also told users to spend any remaining Playfish cash or other existing currency relating to the titles, as it will not be valid after June 14th.
According to AppData, The Sims Social still has more than five million monthly average users, with over 500,000 playing the game daily. Pet Society has more than one million MAUs and 500,000 DAUs, while SimCity Social has one million MAUs, and 100,000 DAUs.

The news of the game cancellations comes as EA has made a number of layoffs at its studios in Montreal and Ireland as it looks to streamline its operations.

EA terminates Sims Social, Pet Society and SimCity Social | Game Development | News by Develop

Yet one more reason to not buy Simcity.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I agree with Blackadar about Steam. I love it. It's done more for PC gaming for me than anything else. I was actually very happy to hear Shadowrun was coming to Steam. I hope all of the Kickstarters that I backed - about 9 or so - become available one Steam.

I am not someone who worries that much about DRM. I am much more concerned about getting a game to work, making patching/updating easy, etc.

[Abe Sargent]

I wish I had enough money to buy out EA