Dear God; Kotaku and Daniel Defoe. Two of my great loves united at last.

Fabulous article, Crecente.

RoboPeaches

@Bernard McGraw: lol

Brian Crecente

@y2julio:

I disagree. Any DRM is bad. About the best i've seen is iTunes plus. no DRM at all, but theres metadata encoded into the content, so Apple know the exact origin of the content, and if its shared they know who to chase.

Mr_Ed

A Gamers Bill of Rights already exists and was shown at PAX

The Gamer's Bill of Rights:

* Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
* Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
* Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
* Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

[www.stardock.com]

mtarascio

Nicely done. I hope you got a free sketch of you done in PA style for your effort.

nenet

A Gamers Bill of Rights already exists

The Gamer's Bill of Rights:

* Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
* Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
* Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
* Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
* Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
* Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

[www.stardock.com]

mtarascio

Aw heck when I read this I thought Brian was drawn PA style in the webcomic. Or is there one?

Crecente you rockstar journalist you...

excaliburps

Good read. I like it...

...but what is an "ass goatee"?

Sandvich

Good way to start the morning. Really nice article.

LittleBlueWindow

I agree with everything you wrote. Steam is a good example of DRM done right.

y2julio

@gwangi: LOL still makes me laugh even today.

ichiban1081

And you'd know all about piracy, wouldn't you? Can't even stop yourself from making a damn boat metaphor in the post there.

Bernard McGraw

Did they give you the garlic this time?

Ashurahori

You fight the power, brother!

Rubiximus

@gwangi: Damn you! You beat me to it!

Oddly enough, that video makes me want to steal MORE, not less.

Mister_Jack

All hail Crecente!

tlozwarlock

Don't Copy That Floppy!

+ Watch video

gwangi

very good piece. what does steem do to preempt this problem? as I don't PC-game much, I woudn't know...

laencythe

Good show. Can't wait for the rest of the comics, too.

Shiryu

Nice read Crecente! Im proud.

DarkHavoc99

Any chance of posting the article here? I limit the non-work sites I go to to gmail and kotaku. Webcomics don't fly here.

Setzer IIDX

Penny Arcade and Kotaku -- 2 great tastes that taste great together

Gray665

I think you left out the most absurd part of DRM devices: they don't work at all. One would be hard pressed to show that SecuRom reduced the pirating of Spore in the least.

The current approach to game piracy reminds me of a kindergarten teacher threatening to punish the whole class if one kid fucks up. Only in the case of DRM, it's only the good kids who get punished.

Capitalist_Bagel

@mtarascio: I think 1,2,3,5,6 and 9 are good. 10 would be nice, but if there game says cd required then it says cd required. 8 would be good, but we are potential criminals. 7 is just wishful thinking. So is 4. You can expect to get a game that works, or that if your game is broken it gets fixed and you can obtain the fixed version. You can't expect new content, or free additional content.

Atrius

I loved it, good job!

SavidDaunders

Steam is a damn good example of doing it right. While all games you buy through Steam are tied to your logon account, those games go anywhere you can install a Steam client. Steam also updates your games automatically and even provides a community service for players. Steam just goes out of its way to make things easier for the end users. What you give up in physical ownership you gain in end user conveniences.

SecuRom on and others like it go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible for end users to enjoy their purchased games. Not to mention some of the hardware/software prolems they cause when they suspect the end users (the actual purchasers) may be pirates. You may have a physical media but you lose out in convenience of its use.

Tepoz

@Gray665: For real, they're like peanut butter and jelly!

yeah write

"program-man"
I see what you did there!

Chinpokomon

@Mr_Ed:

What's wrong with Steam?

You can download it to any computer as long as you Log In.

and then you can put it to Offline mode.

What's wrong with that?

I guess if you live out in the middleofFingNowhere then it'd be a problem.

Vecha

Your good people Crecente.

Real good People :)

Skeezy

@Jsp343: jmastrangelo@gmail.com

Thanks, yo! God knows I'd forget to read if I had to wait till after work.

Setzer IIDX

@Setzer IIDX: Be happy to e-mail it to ya.

Jsp343

I love steam.

If EA could make a steam-like system..that'd be great.

Maybe they could call it Esteem!

Ok I tried...

Vecha

It's great to see my two all-time favorite websites collaborate outside from regular PAX coverage. Penny Arcade has really gone a long way since it started. Not only did they manage to make a living out of their hobby (which is a wonderful feat in itself!), but they've become a very respected critical reference in the gaming community. They contribute generously each year to show that gamers have a big heart first of all (and not necessarily a big gun and blood thirst) through their massive Child's Play charity, and finally give gamers what we all expect when we hear the words "by gamers, for gamers" (such misused words, usually) through the god-awesome PAX.

I'd like to see more of this.

Inzoum

@mtarascio: Yeah, sorry Brian, no taking credit for that one.

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

What is good about Steam? It's still DRM and still every Steam exclusive game is available via P2P at the release day.

Well, if Steam was like "Impulse" from Stardock ... THAT would be great!

Kajetan

@Hamsfork: The answer to both of your queries is: Depends on the license/EULA. Remember - just because you can physically do something doesn't mean you can.

...That sounded way better in my head. Anyway, what a lot of people forget is, that when you purchase software, you don't purchase the software itself, you purchase a license to use it, and thus are legally bound by the terms of the license. In your example, let's say the license agreement for CIV4 says that you can only install the game on one machine. Sure, you can load it onto your laptop as well, and there's little chance anyone will really give a crap, but technically it's still a license breach and therefor illegal. As I see it, DRM is just enforcement of these sorta licenses.

Kirbysuperstar

@Mr_Ed: iTunes only offers DRM free on certain songs and at an extra cost. Steam offers gamers the ability to install the game on any computer as many times as they wish. I don't see how Steam DRM is bad.

y2julio

You've got Kotaku in my Penny Arcade! You've got Penny Arcade on my Kotaku!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself there. In all seriousness though, I think we'd be much better off if some companies wouldn't be so restrictive with product usage. I think EA took a step in the right direction by allowing players the ability to unauthorize a computer, but more needs to be done. Perhaps a system that doesn't involve spyware?

Dmartin001

Arrrrg! Me Matey I think you about nailed it! Very good piece Brian, I hope some more industry people will look at it from that perspective.

Oh, and I just pictured you in a Zorro costume…and well… Magnificent comes to mind. Keep fighting the good fight Viva La Zorro!

-EDGE-

spoken like a true gamer/ philosopher...ea are a bunch of fags tho, they'll definitely replace big obvious spy with a smaller more inconspicuous spy

Jay4govna

Steam is good. I guess time are a changin' but I don't think you should be free to give copies of your game to your friends. You should be able to *give* your game to friends, or sell it, or whatever.

Atrius

@gwangi:

The guy says, "one copy for each computer you use." I hope that's not still true, or I'm a criminal for installing Civ4 on my laptop as well as my desktop? Anyway, if I pay for software shouldn't I be able to use it on any machine I want?

Hamsfork

I never had any problems with DRM, until I actually began to buy games.

Icharius

@Mr_Ed:

A minor nit. Are the bits any different than if the sole protection was someone saying "don't copy" and then handing you the binary? If the answer is yes, there's DRM, if the answer is no, there's no DRM.

So yes, there is DRM on iTunes Plus, it's just passive and used in court if needed. It's also the only form I agree with.

sqlrob

That was a nice read, but I think it falls just a little short. We can all agree that consumers shouldn't be treated like criminals and companies should be able to protect their IP; but I haven't heard any concrete suggestions about what can be done to appease both sides.

akaTriceps

@Vecha: What's wrong with Steam? Let's see.
If Valve's servers fail, you're screwed.
If Valve crashes and closes its servers, you're screwed.
If EA buys Valve, you're double-screwed.
If Google buys Valve, you're screwed, and will get some targeted ads while being done so.

EloraHRanma

Basil and oregano!

lumpi

@gwangi: The end of the computer age! Oh noes.

RYAMATSU

Steam is a good example on how to do it right. The only thing Steam is missing though, is the ability to share a game that you bought with someone else. I would love to share TF2 or Portal with a friend, but I can't. Perhaps the ability to literally give MY copy of the game to someone else? I don't know. The ability to share something you love with a friend goes a long way. I want others to try these games, but I can't afford to buy it for them, and I don't expect them to buy it based just on my telling them it's great.

Quilt

Well done, sir.
I am an enormous fan of Tycho's prose, and you have done well in his stead. Your allusion to the historical reader is an apt inversion of the argument companies make when they ask if you, the potential criminal, would walk into a store and boost CDs off the rack. To that effect, the Valve system makes sense: you can read your book one place at a time, anywhere your book can be read. You can give a copy-- your copy-- of the book to someone else, at which point you don't have it. Why EA can't follow a model that is so obvious and has worked so well is absurd.

No. It's not absurd. It's greedy. The same urge to gouge customers over time with repeated installs is simple avarice. Note, for example, that when you purchase a game at the EA store, you must pay an additional $5.99 if you want to download it again after a specified period of time. And that $5.99, mind you, only goes so far in the future. Contrast with Direct2Drive where I have been able to re-download all my games numerous times, or Steam where I merely need to reinstall the one client and double-click on whatever game I wish to install from the list of games I've purchased. Genius!

It's hard to see a silver lining in the storm of the current economic climate in the United States, but if there is any, hopefully it will be a lessened faith in the idea of money as the final end. Perhaps someone in a tie with a business degree will consider that the central dynamic of all business transactions is, at some point, person to person, and it's not right to take advantage of another person, whether it's over the internet, or whether they walked into your store and they want to purchase something you stamped on a CD.

impureascetic

Why is it every time I click the threaded comments I get redirected to a blank page that says "true" at the top?

Nekusagi

Why don't I include the link this time?

[williampatry.blogspot.com]

blakbuzzrd

Actually, the use of the term "piracy" in its literary / intellectual property predates DeFoe's True-born Englishman by nearly a century.

Check the nearest OED for this, or if you aren't near one, here's a quick link to a similar article. Check the comments at the bottom for a paraphrased history of the term's emergence.

blakbuzzrd

@-EDGE-: Crescente in the Zorro cape?! Does that mean we have to let him prance around with a sharp sword?!

Ye gad. Exclamation point.

Regardless of the horrible mental image, this was a very good article. Will there be more, El Zorro?

Chilly Hollow

@gwangi: beat me to it. :)

KingDavid73

@EloraHRanma: Well...to be fair, theres alot of IFs in there. Servers could crash and fail for any company, not just Valve. Unless, of course, you're being sarcastic? If you were, it went right over my head :p

NeVeRMoRe666

I was very impressed with what you wrote Brian, and it very closely mirrors how I feel about DRM.

I think the worst part of all this is the sheer bone-headed stupidity of publishers. Every DRM-infected game has usually been cracked and on the file sharing networks before the game has even launched! I think the only game that took a few days was Splinter Cell 3. It's time the publishers accepted that piracy cannot be stopped and started trying to give their PAYING customers a more fun and enjoyable experience. Considering Spore could be Torrented before it was even in the shops, exactly what good did ShitROM do aside from treating legitimate users like criminals?

I intend to boycott all DRM-infected PC games from now on, starting with Spore. Maybe if enough people do the same the publishers will eventually take note.

And speaking as a game collector with an interest in seeing games preserved for the future, I'd like to know how people will be able to play Spore or Bioshock or Mass Effect in 50 years time when the DRM servers are no longer on-line. I guess some pirate will be around to save the day....

photoboy

@Gray665: Energy Drinks and Video Games!

Maverickly

You wouldn't steal a HAND BAG!

+ Watch video

lumpi

My only problem with Steam is, that it is still a very centralized idea. I'm dependent on both the service and a working internet connection for using my software.

An example that a good majority of the world will shrug off, because it doesn't affect them (yet) is censorship: In Germany your games get cut automatically, if you have a German IP address. Which is a major annoyance (lucky you who do not know how a cut game plays like- hint: TFC with only ONE robot player-model for all 10 classes). People in the government want to ban all games with violence in them, and Steam would make it very easy for them to do so in a big swoop.

I get regular "Steam ticked ID" errors, or whatever they are which pop up out of nowhere and require a restart. And generally, all my games are locked into one account. So if anything happens to it- my whole Steam collection of games would be inaccessible.

It's a classic case of a monoculture. It's convenient, but if it collapses, it will break in the most dramatic way imaginable. Read up on those potatoes: [evolution.berkeley.edu]

If Valve ever started to talk about this issue and offered a good solution, I'd be ready to call Steam my favourite way of game distribution. Until then it's just better than anything EA does- which isn't that big of an achievement.

lumpi

@Gray665: Cheddar and Swiss!

Xeneizes

@lumpi: Is that The IT Crowd (lolstralian capped internet here)? Because that "You wouldn't kill a policeman! Then take his helmet! Then go to the bathroom in it! Then send it to his grieving widow! Then steal it again!" thing was one of the funniest things I saw in ages.

Kirbysuperstar

@Vecha:

I have to give much love to Steam too.

When I first installed Half-Life 2 way back when I thought it was intrusive but later I saw how convenient it made reinstalling the game and I love some of the titles hosted on there.

spinozai

@photoboy: Bioshock took several weeks to crack.

Zodduska

Very well said, the pirate and the extortionists need to find comfortable middle ground instead of the constant power struggle that has been increasing for the last 20 years. If the developers would realize that no matter what form of DRM they use, pirates wont disappear and if you push them they will turn on you like a scorned canine and learn to hate it with a passion. I agree that Steam is a great system but without the ability to sell my property once Ive finished "reading" it theres still a failure on the developers side to free up the assets to be traded like all other commodities (cars, houses, tools). I dont want boxes or manuals but I want to know I own something and can share it with friends and family if I so choose. If a developer puts in the effort to make a remarkable game you are guaranteed success even with todays "pirates" and torrent sites (ie COD4 and TF2/Portal).

usaevo8

very good write up.
I liked it

_Ted_

@Chilly Hollow:

We could only hope to be that lucky. =)

-EDGE-

Why does everybody love Steam so much? I hate that I can't sell a game I never play anymore and that its so dependent on the Internet. God forbid I ever want to install Half-Life 2 while I'm waiting for the third time for the cable guy to come switch on my connection, or want to play a game for a little while without being forced to update it first.

A.W.E.S.O.M.-O

Interesting read but I can't really agree with steam DRM being ok, I like steam but in the long run it's not nearly as good as having a physical copy no matter how restricted it is. The observation about "ownership" of games also seems somewhat misguided, when we buy a game or any piece of commercial software we are in fact purchasing a limited license to use it in the way the publisher sees fit, it's always been like that for movies, games, software and other IPs.

Zodduska

@gwangi: From the age when everything had a rap song to go with it, for better or worse.

Actors still haven't figured out how to make it look like you're actually PLAYING a game.

peacefuloutrage

Damnit PA! I suggested this in one of the Spore DRM newsposts last week! Curses >:(

Aye Mak Sicur

Brian, that was a good read! S'funny they picked the most piratey-lookin' journalist to write his thoughts on piracy!

As far as the games industry going after pirates, I think the industry is unjustly punishing the people who legally purchase and use the games to try and wrangle the people who would rather not pay for things in order to try and convert them into customers. I think this is entirely a bad approach to the issue.

They're doing two things here: the first is that they're making it almost impossible for the people who spend the 50-70$ on a game to use it forever whenever they'd like. My brother is hesitant to purchase anything from online distribution services because of the restrictions some services place on being able to install a game on different machines. It'd be like having to keep a 486DX machine around the house just to be able to play Commander Keen now if you wanted to.

The second problem with their policies is that the people who resort to stealing software would never purchase a game to begin with. The industry are trying to make it impossible, so that these people would have no choice but to eventually bend their wallets open and plunk 70$ down; but what they don't realize is that all they're really doing is alienating a loyal/enthusiastic user base. I think it's like committing suicide, in a way.

PlayerX

@Capitalist_Bagel: I had a first-grade teacher that scolded the class because some of us forgot permission slips for a field trip or something. There were lots of children crying that morning. She was a mean bastard.

PlayerX

@Maverickly: ...strippers and dollar bills?

sorry, i was out of ideas...

@Crecente: well said, brian, well said. its not that you dont put a ton of effort into what you write everyday here, but its nice to read things that you write that are destined to live outside the gates of kotaku tower. most of the time that happens, it tends to relate of a hot issue, but there seems to be a different feel to what your writing in those scenarios.

good stuff. we really need a solution to DRM as it stands today. the current model is certainly broken...

karl_hungus

@TearsandScreams: Usually the price reflects market value, but you can occasionally get really good deals for preordering or waiting for a sale.

E.g. you can get Bioshock for $19.99 right now, or Free games with a preorder of Multiwinia, or wait for the weekend where deals can get up to 50% off (I got the PA game for $10)

Aex

@Gray665: Flesh and Blood...

Errk, Nevermind that one...

Aex

Brian Crecente woke up this morning. Brian Crecente ate some Cocoa Puffs.

Ego, much?

YouArnottTheFather

I always thought Steam was the best way. It's not tied to a specific computer, games can be reinstalled as often as needed and it's very difficult to steal another person's account. Also, you can't use the same login on different computers at the same time. MMO's have been going around this for years, they just have you login and it works wherever you are. Of course, they are still risks (key loggers for example) but it's much better than any type of external DRM software.

ActualSimulation

The simple concept that companies cannot understand is that of escalation.

Did Batman teach them /nothing/?

Grimhound

@A.W.E.S.O.M.-O: I love it because I never sell games, and it's just so damn easy to use. It's not dependent on the internet once you've logged in once, and downloaded the game. And it's significantly cheaper at times than retail, which kind of pays off against not being able to resell.

TearsandScreams

I'm wondering if anyone here realizes that Penny Arcade's own game has a five machine install limit with online activation. It doesn't use securom, but the principles are the same. I find it a bit upsetting that we get so much anti DRM talk from Tycho while his own game pulls the same crap.

Joebob-X

@Atrius: Do you realize that Stardock already follows this list and is doing quite alright for themselves? Also, GOG.com makes all of this stuff easier than ever with the exception of updates. All of the games bought on there have zero protection and are guaranteed to work on XP and Vista.

Joebob-X

I can understand why publishers dont like second hand games, their whole business model is based on creating a multimillion dollar piece of software then selling individual use copies to many users. If it were possible to easely and legally trade, gift, or sell digital copies of games then many types of games would become impossible to make a profit on. Strongly narrative single player games like most RPGS, Half-Life, Shadow of the Colossus, Psychonauts or puzzle games like myst, grim fandango, and monkey island would be traded many times over. To make the same revenue off the game it would have to cost hundreds of dollars when first sold, or more likely would never be made at all. Companies like stardock have recognized this and focus on games that reward long term ownership with multiplayer modes, regular updates, and only making games that are designed to be played over and over (and usally lack strong narratives). This is great for them but I would hate it if this was all I could play in the future. If you want to buy the right to do whatever you want with a game, then it is possible. Microsoft did that with Halo, but it cost them millions of dollars.

VidalSpezza

You know, I don't especially like DRM, but I have never been made to feel like a criminal by it. Gamers need to stop making themselves out to be victims. "This game is punishing me! The publisher treats me like a criminal!"

Maybe I should stop locking up my bike. That lock probably makes passerbys feel like I'm calling them potential criminals!

gsilverfish

Fun facts:
According to the Steam 'Subscriber Agreement', I technically DO NOT own the games I've purchased. Instead, I am paying for a service where I am only granted a license. There's also other legalese that says that anything that goes wrong with Steam is not their fault and is solely under Valve's discretion to do anything extra in event of a massive failure. [store.steampowered.com]

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad to rely on one hub for all of my content that has the potential to break. I'm simply conflicted by the future of gaming. While I prefer to own a physical copy of a game like I own an audio disc, video games are made and maintained in a more complex manner requiring more money to maintain. So should we continue with the subscription model or owner model?

ThaiGrocer

@A.W.E.S.O.M.-O: Why must you have the rights to sell an experience when you are done with it? Do you get to sell your meal to someone else at Denny's when you are done with it? Do you get to sell your pass to a rollercoaster after you've had the experience?

I think the problem here is that video game manufacturers treat their games as an experience, and we have people who treat them as a physical thing which they feel should be used as barter for services later down the line.

If you like a game, and you sell it back to someone else, you are hurting the people who made that game for you.

ColdFury

@Joebob-X:

I would love to see a quotation where Tycho went into anti-DRM, specificially against a machine install limit.

ColdFury

@NeVeRMoRe666: There are as many IFs there as there'd be if the question had been "What's wrong with BioShock?" I'm not sarcastic. If a problem not related to my computer can prevent me from playing a single player game, then the system is not doing it's job properly.
The only (partial) defence I accept from Steam is its being digital only. I can accept activations, but even Microsoft has had to close its DRM based Play For Sure, screweing all of its consumers, so excuse me if I stay away from Steam.
It has gone to cliche status now, but Stardock let me install and play their games as many times as I desire without having to ask for permission to do so. Only when updating or playing online I am required to authenticate my game.

EloraHRanma

Loved the article and agree with everything said. Cant wait for part2.

neojam

@yeah write:

Chocolate and milk!

Nice article Brian!

em

i enjoyed the read much, the accompanied comic was also quite amusing.

demonknightinuyasha

@ColdFury: Exactly A.W.E.S.O.M.-O, IMHO places like Gamestop are the real pirates.

Zodduska

A good read, though I disagree with almost everything Crecente said.

Traditional concepts of ownership shouldn't be applied to software, just like they were never applied to other easily-copied media.

zilo

Crecente,
Wow...first sentence and you throw out Ouroboras ("All Is One"), one of my personal obsessions. You get two points on the scoreboard of life for that one.

DRM is tricky, and there is definitely two sides to the argument with no foreseeable solution. Most people would agree that piracy is bad, when that piracy is the kind we see happening in places like China; large scale counterfeiting of cd's, dvd's, games, etc...

But for many people they don't see any problem with downloading music, and if it's okay to download music then it doesn't take long to come to the same conclusion about downloading videos and/or games.

Personally, I equate file sharing of music to tape trading I did as a teen. Everyone I knew made cassette copies of their records; some to give away and some to play on a different device like the car stereo. As long as I don't make illegal copies for profit, what's the problem? The RIAA doesn't see it that way. And companies like EA, Sony, etc...are getting tired of losing profits to pirates. And I don't blame them. I'd be pissed too if I made a record/game and found out that people were getting it for free instead of buying it. No sales means no royalty check.

What's the solution? I have no idea. But I do know that people are not going to stop making copies, and if the companies can't adapt to new ways of distribution and still remain profitable, what then?

coalhalo

@zilo: ...but why not? i pay for a product, i still own it. if theyre not trying to sell me a physical medium, why are we exchanging money?

TheIrishNinja

@ColdFury: My previous comment should have been direct at ColdFury, his analogies are right on the money. IMHO most people are out of line when they think they should be able to loan or share software (including music and movies) with family and friends.

I was stopped in two local B&M stores last week with a friend looking for One Day As A Lion's EP.. the first store had one copy, I let him have it, the second store was sold out.. I conveyed the situation to an employee while we were looking for a copy and she suggested I just burn my friend's copy. :p

If that were the case one could justify "piracy" or "file sharing" by saying : oh I just have a fuckton of friends.

Zodduska

@karl_hungus: I take your strippers w/dollar bills and raise you hookers and blow.

tr67

Wow...I read the article first thinking that Tycho himself wrote it, and marveled at usual at his incredible prose. And I definitely agree with his description of you, but he forgot your roguish smile :P

man in gauze is king ramses II, actually

What about the digital rights of that little girl?

justhesh

@TheIrishNinja: To use Crecente's analogy, when you buy a book you own the book, not the contents of the book. You can loan the book out but you can't (legally) make copies. You don't have the right. Hence the word "copyright".

I'm not saying current implementations of DRM are perfect. That's clearly not the case. But the core concept is sound and the idea of ownership when applied to digital media has a lot more in common with books, DVDs, and CDs than it does with items whose utility is inextricably bound to something physical.

zilo

I love the essay. My question is, will the solution be something like Software as a Service (SaaS), where Microsoft and several other software companies are already going with their corporate products? Since the game companies don't seem to want us to "own" their product, why not let us rent it like crecente suggests? It seems to work just fine for WoW and many other MMOs.

Just my two cents.

felixtempleton

@coalhalo:

there's more than 2 sides to DRM,

there's the customer side,
the distributors,
the companies who make money selling DRM to distributors,

and those that believe in jesus riding dinosaurs.

the question becomes, which one is less plausible an an argument, and which one has a more cogent argument. with DRM, i find it's more of a discussion of what kind of dinosaur you want jesus to be riding, than who is more righteous, believable or "right" in the debate over DRM.

(and yes, Dinosaur has both connotations in this argument)

toliman

if EA could make a steam-like system...

it would still be a dismal failure since it's run by a company that still sells retail boxes for their games.

there is no current company that significantly or observably discounts the Download versions of their games. Why should they make it cheaper ? indeed. indeed.

the singular exception for downloads being cheaper, is through cd-key sales by third-party providers, but that's certainly not official, and you do still need to get the game itself from somewhere, usually a downloaded source, or a shared CD/DVD media.

Though, Steam "is" underneath all the shiny chrome and buttons, a cd-key seller, your steam account gets a 'key' attached to it, your game's key or your account can be scrapped remotely by Valve, and your account knows what games you're allowed to download.

they really don't guarantee that your purchase is reinstallable, tradable, or playable off-line in the future when Valve (or EA) loses your account details in some 'horrible accident' i.e. when they decide to upgrade their machines, expire your account, their customer support, or the Steam / EA Download service in the future.

add to that, the continuing retail disparity in price for downloads vs retail, restrictions/exclusions for download versions, price increases for download versions in other countries, Activision actually charges more for the Download Version of CoD4 on Steam, as do many other companies offering Download versions.

it's still an epic, epic fail.

toliman