I had a bit of a twiscussion/twargument with atheistium last night over DRM. And it’s since come to light that I haven’t really clarified what my actual standing point on DRM is.
My issue with DRM is simple: it stops me doing what I want to do with the product that I have bought. As I have said in my Five Minute Rant on the subject, the games industry is trying to complete the chokehold on it’s consumers that the music industry started, but didn’t finish. The music industry realised finally that for every DRM method they employ, ten methods will be found to get around it, with a hundred different vendors, and a million recipients of the methods. Now they’re going after uploaders, but that treads into piracy which is a different field, albeit in the same train of thought.
Originally, DRM was something as simple as a disc-code or a disc-check. I have no problem with having to punch in a code to install a game; games like Tiberian Sun called it a ‘clearance code’ which enhanced their already immersive installer. A disc-check I have no problems with at all either; if I have to keep the disc in, so what? But when we start moving forward to DRM implementations of late, things get a lot more restrictive.
As I buy a game, I should have the right:
- To play the game as often or as little as I like, at any time I choose (unless the game involves a subscription model which is explained on the box)
- To install the game on as many different machines as I choose, regardless of how many concurrent installations there are at any time.
- To give the game to as many friends as I like, so long as I do not copy the disc, or otherwise help the friend in duplicating the data on the disc.
- To resell the game to other people at a price I am comfortable with.
All recent DRM infringes on at least one of these rights. Let’s take Ubisoft’s DRM as an example, as it is the most recent example of what is wrong with the concept.
I do not have the right to play the game as often or as little as I like, at any time I choose. Why? Because I have to be constantly connected to the Internet to play it. If I don’t have a connection (say, my connection goes out, which has been known to happen), the game freezes, kicks me out, and then it’s down to how this mechanism is implemented on a per-game basis to how much progress I lose. My Internet connection resets at 12am every day. I cannot play the game at this time because I will get kicked off and lose progress. Now, being fair, I can install on as many machines as I like, and I can give it to as many friends as I like, so long as only one person plays it at a time, which is fine. But I can’t resell.
To be fair, Ubisoft’s DRM is restrictive, but nowhere as bad as it used to be with Electronic Arts. EA’s Spore ignored all four of my moral rights as a consumer, and it was the most pirated game ever. It was given 1 star ratings by Amazon reviewers simply because of the DRM. They tried it again with Red Alert 3, but with a higher install count. It received the same treatment. This is not about ‘common situations’. So what if I never install Red Alert 3 more than five times? That is irrelevant; I shouldn’t have that restriction placed upon me in the first place.
Let’s talk about the scenario with Ubisoft’s DRM that we’re all expecting: Ubisoft’s server gets shut down. They’re saying “[they] don’t plan on shutting down the servers, [they] really don’t”. But if it does, the games become useless. They have been long-term rentals and this is where the issue lies. Purchasing a product means you have unrestrained rights to use that product for an indefinite amount of time, unless specified otherwise at the point of sale. I should be allowed to break the disc in two, fix it (theoretically) in fifty years and still play the game.
An example of good DRM is Steam. I can play the game as long as the login servers for Steam are active (and they always are), I can install it on a thousand machines, I can let friends try it on my account, or with a limited-trial as a gift, but I can’t resell it. That’s still one out of four rights broken, but it’s the one gamers only think about when they’re done playing the game. Steam’s DRM system means that for every game, one person is playing it at any time. It stops the two-bit pirates from copying it, and allows me to do what I want with the game. Steam has an offline mode after I log in to the service, so I don’t need constant connection to the Internet to play a Single-Player campaign. And you are told about the Steam DRM before you buy, because every game bought through Steam has the same standards unless told otherwise. Steam has been used at Retail as well, and I have some issues with this, but they put on the box that a Steam Account is required.
This is all to do with PC Gaming, though, and I’ve been generalising a lot. Console gamers don’t have this problem because the piracy numbers are much lower, simply because if you want the most out of your console (ie Xbox Live, Playstation Network etc) you have to be online whenever you play Multiplayer, or have your acheivements tracked online etc, and it’s much more difficult due to the Consoles software being closed code. Yes, this is DRM, but it’s common knowledge that you need to have the relevant online service to play games against other people (except FFXI and Phantasy Star Universe, the only games I know of that required a separate subscription), and this is explained through various materials.
Most outlets aren’t explaining the DRM on PC games on their product page/sale area, which only makes the problem worse. In the UK, if you break the seal on a game you cannot return it. But there’s no mention of DRM until you open the case and try to install it. Steam mention this, but a lot of outlets don’t. This leaves you, the consumer, with an extended rental for the price of a purchase, with no chance of returning it at the price you paid. And if you tie the game to your EA/Ubisoft/Steam account, you can’t sell it on either.
I think I’ve made my point. I have every intention of stripping DRM off every game I purchase that I see as a hindrance to my playing experience. I will burn myself a ‘clean copy’ that the pirates get on day one (if not before), and I will use that rather than the original game disc. DRM is shifting the purchasing from the package, the disc and the data, to a license for one person if certain conditions are met. And to be honest, I’m sick of jumping through hoops to enjoy entertainment I have bought.
KAECY.US is the freshly resurrected blog of Allan 'Kaecyus' Bowden-Smith; an Aion nut with too much time on his hands. 
