Publishers "scared" to scrap DRM

By Robert Purchese Published 22 September, 2008

Witcher dev advocates "free market".

The Witcher developer CD Projekt believes PC piracy can be fought by offering greater value, but said publishers are too scared to let go of the DRM safety blanket.

Boss Michal Kicinski was talking to GamesIndustry.biz about the CD Projekt games-on-demand service GOG.com, which aims to remove the infamous protection software causing anguish amongst the PC community.

"We're trying to convince [publishers] there is nothing to be afraid of," said Kicinski. "DRM-free, that is something they are really scared of, but on the other hand we can say 'all of those games are available pirated widely so it's better to sell them for small money than make the customer's life difficult and get some more revenues'.

"I think that if somebody is paying for the game then they deserve to own it, not with a certain list of conditions - and sometimes the list of conditions can be long."

Kicinski said many companies were looking to drop DRM due to the complications it causes, which, in many cases, has begun to turn customers away from titles using the protection.

"DRM makes customer's lives too complicated, and this is usually because of some corporate ideas, policies and trying to be smart, too smart, in how to get customers and how to keep them and not let them go somewhere else. We are believers in the free market and bringing freedom to customers."

Kicinski's comments follow a backlash from the Spore community over the limited number of game installations granted by DRM software SecuROM.

Pop over to GOG.com (Good Old Games) to see what's on offer.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (62) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Chrono-Kun #1 3 years ago

    First... =P

    At least someone in the gaming industry understands that DRM is more punishing than benificial

  • Eraysor #2 3 years ago

    Give this man a medal and send him to EA so he can kill their management staff.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #3 3 years ago

    I stopped buying anything with DRM on as far as i could, around 6 years ago.

    Thats means CDs that had one of the several forms of DRM were not an option, DVDs were purchased and ripped so that the content could be used on many devices, and some games just never got bought.

    Sure I like entertainment as much as the next guy, but companies meed to learn that their customers are not criminals and treating them as such from the beginning of the relationship is dumb.

  • Rirekon #4 3 years ago

    Been saying the same thing for years, let's face it the money spent on these DRM companies could be put to better use anyway

  • Chufty #5 3 years ago

    Amen...

  • Lemming81 #6 3 years ago

    Why dson't EA just give Valve a few quid and allow their catalogue to go on Steam. EA gets money, without the headache of, you know, actually trying to figure out how to do it right when someone already has.

  • Darren #7 3 years ago

    Never understood the point of DRM really... all it does is annoy the people who buy genuine products as everyone else can download a DRM-free version! It may prevent a few thousands copies of a game being obtained illegally but ultimately it'll be tens of thousands of people who download the pirated version so why bother?

    Personally, I hate DRM as it restricts how I use that content. For example, if I buy music downloads I always opt for DRM-free MP3s from Play.com as opposed to the protected WMA stuff of 7digital or the AACs that iTunes uses. Obviously I cannot do that for games but if I became annoyed by DRM in games then I'd certainly consider downloading illegally, not because I want to but because it's less hassle!

    P.S. Off-topic but does anyone get annoyed by those anti-piracy videos on DVDs and BDs that remind you to not download movies illegally? I mean I bought the damn disc I'm watching... it's not me they should be telling that too. The pirated versions of these things will no doubt not include this video so, again, what's the point of them except to annoy the genuine buyers? :?

  • hiddenranbir #8 3 years ago

    The revolution is happening.

  • Zaelsius #9 3 years ago

    @Darren: You can buy unprotected AAC (which are better than mp3s btw) songs from the iTunes Store too. Look out for the albums and songs with a + (plus) sign.

  • Kazzahdrane #10 3 years ago

    Zaelsius:

    I was about to make myself look a fool and correct you that the iTunesPlus stuff is just high-bitrate mp3s.

    Of course, I thought I'd double-check. And no, the stuff I've bought is indeed ma4 format. Dammit! I specifically bought them because I thought "if iPods get beaten by a far superior portable music player at least the stuff I bought from iTunes is nice mp3 files."

    Thanks for pointing that out!

  • MrChuckles #11 3 years ago

    I bought Warhammer Online last week. My choices were...£26.99 at GAME online, waiting for delivery , £27.99 for walking into a GAME store and picking up a copy or £34.99 for downloading it from EA.com.

    £34.99????? What the fuck?

    I get no box, no manual, and EA's fantastic you can only reinstall for 3 months then you have to pay some more. I mean, they don't have to make the discs or packaging, or pay a cut to the retailers. Frankly, EA are truly evil evil b'stards.

    So I bought a copy in GAME even though i hate GAME too and i'd rather have downloaded it for £20 or so as it is the future....

  • BastoJ #12 3 years ago

    Good to see this guy has the right idea, hopefully we'll see more publishers adopting a similar attitude over the next few years.

    Oh and play.com sell quite decent DRM-Free MP3s

  • Darren #13 3 years ago

    I downloaded Howard Jones' The 12" Album from iTunes last week (you cannot buy it on CD) thinking it would be 320 Kbps MP3 like Play.com but instead found out it was protected AAC (or M4A, whatever) and only 128 Kbps quality at that. Disappointing. Of course, you can copy the music to a CD as I did (if only for backup purposes) which meant it could be played (and ripped) to my PS3 and 360. So there is a way round the DRM on those files anyway which again rendered any protection pretty useless really, just an annoyance for the paying customer.

    I remember when I tried to stream music from my PS3 only to discover that while it could play WMA files fine, it couldn't play those with DRM protection. Since I discovered that, I've removed all the DRM protection from my purchased songs and converted them to MP3. I had a painful experience when I upgraded my computer's motherboard, CPU and memory only to discover that the WMA songs I'd bought from Woolworths would no longer work and I had to tediously ask them to redo all the licenses so I could play them. I've vowed since never to knowngly purchase DRM protected songs! Shame I don't have that choice with games...

  • Darren #14 3 years ago

    @MrChuckles - And that is what an all-digital future would be like, i.e. puiblishers could charge anything they like for their products because you wouldn't be able to buy them from anywhere else. For me, that's the very thing that kills any enthusiam I have for downloaded content. I mean even on the PS3 you have situations where the downloaded game on the PSN costs the same as the game on a disc with a manual, e.g. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. If the game costs the same then why even bother downloading it; you may as well buy the disc-based version and at least you have a legitimate backup!!!

  • Carpathian #15 3 years ago

    I've been trying to "Pop over to GOG.com (Good Old Games) to see what's on offer." since it was first mentioned on here but it's neither launched yet nor seems to be accepting (or at least replying to) 'early access' email requests.

    As an option, therefore, that places it fourth in a list of three.

  • alimokrane #16 3 years ago

    Oh I remember the day POP Warrior Within screwed my PC very nicely .... it was the day I stopped buying games for the PC.

  • SunoffaBeach #17 3 years ago

    love DRM.

    give me reason to pirate games without feel guilty.

    you EA bastard cheat on me? I cheat on you, too!

  • Darren #18 3 years ago

    @SunoffaBeach - Interesting way of putting it... and an interesting/clever user name too!

  • Melan #19 3 years ago

    I bought the game Witcher, and it did not work.
    WHY? Well the bloody cd-check do not work, so the game could not recognize the ORIGINAL DVD for some reason. Alot of people with the same problem on the internet. Really sad with a game that only allows the game to be installed and played ZERO times.
    That was 20 Euro down the drain. Bastards
    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 13:23

  • hiddenranbir #20 3 years ago

    Gog.com is on closed beta.

    Rob should have made that clear.

    It's got some good games on there so far, Fallout, Freespace, Giants: CITIZEN KABUTO!!!


  • MaxiSleep #21 3 years ago

    Fact is in every major publisher you can bet someone has spent a ton on DRM and is busy doing lots of nice powerpoints justifying the decusion

  • JayG #22 3 years ago

    If u still got the witcher, download the extended edition, u don't need a cd for it. Need to register the game though.

  • saku_luk #23 3 years ago

    Yeah, CD Projekt is a really good publisher here in Poland, if a game gets PL release than in 70% situations DRM is removed. For example Polish version of Mass Effect had that stupid DRM put by EA removed. Still sadly Mass Effect was the last bioware game CDP released since EA Poland does that now :/

    I can accept only 1 DRM, and its the check if I have DVD inside my drive, thats all....no installation limits, no online scanning and shait like that.....and since EA sees me as a thief even tho I bought few of their games so far, than I say fek you, I won't buy your games anymore, even for PS3.....there is a bunch of better developers and publishers out there that can use my money.

  • PearOfAnguish #24 3 years ago

    It's hard to fathom why publishers are worrying about DRM on ten year old games, many of which can be downloaded in a few minutes from abandonware sites. I guess it's because they are narrow minded idiots.

    Don't think DRM has much to do with piracy, they have to know it doesn't work, they know games are all over torrent sites days before they're released. It's about control. It makes it harder to sell games second hand, which is what they really hate. It won't be long before this stuff appears on consoles. If a game is locked to your PS4 hard drive you won't be able to sell it to Gamestation and anybody wanting a copy will have no choice but to pay full retail price.

    "I bought Warhammer Online last week. My choices were...£26.99 at GAME online, waiting for delivery , £27.99 for walking into a GAME store and picking up a copy or £34.99 for downloading it from EA.com.

    £34.99????? What the fuck?"

    EA love digital distribution, they just don't like Steam. Steam has no download limits, Steam doesn't let them rent games.

    "I've been trying to "Pop over to GOG.com (Good Old Games) to see what's on offer." since it was first mentioned on here but it's neither launched yet nor seems to be accepting (or at least replying to) 'early access' email requests.

    As an option, therefore, that places it fourth in a list of three."

    That'll be because it's still in closed beta.

  • chicknstu #25 3 years ago

    DRM helps nobody. It'll just be a suit trying to get a payrise somewhere who decided to put it in Spore....

    Suits... Big men in Big Siuts, making Big Decisions..... without actually knowing anything about the subject they're 'managing'.

    Suitism.... It must be stamped out!
    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 13:37

  • Nithron #26 3 years ago

    It does make me wonder. Are the guys making the decisions to add these new, even more restrictive forms of DRM, really that clueless? Or is there some other motive?

    I know at least for EA, you have to phone a premium rate phone number to get your game unlocked if you install it more than three times. Or change your PC in any way - which sounds like a pretty good money spinner to me.

    Maybe it aint about piracy - maybe they're just using it the same way governments are using "Terrorism" at the moment, as a big bad enemy that can justify doing basically anything they damn well please.

  • Melan #27 3 years ago

    JayG wrote:
    If u still got the witcher, download the extended edition, u don't need a cd for it. Need to register the game though.
    -----------------
    Thanx will try that, when i get home from work ;). 1gig.patch the biggest patch ever i think.

    But anyway looks like CD project still is evil. The game seems to be locked on to the computer and windows installation where you first installed it. Its really no problem now. But one day i will update, buy a now computer etc.
    CD project writes in their FAQ:

    Q: Do I have to install the patch on the same computer I used to activate the game?

    A: Yes, you must install the patch on the same computer you used to activate the game because the verification process must be able to reference the necessary registry entries.

    ----------
    Come on cd-project- Be less evil, thanks. The free enhanced version is a good start. ;)

    edited spelling

    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 13:49

  • anomagnus #28 3 years ago

    i blame th emusic industry for all of this shit. Of all the entrainment industries, it alone truly deserves its fate. It has failed, in every regard to adapt, change or grow. And has it has withered under the digital edge, its put the total shits in everyone else about the terrors and horros of piracy.

    What has the games industry done? Rather than trya strategy that isnt working, they just follow the lead of the music industry and punish their customers.

    great plan. as others have done, if i see copy protection, i tend to move on. Some times it just isnt possible, but some times it is.

  • PearOfAnguish #29 3 years ago

    It does make me wonder. Are the guys making the decisions to add these new, even more restrictive forms of DRM, really that clueless? Or is there some other motive? "

    Stops second hand sales. They must lose far more to that than can be attributed to piracy. With the second hand market there's actually a justifiable argument that every used copy sold is a lost sale, since someone is clearly willing to pay money for a game but the cash goes to the games store and not the publisher. And very often the difference is just a few pounds from the RRP. DRM with limited activations makes this much more difficult.

    Perhaps they could come to some agreement where pubs get a share of used sales, and lay off the stupid DRM. And then maybe Satan could fly to work on a pig.
    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 13:51

  • DFawkes #30 3 years ago

    I've had one machine require a total reinstall because of DRM. That wasn't actually that bad though, as it was mostly Vistas early driver state that made it weak - the DRM (mostly Starforce) just dealt the final blow.

    I also encountered an anti-piracy thing in Battle for Middle-Earth recently, where it'd run for about 5 minutes then auto-defeat you. Turns out it was a piracy thing, and a suprisingly high number of people on the googled forums would tell you it was impossible for a legal copy and tell others to piss off and buy the game. Moral of that is if you have to have DRM, make it work at least.

  • BootLace #31 3 years ago

    P.S. Off-topic but does anyone get annoyed by those anti-piracy videos on DVDs and BDs that remind you to not download movies illegally? I mean I bought the damn disc I'm watching... it's not me they should be telling that too. The pirated versions of these things will no doubt not include this video so, again, what's the point of them except to annoy the genuine buyers? :?


    Yes, that's always annoyed me. I'm not sure there is much point to it. The only thing I could think of, would be that these messages may reduce the chance that a legitimate purchaser would turn to the dark side. Some sort of strange negative reinforcement.

    I bought Warhammer Online last week. My choices were...£26.99 at GAME online, waiting for delivery , £27.99 for walking into a GAME store and picking up a copy or £34.99 for downloading it from EA.com.

    That's ace. It was only £29.95 from Direct2Drive (another download service).

  • Doctor_What #32 3 years ago

    Better solutions are needed. More flexible DRM systems would be fine. They're there to make sure that there is still an industry to make blockbuster games in ten years time. Currently they're waaaay too draconian, but we've got to get used to the idea that in a time of entirely digital media there is no longer any difference between owning a 'real' download and a fake, so the makers have to do their best to make sure they still get paid for their work.

  • RexRunti #33 3 years ago

    Why do PC owners love Steam so much? It essentially started out as DRM/spyware for Half Life 2. And it would be nice if we could hear some solutions to PC piracy rather than just bitching about publishers trying to protect their property (and price is not a valid argument as nothing will be cheaper than free).

  • PearOfAnguish #34 3 years ago

    Why do PC owners love Steam so much? It essentially started out as DRM/spyware for Half Life 2.

    Don't care what it started as, what it is now is a very user-friendly digital distribution platform with a huge catalogue of indie and mainstream titles and some nice community features. It's not perfect, but it's a good start.

  • Setaro #35 3 years ago

    Steam is the dog's bollocks.

    Now I've never used that idiom before, but Steam deserves it. Yes when it launched it was shit, believe me I know (my steam ID has only 5 figures, what's the users now, 10 million+?). But these days it's almost faultless.

    I got the entire X-Com series for about £8 on steam last week, best £8 I ever did spend.

  • Nithron #36 3 years ago

    @PearofAnguish:
    Stops second hand sales. They must lose far more to that than can be attributed to piracy.

    People have mentioned this before, but is there really that big a market for secondhand PC games? GAME doesn't accept them at all any more, nor does gamestation if i recall correctly.

    Is Ebay really contributing that many used sales that the industry considers it a threat?

    As a quick note, Steam is great until it goes wrong and you suddenly can't play the game you just paid for. Happened to me a couple of times. At this point your attitude changes from "This is working pretty well" to "This is actually almost exactly like bad DRM, also, Valve's customer service sucks."
    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 14:54

  • secombe #37 3 years ago

    Why do PC owners love Steam so much?

    Because it works, because the games I've bought have been well priced, because it's incredibly easy to use, because I don't have to go to the shop or wait for the post, I can just get the game when I want it, because I don't have to bother with CDs, because it doesn't care which machine I'm using or what I upgrade etc.

    If anything, Steam was revitalized my interest in PC games, I would probably never have tried TrackMania, for example, but a reasonably hefty version was just sat there (free), so I downloaded it whilst working on my PC. A few days later I've bought the full version.

    In short, because it's good.

  • canuter #38 3 years ago

    PearOfAnguish said: "EA love digital distribution, they just don't like Steam. Steam has no download limits, Steam doesn't let them rent games."

    Dude, with Steam you ARE renting games. Everytime you install a game, your Steam client asks permission to Valve. If tomorrow Valve changes the system, or simply shuts down its validation server, you won't be able to install your game anymore. Heck, Steam is DRM.

  • Lovemoose #39 3 years ago

    I bought fallout 1 and freespace 2 for the princely sum of $5.99 from http://www.gog.com the other day. It was easy, a fast download, and (of course) cheap. They have pdfs of manuals, and even associated files like wallpapers and soundtracks for each game.

    Highly commended so far. They're doing things exactly how they should be done.

  • PearOfAnguish #40 3 years ago

    People have mentioned this before, but is there really that big a market for secondhand PC games? GAME doesn't accept them at all any more, nor does gamestation if i recall correctly.

    Gamestation does. There's also Amazon marketplace and Ebay.

    I don't think the second-hand PC market accounts for too much at the moment, simply because PC games are actually quite reasonably priced, and because many of them have DRM and online accounts where there's a risk of getting a key code that's been banned. But I suspect they are gearing up to introduce this tech into consoles. And when you activate a game they know your IP address, registration means they have your details...with in-game advertising you can see how this would all work together.

    Obviously I can't say for sure whether it is about eliminating the second-hand market, but I can say what it's not about: piracy. They know full well it has no effect. Piracy is simply a convenient reason for introducing these schemes that could have all kinds of interesting (read: profitable) applications in the future.

    Dude, with Steam you ARE renting games. Everytime you install a game, your Steam client asks permission to Valve. If tomorrow Valve changes the system, or simply shuts down its validation server, you won't be able to install your game anymore. Heck, Steam is DRM.

    It's not like EA's system where you're blocked from downloading after three months. With Steam you can download as much as you like, until they shut down the servers. And I'm fairly certain that Valve has said if it ever came to that they would try to figure out a way to give people access to their games.
    Edited by 2 at 22/09/08 @ 15:10

  • Nithron #41 3 years ago

    Gamestation accepts them? Ah, fair enough then.

    I suppose it makes sense as a testing ground for future console tech, because they know PC users are used to DRM and an awful lot of them will just put up with it.

    Anyway, Steam is the best digital distribution/DRM combo currently out there, but that doesn't make it good. You're still dependent on an online server to play games that don't need to be online. And "offline mode" is only useful when it works. Quite often it doesn't.

    Steam is definitely more fair than your average download service, but it's still merely the best of a bad bunch.

  • Freek #42 3 years ago

    /Looks at Spore...
    Oh yeah that safety blanket worked out really nicely diden't it??

  • Darren #43 3 years ago

    Steam is OK I guess. I bought Half-Life 2 through it as well as Dark Messiah M&M but IMO a lot of the games on there are overpriced compared with what I'd pay for the same from GAME. Plus you cannot play the games until the day of release whereas I was playing something like SPORE the day before, thanks to receiving it through the post early. OK so it's not a big deal but the high prices certainly are. Older games tend to be cheaper granted but then they are at Play.com too. I've yet to be fully convinced by the merits of downloading games to tell the truth... even if I did I'd still have to do the sensible thing and back them up to DVD so my argument is that I might as well buy the disc version anyway, complete with nice-looking box and manual.

    The trouble with downloading stuff left, right and centre is you forget what it is you own and where you got it from, not to mention having to remember loads of usernames and passwords in case you should need to redownload stuff. To me it's all rather messy and having to backup everything as I said above makes buying the disc version a more attractive proposition anyway.

  • Thunderbolt #44 3 years ago

    Hey I thought EA were supposed to be changing their ways?

    ;)

  • IneptPercy #45 3 years ago

    I am pretty sure the can take down torrents or at least make them a lot less reliable.

    A, upload your own games with virus bombs inside to truely kill the PC.

    B, hook onto existing torrents and start uploading corrupted data, it may only send a few kbs here and there but thats enough to screw up achieves.

    If they kept doing that eventually it would push it deeper underground, it won't stop but it will be enough to put off the average Joe off and mean you can't just type what you want plus the word torrent in google and find it.

  • penhalion #46 3 years ago

    Hmmm that just echos what I said.....sometimes I think my fellow devs have me bugged!

  • PearOfAnguish #47 3 years ago

    A, upload your own games with virus bombs inside to truely kill the PC.

    They already do this. It's called SecuROM.

    Ba-dum tish!

    Comedy gold, folks.

  • Nithron #48 3 years ago

    @IneptPercy: There isn't really anything that can truly kill a PC. At worst, you'd have to reinstall windows. You have to do that a lot anyway. It's windows.

    Also, people would notice, tell everyone in the torrents' comments, then noone would download it. There's plenty of fake torrents around, but they never get more popular than the real ones, for that reason.

    You can upload corrupted data if you want, but the bittorrent protocol is designed to check the incoming data for corruption on the fly, and as a consequence, nobody would actually get corrupted downloads. In fact most bittorrent applications ban an IP if too much corrupted data is sent, so it wouldn't even significantly effect speeds.

    The virus method is also illegal, but that wouldn't actually stop the industry's shadier companies from doing it, of course.

    It's also worth noting that there was plenty of piracy before bittorrent, and even if bittorrent were eliminated, there would not suddenly be a massive increase in sales, basically because a lot of people who do download games then wouldn't buy them anyway.

  • paketep #49 3 years ago

    Publishers "scared" to scrap DRM deserve to sell shit.

  • IneptPercy #50 3 years ago

    Its true it will never stop, but right now its too easy, that is the problem.

    Technically I virus could do damage to a PC, Right now I can increase my ram and processor voltage via software... exploit that idea and you have a fried PC.

    Personally DRM doesn't bother me (looks at shiny new copy of crysis warhead).

    I suppose the easiest target would be go at the sites hosting the torrent files, yet again it wouldn't stop it but would make it harder.

    Cheaper prices will help, yes you have the chav's who will never pay a penny, but at £10-£15 it may be enough to convince a lot of people.

  • bad09 #51 3 years ago

    While I would LOVE £10-£15 a game (dreams of £1.99 Speccy games) it may be too cheap - although in line with Hollywood (except High Street blu pricing - ridiculous!), but I'd say £20-£25 would help ten fold to reduce both piracy and 2nd hand gaming.
    Edited by 1 at 22/09/08 @ 18:50

  • Xerx3s #52 3 years ago

    I'm shocked! Finally somebody who talks sense!

  • Nithron #53 3 years ago

    @IneptPercy: It's not even the price at the moment. PC games are quite reasonably priced. I actually haven't bought any games lately because of DRM - when I actually would have gone out and got them otherwise.

    The activation limits don't bother you right now; but if you're anything like me, you'll burn through the activation limits in about a year and then you'll be at the mercy of EA's customer services to play a game you'd already bought.

    I already ended up playing a pirated version of Half Life 2 due to network problems. This makes me wonder - how many of those downloads the DRM-using industry members constantly complain about are actually people who paid for the game getting a copy that isn't crippled?

  • Krun #54 3 years ago

    He hit the nail on the head. make it cheap, make it easy and don't punish your paying customers.

  • IneptPercy #55 3 years ago

    I do fail to see how these install limits are problem, I keep updating my PC and never need to re-install everything, with that they do seem to be updating things so an uninstall resets that activation slot.

    Don't get me wrong I don't agree on the install limit, but I also don't see it as a problem. With that if it ever was a problem I would happily find a crack and carry on.

    Its people using DRM as an excuse for piracy which get me. If you don't agree with DRM then buy the game and then download it, then you have paid and have a 'clean' PC.

    Basically I don't fully agree with it but its not half the problem some people seem to make out, and its no excuse to steal games.

  • kangarootoo #56 3 years ago

    @Darren

    "And that is what an all-digital future would be like, i.e. puiblishers could charge anything they like for their products because you wouldn't be able to buy them from anywhere else. For me, that's the very thing that kills any enthusiam I have for downloaded content."

    But surely one option available to you is to not buy the game if you think it costs too much. Price for DLC will regulate itself in the same way non-DLC costs do, because customers vote with their wallets.

  • SunoffaBeach #57 3 years ago

    Steam stinks!

    I buy this game. not work. I write e-mail, they send me this:

    "You may be experiencing a conflict with the copy protection software on the disk itself. Any software that places virtual drives on your system (for the purpose of disk imaging, CD burning, download managers, even some antiviruses and firewalls) WILL cause this issue. Example software would be DaemonTools, Alcohol 120, GameJack, CloneCD, GetRight, Agnitum Outpost Firewall, Panda Antivirus, or Norton Antivirus. Please uninstall these titles, or at the very least disable them in your Task Manager."

    what you bastard telling me? remove all my software to be able to run 1 software?

    siht fek, now I have to pirate same game i buy to able run it.

    Steam stinks!

  • Darren #58 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo - Yeah, sure, I can choose not to buy a game but then that would hurt me more than the publisher as it wouldn't be the game itself I'd be objecting to, just the price. At the moment, if I think a PC game is too expensive then I can either (a) shop around and find it cheaper elsewhere or (b) wait for the price to drop (which it usually does very quickly at places like Play.com). With digital distribution though, if you can only download it from the publisher then I lose option (a) and likely option (b) would take a lot longer to occur (if at all).

    What gets me about a lot of paid downloaded content is that it actually isn't much cheaper than buying the same product on physical media. For example, why would I download the new Kate Bush album for £12.99 or a little bit less when I can buy the same thing on CD in a beautiful case for the same price? The only advantage to buying digital content as far as I can see is that you don't have discs and cases cluttering up your house but then wouldn't you back up your stuff to a blank CD/DVD anyway thus ending up with "scruffy" clutter anyway (i.e. discs with tacky scrawled labels).

    Maybe I'm just old-fashioned but nothing beats the feeling of actually feeling like you own the thing you paid money for because you have the disc, case and manual... you don't get that with digital download content... it's the reason I'm fine with low-priced DLC for games and the odd MP3 song purchase but I'm loathe to fork out for full albums, or games at £30+. I wouldn't feel like I was getting value for money really.

  • kangarootoo #59 3 years ago

    "What gets me about a lot of paid downloaded content is that it actually isn't much cheaper than buying the same product on physical media."

    I agree completely, and that is something that publishers need to get sorted out if they want to make DLC work for them. DLC is the future, and if certian publishers refuse to accomodate it in a way that suits the customer, they will get left behind. Its never too late for the mighty to fall from a position of massive power (just look at Blockbuster video rentals).


    On the subject of DRM, has anyone seen the news that EA have backed down on Spore DRM. You can now install Spore as many times as you want on up to 5 computers. Its mentioned over at rPS, so I'm sure EG will have a news item on it imminently.

  • iokthemonkey #60 3 years ago


    Steam stinks!

    I buy this game. not work. I write e-mail, they send me this:

    "You may be experiencing a conflict with the copy protection software on the disk itself. Any software that places virtual drives on your system (for the purpose of disk imaging, CD burning, download managers, even some antiviruses and firewalls) WILL cause this issue. Example software would be DaemonTools, Alcohol 120, GameJack, CloneCD, GetRight, Agnitum Outpost Firewall, Panda Antivirus, or Norton Antivirus. Please uninstall these titles, or at the very least disable them in your Task Manager."

    what you bastard telling me? remove all my software to be able to run 1 software?

    siht fek, now I have to pirate same game i buy to able run it.

    Steam stinks!

    ----

    Not just Steam. A number of people had the same experience with one of the Sims 2 expansions or suffered even worse issues, with the game's "protection" deciding it wasn't enough to stop the game from running but actually went as far as hard disabling hardware/software it didn't like.

    And people wonder why I won't touch EA titles.

  • megadaisy #61 3 years ago

    @Darren

    "..as opposed to the protected WMA stuff of 7digital .."

    Your behind the times - 7digital only sell drm free mp3 now

  • IneptPercy #62 3 years ago

    I installed crysis warhead last night and the DRM hasn't killed my computer, how lucky am I?