If you want to get an opinion mention DRM to a hardcore gamer. Hopefully, you have a developer at the table, two pistols, and plenty of room to run because the night will get interesting. Digital rights management (DRM) is a set of access control technologies for restricting the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works.(wikipedia.com) Video games have not escaped this and we have seen implementation across the board.
One of the main justification for DRM is that it is said to be used to prevent intellectual rights from being stolen.(www.cbc.ca) By locking programs down or having them not function properly people who steal these products offline won't be able to enjoy it. This is meant to protect the investors and creators of the product.
DRM has led to a problem in that many games need to have internet connection in order play, even single players games. If the internet is out you can't play games like Assassins's Creed. If you are just starting you need to connect to the internet in order to play. There is also the issue of regionalization. DRM will prevent anyone who does not have the right region code registered to the device they are playing on. This has some purpose and someday I want to write about the reason for regionalization but it can be unfair to some. Especially to the USA neighbors to the North who sometimes don't get all of the things we do and still can't play or watch them because of the country they live in.
While DRM is still being used on games it has become a game of how fast programmers can break into the game. For example, Rime was out just a few days before people were able to jump in and take over. (www.polygon.com) One of the reasons this was done is the game's DRM was said to be causing performance issues. Still, there is a player base out there that will constantly find a way to circumvent these and the game will more than likely end up on the web DRM free.
Even further is the question does DRM even help. It was recently found out the EU withheld a study that says piracy doesn't affect sales.(www.engadget.com) It's very unlikely that we will be seeing this stuff go away but it's interesting to note they might not be helping at all.
For the time DRM is here and it doesn't seem to be going here anytime soon. I think a lot of us can respect that artists want to protect their work but sometimes these just come off as a way for companies to make sure they can control a product the consumer has already purchased. To me, it's a mild annoyance but at the same time, I can't say my hand are clean either. There have been some Japanese RPGs that have found their way into the states through mean other than the distribution that I have played at some point.
One of the main justification for DRM is that it is said to be used to prevent intellectual rights from being stolen.(www.cbc.ca) By locking programs down or having them not function properly people who steal these products offline won't be able to enjoy it. This is meant to protect the investors and creators of the product.
DRM has led to a problem in that many games need to have internet connection in order play, even single players games. If the internet is out you can't play games like Assassins's Creed. If you are just starting you need to connect to the internet in order to play. There is also the issue of regionalization. DRM will prevent anyone who does not have the right region code registered to the device they are playing on. This has some purpose and someday I want to write about the reason for regionalization but it can be unfair to some. Especially to the USA neighbors to the North who sometimes don't get all of the things we do and still can't play or watch them because of the country they live in.
While DRM is still being used on games it has become a game of how fast programmers can break into the game. For example, Rime was out just a few days before people were able to jump in and take over. (www.polygon.com) One of the reasons this was done is the game's DRM was said to be causing performance issues. Still, there is a player base out there that will constantly find a way to circumvent these and the game will more than likely end up on the web DRM free.
Even further is the question does DRM even help. It was recently found out the EU withheld a study that says piracy doesn't affect sales.(www.engadget.com) It's very unlikely that we will be seeing this stuff go away but it's interesting to note they might not be helping at all.
For the time DRM is here and it doesn't seem to be going here anytime soon. I think a lot of us can respect that artists want to protect their work but sometimes these just come off as a way for companies to make sure they can control a product the consumer has already purchased. To me, it's a mild annoyance but at the same time, I can't say my hand are clean either. There have been some Japanese RPGs that have found their way into the states through mean other than the distribution that I have played at some point.
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