So after watching episodes of the Jimquisition and extra credits that touch on the subjects of publisher controls on videos games such as DRM, on-line passes and other such practises I've been looking for a real world analogy, mostly to find out if other industries could get away with what the game publishing industry does. Well, I've found it and I'd like to share it with you.
It's December 2013 and the Dirt-bike riding community is eagerly awaiting news from the 4 big dirt bike makers, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, about their 2014 model line up. Most of them are concerned about styling, power, suspension, EFI vs Carburettors and in general which will be deemed the best. Unbeknownst to them, this year the big four have spent their time putting in a range of manufacture controls;
>Honda's 2014 line up will have special seats that take an imprint of the riders ass that binds the rider to that bike. If someone else tries to ride it, the bike won't start. If you buy a second hand 2014 Honda, you have to take it to an authorised Honda dealership and have a new seat put on for $500. If you gain or lose wait, same deal.
>Yamaha announces that the only after market accessories that their bikes will accept are genuine Yamaha parts. How do they do this? Simple; each bike has chips which recognise chips placed in the parts. If those chips aren't present in the parts e.g you had the BALLS to bolt on an FMF pipe, the bike won't start.
>The Kawasaki big wigs have decide they're sick and tired of riders buying one bike and using it for trail and motocross riding. So, their 2014 bikes all have gps transmitters that let the company know where it is at all times. This sounds like a good anti theft measure but it's not their to protect the rider; it's there to control what they do with the bike. In the case of the motocross models, the bike will only start if the gps detects that it is in the bounds of an authorised motocross track. How does a track become authorised? A $5000 dollar a year fee to Kawasaki. What if your local club can't afford the fee? Sorry, no riding 2014 Kawasaki there. Same deal for trail bikes.
>As for Suzuki, well they've gone the same rout as Kawasaki with the gps units but not to the same degree. You can use them pretty much every where but the gps always has to be active. Unfortunately for customers, faults in the software will cause the units to be unrecognised by Susuki HQ, resulting in 10s of 1000s of 2014 Suzukis being sold in a non functioning state until the problems can be resolved.
So there it is, my real world analogy for current business practises within the gaming wolrd. Now my questions are as follows;
1) If this became reality, would these manufactures get away with it to the same degree EA, ubisoft and Actavision do?
2) If you were (or are) a dirt bike rider, how would you react to this news?
3) Do you think that this is a fair analogy. Personally I think it is but you may disagree. Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.
Thanks for your time. Double thanks to people who read the whole thing.
It's December 2013 and the Dirt-bike riding community is eagerly awaiting news from the 4 big dirt bike makers, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, about their 2014 model line up. Most of them are concerned about styling, power, suspension, EFI vs Carburettors and in general which will be deemed the best. Unbeknownst to them, this year the big four have spent their time putting in a range of manufacture controls;
>Honda's 2014 line up will have special seats that take an imprint of the riders ass that binds the rider to that bike. If someone else tries to ride it, the bike won't start. If you buy a second hand 2014 Honda, you have to take it to an authorised Honda dealership and have a new seat put on for $500. If you gain or lose wait, same deal.
>Yamaha announces that the only after market accessories that their bikes will accept are genuine Yamaha parts. How do they do this? Simple; each bike has chips which recognise chips placed in the parts. If those chips aren't present in the parts e.g you had the BALLS to bolt on an FMF pipe, the bike won't start.
>The Kawasaki big wigs have decide they're sick and tired of riders buying one bike and using it for trail and motocross riding. So, their 2014 bikes all have gps transmitters that let the company know where it is at all times. This sounds like a good anti theft measure but it's not their to protect the rider; it's there to control what they do with the bike. In the case of the motocross models, the bike will only start if the gps detects that it is in the bounds of an authorised motocross track. How does a track become authorised? A $5000 dollar a year fee to Kawasaki. What if your local club can't afford the fee? Sorry, no riding 2014 Kawasaki there. Same deal for trail bikes.
>As for Suzuki, well they've gone the same rout as Kawasaki with the gps units but not to the same degree. You can use them pretty much every where but the gps always has to be active. Unfortunately for customers, faults in the software will cause the units to be unrecognised by Susuki HQ, resulting in 10s of 1000s of 2014 Suzukis being sold in a non functioning state until the problems can be resolved.
So there it is, my real world analogy for current business practises within the gaming wolrd. Now my questions are as follows;
1) If this became reality, would these manufactures get away with it to the same degree EA, ubisoft and Actavision do?
2) If you were (or are) a dirt bike rider, how would you react to this news?
3) Do you think that this is a fair analogy. Personally I think it is but you may disagree. Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.
Thanks for your time. Double thanks to people who read the whole thing.
