Not that there aren?t enough of these threads about DRM etc already. But I felt like adding a new one to the list which is hopefully at least a tiny bit different. It occurred to me while reading yet another Steam thread that perhaps the DRM, specifically EA?s DRM attempts have been plagued as much by bad PR as by bad technology. Steam, for all intents & purposes, is a DRM system which at the heart of it is not all that different from EA?s. Yet the gaming community is enamoured with Valve & conversely baying for EA?s blood. Below are two fictional statements from PR representatives from the two companies which I think embody both the differences in style, presentation & community perceptions of the different forms of DRM both companies employ:
That?s how I?ve come to see the whole thing anyway. At the heart of both publishers systems is the ability to protect their IP?s & the profits they get from sales. However, with Valves DRM comes a whole host of nifty features, community items & streamlined performance; or at least that?s the image we have of it. EA?s DRM by contrast is perceived as proudly standing up & reminding you that not only do you not own the game you have bought, but they might very well suspect that your part of the problem that caused them to introduce it in the first place. I know both these images are largely creations of hysteria, misunderstandings (& my own mind). But perception is reality; especially when that reality is virtual. Anyways that?s the end of my little, ultimately needless contribution to the DRM Steam/EA etc debate. Hope it wasn?t too bad :-D
edit: I agree & accept that EA's SecuROM DRM is a much bigger PITA to Valves Steam system. Id much rather never buy an EA game again than have to go through its system for each game (not that I do anyway on PC coz the onl EA PC exclusive game I can think of is Spore which I dont care for for a whole heap of reasons other than DRM). But my point is both companies are seeking the same goal (protecting their assets), just that Steam is both a better treatment for the problem & a sweeter pill to have to take as a consumer.
Hi, welcome in. We at Valve are well respected in the gaming world for making world class games & game making tools. We understand many who play our games also enjoy developing mods either to improve upon or add to our games. We actively support the modding community, even giving the opportunity for truly exceptional efforts to become quality commercial games in their own right. We continue to support our games long after release because we appreciate that many players like to continue using our games long after release.
With that out of the way, we would like to introduce you to a programme we?ve developed called Steam. This free piece of software allows you to access any game you buy from us on any computer when you log in. It gives you access to an ever expanding library of games, many unavailable on the high street anymore, for reduced prices because we?ve cut out the cost of distribution. You will have access to leader boards, achievements, a chat & matching system & many other features all at no added cost. All that we ask in return is for you to register each Valve game you buy & that you log into Steam before you play them. Unfortunately, this also means you cannot resell your games, but we feel that the natural longevity of the games we have available as well as the convenience Steam gives makes up for that. Thank you for your much appreciated business in buying from Valve, & we hope you will remain a customer for along time to come.
With that out of the way, we would like to introduce you to a programme we?ve developed called Steam. This free piece of software allows you to access any game you buy from us on any computer when you log in. It gives you access to an ever expanding library of games, many unavailable on the high street anymore, for reduced prices because we?ve cut out the cost of distribution. You will have access to leader boards, achievements, a chat & matching system & many other features all at no added cost. All that we ask in return is for you to register each Valve game you buy & that you log into Steam before you play them. Unfortunately, this also means you cannot resell your games, but we feel that the natural longevity of the games we have available as well as the convenience Steam gives makes up for that. Thank you for your much appreciated business in buying from Valve, & we hope you will remain a customer for along time to come.
Dear sir/madam.
We at Electronic Arts (henceforth referred to as EA) pride ourselves on bringing an ever expanding portfolio of profitable products & franchises to the game market. We pride ourselves on protecting our IP?s, even to the point of closing down the development studios we bought them off so as to maximize the efficiency & profit of producing them. We do not feel any real need to continue supporting our games long after release, as increasing the longevity of a title is of no financial reward to us, quite the contrary.
As part of our drive to expand earnings & combat waste, we have introduced a new Digital Rights Management system from our esteemed partners in SecuROM whereby we will restrict installations of our product to an arbitrary number of our choosing. This we feel is in the best interest of copyright protection & future income from the products using our DRM software. We shall continue to charge full retail price, since we have not changed our product in any way we feel requires any change. Customers will be required to register the product with us. This not only will allow them to install the product but also give them access to our forums. However, we reserve the right to lock customer out of both these forums & their games if, for whatever reason, we deem it appropriate. Customers who find they have exceeded the install limits will be able to call our customer support services to unlock extra ones. However to avoid exploitation of this system we will make the procedure convoluted so as to ensure only customers with genuine grievances can get the installs, as we believe they?ll be the only ones with the patience to go through with it.
We appreciate that some among our customer demographic base are hostile to this course of action. However we believe many of those people are the very copyright infringers & ?pirates? whom this course of action is aimed primarily against. Genuine customers will not have cause for complaint as they are still getting the full quality EA product they?ve come to expect.*
* Due to an initial error of grammar. All instances in this statement referring to our products in relation to customer?s have been altered from ?their? to ?the.? We were concerned that ?their? would imply some sort of ownership of the product by the customer.
We at Electronic Arts (henceforth referred to as EA) pride ourselves on bringing an ever expanding portfolio of profitable products & franchises to the game market. We pride ourselves on protecting our IP?s, even to the point of closing down the development studios we bought them off so as to maximize the efficiency & profit of producing them. We do not feel any real need to continue supporting our games long after release, as increasing the longevity of a title is of no financial reward to us, quite the contrary.
As part of our drive to expand earnings & combat waste, we have introduced a new Digital Rights Management system from our esteemed partners in SecuROM whereby we will restrict installations of our product to an arbitrary number of our choosing. This we feel is in the best interest of copyright protection & future income from the products using our DRM software. We shall continue to charge full retail price, since we have not changed our product in any way we feel requires any change. Customers will be required to register the product with us. This not only will allow them to install the product but also give them access to our forums. However, we reserve the right to lock customer out of both these forums & their games if, for whatever reason, we deem it appropriate. Customers who find they have exceeded the install limits will be able to call our customer support services to unlock extra ones. However to avoid exploitation of this system we will make the procedure convoluted so as to ensure only customers with genuine grievances can get the installs, as we believe they?ll be the only ones with the patience to go through with it.
We appreciate that some among our customer demographic base are hostile to this course of action. However we believe many of those people are the very copyright infringers & ?pirates? whom this course of action is aimed primarily against. Genuine customers will not have cause for complaint as they are still getting the full quality EA product they?ve come to expect.*
* Due to an initial error of grammar. All instances in this statement referring to our products in relation to customer?s have been altered from ?their? to ?the.? We were concerned that ?their? would imply some sort of ownership of the product by the customer.
That?s how I?ve come to see the whole thing anyway. At the heart of both publishers systems is the ability to protect their IP?s & the profits they get from sales. However, with Valves DRM comes a whole host of nifty features, community items & streamlined performance; or at least that?s the image we have of it. EA?s DRM by contrast is perceived as proudly standing up & reminding you that not only do you not own the game you have bought, but they might very well suspect that your part of the problem that caused them to introduce it in the first place. I know both these images are largely creations of hysteria, misunderstandings (& my own mind). But perception is reality; especially when that reality is virtual. Anyways that?s the end of my little, ultimately needless contribution to the DRM Steam/EA etc debate. Hope it wasn?t too bad :-D
edit: I agree & accept that EA's SecuROM DRM is a much bigger PITA to Valves Steam system. Id much rather never buy an EA game again than have to go through its system for each game (not that I do anyway on PC coz the onl EA PC exclusive game I can think of is Spore which I dont care for for a whole heap of reasons other than DRM). But my point is both companies are seeking the same goal (protecting their assets), just that Steam is both a better treatment for the problem & a sweeter pill to have to take as a consumer.
