Why should I keep paying for games?

[Romag]

I'm a game and I have a job. I have two pretty good computers and a bloated steam account full of games. I like to buy my games online because boxes take up space and CDs get lost. I usually have no idea where a particular DVD or CD is when I want to play a game so I find that steam is eliminates that problem, I think I had bought battlefield 2 twice in the box and once digitally, one time I broke dvd when it slipped out of my hand and developed a large crack when it landed on tile, another time I lost one of the 5 cds included in the PC-CDROM version, now I have it on steam and I don't have that problem.

I don't really have any problems with steam, generally problems with new releases are fixed within a day or so, it transfers reasonably fast, and I don't have to pay to redownload things I've uninstalled to save space. It's also a pretty good incentive to pay for games because of the reasons above.

Or at least it was.

It seems like every game that comes out, steam or otherwise, has a new draconian form of digital rights management. Were we really having a problem with pirated steam software? I don't think piracy is the reason EA is suffering massive losses, it's probably more to do with their propensity to buy up small developers and force them to release products before they are done, ruined reputations before they even have a chance to grow.

At any rate, I now have to pay attention before I buy a steam game now, every other game seems to require a perpetual connection or something else stupid, like limited installations, singleplayer or otherwise. I bought the game.... WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED?

Why can't I install my steam games on my work desktop, my gaming desktop, and my gaming laptop? I can only access the steam account from one computer at a time. Why do I need an internet connection to start a game, save games, or play singleplayer? Why does EA have the right to discontinue my use of a singleplayer game after 30 days notice, I paid for the game, why can't have have unlimited access to it forever with no strings?

I didn't buy a license, I bought a digital copy of a game. Sorry, it said "Add to Cart" "Buy" "Purchase" and money changed hands. I don't care what your EULA says, it isn't legal, it just hasn't been litigated yet.

Why are game review scores linked to the amount of advertising dollars a publisher spent at a review site or magazine?

I just feel like over and over again the gamer keeps getting screwed, with less and less rights to the software they PAID for, and I keep wondering why I continue to buy games rather then doing something else.

I hope EA loses another billion dollars this year.

Really I think this is all part of Valve's master plan, they let publishers and developers totally screw up their own reputations on steam, assuring that I never buy another Ubisoft, Activision, or EA product, then Valve does things the correct way on their own products and profits.

/Rant

Maybe I should just buy console games and play them on Xbox hardware from 2005 or on the PS3 with hardware from 2006. Every game is like going back in time... Since 90% of PC games are now console ports I get to experience them anyways...

 

[Proteus214]

I think that pretty soon all video gaming will be done via subscription. You won't actually own anything, you just pay as you play. Until then, yeah, we're just going to keep getting screwed.

 

[CheckD3]

I can't imagine not having discs. I like having them, they may take up space, but it's the collector in me that likes them. Plus if I ever get bored with the game I can just sell it and make a little of the money back from the purchase.

I've dropped discs a lot and never seen a disc crack. I'm really careful with my games, and haven't ever had a game that I bought that worked not work because it got cracked or scratched, only other people

I couldn't play games w/o discs, though the losing them is a problem, but it's usually just hiding somewhere else...

 

[squid5580]

Yes this ownership thing is becoming a problem. We gamers are getting less and less rights and they are just stomping all over us. My wife has invested about 50 bucks into an Aeria game (Grand Fantasia) and got royally screwed over. They released a game breaking patch. SO after being booted for the10th time she sent them the error message along with a message of her own saying hey fix what you broke please. That is what it said. No profanity (if it was me there would have been profanity and lots of it). And that got her banned. And what can she do about it? Nothing because she clicked I agree. The EULA has left us in a bent over position ready to take it dry.

Personally this is just another reason why I don't play much on the PC. I have no problems shopping on any of the consoles and am perfectly fine buying DLC and arcade games. I don't buy online DLC though (things like map packs). If all 3 console makers went out of business tomorrow I would still have all my content (barring any critical hardware failure) and that is the risk all consumers take. I feel confident enough that I own all the content I have.

We really need a gamers advocate. Someone who will protect us from them. Since not every gamer can hire a team of lawyers to help us.

 

[traineesword]

is steam really messing up? flip, all i can say is i feel sorry for you mate. but you've missed quite a bit of fun with consoles in my opinion.

and subscription video games sound absolutely awful. I've got a friend who spent over £200 on Runescape subscription (he was young at the time)... and thats frikking Rune-scape... i bet games with better graphics and gameplay (and potentially more addictive values) will cost loads more than that.

 

[Pinguin]

I agree with some of the points in your rant. In answer to the question in the title though: you should pay for games to support the industry, and to give back to the developers who worked hard to make the games you enjoy.

I know what you mean though. It sometimes seems like piracy is the better option. For me though: sure I've played pirated games sometimes, but if I like the game I feel I should pay for it.

Of course this is why I don't have as many games as I'd like! My back list of games I still haven't played it getting quite long. Still, at least second hand games help in this respect! If the publishers increase measures to prevent second-hand game trading I will be really angry about it!

 

[omega 616]

Oh so thats what DRM thing is all about and why I had no clue what you were talking about at first.

I guess pc elitism has a major flaw, so I guess it doesn't make it so elite. (relating to a recent thread about pc elitism)

 

[Neverhoodian]

Draconian DRM is a bane to the gaming industry. There is one, simple thing you can do to combat this...

Don't buy the game.

Now I'm not saying pirate the game. Two wrongs don't make a right here. Just don't play the game at all. Boycott the product. Your most convincing argument to companies that pursue these policies is your wallet. If enough people don't buy the game, these companies will realize that implementing DRM is counter-productive to making a profit. Boycotts can work if you get enough people behind it. Just look at Cesar Chavez and the California grape industry.

There are plenty of other gaming companies that care about their customers. They listen to the fans and are respectful of their wishes. Most importantly, they don't implement DRM policies. Spend your money on products from those companies. Indicate your support for them by keeping the people who work there employed. They are the best weapon we as gamers have against this fiasco.

 

[TOGSolid]

Just stop playing. If your getting screwed so bad don't pirate them. Just stop playing the games all together.

Yeppers. When Ubisoft announced their hairbrained scheme, I just stopped buying their stuff altogether. I don't pirate it either, I just flatout don't play their games.

 

[Ranorak]

Is there anyway of knowing if games have those stupid DRM securities BEFORE buying them?
And by that I mean, is steam mentioning those limits anywhere on their shop?

 

[_Serendipity_]

Why can't I install my steam games on my work desktop, my gaming desktop, and my gaming laptop? I can only access the steam account from one computer at a time. Why do I need an internet connection to start a game, save games, or play singleplayer? Why does EA have the right to discontinue my use of a singleplayer game after 30 days notice, I paid for the game, why can't have have unlimited access to it forever with no strings?

Very, very few games have the limited installs, and only Ubisoft games have the insanely Draconian connection issues. 95% of the games on steam are pretty-much okay as far as DRM is concerned.

Also, the reason you can only have Steam running concurrently (that is, at the exact same time, it's fine to have the same account on as many computers as you like, but one will get logged off the moment you log another on) is because otherwise people would group together and pay $1 each to buy every game in the world and share the account among there entire group of friends.

Modern DRM is getting pretty bad, that I agree, but I really don't think Steam is to blame here...

 

[oOxatikeOo]

I'm a game and I have a job.

y..y..yyoure a game?

 

[TPiddy]

I'm a happy 360 owner that doesn't have to deal with all this crap... Much like the asshole who modded their 360's then bitched when they got kicked off live, PC gaming is finally getting what's coming to it.

For years pirating has been rampant on PC. Of course there will be people like the OP and many others who enjoy it legitimately, but the fact remains that with the introduction of nationwide broadband and affordable high-speed connections, piracy in everything from music to porn to movies to video games has just run rampant, and this is the industry fighting back.

I feel sorry for the legitimate paying customers who have to put up with shit like DRM now, but as is the case with most things, a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us.

 

[Pingieking]

Don't buy the game.

Now I'm not saying pirate the game. Two wrongs don't make a right here. Just don't play the game at all. Boycott the product. Your most convincing argument to companies that pursue these policies is your wallet. If enough people don't buy the game, these companies will realize that implementing DRM is counter-productive to making a profit. Boycotts can work if you get enough people behind it. Just look at Cesar Chavez and the California grape industry.

This, with the condition of sending a copy of this rant to every publishing company that has DRM every month. Publishers are pretty stupid sometimes, and will more likely assume that PC gamers don't exist than to think that their "solution" is actually a big part of the problem.

In the mean time, if you really really really want to play something, you could buy it then torrent the better version (as in, the pirate version) of the game. That's generally how I roll when it comes to PC games.

EDIT: Minor spelling correction.

 

[martin's a madman]

You actually don't need an internet connection, steam has an offline mode.

 

[funkybunk]

I like having a physical copy, I'm a collector. I really don't think we'll ever see a completely digital takeover of video games - what would happen to publishers? A lot fo them would go out of business.

 

[Altorin]

Ideally, you pay for games to:

1) support the dev team behind good games.
2) vote with your wallet on game purchasing decisions, like buying games that you enjoy that use DRM correctly (IE, Conservatively)
3) get extra perks associated with ownership (sic), such as access to online multiplayer
4) not find yourself in a bad position if you are caught with a mess of pirated material on your computer

In truth, if you only play PC, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Steam uses it's Internet connection to keep you up to date and I'm pretty sure disconnecting from the net doesn't reset your game, having played on Steam in offline mode plenty of times.

It's just, it defeats the point of having "game downloads" if you don't have the Internet, so I understand this being a major feature of Steam.
It's not like they punish you for disconnecting, like a certain... you-be knowing who I mean.