DRM Boosts Profits & It's Here To Stay

Quoting: Hamish

Quoting: IvancilloI know that many people like Steam, but I would be happy if publishers didn't have that "possibility" (meaning G.E.M.).

Well yes, which is why I do not use Steam, but it is still important to make the distinction. Not all the features that Steam provides are DRM, or are dependant on it.

Can I download games with a browser? How is having to install games with their software connecting to their service not Digital Rights Management? I mean I wouldn't call it Digital Install Management. I want to download the game and install, update, remove, and repeat again when I want without them managing any part of the process. I don't want to ask someone to buy it for me then make me a copy of the game, supposing that I know that will work. And the same for updates in the foreseeable future. I would definitely buy in Steam if their service was something like HB or Desura (I haven't tried GOG yet). If that's not possible, why not? They would sell more. Why not let the supposedly DRM-free Steam games be really DRM-free?

Im an totally fine with DRM...I want to games to be stronger and if they think its the last resource...then im fine...at least if it not buggy a game...like Uplay/SPC -Blacklist

I appreciate the fact that Desura allows for online downloads, but honestly that is not the deal breaker for me as long as the game I get is independent from the service once I have it downloaded.

Needing a client to download a title in of itself does put a limit on the distribution of a game, but much the same still applies to an online store front as well; if the website goes away, you lose access to your games. As long as the game is independent from the service when it is downloaded I can back it up and use it theoretically indefinitely.

Not that I am actually all that organized when it comes to making backups, but I definitely appreciate the option, and would do so if I was provoked or forewarned of an upcoming store closure.

The only impact DRM'ed games (I mean SecuROM and the likes, not Steam) have had for me is that I will either not buy them based on user reports or I will buy them, but end up playing a cracked/"illegal" download anyway since Wine and DRM often don't go well together.

I fail to see what good DRM does for anyone. Legitimate users are punished and illegal downloaders still have access to the games.

QuoteThis is my favourite quote:
Quote
So long as we’re concerned about things like data privacy, accounting sharing and hacking, we’ll need some form of DRM
DRM prevents hacking now apparently. Silly, silly people.

Well unfortunately strictly speaking the same technology that is used for DRM can be applied
to prevent modifications to the system and vice versa. If you can prevent modifications to the system
then you can prevent cheating and also malware.

With a combination of a TPM, Intel TXT and Secure Boot you could essentially make a DRM
system that was 99% unbreakable. Even the game binary would be encrypted and you would
first have to connect to a server, verify you were running an approved kernel before it would
release the decryption key to you. Because you were running an approved kernel you would be prevented from accessing memory directly to get the decrypted code. You would have to start probing the ram
directly, so then they would start encrypting ram to the CPU, and so on.

Also this would mean that any game server you connect to could also verify if you were running an approved kernel or not and chuck you off if you were running a modified kernel for assumed cheating.
This is VAC taken to the next level.

This technology is already being used in computers, phones and servers to prevent malware.

This would not kill gaming on Linux but would prevent you running your own OS kernel
this seems worrying what they have in mind and seemed to be what they had in plan for the
xbone before everyone complained.

It is RMS's worst nightmare!

Quoting: XBONEWell unfortunately strictly speaking the same technology that is used for DRM can be applied
to prevent modifications to the system and vice versa. If you can prevent modifications to the system
then you can prevent cheating and also malware.

When discussing about DRM often I get the feeling we talk about different things. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, i.e., someone is managing in some way your right to use the software.

When someone says "it doesn't annoy me, so it's not DRM". It's changing the meaning to "something that annoys the user". Annoying the user has never been a goal for DRM, whether it annoys or not depends on the DRM system and the user tolerance.

DRM isn't meant to prevent breaches either, that would be another thing with another name, but it's mixed in to make DRM more appealing to users.

To clarify. DRM is not about security. Security means protecting the user from various threats. DRM means "protecting" some external entities from the user. Or to put it more correctly - taking away control over the system and software from the user (in various degrees). Note the key difference. Security is important, as long as user can control how it's handled. If control is taken away, it's not about security anymore.

That's exactly why DRM should never be trusted and should always be seen as a malware - because trust is a mutual relation. Here is a very good video, which summarizes all these points:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XgFbqSYdNK4

Drm_steam_slavery.. Milions of steam_slaves.. Steam_Game_Chains. etc..
Steam for me has become a synonymous of enslavement. And no one protests.
Don't have steam/gog/uplay/desura account? You don't exist for gaming ad.2014.
Thats looks the gaming market today.

Quoting: eMcEDon't have steam/gog/uplay/desura account? You don't exist for gaming ad.2014.

To be fair, I do not see how this is a worse power dynamic than what existed before when you were dependant on actual physical retailers.

My main concern is having control over the games once I purchase them. Exactly how they are acquired is a much smaller point for me.