I hope they grow, and in DRM free fashion as well. With Humble Bundle I see more and more DRMed bundles coming out. Which is not a good sign. They still make their DRM-free bundles, like that last with the Bard's Tale, but they become a minority within all their regular and weekly sales.

True, HumbleBundle lost its way a bit lately. It's great for Windows users to get more top-titles, but from a Linux perspective - well, I haven't even bookmarked them anymore.

With DRM, I increasingly think we should focus more on the developers themselves. A lot of them are selling DRM-free. Maybe GOL even wants to feature those devs and games a bit more.

I say that, because I'm really impressed with the enthusiasm of some of them, how they announce their Linux support, mentioning the open source community as a major motvation and help to get it done.
For example this, which is a nice contrast to the reason I'm so royally pissed at GOG. Same problems, different reaction.
Maybe we should stop hunting ghosts while there are so many people directly at the source which we had at "we'll help you test and debug".

I do not think that GoL has deficient coverage of these devs - we give them their due. Besides, any game I review was played with a DRM free release, by virtue of the fact that I am the reviewer. ;)

But as I said in another thread, Humble Store as a mechanism for providing DRM free content has become an even greater force for good when it comes promoting DRM free games than the Humble Bundles are now, which is a bit strange since it was never supposed to be the advocacy part of the organization. It is a great outlet for primarily Steam based developers to put out a DRM free side build, while Desura is better for those who want a Steam like framework but can not or will not utilize Steam, either due to it being unacceptable or inaccessible to them. 

Honestly, it's up to the developer/publisher. If they want DRM, they'll use it. As said above I don't think steam is DRM. 

I've got much bigger things to worry about than Valve spying into what kinds of games I like.

Which is a statement which completely ignores most of what was brought up in this thread, but whatever. :|

Quoting: Quote from HamishWhich is a statement which completely ignores most of what was brought up in this thread, but whatever. :|

What honestly do you want? To convince the world that DRM is bad? We all know it is, but nothing will change. Not everyone is willing not to play/watch/use things that use DRM. Steam is now more popular than Xbox Live, and DRM free stores won't be able to compete on the AAA level if the publishers want DRM. 

Then again, the world as I know it never existed without DRM. I was never able to buy a piece of software and actually "own it." With the world of copyright laws and patent battles, the definition of ownership has changed, and that's what I accept.



As I've said before, If you don't like it, don't use it. Which seems to be just fine for you, and I support that. 

n30p1r4t3: You can of course decide whether to use Steam or not, but I think you ignored the thread above when you said "I don't think steam is DRM". This is not a useful statement, since above it was explained in detail why Steam is DRMed on different levels. If you have another definition of DRM, then you should probably elaborate what it is, to contribute something useful to the discussion.

The argument about competition is not only false, it contains quite a dangerous notion, which implies that distributors should bend to any crazy demands which come from the publishers. The same logic is used by Netflix to explain why they really really have to (no doubt have to) push all this DRM junk into the HTML standard. This is bunk. They don't have to. GOG showed that they can be successful, competitive and show crazy publishers to the door. They either come without DRM, or they can get lost.

This is where the theoretical and the practical parts of the issue collide.

To you n30p1r4t3, it isn't DRM because it doesn't restrict you in your freedom in any practical way, right?.

Personally I think you miss the point here. The importance of freedom-rights derives not from their concrete practical implementation. It's about having the option to practice a freedom if you wanted to.

To just say "Meh, I don't care, I don't need this freedom too often so I just accept it being taken away" is quite problematic because it is always a slippery slope.

But still, I can see how Steam isn't exactly our worst problem on this field. One might think of Android and Ubuntu being way more dangerous developments because they move from free to unfree whereas Steam has started to take the opposite direction.

Quoting: Quote from CaldazarBut still, I can see how Steam isn't exactly our worst problem on this field. One might think of Android and Ubuntu being way more dangerous developments because they move from free to unfree whereas Steam has started to take the opposite direction.

That's what I mean. There are worse examples. Steam doesn't hinder me in anyway.

Quoting: Quote from n30p1r4t3Then again, the world as I know it never existed without DRM. I was never able to buy a piece of software and actually "own it." With the world of copyright laws and patent battles, the definition of ownership has changed, and that's what I accept.

Then you have lived in a very small self contained world. I grew up playing games that did not spy on me, did not need to be tied into some external server to run, and placed no restrictions on the redistribution of a legally purchased copy. I have not even been on this planet for two decades, so I am not talking about some idyllic past, but even ten years ago such things were still quite common on PCs. Furthermore, the fact that we are still arguing the point proves it has not changed yet, and the fact I am still gaming under those terms shows that things can still be done to keep it that way.

Quoting: Quote from Shmerln30p1r4t3: You can of course decide whether to use Steam or not, but I think you ignored the thread above when you said "I don't think steam is DRM". This is not a useful statement, since above it was explained in detail why Steam is DRMed on different levels. If you have another definition of DRM, then you should probably elaborate what it is, to contribute something useful to the discussion.

Exactly what I was getting at.

Quoting: Quote from n30p1r4t3That's what I mean. There are worse examples. Steam doesn't hinder me in anyway.

Yes, there are worse examples. That does not absolve a fault, whether you feel it hinders you or not.