Valve's Source Engine Coming To Linux

[Svartalf]

On the argument for/against DRM Brett Thomas over at Bit-tech posted a good article [1].

The only shame of the article is that it fronts a flawed premise as part of it's reasoning.

You don't have a right to make money off of something. That's not a right any more than me being able to use the something.

What happens to be their right is the right to control the production and distribution of a protected work such that you can attempt to make money off of it.

People need to quit painting it as if it were a right. This is the excuse RIAA and MPAA use to push for more and more draconian crap and it's what the DRM pushers use as an excuse to fob more evil crap on everyone in the vein of "protecting" their "right" to make money off of all of it and grabbing more than they were entitled to.

The gaming industry as a whole, with a couple of exceptions, has stopped using starforce and learned that that copy protection as low level as that isn't a smart move.

Could've fooled me with EA's latest embarrassment to the industry. There's others lining up to do it too.

[Aradreth]

Could've fooled me with EA's latest embarrassment to the industry. There's others lining up to do it too.

The only games I can think off that have invasive copy protection released recently are Bioshock and soon Spore & Mass Effect and compared to the number of good games released for the PC in the last year that's not many. Admittedly they are three huge (sales wise) games. Lets also be honest, EA doesn't care about what the customer wants just their bottom line else they wouldn't release half baked games. (300MB patch in the first week anyone?)

The only shame of the article is that it fronts a flawed premise as part of it's reasoning. ...

I just thought it was an interesting view on the whole topic, I might not agree with everything said but in arguments like the one over DRM very few people will ever truly see eye to eye.

[Svartalf]

(300MB patch in the first week anyone?)

Heh...only 300Mb? Couldn't be EA- not big enough.

[xav1r]

The only shame of the article is that it fronts a flawed premise as part of it's reasoning.

You don't have a right to make money off of something. That's not a right any more than me being able to use the something.

What happens to be their right is the right to control the production and distribution of a protected work such that you can attempt to make money off of it.

People need to quit painting it as if it were a right. This is the excuse RIAA and MPAA use to push for more and more draconian crap and it's what the DRM pushers use as an excuse to fob more evil crap on everyone in the vein of "protecting" their "right" to make money off of all of it and grabbing more than they were entitled to.



Could've fooled me with EA's latest embarrassment to the industry. There's others lining up to do it too.

Truer words hadn't been spoken. Damn, i bet capitalist headhonchos around the world are having massive heart attacks now.

[zerix01]

The only games I can think off that have invasive copy protection released recently are Bioshock and soon Spore & Mass Effect and compared to the number of good games released for the PC in the last year that's not many.

Spore and Mass Effect no longer have the 10 day call home DRM if that is what you are referring to.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/05/09/2318229.shtml

[Aradreth]

Spore and Mass Effect no longer have the 10 day call home DRM if that is what you are referring to.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/05/09/2318229.shtml

This solution allows gamers to authenticate their game on three different computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.

• Games are authorized to the machine when the player installs and launches the software for the first time.

That's from the Bioware post [1] that's exactly the same as the Bioshock copy protection (worse actually Bioshock let you have 5 activations). It doesn't seem extreme because they went and shocked people with the first iteration of what is was going to do then made it "better". When the method they are now using was done with Bioshock there was a huge out cry from unhappy gamers.

Heh...only 300Mb? Couldn't be EA- not big enough.

Sorry I meant first day not week.

[1] http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums...9059&forum=125

[Svartalf]

Spore and Mass Effect no longer have the 10 day call home DRM if that is what you are referring to.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/05/09/2318229.shtml

That may be the case, but they still ran it up the flagpole all the same.

It doesn't matter that they rescinded it- it is that they thought so poorly of their customers that they thought of them as being thieves.

[Svartalf]

That's from the Bioware post [1] that's exactly the same as the Bioshock copy protection (worse actually Bioshock let you have 5 activations). It doesn't seem extreme because they went and shocked people with the first iteration of what is was going to do then made it "better". When the method they are now using was done with Bioshock there was a huge out cry from unhappy gamers.

I don't care how "cool" the game is. I'm one of their customers if I'm buying. You don't treat your customers like thieves for very long. Right now, gamers haven't twigged onto the fact that they're really customers, not consumers- and they're just accepting whatever swill they shovel into the feed troughs.

Sorry I meant first day not week.

[1] http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums...9059&forum=125

Heh... And it wouldn't surprise me if they jammed out a patch that size every week, or a patch 2-3 times a week that was 1/3-1/2 that size. That's EA for ya. Of late, it's also Bioware, which is a damned shame.

[Thetargos]

That may be the case, but they still ran it up the flagpole all the same.

It doesn't matter that they rescinded it- it is that they thought so poorly of their customers that they thought of them as being thieves.

And that is the main flaw of DRM. It takes away the rights from customers, and treats them as if they were the criminals. Meanwhile, pirates are just as happily putting out cracked copies (which might be crap), but at least ones that the users CAN use... Who's benefiting from DRM, then?

[movieman]

I don't care how "cool" the game is. I'm one of their customers if I'm buying. You don't treat your customers like thieves for very long. Right now, gamers haven't twigged onto the fact that they're really customers, not consumers- and they're just accepting whatever swill they shovel into the feed troughs.

Indeed. I was going to buy Spore, but I'll skip it (or wait until it's on Steam, otherwise DRM-free, for $9.99) if that's the way they plan to treat their paying customers... ganes just aren't that important.