You know, video game DRM really isn't the worst thing in the
world. Sure, it can be annoying sometimes, but people really get up in arms
about it for no real reason. Honestly the reasons behind implemented DRM are
more upsetting than the actual ramifications of it, but of course there’s more
to it than that.
DRM isn't implemented by video game publishers because they
are mean, it's because they are
trying to solve a problem their company is facing, usually dipping sales. As
long as a player is buying a new copy of the game and playing it as intended,
the DRM should be invisible, maybe a one-time code that needs to be entered,
but it generally shouldn't affect the game. Sure, some companies like Ubisoft
have things like always-on online DRM for PC games, making it impossible to
play single player games offline, but they have actually been retroactively
removing those elements, and have promised not to bring them back going forward.
The most common argument for DRM is to combat piracy,
(although it has been proven time and again that piracy is not a price issue, but a convenience issue) because publishers see pirated copies of a game as
lost sales. Piracy has always been, and will always be, a problem for entertainment
media, but the most important reason for DRM is actually used game sales.
I used to work for Gamestop, so I've seen the numbers that
come out of used game sales. The logic of it is that since Gamestop is buying
the game from a customer, that copy of the game belongs to them, and they can
sell it at whatever price they want and keep all the money, since they own it.
Companies like EA are trying to combat this (since the sale of a used game
causes them to lose the sale of a new game, and they don’t see any money from
the used ones) by doing things like having a one-time use code for access to
online multiplayer in their sports games. If you don’t have the code, it’ll
cost you $10 to play online. So what did Gamestop do to fight back? They lowered the used price by $10, makes sense right? But it’s the consumer who
wins in this situation. See, it works out to be the same price either way, buying
used and getting the code online, or buying new, but maybe you’ll get lucky and
the code with your used copy won't have been used, or maybe you’re one of the
many people who doesn't play online multiplayer, and don't even need the code.
There is an ugly side of DRM of course, but it probably isn't what you think. The biggest problem with DRM is that it was created to solve a
problem that doesn't really exist. In many cases games don’t sell well. Maybe
they have game breaking glitches, or maybe they were rushed or incomplete, or
maybe they got the freaking DATE OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WRONG.
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| This is what happens when we outsource American history to Canada |
However, instead of looking to fix these problems, or
admitting mistakes, developers and publishers will point to piracy or used game
sales as the reasons for a games financial failure. In the world of business,
it's very important to make sure that your shareholders have faith in you, or
they’ll pull their funding and your company will go under, even if that means
creating strawman arguments to justify your failings. Just my two cents though.
In other news, new Pokemon game announced today. It’s kind
of a big deal.
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