Latest Ubisoft DRM measure - all SP saves stored on a cloud server - by EvaUnit02
heywood on 3/3/2010 at 21:35
Quote Posted by Eldron
Which I believe is quite a rampant issue, no?
No more or less rampant than your example. How many people who buy games turn around and sell them a day later? Not many. Unless the disc check or equivalent measure has been cracked, you can't give away or sell the game to somebody else without losing your ability to play it. The premise that the used game and game rental markets operate on is that each licensed copy can be played by one individual at a time. In that sense, it's similar to the used car and car rental markets.
Those of us who support the existence of a used games market argue that a license holder should have the right to transfer the license to another individual. Piracy is different because it allows you to play the game without acquiring a license and one licensed copy can be turned into multiple simultaneously playable unlicensed copies. The two don't equate.
And the movie ticket analogy is flawed because a movie theater is selling you a pass to attend a single showing of a film. Buying a game is like buying the DVD, not the theater ticket. Or like buying the CD, not the concert ticket.
Eldron on 3/3/2010 at 22:01
Quote Posted by heywood
No more or less rampant than your example. How many people who buy games turn around and sell them a day later? Not many. Unless the disc check or equivalent measure has been cracked, you can't give away or sell the game to somebody else without losing your ability to play it. The premise that the used game and game rental markets operate on is that each licensed copy can be played by one individual at a time. In that sense, it's similar to the used car and car rental markets.
Those of us who support the existence of a used games market argue that a license holder should have the right to transfer the license to another individual. Piracy is different because it allows you to play the game without acquiring a license and one licensed copy can be turned into multiple simultaneously playable unlicensed copies. The two don't equate.
And the movie ticket analogy is flawed because a movie theater is selling you a pass to attend a single showing of a film. Buying a game is like buying the DVD, not the theater ticket. Or like buying the CD, not the concert ticket.
As much as I love the used games market (and thats how I one day managed to find a boxed copy of daggerfall), it has become abused, more by gamestop the likes rather than the consumers, the consumers will just pick the slightly cheaper alternative, and while people dont return the game the next day, It's quite common for people to buy the game, and return it after finishing it in a few days, so essentially quite alot of people can ride that one sale for the company, while gamestop will get a dozen sales from that one copy.
Software and digital rights has become a big clusterfuck though since it's so messy to define.
I believe in the rights that every company should be able to decide in which way to sell their software and in what license form, and I strongly believe in each consumers right to skip out on that buy if it goes against what they believe is right.
Malleus on 4/3/2010 at 00:06
Just thought I'd report that, apparently, Silent Hunter 5 is now free from the shackles of DRM. When was it released, a day ago? Didn't last too long...
Pyrian on 4/3/2010 at 00:18
Quote Posted by heywood
And the movie ticket analogy is flawed because a movie theater is selling you a pass to attend a single showing of a film. Buying a game is like buying the DVD, not the theater ticket. Or like buying the CD, not the concert ticket.
Certanly I would expect a single-user (or single-play) version of a game to cost less than a fully transferable product. However, I do not think the model is strictly speaking
invalid. Indeed, I can remember when single-play sales were the norm for the end-user (and typically cost a quarter).
Ostriig on 4/3/2010 at 00:20
Quote Posted by Malleus
Just thought I'd report that, apparently, Silent Hunter 5 is now free from the shackles of DRM. When was it released, a day ago? Didn't last too long...
Do you have a link or something? I gave a quick Google but all it turned up is how, apparently, the DRM's already been cracked and the game's on torrent sites, but not anything about the DRM being removed. Or is that what you mean by "free", cracked?
I'm kind of interested 'cause I was considering trying it out and supporting Ubisoft Romania, but I dropped that altogether when I heard it was gonna ship with the DRM from hell.
Al_B on 4/3/2010 at 00:22
Quote Posted by Eldron
It's quite common for people to buy the game, and return it after finishing it in a few days
(I know I've snipped out the rest of your sentence). Surely this is a good thing. The people who keep buying games and returning them after a few days are the
best customers because they keep buying new games. Those that buy a game, hang onto it for ten years discussing it in forums like this one are dreadful customers because they'd much rather play games they already have than buy new ones.
Malleus on 4/3/2010 at 00:56
Quote Posted by Ostriig
Or is that what you mean by "free", cracked?
Yes that's what I meant. Sorry if it was misleading.
Ostriig on 4/3/2010 at 00:58
No worries, guess there was a lot of wishful thinking on my part. Well, I assume Ubisoft are looking at Silent Hunter V as the guinea pig for this new shitfest of theirs, so we'll see how it goes.
Phatose on 4/3/2010 at 01:16
Quote Posted by Al_B
(I know I've snipped out the rest of your sentence). Surely this is a good thing. The people who keep buying games and returning them after a few days are the
best customers because they keep buying new games. Those that buy a game, hang onto it for ten years discussing it in forums like this one are dreadful customers because they'd much rather play games they already have than buy new ones.
Only if they're buying new. And they often aren't.
That one customer who buys it new then sells it back is a good customer, yes. The next 5 guys who buy that used copy then sell it back again are not. And there is the problem.
