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Forums - PC - Secure PC gaming could bring prices down - Taylor

ssj12 on 27 February 2008
Game_boy said:
So, basically DRM.

DRM always fails due to it being too restrictive and the companies always get it wrong. I think a free software client with subscription-based gameplay is the best method: you get more people trying out your program, there's no piracy issues, constant revenue (and you have incentive for extra features and fixes to be developed) and of course anyone is free to port it to whatever OS or platform they want.

 Steam isnt ridden with DRM 



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Garcian Smith on 27 February 2008
shaunboulton said:
I rellay hope PC gaming doesnt die :(

 PC gaming won't die; it'll just change into something completely different than the way it looks right now. We'll likely see more casual/indie titles and the near-complete death of big-budget, console-style exclusives as development costs rise with the power of the hardware.

Either way, I have serious doubts that digital distribution will bring costs down. In fact, I'm pretty sure the opposite will happen: game developers, seeing that they don't have any secondary market to compete with any longer, will keep prices raised long after they would have otherwise dropped in brick & mortar stores. In addition, since the publisher controls the sole distribution channel for their game, you won't see many sales, specials, or clearances as the B&M's would normally put out there to get people to come into their stores and buy other things.

That's one of the many reasons why you can pry my physical media from my cold, dead hands. :)



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ssj12 on 27 February 2008

^what you mean 100% steam powered =D



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BenKenobi88 on 27 February 2008
Katilian said:
BenKenobi88 said:
I honestly don't care about DRM with games. Yeah, Bioshock's system required that you inform the server or whatever of any uninstalling and whatnot or else your game breaks is a bit annoying...but once you go through all that, you play the game.

It's not like music where one of the main things is sharing music on a CD, PC, MP3 player...you want your music portable.

For a PC game, I really don't care...I go through the DRM or whatever process once, and then I play the game...what difference does it really make? I'm not going to share Bioshock with a friend, as that'd be illegal...and as long as it's not too much of a hassle to install/uninstall, I don't see the problem.

So what happens when Steam is down? Shame that the store bought copy of Bioshock requires internet access to play offline.

What happens if Valve disappears (for whatever reason) and so does the activation server? Shame if you want to play it again in 5-10 years time.

What happens if Valve decides that you've violated their terms of agreement? Shame that you can't play ANY of your games anymore (even the single player ones).

What about the ability to resell games?

You mention portability, what if I'm on the move and purchase a new game? I can't guarentee I'll have access to the internet.


Actually I wasn't even talking about Steam, but that fits in with this I guess.

A) You can play off-line games with Steam while...off-line. I forget why that works, I guess if they've been activated once, you're good?

B) If Valve "suddenly disappears," people could hack it and make it free I'm sure...with nobody to control Steam, it'd go down eventually.

C) Resell games? Who resells PC games, honestly. You can barely return a PC game to a store without a million questions.

D) I'm saying DRM is BAD for portability. It's bad for music, because music should be portable. DRM is fine with me for PC games though...and like I said, I'm pretty sure you can buy a Valve game in a store, pop it in, and play it without Steam...I think.



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shio on 27 February 2008
BenKenobi88 said:
Katilian said:
BenKenobi88 said:
I honestly don't care about DRM with games. Yeah, Bioshock's system required that you inform the server or whatever of any uninstalling and whatnot or else your game breaks is a bit annoying...but once you go through all that, you play the game.

It's not like music where one of the main things is sharing music on a CD, PC, MP3 player...you want your music portable.

For a PC game, I really don't care...I go through the DRM or whatever process once, and then I play the game...what difference does it really make? I'm not going to share Bioshock with a friend, as that'd be illegal...and as long as it's not too much of a hassle to install/uninstall, I don't see the problem.

So what happens when Steam is down? Shame that the store bought copy of Bioshock requires internet access to play offline.

What happens if Valve disappears (for whatever reason) and so does the activation server? Shame if you want to play it again in 5-10 years time.

What happens if Valve decides that you've violated their terms of agreement? Shame that you can't play ANY of your games anymore (even the single player ones).

What about the ability to resell games?

You mention portability, what if I'm on the move and purchase a new game? I can't guarentee I'll have access to the internet.


Actually I wasn't even talking about Steam, but that fits in with this I guess.

A) You can play off-line games with Steam while...off-line. I forget why that works, I guess if they've been activated once, you're good?

B) If Valve "suddenly disappears," people could hack it and make it free I'm sure...with nobody to control Steam, it'd go down eventually.

C) Resell games? Who resells PC games, honestly. You can barely return a PC game to a store without a million questions.

D) I'm saying DRM is BAD for portability. It's bad for music, because music should be portable. DRM is fine with me for PC games though...and like I said, I'm pretty sure you can buy a Valve game in a store, pop it in, and play it without Steam...I think.

I think you've answered it all but about the B) point: I remember someone from Valve publically stated that if Steam was ever closed down they'd release an application that would let you access all the games you have previously bought from Steam.

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Alby_da_Wolf on 27 February 2008
Katilian said:
elnino334 said:

"It inconveniences a little but now they know why. And then we can get the economics back in line and maybe we can actually start offering it up at a lower price point in the future. So it will come around full circle," he said.


I keep hearing how companies are moving to console development because A) there are more sales and B) piracy is lower. If this is the case, then why do console games cost AU$10-$40 more than PC games?

On the assumption that those who are pirating do start to buy games, what incentive do the companies have to drop prices? They've already got those who weren't buying them before to start buying them at their current prices.

Just another false hope to get people to give up convenience and fair use in favour of DRM.


I agree 100%. Look also at Windows Vista: less piratable than previos versions, more expensive.

And if  you are a legitimate user and you haven't a cracked copy and Product Activation for whatever reason decides to kick in just when you haven't access  to the net or a phone (for example, you are at an isolated mountain chalet) you can forget using it.



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