Home Gaming DRM does more damage than piracy

DRM does more damage than piracy

2 min read
53

DRM

There’s nothing worse than being a paying customer, and having to jump through hoops to get your freshly-purchased game working. Well, there’s being sodomised by a rabid elephant while fire-ants nip at your genitals, but that happens only once or twice in your lifetime; while DRM is a regular occurrence. All too often DRM, like your girlfriend’s monthly ovarian operating system reboot, gets in the way of you having a good time. Affirming what we’ve all believed for forever, Super Meat Boy developer Tommy Refenes argues (via Destructoid) that DRM does nothing to stop piracy – but in fact makes it more likely a thing to happen.

Weighing in on EA’s current SimCity DRM woes, the indie developer had this to say:

“I think I can safely say that Super Meat Boy has been pirated at least 200,000 times. We are closing in on 2 million sales and assuming a 10% piracy to sales ratio does not seem unreasonable.

As a forward thinking developer who exists in the present, I realize and accept that a pirated copy of a digital game does not equate to money being taken out of my pocket. Team Meat shows no loss in our year end totals due to piracy and neither should any other developer.”

Refenes suggests that all that money spent on developing DRM measures is fruitless, and that piracy’s going to happen either way.

“The reality of our current software age is the internet is more efficient at breaking things than companies are at creating them” he continued. “A company will spend massive amounts of money on DRM and the internet will break it in a matter of days in most cases. When the DRM is broken is it worth the money spent to implement it?

Did the week of unbroken DRM for your game gain you any sales from potential pirates due to the inability to pirate at launch? Again, there is no way of telling and as such cannot be used as an accurate justification for spending money.”

Furthermore, he believes that DRM actively encourages the scurvy practice – and that people are far less likely to steal your game if you make it easy to buy, and easy to run.

“Unfortunately there is nothing anyone can do to actively stop their game from being pirated,” he explained. “I do believe people are less likely to pirate your software if the software is easy to buy, easy to run, and does what is advertised.

“You can’t force a person to buy your software no more than you can prevent a person from stealing it. People have to WANT to buy your software, people have to WANT to support you.”

"Respect your customers,” concludes Refenes, “and they may in turn respect your efforts enough to purchase your game instead of pirating it."

We could go in to the semantics of piracy for all eternity; is it theft? Can you steal something by making a copy of it, whatever. There’s no real justification for it; but are YOU more or less likely to perpetrate piracy when faced with DRM?

Last Updated: March 20, 2013

53 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief Erwin

    March 20, 2013 at 10:32

    Kinky

    Reply

  2. Uberutang

    March 20, 2013 at 10:38

    The first thing I do when I see ‘always online’ is see if there is a way around it. If there is not, I do not buy it.
    Probably why I do not own a single Blizzard game.
    With our poor speeds in SA it is vital to have an offline option, else you get kicked from your game when ever somebody else in the house is on the internet.

    Reply

    • Slade Boender

      March 20, 2013 at 12:16

      My freaking hardcore D3 chars blipped cos of internet downtime. Good 40 hours of dungeon crawling all to hell. I for one can vouch to this statement. To my own demise

      Reply

    • Wyzak

      March 20, 2013 at 13:07

      SC2 does at least support some offline play, but you need to authenticate online. I don’t have so big an issue with this method. Same goes for Steam and it’s offline play.

      Reply

  3. Sir Captain Rincethis

    March 20, 2013 at 10:41

    I don’t like piracy, but agree that DRM, whether it’s the community working a patch to allow you to play offline, will lead to it.

    Reply

    • OVG

      March 20, 2013 at 12:53

      Or shit sales and lack of interest like DIEABLLO 3 the FAIL of this gen.

      Reply

  4. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    March 20, 2013 at 10:44

    I could kiss this guy for being so straight forward and honest.

    The honest truth? I would rather pay for a game and own a physical copy or a legally linked digital copy than pirate a game any day of the week.

    But give a person a game that has draconian DRM or always on connectivity and they will immediately start thinking or hoping that there will be a way round it. The thought of piracy will naturally follow that train of thought and some will then go and pirate it simply because they refuse to partake in DRM. It’s their view of “justice”. It may not be right, but the point I am trying to make is that there are those who really would purchase the game if it wasn’t so difficult to use it rather than pirate it, but feel forced to pirate because they can’t play the game any other way due to limitations such as crappy internet.

    Reply

  5. TriangularRoom

    March 20, 2013 at 10:47

    DRM is something that punishes the law-abiding people who actually purchased the game. I agree that games should be easy to run, reducing that temptation to download a cracked and working version.

    I have this same complaint on DVDs/Blu-Rays that force you to watch un-skippable anti-piracy ads when you legitimately paid for the bleeping thing… Clearly they are not reaching their target audience with those ads!

    Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      March 20, 2013 at 10:57

      This is the thing that companies are not grasping.

      It’s great to tell me piracy is wrong. But I didn’t pirate the software/media. So why tell me it’s wrong? what the heck did I do to deserve that?

      Why must I be forced to be always online just so I can play a game I paid for? Now I must pay more in bandwidth costs to carry on with the game I already spent a small fortune on?
      It’s punishing me in the end even though I paid.

      The worst? It seems this always online thing has become the most effective way to combat it. Have the servers run important calculations etc and suddenly you will need an online server to run the game. This means all companies will start following this format because to them it seems they will sell more because the pirates can’t pirate it as effectively. Not without afake online service that doesn’t do the exact same as the legit ones and thus destroying the experience. People keep telling me always on is just a passing fad. I don’t think so. I think it’s the way it is all going.

      I wonder if the game companies realize that not only will pirates still not buy it, but they are reducing the amount of legit buyers as well since not everyone has perma/cheap internet.

      Reply

      • TriangularRoom

        March 20, 2013 at 11:01

        I’m with you there. I think this always online nonsense is here to stay, so it’s just going to get worse for us honest folk!

        Reply

        • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

          March 20, 2013 at 11:07

          Gaming is going to become a thing for only the “elite” those who can afford all the expensive components for a pc to keep up with graphics/the very expensive next-gen consoles for next-gen only games/the internet connection and bandwidth to sufficiently work to the overseas servers etc.

          It’s a sad to think about it that way isn’t it?

          Reply

          • umar bastra

            March 20, 2013 at 11:10

            but gaming is not only restricted to consoles though, there are many games on different platforms that can bring equal joy. but it is sad..very sad..when you think of how it used to be. all you can afford is a Kia, need to be rolling in the green to afford the BMW

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            March 20, 2013 at 11:14

            I didn’t mean that gaming is only on consoles.

            To break it down what I meant is this:
            1) Very expensive PC’s because graphics are growing at an alarming rate so gaming on PC will require a lot more upgrades in the future just to be able to play.
            2) Very expensive next gen consoles will have to be bought by console players because the next generation of console games (whether on multiple platforms or not) are only going to work on the next-gen console (or a PC) and will be incompatible with the previous generation’s consoles.

          • umar bastra

            March 20, 2013 at 11:20

            Oh sorry I meant not restricted to PC and next gen consoles. there is handheld and mobile etc, not to say you will get the same quality, but the way I look at it is that , I will still find joy in other platforms, it’s the only thing to do, when consoles or pcs can no longer be affordable. but that fact that I have to do that is very sad,VERY

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            March 20, 2013 at 11:23

            Ah! I see what you mean. Yeah I hear you. But I don’t wana play on handhelds *sniff*
            Don’t wanna don’t wanna!!
            *waaaaaaaaaaaaaa*

            Ok, but on a serious note: Yeah, it’s a problem and it’s going to cause huge issues in the industry when the “average man/woman” can’t afford gaming on consoles or PC anymore.

            The handheld market will most likely start flourishing and the PC/console will be for the “elite” only.

            Mmmmmm, I wonder if this was the industry’s plan all along?
            *puts on tinfoil hat*

          • Wyzak

            March 20, 2013 at 13:13

            I think the graphics growth has really slowed down. My PC is several years old yet it still runs all of the games perfectly fine. This was impossible 5 or 10 years ago.

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            March 20, 2013 at 13:14

            It’s slowed down due to the consoles not being able to keep up as much. Now that consoles are going to be able to keep up it will increase again. At a rapid pace most likely

          • Hondsepop

            March 20, 2013 at 11:11

            Wonder how consoles fit into this picture?

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            March 20, 2013 at 11:16

            Next-gen console games won’t work on previous gen consoles. Next-gen consoles have already started showing signs of being very expensive.

            So gaming as a hobby will be expensive regardless of platform.

          • Wyzak

            March 20, 2013 at 13:12

            Except for the Wii U which runs all Wii games and Wii hardware perfectly. One of the biggest reasons I love Nintendo.

          • Wyzak

            March 20, 2013 at 13:11

            I will continue to support the indie guys and the good developers out there who don’t shove DRM down my throat. I will simply stop buying any games from big dev houses and if enough people do this the system will auto-correct.

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        March 20, 2013 at 12:10

        So true, and here’s the funny part, the fact that they force it down your throat, activates the rebel in me, and I actually start to think “You know what, screw you… next time I’m downloading a movie”

        Reply

      • Wyzak

        March 20, 2013 at 13:10

        So let’s boycott those games so they don’t sell more companies, and they have to sit with the operating costs of the servers. It won’t be long before they come around.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

          March 20, 2013 at 13:13

          It will never happen because the main cash flow for these games are the people who buy the game who don’t really care or understand the DRM and are simply happy to play once the game is able to connect. They simply outnumber the amount of people who do care and so a boycott simply would never work. Not until those guys who couldn’t be bothered either way stand with us.

          Thousands of people have complained yes. But the fact is millions bought it. If only a few thousand in millions are complaining it’s not going to do squat

          Reply

    • Wyzak

      March 20, 2013 at 13:09

      There really is absolutely no excuse for gaming companies to put their paying customers through this crap. Hell make the pirates PC explode, I don’t care. But don’t affect the gameplay of those who actually decided to buy your game, or replace their PC with a better one if you accidentally blow it up. XD

      Reply

  6. umar bastra

    March 20, 2013 at 10:49

    You can’t alienate consumers to combat piracy…3 things happens

    1. consumers accept the game and buy it and live with the DRM

    2. consumers pirate the game

    3. consumers don’t buy the game at all

    Companies can’t control the world and therefore instead of using all your effort to fight piracy, why not make your game more appealing so that they don’t pirate. gain the respect of the consumers and calm the hostility that is clearly rising. I mean if you want to ban people’s accounts for asking for a refund, it just adds more fuel to the fire and makes them want to pirate the games more. Companies need consumers to love them and as such they will get much more support…Don’t push them away by treating all consumers as pirates, because that is essentially what DRM does

    Reply

    • Wyzak

      March 20, 2013 at 13:16

      If Simcity had offline mode in addition to the online mode I would have bought it (I refuse to now), I would have played it online most of the time when my friends were online, but I would have also been able to play it offline when I was away from home, or my ADSL was down. That last part is the crux.

      Reply

  7. Hondsepop

    March 20, 2013 at 10:50

    Project Red CEO Marcin Iwinski (Witcher) said in March 2012:
    “Every subsequent game we will never use any DRM anymore. We release the game. It’s cracked in two hours”

    Seems EA/ Maxis didn’t learn.The hackers will see this as a challenge…..and of course just to screw EA (the most hated name in games entertainment).

    Reply

  8. Eric Viljoen

    March 20, 2013 at 10:54

    I haven’t pirated since I started earning enough to buy my games. But I can understand why people’s morals become flexible when the pirate route becomes more convenient even when you take away the monetary value of a game.

    Reply

  9. That Tall Twit

    March 20, 2013 at 11:14

    ‘like your girlfriend’s monthly ovarian operating system reboot, gets in the way of you having a good time’
    Winning sentence right there.

    Reply

    • OVG

      March 20, 2013 at 12:50

      Im stealing that one :p

      Reply

    • Codefridge

      March 22, 2013 at 08:20

      Possibly the greatest comment ever?

      Reply

  10. greencat

    March 20, 2013 at 11:39

    Or perhaps people will dust off all their old games from their library and replay them more.

    Reply

  11. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    March 20, 2013 at 11:43

    Here is a breakdown of what I believe would happen to a game with perfect DRM that cannot be cracked:

    1) SALE: The person who doesn’t care about DRM or what is needed to play will buy it (This same guy/gal would purchase regardless if there is DRM or not
    2) LOST SALE: The person who refuses to partake in DRM because they believe it’s wrong won’t buy it (This is also the person who we assume would not pirate either).
    3) LOST SALE: The person who can’t purchase the game because they don’t have internet or doesn’t have good enough internet and can’t afford it. Let’s assume this guy/gal won’t pirate because of moral values
    4) LOST SALE: Same type of person as 3 but they would pirate because of DRM. These guys/galz may have bought the game had it not been for DRM or internet restrictions.
    5) NO SALE EVER: The pirate who pirates because he/she believes everything should be free. This guy/gal would never ever be a potential sale.
    .
    .
    .
    Now let’s take away DRM completely and see the list again
    1) SALE: Still doesn’t care
    2) SALE: This person is happy to support any game that has no DRM and interests them
    3) POTENTIAL SALE: Granted the game falls within the budget. Regarldess they won’t pirate. So win-win
    4) POTENTIAL SALE/NO SALE: Yeah, if the game is way out of their budget they most likely won’t buy it and will pirate. That’s just the way it is. Still, it’s better to have the opportunity to potentially sell than knowing it will never happen. Win-win with a much smaller potential to lose a sale
    5) NO SALE EVER: It’s a pirate. Regardless of DRM this guy/gal is going to pirate.

    No DRM is still better than full on DRM. Your player base will grow the moment you have less DRM and less prerequisites for your gamers.

    Yeah, without DRM you may make it that it’s easier to crack. But it’s going to happen anyway.

    Customers 1,2 and 3 are still sure fire sales compared to only number 1 being a sure fire sale with crappy DRM

    Reply

    • Willem Swanepoel

      March 20, 2013 at 11:55

      To sum this TLDR…

      No DRM = more sales.

      😉

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        March 20, 2013 at 11:56

        Why, yes actually. Summed it up quite nicely there actually 🙂

        Reply

      • OVG

        March 20, 2013 at 12:50

        Comment of the week

        Reply

  12. Bluesky02

    March 20, 2013 at 11:45

    Great thinking, at least someone with common sense, totally agree with this developer.

    Reply

  13. Kobus Nel

    March 20, 2013 at 11:58

    Yup! I’m sure many of us can go “we all told you so” but it’s nice to finally hear it from a fellow dev. So DRM, take this 🙂
    http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/17400000/vegeta-finger-wuugoku-17410201-498-373.jpg

    Reply

  14. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    March 20, 2013 at 12:08

    I have to agree with Refenes. There have been times when I actually thought, you know what I’ve had it with always-online DRM or install-limits, or games that are broken on launch (because their DRM system, screwed up my PC), I’m just going to fly the Jolly Roger off my mast.

    And the thing is, I’ve always been anti-piracy, but DRM is so extremely anti-consumer, that you just want to walk out there, with a red beret on your head, and lift up your machine gun.

    REVOLUTION or BUST!

    Reply

    • OVG

      March 20, 2013 at 12:52

      AK47s FOR EVERYBODY!!!!…Via micro transactions.

      Reply

      • Kobus Nel

        March 20, 2013 at 13:18

        LOL, “AK47’s for everyone” reminds me of Angry Mobs from C&C Generals back in the day 🙂

        Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          March 20, 2013 at 14:12

          Hahaha yeah, I loved C&C Generals. Nothing cooler than taking out a platoon of marines with a jihad jeep. Such a pity the last C&C game was such a stinker.

          Reply

          • Kobus Nel

            March 20, 2013 at 14:18

            Yeah… wait, you’re not talking about the Generals reboot using BF3’s Frostbite 2 engine, are you? Coz I’m looking forward to that 🙂

  15. Scoobaz

    March 20, 2013 at 12:21

    How about this. Buy a physical copy of a game, find out that you can’t run it for whatever reason ( internet speed or lack thereof etc. ).

    The community out there patches for offline play, local save, whatever. So you have the original game but need patches/cracks whatever, to play said game.

    Where do you guys stand morally on that?

    Reply

    • Wyzak

      March 20, 2013 at 13:07

      I wouldn’t buy the game in the first place…

      Reply

  16. OVG

    March 20, 2013 at 12:54

    I wont even bother PIRATING the piece of shit let alone buy it… move on.

    Reply

  17. Wyzak

    March 20, 2013 at 13:06

    This is the result of the Simcity DRM in my company – one pirate can’t pirate the game, but five people who buy their games decided to give it a skip. Is that a win for EA?

    Reply

  18. Tbone187

    March 20, 2013 at 14:52

    It’s simple: The buccaneers will always be there no matter what. For every security feature introduced , there’s a knee jerk reaction of a counter… Making it difficult for paying customers to play your stuff aint gonna help…I reckon this guy is right with his customer loyalty notion…

    Reply

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