@Tanthalas - I understand the point, but I still see it differently. I actually have a C-64 and Amiga 500, and also some old PC floppies. They also had forms of media check which was known as copy protection back then. I still see a difference between copy protection and DRM. Copy protection was simply an odd pattern on the media that the operating system and software could not recreate, at least not easily. I don't classify Starforce and SecuROM as copy protection, since as I mentioned before, both install rootkit like software on your computer.
I can still fire up my Amiga 500 and play any game that I purchased, of which most of the developers/publishers are long gone.
All this still kind of misses the point. I buy software and movies. I don't need DRM or unskippable FBI warnings on the media I have paid for to let me know I shouldn't copy it. I started playing Inquisitor last night, which just released. How many times will I copy that game? Once, to my backup drive.
My movie spending has also gone down because of all the unskippable junk the studios put in front. I have 5 boxes of DVDs. My Blu Ray collection wouldn't even fill one box. My entire Blu-Ray collection will end up on my hard drives some day. I'm tired of being inconvenienced unnecessarily, having to jump through hoops, and having to maintain a list of all my site and client account information.
I'm working with one of my customers right now. She is having a problem running a program on one computer. They have 6 or 7 licenses they paid for. For some reason, at random, one computer keeps thinking the license is invalid so the program won't run. Now they are wasting time and money dealing with something they should not have to as paying customers. Had they pirated it, they would be fine right now, other than the risk of running an illegal copy. Now the vendor wants to charge them for support to fix the licensing problem.
The thing is that 10 years ago there really was no digital market for games like there is now. Most (if not all) PC games were sold on a physical format so the DRM was included in that physical format (the CD check), to limit the illegal distribution of the game. Times have changed and now many (most?) PC games are sold as a digital download and so DRM has evolved to what we see today.
DRM has not evolved, it has de-evolved in an attempt to increase profits by capturing used game sales. And there is no reason a digital download can't use a classic copy protection scheme like a serial key that doesn't take control away from the customer.. other than profit motivations, of course.
There is still a big market for boxed editions. People like having the physical copy, plus there is often extra swag that comes inside the box. Unfortunately, many of today's boxed editions still require the customer to jump through all kinds of online activation hoops that should not be necessary for someone with a physical media copy. For example, Skyrim supposedly had a great collector's box, but it had to be locked to a single Steam account and had limited activations.
CD checks or installation keys are not DRM. They may be similar in purpose, depending on who you ask, but the major difference between the two is that in one, usage does not require any further ties between the user and the developer/publisher, whereas the other one does.
"Copy protection" may more accurately describe them all, though DRM versus CD checks and installation keys are a whole different beast.
@Tanthalas You keep comparing CD checks to the current DRM. I agree CD checks are technically DRM, but it is nothing compared to online activation. One is always in my control. If I break a disk that is my fault. If I lose a disk that is my fault. Online activation takes the control out of my hands even after I pay for the game. They are both DRM, but they are very different things.
It is still missing the point though. Beamdog would make more money with no DRM of any kind. They should press the issue for future releases so they can make more money. More money is a good thing.
Beamdog would make more money with no DRM of any kind.
There's really no way to prove that.
I guess that will depend on what the pirate scene looks like for this. There are some who may opt for free if it's out there. I won't download it, but I am at least one last sale because of DRM.
@Tanthalas Thank you for so quickly pointing that out. But typing out "I believe" or "IMHO" for every point everyone of us makes every time becomes cumbersome after a while. I think we all know that each side has a lack of real evidence to back up their claim and that this thread is full of opinions. I apologize if I implied that I had irrefutable evidence.
Beamdog would make more money with no DRM of any kind.
There's really no way to prove that.
Actually there is pretty easy: ask people. I know one person that for sure won't buy it because of DRM-evil thingy. And I asked only few people. When you add @Jalister it makes 2 and it's only closest area. But you know I still understand that DRM is enforced by agreement so I can't blame Beamdog.
But you know I still understand that DRM is enforced by agreement so I can't blame Beamdog.
I'm not throwing blame at Beamdog because I do believe that Atari and/or WotC would require some form of DRM. But, at the same time Beamdog does have there own required client to play their purchases. Maybe if Beamdog strongly believed in no DRM, they could have gotten Atari/WotC to allow for a DRM free version. GOG has managed to get a lot of publishers/developers to accept DRM free to be on their store. Even Ubisoft, Atari, EA, Interplay, Activision and Hasbro have some games on there now.
I would direct my energy at WotC, but I believe that to be pointless. WotC stopped selling their books in PDF, and made all stores that sold them in PDF stop also, due to people pirating the books. Now the PDFs can't be purchased anywhere, unless that changed recently. The books are still being pirated in PDF, and I don't have the choice to buy them in the format I would want. I'm done with PnP D&D though.
A poll was started asking people if the DRM affected their decision to buy BG:EE, but our dear mod precognitively foresaw the data it would produce to be "unmeaningful" and closed it. Even though we have polls about "Which is better, Drizzt or Elminster!!!111" -- that data surely is more meaningful, since those polls are still open.
It would have been a great way for Beamdog to get a pulse on their customers and collect some hard numbers. Maybe even help prove to the contractual party demanding the DRM that it translates to lost dollars, and that it should be abandoned in future releases (or the opposite, depending on how people would have voted).
The data would be meaningless because the poll would never be able to provide data about people who decided to buy the game because they couldn't pirate it. Not to mention that the poll options were biased from the start, it would be like making a poll asking people if they wanted to get the game for free.
The only thing the poll would do is provide another discussion for people to repeat the same arguments that they have already expressed here.
The club strikes the long-dead horse in the ribs as Gorbag the Orc could not overcome his innate need to beat it again and again. Perhaps it was the sound, or perhaps it was the reverberation along the handle that shook his hands - big questions that were too much for his intellect to grasp - but, whatever the source of the need, he would fulfill it.
Sadly, the bones of the carcass were all but crushed and he knew that the joy of beating the dead animal would eventually come to an end. This made Gorbag sad. So sad that he whomped the horse again and again, seeking that shred of happiness that could only come from beating dead horses...
Then let's put our heads together and come up with something we can all agree is an objectively worded poll that gauges customer feeling. It would be more meaningful than going around in circles in this thread.
The group you describe ("people who decided to buy the game because they couldn't pirate it") sounds like an extreme outlier to me that would not affect the general curve of the data. Pirates will be pirates.. this game's DRM will not stop that. The only thing stopping it is if crackers don't put out a release, which seems very unlikely given this game's popularity.
A poll provides a different format for opinion than a discussion. Unfortunately, this forum software doesn't allow a poll in the middle of a discussion, or I would have started one right here in this thread.
I'm not throwing blame at Beamdog because I do believe that Atari and/or WotC would require some form of DRM. But, at the same time Beamdog does have there own required client to play their purchases.
Untrue. It has been stated quite a few times that the Beamdog client is NOT required to download. You can download the game directly from the Beamdog site, without having to use their client.
Even if you use the client, you only need it for installation. There is a launcher that will check for updates when you run the game. If there are updates, you can choose to install. When it's done, or if you decide not to install the updates, the launcher exits and the game runs. That's it. Nothing running in the background constantly (I'm looking at you, Steam). Let's not paint this into more than it really is, alright?
And let's not start mod-bashing. Tanthalas does a very good job. Even if he does use an Anomen avatar.
No matter what the poll options are, it would be the same as making a poll asking if people wanted the game for free. You also call that option an extreme outlier, but I personally also think that the people not buying BGEE because of the DRM is also very likely to be another extreme outlier.
Proof is in the eye of the beholder. That's why we have juries. Global warming is another discussion where the proof is less than concrete. Tanthalas will not accept any proof we may offer. He is also not interested in any attempt to gather proof. Fortunately, he is not the jury. He is just the bailiff in this particular court room. My message is intended for the jury members at Beamdog who can choose to make this a high level issue in their negotiations with the other IP stakeholders.
I mean for example when you install a tracking cookies as soon as you understand what it is you want to delete them, it is pretty obvious, isn't it? So if somebody ask you: do you like to install tracking cookies you say: of course I will gladly install it because it is only "tracking cookie-light version" and people who don't install it is extreme outlier. Do you understand me now?
There are some people that have principle - not support DRM products because they have main target to change way of protecting games, it's not because they want to pirate it you silly (DRM was broken long time ago), but because the DRM is at the expense of privacy of people who bought it. Because they have knowledge what DRM actually do.
And you know what? When you think of it, actually it is all the matter of making new protection of the games which will be harder to break and which only checks the game. So it actually fights more with piracy than DRM itself.
Edit: It was aimed @Tanthalas you still don't understand and I don't like to repeat myself.
Proof is in the eye of the beholder. That's why we have juries. Global warming is another discussion where the proof is less than concrete. Tanthalas will not accept any proof we may offer. He is also not interested in any attempt to gather proof. Fortunately, he is not the jury. He is just the bailiff in this particular court room. My message is intended for the jury members at Beamdog who can choose to make this a high level issue in their negotiations with the other IP stakeholders.
@Tanthalas Thank you for so quickly pointing that out. But typing out "I believe" or "IMHO" for every point everyone of us makes every time becomes cumbersome after a while. I think we all know that each side has a lack of real evidence to back up their claim and that this thread is full of opinions. I apologize if I implied that I had irrefutable evidence.
But here you are again saying that you have proof.
No matter what the poll options are, it would be the same as making a poll asking if people wanted the game for free. You also call that option an extreme outlier, but I personally also think that the people not buying BGEE because of the DRM is also very likely to be another extreme outlier.
I beg to differ. A poll asking if people wanted the game for free would have 100% "yes" results, which would be significantly different than a poll asking people if the DRM affected their decision to buy -- lines would be split pretty clearly, as they have been in this discussion. The idea is to see how many are in the "OK with DRM" camp and how many aren't, and let the people at a high level take notice.
I also think you're underestimating how many people won't be buying it because of the DRM. $20 for DRMed add-ons to a game you can buy for $10 DRM-free on GOG, with a wealth of free community add-ons? If anything, I can see BG:EE hyping up the original more than itself and Beamdog losing sales to GOG.
The data would be meaningless because the poll would never be able to provide data about people who decided to buy the game because they couldn't pirate it. Not to mention that the poll options were biased from the start, it would be like making a poll asking people if they wanted to get the game for free.
It seems to me that you don't need to poll the people who buy the game anyway... because they bought the game anyway. The only people we care about are the people who don't buy it.
You'd need to also have the poll include the people who bought the game instead of pirating it because of the DRM if you want to prove that BGEE's DRM made them lose more sales than what they gained.
All right, let's include the "bought instead of pirated because of DRM" option in the poll too and see how the numbers stack up. It will need to be a private poll, of course.. people probably won't want to freely admit that. Each pirate forced to buy because of the DRM * $20 = profit saved because of DRM.
What we're arguing is Each lost customer because of the DRM * $20 = bigger profit loss than the above.
Untrue. It has been stated quite a few times that the Beamdog client is NOT required to download. You can download the game directly from the Beamdog site, without having to use their client.
I know BG:EE does not use the Beamdog client. The point of mentioning it is that Beamdog also believes in DRM because they have the client for their store in the first place. So while blame can be thrown at Atari and WotC, it is possible that some blame can be thrown at Beamdog if it was in their interests to want the DRM also.
I also can't blame any developer or publisher for wanting DRM, piracy is out of control, and I understand the desire to protect their earnings. Unfortunately DRM does not work, unless it's so bad that the product is nearly unusable (Ubisoft). Let me say it again, DRM does not work, so stop wasting time and money on it. So many methods of unbreakable DRM have been released and beaten into obsolescence. Media copy protection, words from manuals, code wheels, installation keys, Starforce, SecuROM, SecurROM with online activation, TAGES, Steam, GFWL, Origin, Uplay, CSS (DVD), AACS (HD-DVD and Blu Ray), BD+ (Blu Ray), Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP. Windows and Adobe online activation. Even consoles that used cartridges have had their contents ripped to ROM files that work in emulators, Atari 2600, 5200, 7200, Vic-20, C-64, Colecovision, Intellivision, the various Sega and Nintendo systems. Can anyone name anything that worked?
This paragraph is strictly from my memory or perception. I can't take the time right now to verify the accuracy of the details, but I believe the points are in the ballpark. UPlay, PS3, and BD+ did have some good runs though. I think it was several months before the first UPlay games were beaten, but once they got it, the newer ones were easy. I think BD+ made it a couple of years, but now that it has been broken it's trivial. I think PS3 games had the best run at around 3 years. Someone managed to get through it with hardware, and Sony tried hard to shut it down, but they just couldn't get the genie back into the bottle. The funny thing about PS3 is that Sony removed Linux support because they were worried about people accessing things Sony didn't want them to, or playing emulated games on it. Once Linux was removed, that is when the community seemed to put in the effort to crack the PS3. It's possible it may still not be cracked today if they didn't try to tighten the leash.
I wish the PS3 was still uncracked. It was nice knowing that anyone playing the game I paid for also paid for it. However, the PS3 games didn't rely on online activation either. As long as I kept my disks safe and clean, I know I can play my games in any PS3 that I want to. Even if Sony shuts down, I know I can still turn my PS3 on, insert the disk, and enjoy my games. All my PS3 games are single player. Some may have an online component for multiplayer, but that is a feature I'm not worried about losing. Sony can't shutdown though, I want my God of War Ascension. Hopefully more Uncharted and Infamous titles are in the works too.
By the way, there is an open source Infinity Engine in the works. You still need your purchased content to play the games, but the engine is still being improved on. It also supports multiple operating systems (Windows, OS X, Linux, BSD, Android, iOS and more).
There are also mods that move the BG1 content into the BG2 engine, then turns it all into one giant game running through BG1, BG1 TotSC, BG2 and the BG2 expanion.
I think I know what I am doing this weekend. I'm going to setup my ultimate BG1 complete, BG2 complete, widescreen, cross platform, with restored cut content, mega version. I may be missing out on some of the new content being offered here, but I think my mega version should do nicely. It looks like I found my silver lining, thanks!
It sounds to me that companies need to focus more on things like on-disk copy protection schemes, physical media security, and methods which don't rely on external sources to pacify those who are put out by this type of DRM. Clever crackers are eventually going to get past any DRM solution, but perhaps smart cryptography can delay them long enough for companies to make profits and by the time they've finally cracked it, the developers and publishers have made the bulk of their money. These zero-day cracks tell me that either the people who design the protection are lazy, or the methods they use aren't optimal. Stuff like AES encryption is touted as nearly unbreakable; software companies apparently need to use something so strong that it could secure a missile silo in order to protect their profits.
It would be so much easier if people didn't think they were entitled to something just because it's easy to replicate, but that necessitates changing a culture, which may be easier than designing a system which can secure digital IP properly.
As for the rest of your post, DRM doesn't need to be forever unbreakable to work.
But it doesn't have to be DRM either. Gamersgate has downloaders, but the downloads are DRM free, at least the ones that are stated as being DRM free. GOG has a great downloader, again DRM free.
True, about not being forever breakable, but it seems like 0 day cracks are the norm now. Granted BG:EE won't have the same level of publicity as something like Spore, but that fiasco appeared to drive a lot of people to pirate a game they would have otherwise purchased. Simple DRM can/will deter the casual copying of games, but it will most likely not dent the high level of P2P and torrent piracy. I don't like knowing there are people playing games I paid for, but I also know it's the sad reality.
I support the developers and publishers that I want to see be a continued success, or try to enlighten those that I wish to succeed even if I can't support their choices financially.
@Tanthalas I admit neither side has any real proof. Both sides will poke holes in anything presented. You seem especially interested in dismissing contrary claims and any attempt to gather evidence. I don't see how a poll could hurt. But it is a moot point since your side wouldn't accept the results anyway.
At the risk of taking the conversation off topic to piracy, I do have a question? Why do you focus only on the deadbeat downloaders in the scene? Does anyone question the motives of the people who do the actual work? Someone has to buy the software the first time. Someone has to spend their time breaking the DRM. And then someone has to expose themselves to the very real risk of both litigation and/or prosecution to distribute the crack. Why do they do this? Could it be that they see this as a very real and active protest against DRM?
I'll say it again, and include IMHO and that I think this is the case. There is more money to be made without DRM. It doesn't work and is a cost center. These companies are actively spending money to alienate customers. They have the right to do this if they insist. But IMHO I believe that they will make more money if they choose not to do this.
Comments
I can still fire up my Amiga 500 and play any game that I purchased, of which most of the developers/publishers are long gone.
All this still kind of misses the point. I buy software and movies. I don't need DRM or unskippable FBI warnings on the media I have paid for to let me know I shouldn't copy it. I started playing Inquisitor last night, which just released. How many times will I copy that game? Once, to my backup drive.
My movie spending has also gone down because of all the unskippable junk the studios put in front. I have 5 boxes of DVDs. My Blu Ray collection wouldn't even fill one box. My entire Blu-Ray collection will end up on my hard drives some day. I'm tired of being inconvenienced unnecessarily, having to jump through hoops, and having to maintain a list of all my site and client account information.
I'm working with one of my customers right now. She is having a problem running a program on one computer. They have 6 or 7 licenses they paid for. For some reason, at random, one computer keeps thinking the license is invalid so the program won't run. Now they are wasting time and money dealing with something they should not have to as paying customers. Had they pirated it, they would be fine right now, other than the risk of running an illegal copy. Now the vendor wants to charge them for support to fix the licensing problem.
There is still a big market for boxed editions. People like having the physical copy, plus there is often extra swag that comes inside the box. Unfortunately, many of today's boxed editions still require the customer to jump through all kinds of online activation hoops that should not be necessary for someone with a physical media copy. For example, Skyrim supposedly had a great collector's box, but it had to be locked to a single Steam account and had limited activations.
"Copy protection" may more accurately describe them all, though DRM versus CD checks and installation keys are a whole different beast.
It is still missing the point though. Beamdog would make more money with no DRM of any kind. They should press the issue for future releases so they can make more money. More money is a good thing.
I know one person that for sure won't buy it because of DRM-evil thingy. And I asked only few people.
When you add @Jalister it makes 2 and it's only closest area.
But you know I still understand that DRM is enforced by agreement so I can't blame Beamdog.
I would direct my energy at WotC, but I believe that to be pointless. WotC stopped selling their books in PDF, and made all stores that sold them in PDF stop also, due to people pirating the books. Now the PDFs can't be purchased anywhere, unless that changed recently. The books are still being pirated in PDF, and I don't have the choice to buy them in the format I would want. I'm done with PnP D&D though.
It would have been a great way for Beamdog to get a pulse on their customers and collect some hard numbers. Maybe even help prove to the contractual party demanding the DRM that it translates to lost dollars, and that it should be abandoned in future releases (or the opposite, depending on how people would have voted).
The data would be meaningless because the poll would never be able to provide data about people who decided to buy the game because they couldn't pirate it. Not to mention that the poll options were biased from the start, it would be like making a poll asking people if they wanted to get the game for free.
The only thing the poll would do is provide another discussion for people to repeat the same arguments that they have already expressed here.
And spare me the snarky remarks.
The club strikes the long-dead horse in the ribs as Gorbag the Orc could not overcome his innate need to beat it again and again. Perhaps it was the sound, or perhaps it was the reverberation along the handle that shook his hands - big questions that were too much for his intellect to grasp - but, whatever the source of the need, he would fulfill it.
Sadly, the bones of the carcass were all but crushed and he knew that the joy of beating the dead animal would eventually come to an end. This made Gorbag sad. So sad that he whomped the horse again and again, seeking that shred of happiness that could only come from beating dead horses...
...Or playing Baldur's Gate. 9/18/2012!
The group you describe ("people who decided to buy the game because they couldn't pirate it") sounds like an extreme outlier to me that would not affect the general curve of the data. Pirates will be pirates.. this game's DRM will not stop that. The only thing stopping it is if crackers don't put out a release, which seems very unlikely given this game's popularity.
A poll provides a different format for opinion than a discussion. Unfortunately, this forum software doesn't allow a poll in the middle of a discussion, or I would have started one right here in this thread.
Even if you use the client, you only need it for installation. There is a launcher that will check for updates when you run the game. If there are updates, you can choose to install. When it's done, or if you decide not to install the updates, the launcher exits and the game runs. That's it. Nothing running in the background constantly (I'm looking at you, Steam). Let's not paint this into more than it really is, alright?
And let's not start mod-bashing. Tanthalas does a very good job. Even if he does use an Anomen avatar.
No matter what the poll options are, it would be the same as making a poll asking if people wanted the game for free. You also call that option an extreme outlier, but I personally also think that the people not buying BGEE because of the DRM is also very likely to be another extreme outlier.
There are some people that have principle - not support DRM products because they have main target to change way of protecting games, it's not because they want to pirate it you silly (DRM was broken long time ago), but because the DRM is at the expense of privacy of people who bought it. Because they have knowledge what DRM actually do.
And you know what? When you think of it, actually it is all the matter of making new protection of the games which will be harder to break and which only checks the game. So it actually fights more with piracy than DRM itself.
Edit: It was aimed @Tanthalas you still don't understand and I don't like to repeat myself.
I also think you're underestimating how many people won't be buying it because of the DRM. $20 for DRMed add-ons to a game you can buy for $10 DRM-free on GOG, with a wealth of free community add-ons? If anything, I can see BG:EE hyping up the original more than itself and Beamdog losing sales to GOG.
Yes, I'm sure we can both come up with hypothetical situations all day.
@vortican
You'd need to also have the poll include the people who bought the game instead of pirating it because of the DRM if you want to prove that BGEE's DRM made them lose more sales than what they gained.
What we're arguing is Each lost customer because of the DRM * $20 = bigger profit loss than the above.
Again that option would be biased because that situation is something that occurs after the fact, not something that you plan.
I also can't blame any developer or publisher for wanting DRM, piracy is out of control, and I understand the desire to protect their earnings. Unfortunately DRM does not work, unless it's so bad that the product is nearly unusable (Ubisoft). Let me say it again, DRM does not work, so stop wasting time and money on it. So many methods of unbreakable DRM have been released and beaten into obsolescence. Media copy protection, words from manuals, code wheels, installation keys, Starforce, SecuROM, SecurROM with online activation, TAGES, Steam, GFWL, Origin, Uplay, CSS (DVD), AACS (HD-DVD and Blu Ray), BD+ (Blu Ray), Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP. Windows and Adobe online activation. Even consoles that used cartridges have had their contents ripped to ROM files that work in emulators, Atari 2600, 5200, 7200, Vic-20, C-64, Colecovision, Intellivision, the various Sega and Nintendo systems. Can anyone name anything that worked?
This paragraph is strictly from my memory or perception. I can't take the time right now to verify the accuracy of the details, but I believe the points are in the ballpark. UPlay, PS3, and BD+ did have some good runs though. I think it was several months before the first UPlay games were beaten, but once they got it, the newer ones were easy. I think BD+ made it a couple of years, but now that it has been broken it's trivial. I think PS3 games had the best run at around 3 years. Someone managed to get through it with hardware, and Sony tried hard to shut it down, but they just couldn't get the genie back into the bottle. The funny thing about PS3 is that Sony removed Linux support because they were worried about people accessing things Sony didn't want them to, or playing emulated games on it. Once Linux was removed, that is when the community seemed to put in the effort to crack the PS3. It's possible it may still not be cracked today if they didn't try to tighten the leash.
I wish the PS3 was still uncracked. It was nice knowing that anyone playing the game I paid for also paid for it. However, the PS3 games didn't rely on online activation either. As long as I kept my disks safe and clean, I know I can play my games in any PS3 that I want to. Even if Sony shuts down, I know I can still turn my PS3 on, insert the disk, and enjoy my games. All my PS3 games are single player. Some may have an online component for multiplayer, but that is a feature I'm not worried about losing. Sony can't shutdown though, I want my God of War Ascension. Hopefully more Uncharted and Infamous titles are in the works too.
As for the rest of your post, DRM doesn't need to be forever unbreakable to work.
There are also mods that move the BG1 content into the BG2 engine, then turns it all into one giant game running through BG1, BG1 TotSC, BG2 and the BG2 expanion.
I think I know what I am doing this weekend. I'm going to setup my ultimate BG1 complete, BG2 complete, widescreen, cross platform, with restored cut content, mega version. I may be missing out on some of the new content being offered here, but I think my mega version should do nicely. It looks like I found my silver lining, thanks!
It would be so much easier if people didn't think they were entitled to something just because it's easy to replicate, but that necessitates changing a culture, which may be easier than designing a system which can secure digital IP properly.
True, about not being forever breakable, but it seems like 0 day cracks are the norm now. Granted BG:EE won't have the same level of publicity as something like Spore, but that fiasco appeared to drive a lot of people to pirate a game they would have otherwise purchased. Simple DRM can/will deter the casual copying of games, but it will most likely not dent the high level of P2P and torrent piracy. I don't like knowing there are people playing games I paid for, but I also know it's the sad reality.
I support the developers and publishers that I want to see be a continued success, or try to enlighten those that I wish to succeed even if I can't support their choices financially.
At the risk of taking the conversation off topic to piracy, I do have a question? Why do you focus only on the deadbeat downloaders in the scene? Does anyone question the motives of the people who do the actual work? Someone has to buy the software the first time. Someone has to spend their time breaking the DRM. And then someone has to expose themselves to the very real risk of both litigation and/or prosecution to distribute the crack. Why do they do this? Could it be that they see this as a very real and active protest against DRM?
I'll say it again, and include IMHO and that I think this is the case. There is more money to be made without DRM. It doesn't work and is a cost center. These companies are actively spending money to alienate customers. They have the right to do this if they insist. But IMHO I believe that they will make more money if they choose not to do this.