4 ms·

Is this really true, or we suffering from Pauline-Kael syndrome here? How many people are actually aware of DRM outside of a rabid internet minority (and I incl

Is this really true, or we suffering from Pauline-Kael syndrome here? How many people are actually aware of DRM outside of a rabid internet minority (and I include myself in that list)? It may lose some customers, but I bet its a minuscule fraction.

shmerl 13y ago
Is it true that people who dislike DRM prefer GOG over Steam and that DRM-free is one of the primary features that attracts many users to GOG? Yes, it is true. How many - I can't say exactly, but this subject is often brought up on GOG forums and site features feedback - you can read about it. Minority or not, GOG responds to this demand, while Steam doesn't, so GOG is more competitive in this particular aspect.
- crapshoot101 13y ago
  I don't doubt that - I've bought games on both platforms (Alpha Centauri on GOG = awesome). But the point is, amongst total games sales, I would like some degree of proof as to what the actual effect of the outrage is. Of course the GOG forums are DRM-angsty; that's part of why they are at GOG! What I don't know (truly - not being adversarial here) is whether DRM is a real factor for a substantial number of buying decisions, or not. The recent Sim City fiasco was probably the highest profile DRM-related brouhaha ever; - Rock Paper ShotGun, QT3, Polygon, all the gaming press (including the larger offline press like PC Gamer) covered it and expressed outrage, as did some mainstream media. And yet, best as I can tell it had little effect on actual sales (I'm open to being convinced I'm wrong on this). http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/simcity-sales-reach-1-6-million-50-sales-online/ http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/simcity-sales-reach-1-6-mi...
  - shmerl 13y ago
    What I don't know (truly - not being adversarial here) is whether DRM is a real factor for a substantial number of buying decisions, or not. I'd be interested if someone could make a thorough research on these decision factors, but I'm really not sure what kind of methodology can be used for that. It's hard to measure such things for external researchers. Companies which participated in DRM fiascos (like the SimCity one) probably can estimate how many customers they lost in result, but they might not want to publish that information :) Ironically though, lost sales caused by DRM won't necessarily make them change their minds about DRM. Some publishers executives can excuse failures of their low quality products by lost sales caused by piracy, so they use DRM to cover up their incompetence (i.e. "we are doing all we can!"). So additional lost sales won't convince them to drop that excuse for their products which fail just because there is no big demand for them. They'll claim it's because DRM wasn't yet strong enough, and pirates just cut their profits ;)
sp332 13y ago
Actually, non-internet users are more likely to feel it, when they can't activate or play their games without a connection.
- shmerl 13y ago
  They at least need it to buy the game. But when it's DRM free they can do it somewhere, and then just bring the installer home.
  - sp332 13y ago
    I mean when you buy a disk, put it into your PC, and can't play it because there's no internet connection. Or when your internet cuts out and your game quits even if you're not playing online, just because the DRM can't phone home anymore.
    - shmerl 13y ago
      Right, on-line DRM is one of the worst kinds.

shmerl 13y ago

Is it true that people who dislike DRM prefer GOG over Steam and that DRM-free is one of the primary features that attracts many users to GOG? Yes, it is true. How many - I can't say exactly, but this subject is often brought up on GOG forums and site features feedback - you can read about it. Minority or not, GOG responds to this demand, while Steam doesn't, so GOG is more competitive in this particular aspect.

crapshoot101 13y ago
I don't doubt that - I've bought games on both platforms (Alpha Centauri on GOG = awesome). But the point is, amongst total games sales, I would like some degree of proof as to what the actual effect of the outrage is. Of course the GOG forums are DRM-angsty; that's part of why they are at GOG! What I don't know (truly - not being adversarial here) is whether DRM is a real factor for a substantial number of buying decisions, or not. The recent Sim City fiasco was probably the highest profile DRM-related brouhaha ever; - Rock Paper ShotGun, QT3, Polygon, all the gaming press (including the larger offline press like PC Gamer) covered it and expressed outrage, as did some mainstream media. And yet, best as I can tell it had little effect on actual sales (I'm open to being convinced I'm wrong on this). http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/simcity-sales-reach-1-6-million-50-sales-online/ http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/simcity-sales-reach-1-6-mi...
- shmerl 13y ago
  What I don't know (truly - not being adversarial here) is whether DRM is a real factor for a substantial number of buying decisions, or not. I'd be interested if someone could make a thorough research on these decision factors, but I'm really not sure what kind of methodology can be used for that. It's hard to measure such things for external researchers. Companies which participated in DRM fiascos (like the SimCity one) probably can estimate how many customers they lost in result, but they might not want to publish that information :) Ironically though, lost sales caused by DRM won't necessarily make them change their minds about DRM. Some publishers executives can excuse failures of their low quality products by lost sales caused by piracy, so they use DRM to cover up their incompetence (i.e. "we are doing all we can!"). So additional lost sales won't convince them to drop that excuse for their products which fail just because there is no big demand for them. They'll claim it's because DRM wasn't yet strong enough, and pirates just cut their profits ;)

sp332 13y ago

Actually, non-internet users are more likely to feel it, when they can't activate or play their games without a connection.

shmerl 13y ago
They at least need it to buy the game. But when it's DRM free they can do it somewhere, and then just bring the installer home.
- sp332 13y ago
  I mean when you buy a disk, put it into your PC, and can't play it because there's no internet connection. Or when your internet cuts out and your game quits even if you're not playing online, just because the DRM can't phone home anymore.
  - shmerl 13y ago
    Right, on-line DRM is one of the worst kinds.