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Save the DRM drama for your momma
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It's easy to say we live in a digital age. With computers, every form of digital media is accessible with the click of a mouse, transferred through cables and wireless signals, and can be obtained nearly everywhere.
With this new age of intangible media, companies are finding it harder to keep their properties theirs, as items such as music, movies and games can all be distributed with little effort over a working computer connection. When things become not only "free" but even easier to access then they were through legit means, it's difficult to make sure people stay faithful to actually purchasing a product.
Enter DRM.
What's DRM? DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. Basically it's a way for companies to assure that a digital file does not spread around easily using some sort of code that alters the file, makes it incompatible with other file formats, or in the case of PC games, limits the amount of times the game can be installed.
Do you have an iPod? I'm certain you've noticed that unless you go through some digital hoops, it's not easy to get a song you purchased through iTunes onto another MP3 player. This is a prime example of, and a problem with, DRM. The way some people see it, DRM basically accuses us of being thieves.
Unfortunately, when protesting this, it's being gone about the wrong way. I speak mostly in part of the gaming community.
My prime example of this is EA's highly anticipated, and suddenly despised, Spore. Spore, in and of itself is a decent game. Sure, it wasn't the epic we were promised, but it was a good amount of fun. Unfortunately, EA's anticipation of piracy led them to implement DRM in Spore allowing for only three installs on a single PC, which caused a MAJOR backlash from the game community. A game in which it's over-hyped fanbase would chastise people who wouldn't claim it to be the best upcoming game on the planet, was now being rated one-star on many shopping sites, and derided with the lowest possible rating on game review sites.
Why? Spore didn't have anything to do with this. Gamers were blaming the wrong people.
DRM did backfire for EA, as many gamers decided to make it their mission to pirate the game merely for this fact. A Wikipedia article on DRM mentions that "the backlash against SecuROM was a significant factor in Spore becoming the most pirated game in 2008." Since then they have severely loosened up the DRM on Spore, allowing for more installations. EA also recently mentioned they would not implement DRM on the even more anticipated Sims 3.
Still, gamers have a bit to learn in the ways of protest. The latest game to receive undue hatred for the publisher's use of DRM is Atari's Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena. The game is also receiving one-star ratings on shopping and review sites simply for this feature.
What I mean to say is this: It's fine to be angry about a program that makes gaming inconvenient. Do NOT however, fault the actual GAME for this. There are many people who worked hard to bring us a quality product, and acting as if they are the people to blame is downright unfair. If you feel it's in your right to complain about DRM, make sure the blame and anger is placed at the CORRECT PEOPLE.
To quote the blog of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame:
"People were asking me why I didn't mention the DRM fiasco with Spore. Truth be told, I didn't actually know about this until someone told me the other day. I guess that goes to show just how hugely significant it is to the actual game experience."
Remember that. If a game is bad, treat it that way. But if a game is good, or at the very least, mediocre, don't treat it as the worst game on the planet just because you're mad at the publisher. Give credit where credit is due.
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