Will Steam Remove DRM?

[AlphaZeroX96]

Edit: Once again I mess up the initials.

GoG doesn't have DRM. Why does Steam not do the same?

[Ionut Catalin Frasineanu]

DRM is ok.

[A no-brainer]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Lazy:

"Gog has no drm"
My man, you need a gog account to download your games in the first place. THAT's drm too.

No it is not. If you buy a digital game the store needs to restrict access to the install files to that purchase. Tell me a way to buy a game digital or physical without needing an account. Even pirating a game might nowadays ask you to make an account....

On GOG you decide to use their client to install the game for you OR you can download the install files and extras onto your PC through the client or from the website and from there you never need to touch anything GOG again to install /reinstall / archive and play the game. That's DRM free. As are games on Steam that do not use Steamworks DRM which there are plenty of. Once installed you can play them without opening Steam.


https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_big_list_of_DRM-free_games_on_Steam

[AlphaZeroX96]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von AlphaZeroX96:

Edit: Once again I mess up the initials.

GoG doesn't have DRM. Why does Steam not do the same?

If it brings up the Steam login box, you cannot play the game without Steam.

See that's what I mean. You still need to be on Steam to play certain games.

[Anonymous Helper]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von AlphaZeroX96:

Edit: Once again I mess up the initials.

GoG doesn't have DRM. Why does Steam not do the same?

Because 90% of the developers would never agree to "no DRM allowed" policy and would jump ship the moment Valve would introduce such policy. This is why Steam carters both the developers in the DRM-free camp and those who are in the pro-DRM camp. It's also why almost 100% of the commercial games released on PC are on Steam and while only around 10% are on GOG.

Do note that most of the top 10% biggest developers and publishers that make up majority of Steam's revenue are firmly on the DRM up wazoo and 3rd party launcher required camps. Only few of them are on GOG and most of that are offer only their older titles.

[Kargor]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von ReBoot:

The 80s were wild. And I pity every lil' mind that thinks intrusive DRM was a recent invention, somehow. Nowadays, you're at least free to log into your Steam account on any computer you want.

Yeah, Steam is actually one of the least intrusive DRMs. They completely abandoned the idea to lock games to specific computers, allow only a certain number of installs (without properly accounting for uninstalls...) etc. And, the service works.

With Steam, your account owns the games, and as long as you can access to your account you can download, install and play them. The only thing that sours this a bit is them going with the "Our friends and masters at Microsoft say Windows X is too old, so we'll say so too and just not let you access your games on older systems anymore".

[Spawn of Totoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Paratech2008:

Introduced in the 90s?

Um, DRM existed in the 80s. Commodore 64, Atari computers, PC floppies.

The Commodore 64 even had hardware dongles for games.

Please the 90s..

:shockedkitty:

Ya, I recall floppies that had something done to them, making it to where you couldn't copy their contents. It think it was something physically done, not software based, but same result.

5 1/4 inch floppies at that.

[Runkel]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Spawn of Totoro:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Paratech2008:

Introduced in the 90s?

Um, DRM existed in the 80s. Commodore 64, Atari computers, PC floppies.

The Commodore 64 even had hardware dongles for games.

Please the 90s..

:shockedkitty:

Ya, I recall floppies that had something done to them, making it to where you couldn't copy their contents. It think it was something physically done, not software based, but same result.

5 1/4 inch floppies at that.

If you are interested in that topic i highly recommend Modern Vintage Gamer.

For example his Video about Dungeon Masters copy protection is super interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VheNpiSZxf0

[Yujah]

I don't myself mind all DRM. Without any piracy is just too rampant. I've had grown people look at me cross-eyed for suggesting they'd simply pay e.g. €2 in a Steam sale for a game rather than have me copy a physical CD for them. For people not into software development it at one point became "just a friendly thing to do" for someone, and yes, with that kind of rampancy clearly a games or general software industry can not survive.

Beyond basic and non-intrusive DRM we're very fast into territory of diminishing returns though. I.e., normies aren't technical enough anyway, and as soon as you're guarding against cracking groups on the internet most of what you come up with will be cracked in a manner of days or weeks in any case but still inconvenience all your customers so badly that you just piss every one off.

My ebook store and in my store-region uses "social DRM"; embedding of personal/per-copy details inside of the copy so that should large numbers of illegally distributed copies with the same details surface they can be followed back to a source. And yes, sure, easily stripped even but "nobody" does since "nobody" cares. It's fine, it's non-intrusive, I can use my ebooks on whichever device I want, running whichever operating system (I'm a Linux user) and I don't feel like distributing them anyway. Buy your own bloody ebooks...

Steam "DRM" in the sense of just needing Steam and therefore a by Steam verified valid license is fine. It's non-intrusive -- and I don't feel like distributing games anyway.

[Volfogg]

Sincerely I have doubts about stuff SEGA & Atlus puts in games. Seems mild, but who knows. I often question intent of such. SMT III is pretty old game already, yet I still haven't installed it out of doubt.

[N0X]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Paratech2008:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von davidb11:

Well, that's like saying buying a physical media game is DRM because you need the disc in order to play.
:P

Physical games often require digital patches and upgrades. How rarely do physical copies work as-is without updates or an internet connection?

That is irrelevant.
The games were playable out of the box. Patches and version updates were optional unless you bought a game that has been out for a while and the newer version was put onto the later printed disk.
Also with GOG you can download individual patch files of your choosing alongside with the full game installer. Game ownwership works like how it used to where you actually owned your stuff after grabbing it from the store. Even In the 1990s and early 2000s when the internet became mainstream You used to just require a internet connection to go to the developer website or a gaming site to download updates and installers only. Once you had your files that was it. This is the best option for consumers. All that fridge i.q drivel you hear horned corporate speakers and their bootlicks spew about "you down own the product you bought" didn't even matter.

drm is justifiable to a point. But when it comes in the form of always online or periodically connect to a server to verify ownership it is going too far.

Support the gog platform. It is the most pro consumer storefront on PC at the moment.

[Lystent]

I'd be surprised is steam doesn't take all the games that use its DRM down with it, in the advent of shutting down.

[Tito Shivan]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von MrNewell123:

Greed, by developers the likely answer.

By now you've all stripped the word greed of any significance.

[Lystent]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Tito Shivan:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von MrNewell123:

Greed, by developers the likely answer.

By now you've all stripped the word greed of any significance.

To some, it is the same thing as saying (for example) "protecting sales".

[muckymucks]

Steam is DRM.

[Piston Smashed™]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von MrNewell123:

Greed, by developers the likely answer.

Steam was a DRM long before it even had a store, so, how can Steam's DRM be about greed...