Square Enix: DRM is a necessary part of doing business .....

[marurun]

SqEn has actually published some fantastic PC titles. I know lots of folks who love the Hitman series, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one of my favorite PC Titles of all time. Honestly, it's the JPN-side development that's suffering the worst.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yeah they're publishing a crapload of games now due to the acquisition of smaller companies.

I'm having a really hard time thinking of the last good game actually developed by Squeenix.

[Violent By Design]

Yeah they're publishing a crapload of games now due to the acquisition of smaller companies.

I'm having a really hard time thinking of the last good game actually developed by Squeenix.

They mainly make a lot of remakes/enhanced ports now, well at least Squire Enix Proper does. But yeah, they just let the companies they bought out do most of the developing.

I guess FF 15 is going to be their big come back game, though I do hear the new FF14 is pretty good if you like MMOs.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I can't imagine that FFXV will be anything resembling playable.

But it will sell like hotcakes. Brand recognition and all.

[dunpeal2064]

I doubt XV will be a terrible game, but I'm sure tons of people here will hate on it.

You know, brand recognition and all.

[darsparx]

You also forgot Kingdom hearts Squeenix may do a lot of shady stuff but i've not been disappointed by that series yet....of course i'm still trying to go back and play through 1 before I reattempt some of the other games i own in that series. At least they have one actually decent franchise right now :-\


Though with drm, does no one remember the greenheart video game they made? That game was all about drm and heck they even experimented with what would happen if a cracked copy made it into the wild. I think the game was called "game dev tycoon", would definitely recommend it while on the subject of drm.

[J T]

You know who else says DRM is here to stay? Valve.

Ah, but via the Steam service, Valve gives you enough other benefits that the DRM becomes much more palatable, not to mention the massive sales. With many other forms of DRM, you, as the consumer, get NO ADVANTAGE WHATSOEVER over a game that simply lacks DRM.

In order for DRM to truly be successful and well-tolerated by consumers, it must confer advantages to the consumer, not simply take away privileges.

It is the Steam client that gives you advantages. The DRM that is a subcomponent of that client does not give you advantages.

[marurun]

It is the Steam client that gives you advantages. The DRM that is a subcomponent of that client does not give you advantages.

True, but the two are bundled rather tightly. I'm sure I have some Steam games with Steam DRM, but I have never noticed it. It has impacted my ability to play games NONE, and the Steam client and service has enough advantages that I do not hesitate to buy and use Steam-distributed games, despite the fact that some of them use Steam DRM. In this way, the total Steam package has enough advantages that the disadvantages (DRM, lack of resale, lack of physical backup, etc...) are effectively countered.

[isiolia]

It is the Steam client that gives you advantages. The DRM that is a subcomponent of that client does not give you advantages.

Could depend on what you compare it to. Relative to something that has no copy protection of any kind, DRM isn't going to be advantageous.

Relative to physical copy protection schemes, well planned DRM might be preferable, at least for certain things.

For example, a basic "needs CD in drive" level of copy protection for a game, versus Steamworks DRM. You can be away from home, using a machine that doesn't even have an optical drive, and you can still install and play the game at will.

Done right, DRM can be fairly flexible, versus the Starforce disc verification limited to 3 installs type crap that PC game publishers had done before (or manual lookups, wheels, etc).

I agree, most of what makes Steam nice has nothing to do with DRM - but it does illustrate how it can be integrated in such a way that it's not as intrusive.

[Damm64]

You also forgot Kingdom hearts Squeenix may do a lot of shady stuff but i've not been disappointed by that series yet....of course i'm still trying to go back and play through 1 before I reattempt some of the other games i own in that series. At least they have one actually decent franchise right now :-\


Though with drm, does no one remember the greenheart video game they made? That game was all about drm and heck they even experimented with what would happen if a cracked copy made it into the wild. I think the game was called "game dev tycoon", would definitely recommend it while on the subject of drm.

Don't worry they are going to find the way to ruin that too. They will avoid that if they finish Sora's story on KH3.

As for DRM, as long is not as intrusive and stupid one like always online (blizzard, EA, Ubisoft looking at you) i'm ok.