Widescreen Gaming Forum

I didn't really want this to turn into a piracy thread... but I guess that was unavoidable. Any discussion of DRM invariably descends into a back and forth about piracy. :(

Its physically impossible to not discuss piracy when talking about DRM. DRM is only there to fight piracy (which lately, it does not do a very good job of might I add)

Its physically impossible to not discuss piracy when talking about DRM. DRM is only there to fight piracy (which lately, it does not do a very good job of might I add)

I am aware that DRM is a direct result of piracy. However, a discussion about DRM does not have to always turn into a flam^H^H^H^H... debate about the moral rights, wrongs, why one person does pirate, why another thinks they're all dirty filthy scum, yadda yadda ad infinitum. ;)

I was curious about how the game sold in stores with all this discussion about DRM, so I checked the 4 online shops I use. Sold Out, in every single one.
That's kind of impressive, usually only limited editions and such sells this fast.
Sorry, this was a bit off-topic, I'll leave now :oops:

If you're talking about Spore, then that's entirely on-topic. Considering the absurd hype of the game, the Will Wright brand, the next big game after The Sims!, I'm not surprised that it's selling big and fast. Hopefully that will multiply the number of cranky customer phone calls to EA when folks find out "Hey, I can only install this game 3 times then I have to buy it again!".

All this thread did was remind me about how long the grass on my lawn is.

:lol: :lol:

I'm sure some would argue otherwise. But I'll bow to your greater knowledge on this matter.

I've followed the results of a few court cases (in the US), and yeah, EULAs are basically just lawyers stoking their self-importance. The fact that EULAs are only accessible AFTER you purchase the game kinda invalidates any 'contractual' obligations it might portend, and like cranky said, consumers have irrevocable rights.

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I've followed the results of a few court cases (in the US), and yeah, EULAs are basically just lawyers stoking their self-importance. The fact that EULAs are only accessible AFTER you purchase the game kinda invalidates any 'contractual' obligations it might portend, and like cranky said, consumers have irrevocable rights.

OK, cool. I don't know of any 'testing' of EULAs like that in the UK/EU and really don't have the energy to go hunting right now. ;)

If I were rich, I wouldn't be sitting here stating I can download the latest games. But honestly I have no money.

That's what jobs are for. Getting money.

Lets say you agree to mow the grass. Should he pay me upfront?

If that's what the agreement is, then absolutely. And that's what the agreement is with games. If it were the other way around and gamers could avoid paying for a game just by claiming they were not satisfied with it, devs would stop making games.

If I were rich, I wouldn't be sitting here stating I can download the latest games. But honestly I have no money.

That's what jobs are for. Getting money.

Lets say you agree to mow the grass. Should he pay me upfront?

If that's what the agreement is, then absolutely. And that's what the agreement is with games. If it were the other way around and gamers could avoid paying for a game just by claiming they were not satisfied with it, devs would stop making games.

Cranky, I currently work fulltime, at a hourly wage and go to school fulltime.

Still, I'm trying to avoid debt though college. I got two more years and honestly, I'm in debt. Pardon me for not throwing away money on games I install, play for 2 hours, and then never finish. Its equivant of a demo without the demo bs.

Cranky, I currently work fulltime, at a hourly wage

In that case, that's what good budgeting is for. Good budgeting means knowing what counts as basic expenses, what doesn't, and having spare change left over from your income after basic expenses are done which can be spent on things like games. I had to work through school too. A lot of people do. This doesn't make it OK to freeload digital entertainment.

Pardon me for not throwing away money on games I install, play for 2 hours, and then never finish.

If they're so worthless then don't play them! Playing games isn't your birthright, and having the attitude that you're entitled to everything you want is both worlds of wrong and depressingly common lately.

Its equivant of a demo without the demo bs.

I have no idea what you mean by "demo BS," but whatever it is, is it worse to put up with it than paying retail price? If not, then it sure sounds like playing demos is the right way to go.

I stole ALL my games a few years ago when i made min. wage. all my savings went to my rig.

Most game demos, if there's one at all, are far too crippled to tell you if you'll really like a game.

I've just finished a demo for space rangers 2, total available demo playtime: 20 minutes.

Other games work fine in demo like Chaos Legion which I played and replayed the demo for some time till I borrowed the game from someone I know (beats me where he got it, I never found it myself). And in the end, it was good that I never did find it to buy. The demo was fun, the real game was repetitive overly 'challenging'/hard crap.

And while I can afford 50-60$ a game. I never will pay that. It's simply not worth it especially since replayability these days is grinding the same things over and over again. That's not replaying a game, that's artificial inflation of marketing numbers.

Example, a game like dungeon siege has well over 100 hours of play, and that's keeping mostly to the main quest.

All the GTAs (except the 4th, haven't played that one) have a long play time too. And in both cases the length makes up for the lack of replayability since what's left is collecting things.

Now more recently you have games that cost easily twice as those yet barely give you a nights play time and 0 replay.

I don't care if you say your game cost multi-zillion dollars to make, if you spent less time on flash and more on content it might last long enough to be worth 60$.

As for 'wait till it goes down', provided it's even available to begin with, it's unlikely to reach the bargain bin / lower price, it's cleared off the shelves entirely for the next uber-expensive AAA title before you get a chance to buy it.

Cranky, I currently work fulltime, at a hourly wage

In that case, that's what good budgeting is for. Good budgeting means knowing what counts as basic expenses, what doesn't, and having spare change left over from your income after basic expenses are done which can be spent on things like games. I had to work through school too. A lot of people do. This doesn't make it OK to freeload digital entertainment.

You reminded me of 90% of the people in my community with that statement.