Let me make this plain. If you excuse draconian DRM practices like always-online or anything that will completely lock out the entire and most basic function of a game or a console, stop gaming right now. If you excuse these actions, you are doing harm to the gaming industry, not good. There is no justification for these practices and they need to end.
This blog isn't about Microsoft, this blog is about the idea of an always-online requirement and other similar schemes. Over the past month I've seen all kinds of excuses as to why an always-online console is not a bad thing, or is a good thing, or why someone can see why a company would go there. I'm here to tell you that that is the wrong attitude. An always-connected console can have benefits in terms of speed and for lazy people, but a forced online connection isn't one of those benefits. The copout of "well most people are always online anyway" is not a defence. Right now, on any of the consoles, you have a CHOICE of whether or not you want to connect to the internet to message friends, search the internet through a console browser, or play online multiplayer. If you do not want to do any of those things and you do not connect to the internet, you can still put in a game and play it minus the aforementioned multiplayer. That's good right? Right.
The premise behind an always-online required console is that said console will not allow you to use the basic function of playing any games offline. THAT IS OF NO BENEFIT TO YOU! You paid money for that game. You should be able to pop it in and play it. You should NOT have to worry that your spotty internet connection could boot you out of something you paid money for. There is no such thing as a 100% always stable network connection ANYWHERE in the world. I don't care what Cliffy B thinks, I don't care what Adam Orth thinks, IT DOESN'T EXIST!
Online passes are just as bad, but they affect ONLY the online portion of a game. That means you can still play the singleplayer portion of the game if you CHOOSE not to pay for an online pass. All of these restrictions serve no one but publishers. They are created based on myths (the used game market hurts developers) and over-exaggeration (piracy is such a huge problem that studios shut down because of it), but are founded in absolute greed.
The more we excuse these practices, the more we show even the slightest hint of apathy, the worse things will get. And if any of us have principles that would tell us "you can't buy this, it's wrong to support something like this" and more of us adopt this philosophy, then eventually either the core audience will cease being any kind of a priority to these developers/publishers and we all won't want to game anyway; or MAYBE these companies will see the error of their ways and revert back to before all of these pay wall schemes were invented.
Always-online required is a problem with which there is no justification. Any reasoning that publishers make is a bogus copout to hide wanton greed and control issues. It was unnecessary with Diablo 3 and I'm convinced that that game was successful because A)It was so long before the last Diablo game was released and B)It employed the same B.S. that FF13 did where people expected a great game and instead were met with DRM and mediocrity.
We have to stick together on this. We can't reward restrictions no matter who is imposing them. Whether it be blocking used games or forcing a network connection to allow for the basic functioning of console, we CAN'T allow this to go on. We are a community that CAN come together when we want to. Loudly and passionately. Our only problem is with how unstable we are, how inconsistent we are. That needs to change if we truly want the Golden Age of gaming to return once again.
Do not excuse DRM. Don't let these money grubbing control freaks think you agree with them in the slightest. That's the only way things can change.
Life is Strange developer Don't Nod currently has five unannounced games in the pipeline.
NoobFeed editor Jay Claassen writes - One Last Breath looks great from a distance but that notion changes very quickly when you start playing it. There’s endless potential and it needs a ton more polish before it can really take off but even then, there needs to be more intrigue to hold anybody’s attention.
WTMG's Leo Faria: "I tried not to compare South Park: Snow Day to The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, but considering it is still a sequel of sorts, it’s hard not to feel massively disappointed with this game. We went from gorgeous and hilarious RPGs to a bland, boring, uneventful action roguelike with baffling graphical design choices, underwhelming controls, and an overall gameplay loop you have experienced dozens of times before. The sense of humor alone is not worth the admission ticket. After being given some high quality wagyu from Obsidian Entertainment and Ubisoft San Francisco over the past years, it’s hard to go back to this spoiled truck stop beef jerky."
"Online passes are just as bad, but they affect ONLY the online portion of a game. That means you can still play the singleplayer portion of the game if you CHOOSE not to pay for an online pass."
What's your opinion on games locking single-player content behind codes?
ArkhamCity and RAGE (maybe?) employed something similar where you either bought the game new, or bought a code to have access to extra single player content.
To a smaller extent, I suppose pre-order exclusives like custom skins fall into this category too since they are all methods to get you to buy the product new.
I thought the Arkham City code was for CatWoman and not access to the single player. Hmmm. Anyway, locking out the basic function of the game behind a second pay wall is wrong no matter how you look at it. Pre-Order exclusives make developers and publishers hypocrites because stores like Gamestop sell games used and those are the very stores that these publishers/developers allegedly have a problem with. This just further proves the point that the used market hurting the industry is a lie because what would be served in then HELPING the stores that sell used games?
Here's the problem as I see it. Gamers have been saying with their mouths "I hate DRM" but saying with their wallets "go ahead and rape me with it".
Diablo III sold 12 million copies so far. SimCity sold 2 million in the first month, despite being completely unplayable. DLC is a form of DRM, since it requires you to have an online connection and a legit copy to access the "full" game. For years, console gamers haven't really protested against the restrictions of digital downloads (like only 4 active systems at a time for a PSN purchase, or having to sign in to XBL to use games on your hard drive). You think the increase in Day One patches is a coincidence? It forces users to get online with their game. Skyrim on PC, for example, can only be patched through Steam, even if you went to your local Best Buy and bought a physical copy. It makes me wonder if Bethesda rushing it to market wasn't intentional.
And the biggest culprit of all is Steam. Steam is DRM, no matter how anyone spins it. Steam requires you to "phone home" to the servers every two weeks or so, even if you put it in Offline Mode, or you'll be temporarily locked out of your games.
It really is no surprise that DRM is on the rise.
We asked for it.
I agree.
I'm a little torn though, and I'll tell you why.
I believe everyone has a right to buy whatever they want (as long as it's legal of course) with their own hard earned money.
However, I also believe it's because of the blind, uneducated casuals that so many of these draconian measures have allowed to be. Online passes, Overpriced DLC which is literally 99% of all DLC, DRM, COD cloning have all allowed to exists because these casuals make it viable.
Both beliefs conflict with each other, but in the end I guess it's moot because the casuals will continue to enable said behavior whether I wish it or not.
Do I hate the casuals as people? No. Do I hate their uneducated, 'I don't care' attitude when it comes to their gaming purchasing habits? Definitely.
I haven't bought a single piece of DLC ever, never bought an online pass, never bought a cod game, never bought a single game with DRM. I vote with me wallet, but unless more people start to wise up the industry will continue to move in this dark direction.