Digital Distribution: Imagined Fears

[MelodieOctavia]

Considering how many CDs & DVDs I've had gone bad on me I'd pick digital distribution over a physical disc any day.

I'm pretty sure that Blu-ray (used by PS3 and soon Wii U) has an added protective layer to prevent disc scratching. It shouldn't be as prevalent a problem anymore.

That's a very good thing, because that protective layer is the only thing separating the outside world from the data layer.

 

[Minox]

Maybe you should just learn to properly take care of discs. Number of discs I've had go bad on me (assuming the disc wasn't defective brand new out of the box)? Zero, and I've been playing disc based games since the TurboCD.

@[member='Minox_IX']
Some types of DRM on discs can cause them to fail earlier, especially ones that count on "faded tracks" or however it's referred to, where they're printed in a way that multiple reads are needed before certain data can be read off the disc, so a one-pass done for a copy won't get all the data. These sections are much more likely to fail totally before others since they're faded (shallow pits) to begin with. I tried looking up what DRM HoM&M3 uses, but given the relatively-early release date it's likely it was something custom, not adoption of a third-party technology (like securom and shit).

To my knowledge only one of the Heroes of Might & Magic 3 expansions used copy protection (SafeDisc)and that was Armageddon's Blade. The original release, the second expansion as well as the complete version all lack copy protection. If I remember this correctly though the complete edition utilized overburning to cram in about 100-200MB of extra data that normally weren't there on most games.

The copies I had was one of the original release and two complete editions, so maybe the whole overburning procedure could explain why the latter ones went bad more quickly but that does not quite explain why my original copy went bad. Either way, I have a digital copy now and I have no plans on buying disc based games again. I'm quite contempt with digital distribution after all as it allows me to play my games with minimal hassle.

Considering how many CDs & DVDs I've had gone bad on me I'd pick digital distribution over a physical disc any day.

I'm pretty sure that Blu-ray (used by PS3 and soon Wii U) has an added protective layer to prevent disc scratching. It shouldn't be as prevalent a problem anymore.

Blu-ray in my case sadly has no practical usage as I do not have a Blu-ray unit and I do not possess a PS3.

 

[TripleSMoon]

I'm just gonna throw this out there: If it weren't for DRM, I would be totally for digital storage, all the way. And if it weren't for piracy, I would be totally AGAINST digital storage all the way.

Even as an honest, paying customer (except when it comes to emulating legacy systems like SNES, Genesis, etc), I WANT to be able to fall back on piracy if I need to. The main reason that I go completely digital for music is because I know that, if something happens that prevents me from using my legally purchased music (or I lose it), I'm just one torrent or .zip file away from recovering it for free, regardless of the state of my "official" copy. Same thing with emulating old games, even if I already own the hardware and games. Even if I lose all my old legal games or pirated ROMs in a fire that destroys everything, it's no freaking problem because I just have to go to one or more various unnamed ROM sites and redownload them (and since they're usually only a few megabytes, that takes only a matter of seconds).

And I'm not a heavy PC gamer, but you can bet that if I was, I would download the cracked version of the game, even if purchased it legally, just to get away from the DRM.

So, yeah. No matter what anyone wants to say regarding piracy, it's a good fallback, even for honest people who just want to be able to freaking control what they already paid for, or recover it if it's lost, no matter what circumstances are.

 

[Haloman800]

Excellent write up. I prefer having a digital collection to a physical collection of anything. It's easier to take my laptop with me then my entire collection of 50+ games.

I'm in the process of scanning (nearly) every important document I own, uploading it to a secure online storage "cloud" like Dropbox, then destroying the physical copy. Saves space, and I have access to it anywhere I have internet, which nowadays is virtually everywhere (Unless you have service with AT&T).

Err...I wouldn't go that far. You should always have a physical backup of any important document. That's just common sense.

"...in the process of scanning (nearly) every importan document"..

I probably shouldn't of used the word "important". What I meant is important to me.. Things like birthday cards and mementos of old events. I still have physical copies of contracts, certificates, anything like that.

Also, as I mentioned ealier, everything digital I've scanned is uploaded in multiple cloud sources (Dropbox, Box.net .com, Evernote) And I have access to them all via a webDAV client called "Otixo".

Again that's an issue with DRM, the inability to back up and transfer your own damn copies. Whereas things that lack DRM don't have that issue. I can back up freeware apps on my tablet and transfer them to other tablets just fine, but ones that include license check DRM throw a wrench into the ability.

Digital != DRM.

Assuming it's Android (it seems to be so), and you're rooted, check out "Lucky Patcher"..

 

[Rydian]

Yeah there's always hacks to get rid of DRM, but the situation AW made (where the system in question is unhacked) is a grim one, as people won't be able to wrest their rights back.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I'd like people to name ten games with the horrific always-online DRM that we've grown to hate.

It's not like it's even that popular and it's certainly not the future. A lot of people have canned always-online DRM anyway and a lot of publishers and developers have said it does nothing.

Also for the whole "physical games can last" argument. Everything physical breaks at one point or another. No matter how well you take care of something, it'll break down eventually. Digital games, as long as the internet exists, they'll be there.

 

[Deleted_171835]

I'd like people to name ten games with the horrific always-online DRM that we've grown to hate.

Assassin's Creed II
Diablo III
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Driver
Command & Conquer 4
From Dust
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Anno 2070
Company of Heroes

http://steamdrm.flib...he_Big_DRM_List

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I'd like people to name ten games with the horrific always-online DRM that we've grown to hate.

Assassin's Creed II
Diablo III
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Driver
Command & Conquer 4
From Dust
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Anno 2070
Company of Heroes

http://steamdrm.flib...he_Big_DRM_List

I know for a fact that Brotherhood doesn't have always-online DRM. Assassin's Creed II, SC: Conviction, and From Dust dropped it as well.

 

[Deleted_171835]

I know for a fact that Brotherhood doesn't have always-online DRM. Assassin's Creed II, SC: Conviction, and From Dust dropped it as well.

I'm playing Assassins Creed II on Steam right now (look at my sig) and I can confirm that it does contain always-online DRM. If I boot that UPlay shit in offline mode, I can't access my game.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I know for a fact that Brotherhood doesn't have always-online DRM. Assassin's Creed II, SC: Conviction, and From Dust dropped it as well.

I'm playing Assassins Creed II on Steam right now (look at my sig) and I can confirm that it does contain always-online DRM. If I boot that UPlay shit in offline mode, I can't access my game.

My bad, I misread. The others are still valid last time I checked.