Most dedicated PC gamers are familiar with the name GOG, otherwise known as Good Old Games, a digital game retailer owned by the company behind the Witcher series of games, CD Projekt. They're renown for selling games with no form of DRM whatsoever, believing that once you buy a game, you should be free to fully own it, rather than being bound by anti-piracy measures.

This stance has brought GOG to its latest attempt to inform gamers: the "FCKDRM initiative".

A new site, made by CD Projekt has gone live, called fckdrm.com, tries to advocate the public against all forms of DRM, claiming them as not only anti-consumer, but that they can also act as a "kill switch" that could easily prevent owners from accessing their purchases. A ticker on the top of the site says the following:

Did you know that there's a killswitch in your games/books/music/movies/apps?
It's called DRM, and it can block your access to things you bought.
You can still take control by choosing DRM-free sources.

The site then lists problems with media that has DRM, such as the inability to have offline access or a loss of consumer rights, as well as being a roadblock in terms of digital preservation.

DRM-free approach in games has been at the heart of GOG.COM from day one. We strongly believe that if you buy a game, it should be yours, and you can play it the way it’s convenient for you, and not how others want you to use it.

The landscape has changed since 2008, and today many people don’t realize what DRM even means. And still the DRM issue in games remains – you’re never sure when and why you can be blocked from accessing them. And it’s not only games that are affected, but your favourite books, music, movies and apps as well.

To help understand what DRM means, how it influences your games and other digital media, and what benefits come with DRM-free approach, we’re launching the FCK DRM initiative. The goal is to educate people and ignite a discussion about DRM. To learn more visit https://fckdrm.com, and share your opinions and stories about DRM and how it affects you.

At the bottom of the page is a list of causes to support, such as non-profit companies Defective By Design, which focuses on showing the failures of DRM in different forms, as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who try to lobby and fight legal battles against companies who try to force DRM upon their users. Bandcamp, GOG, OpenLibra, and Vimeo are all noted for being a source of DRM-free media, as an alternative to more mainstream options.

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[WiiUBricker]

I would love to use GOG.com for all my PC games purchases, but the reality is that almost all new releases are Steam-only.

 

[WildDog]

I would love to use GOG.com for all my PC games purchases, but the reality is that almost all new releases are Steam-only.

Would you sell your product in a place that allows free copies??

 

[deSSy2724]

Support these guys, buy something, gift it to someone or whatever. We need to stop this cancer for preservation purposes.

Hmm .. I knew right from the title that this thread would derail into the same debate as usual.

So here's the question : why?

It's a website informing GAMERS . That's nice and all, but drm is implemented by DEVELOPERS who look at it from a different angle. Most if not all of them know these rhetoric, but they rather have a way to get payed (even a flawed one) rather than making a leap of faith. Result : a site isn't going to change anything.

Wait .. I take that back : it's basically propaganda for gog. Com. Not that I mind because I like the platform but that doesn't make it less propaganda

Dude you are right........ BUT at the end of the day, its a fact that piracy doesnt hurt companiens in the long run, plain and simple. Its proven again and again with every generation of consoles, same goes for hollywood etc. The first console/s to get hacked or AAA movies/series which were leaked, stolen or whatever ended up being the most succesfull ones in the long run when it comes to sales. I mean, most Steam games (most still use weak protection) are cracked day one within hours if not minutes and what do we see? They are still on the top steam sale charts.... cmon.

Would it been otherwise, Valve would implement a much stronger protection YEEEEARS AGO!!!

 

[samcambolt270]

My stance will always remain. Stop treating your customers like pirates. If you're going to treat me like a pirate even if I give you sixty of my hard earned dollars, than you don't get my money.

 

[guily6669]

I specially hate when they cripple our CPU performance for DRM securities eating a lot of it... Its only a BIG WIN-WIN for big corporations, you have to run waste all your earnings in a faster CPU.

And now its Nvidia RTX another big step introducing lot more real-time ray-tracing performance making us having to waste a year of saving for a super increased GPU because Ultra is not enough anymore...

Back in 2011 when I made my PC my top of the line 3 slot huge GTX570 was like ~350€ now a 2070 will probably cost like 600€ here if not even more, making PC gaming for the rich or ppl that has a nice salary, thank you.......

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

Lol I think this just made my day. Blessed CDPR.

 

[Pandaxclone2]

There is DRM because people steal software. It doesn' matter if the company goes bankrupt or not. If i steal your blender you are not going to starve... So it's ok if steal it??
Don't like the DRM? don't buy the software, plain and simple.

Which is exactly what I do anyway. Doesn't detract from everything that's been stated. DRM sometimes even fuels piracy in cracking the game to make it perform better without DRM bogging it down. Piracy is an issue, yes... but DRM is just an issue waiting to happen after that.

gamesquest1 said it best: Even if they got rid of the DRM after the game was cracked or after a period of time, that would be a step in the right direction since the DRM has served its purpose. There's no need to continue using it.

 

[deSSy2724]

SecuROM and some older protections are considered malware these days on Win 10

 

[guily6669]

StarF* was the best lol, it made some windows to need a reinstall and still holds the record for uncracked game.

It actually destroyed my Windows XP installation too at some point even though I fixed it was a big hassle. And with a old motherboard I had games were already cracked as it didnt work some didnt work on some version of Nvidia Nforce chipset LOL

 

[samcambolt270]

There is DRM because people steal software. It doesn' matter if the company goes bankrupt or not. If i steal your blender you are not going to starve... So it's ok if steal it??
Don't like the DRM? don't buy the software, plain and simple.

When you steal someones blender, you deprive them of a blender. When a pirate steals software they deprive no one of anything, as they weren't going to buy it in the first place. That in no way justifies butchering legitimately purchased software with excessive restrictions, an always online system, and even systems that can destroy hardware. When you make legitimate customers want to pirate your software just to not have to deal your bullshit, you've gone too far.

 

[smf]

once a game is cracked the DRM kinda serves no purpose, pirates will pirate it anyway so any negative side effects are only going to effect those who are being playing fair and not pirating.

It does still serve a purpose. Not all people know where to find pirate software & some people avoid it, because they fear getting virus or malware on their pc.

Get rid of DRM and they can just buy one copy and copy it between friends.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Would you sell your product in a place that allows free copies??

No use fighting pirates. Those who want to pirate always find a way. So my answer to your question is: of course I would.

 

[DarkKaine]

I'm going to be that guy and say that GOG is ruining the industry with their shitty policy.

As much as you hate DRM, it's necessary. Why would you purchase anything if you can find it very easily online? The "people will pirate regardless" argument is flawed because, in order to download a crack, you need to do your research, download some malware, some bitcoin miner, maybe spend hours looking for the right file, until you have it. This is enough to scare off some people. It's entirely different when you can just go to some website and download the complete GOG library without any hassle.

But what GOG is doing is retarded beyond human capacities. Piracy is becoming a real issue between indie developers (just look at how many people pirate on mobile) but you can't talk negatively about it or you'll get harassed by entitled pirates. What GOG is doing is letting them win.

Several reasons for purchase. It's convenient, it's the original game and not a copy and most of all you support the developers. If I purchased it on Steam I can download it from pretty much everywhere. I'm aware there is definitely DRM in Steam, but this is the kind I can get behind. Everyone will access the internet at least once in 2 weeks and the executable isn't obfuscated so you can easily do mods. Nor does it compromise performance. And most of all, I can be fairly sure Steam isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I'm sure Valve will outlive me. Can't say the same for Denuvo with all their internal leaks and public outrage.
Besides, online multiplayer will forever be locked behind a purchase so do we really need more unnecessary garbage running on our devices?
Ever tried running a game with obfuscation/DRM in Linux or a Virtual Machine? That'll be fun when we're rocking Windows 13 and we're trying to play some old games..

There's tons of reasons why DRM is bad. Your argument here is game sales, but has it ever been proven that a game sold better because of the DRM in place?
One download doesn't equal a lost sale. The person might not have money to buy the game to begin with. If that person ends up really liking the game he might though. If however there's a story going around about certain CPU's not working just because they want to enforce DRM he probably won't.

 

[Song of storms]

Several reasons for purchase. It's convenient, it's the original game and not a copy and most of all you support the developers. If I purchased it on Steam I can download it from pretty much everywhere. I'm aware there is definitely DRM in Steam, but this is the kind I can get behind. Everyone will access the internet at least once in 2 weeks and the executable isn't obfuscated so you can easily do mods. Nor does it compromise performance. And most of all, I can be fairly sure Steam isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I'm sure Valve will outlive me. Can't say the same for Denuvo with all their internal leaks and public outrage.
Besides, online multiplayer will forever be locked behind a purchase so do we really need more unnecessary garbage running on our devices?
Ever tried running a game with obfuscation/DRM in Linux or a Virtual Machine? That'll be fun when we're rocking Windows 13 and we're trying to play some old games..

There's tons of reasons why DRM is bad. Your argument here is game sales, but has it ever been proven that a game sold better because of the DRM in place?
One download doesn't equal a lost sale. The person might not have money to buy the game to begin with. If that person ends up really liking the game he might though. If however there's a story going around about certain CPU's not working just because they want to enforce DRM he probably won't.

Steam IS drm.

Your argument is so invalid that my calculator crashed.

 

[samcambolt270]

Steam IS drm.

Your argument is so invalid that my calculator crashed.

They very clearly mentioned that and said it was the kind they could get behind, and followed with the reasons why. It's a bit choppily written, but If you clearly have bad reading comprehension and can't read slightly choppy statements without misunderstanding them, maybe don't try to argue on the internet.

 

[WildDog]

When you steal someones blender, you deprive them of a blender. When a pirate steals software they deprive no one of anything, as they weren't going to buy it in the first place.

They deprive the company from earnings, since the pirate will share his software with the whole internet. Then someone who was going to buy will not.

 

[samcambolt270]

They deprive the company from earnings, since the pirate will share his software with the whole internet. Then someone who was going to buy will not.

Again, people who pirate software aren't just going to buy that software simply because they can't pirate it. A pirate downloading a game derives no company of any earnings whatsoever.

 

[Kioku]

They deprive the company from earnings, since the pirate will share his software with the whole internet. Then someone who was going to buy will not.

That's not how it works.. That's not how ANY of it works. You're spitballing, throwing asinine arguments around that have no consistency to them. If any of what you state is true, by all means POST YOUR SOURCE.

We have the means to acquire software and games for free. Most of which without any hassle. If you blindly ignore this, all while trying to justify your empty arguments then you have no reason to continue.

 

[FAST6191]

it won't stop DRM. companies like ubisoft are fucking in luv with it so bad.

Did they not say the same about music services all those years ago?

 

[kuwanger]

Why you lock your doors? Because you want to protect your property from potential theft

A door with a lock can be a useful deterrent in limited circumstances for the owner of the door. I would never buy (or even take for free) one of Amazon's smart door locks so they could make deliveries. Do you understand the difference between the two scenarios?

Why companies use DRM? Because they want to protect their property from potential theft.

I've never bought software because it has DRM. I have considered not buying software because it has DRM, but generally if I was ever afraid of the DRM causing issues I was almost always assured with a quick google search that the DRM could be cracked.

There is DRM because people steal software.

That is true. There are also guns because people shoot people with guns. There are massive nuclear arsenals because there are other countries with massive nuclear arsenals. The justification and rationalization doesn't make it any less stupid.

It doesn' matter if the company goes bankrupt or not. If i steal your blender you are not going to starve... So it's ok if steal it??

People can pirate games. People do pirate games. People can download all the NES, SNES, etc that exist. Yet somehow, people go out and still buy games, even NES/SNES compilations. Is it because it was too hard to pirate? Was it they were afraid they'd get malware from pirates? Was it that they felt some sort of desire to actually "own" a game and know they're paying the creator something to let them know they appreciate it? Was that it was vastly more convenient to have all their games stored non-locally from a trusted source they could repeatedly download from without issue? Does it matter so long as the maker gets their money?

The question isn't if it's okay to steal (or engage in copyright infringement). It's whether or not DRM is an overreaction. In just about every fashionable it is, not because people don't pirate. It's because too much DRM actually creates a worse experience for those who buy the game. Why should I require being online, be prevented from moving a game to another computer because I have "too many" activations, or at all have to worry that the reason a game keeps crashing is not because the game developers are idiots but because the DRM developers are idiots?

Life is not a tautology. Terrorist will get past security checkpoints. Killers will escape justice. Little babies will cry because life is not fair. As much as it makes sense to have deterrents on all sorts of things, from locks to guns to WMDs, it's really unreasonable to act like a world without these things in as much as we can strive for it is somehow a bad thing. Always looking for excuse that there are bad people out to hurt you, if really taken for what it is, is self-crippling.