Wheel of Games Journal

By now almost every gamer has already dealt or come into contact with DRM (Digital Right Management) systems. For years, DRM has been the music and gaming industry’s protection system of choice . But what exactly is DRM and what are its benefits and its cons for developers and customers alike? What exactly is it that I get by buying a DRM-protected product?

Digital Right Management

Despite the global economic crisis, the gaming industry is steadily growing. Yet the amount of pirated software increases, and it is becoming a real problem for software developers who are faced with enormous losses, as they have to confront a nearly unconquerable enemy.  Since previous copy protection systems are no longer sufficient, new methods are necessary to minimize financial losses. Digital Right Management is a possible solution. With the help of online encryption, the purchased products, i.e. computer games, need to be activated via the internet. But how does DRM work exactly?

The procedure itself is explained very quickly. As usually you buy a computer game, and install it on your computer. But before you are allowed to play you have to connect to the internet and register your game’s product key with a DRM license server.  After completing the registration process you get an electronic license for your product activating the product. To avoid multiple usages of a product the number of licenses is limited. This way it is secured that software is installed only on a certain amount of computers until all licenses are used up. Once this is the case the consumer has to contact the publisher to reset his licenses.

New DRM systems, i.e. used for Assassin’s Creed 2, even need a uninterrupted connection to the internet while playing the game. Should the connection be lost, the game pauses and the player cannot continue playing. Also server issues can drive players of such protected games nearly mad. Not long ago Ubisoft had to solve some issues preventing players from connecting to the DRM servers. So not only the ones playing The Settlers online with their friends weren’t able to continue with their matches but also the players enjoying the single player campaign could not continue settling. Some gamers consider Command & Conquer 4 to be problematic too. If the connection to the internet is lost during a running match it cannot be finished and all experience points are lost. There are similar restrictions and problems with other games as well.
What are the benefits of DRM?

The benefits for developers are obvious: forcing the customer to activate his product means that only legally bought copies can be played. The next step to prevent software piracy is to require a constant connection to the internet while playing. Given the many hurdles customers encounter with DRM protected software and the feeling of buying something you don’t own though, it is not surprising that resistance is forming within communities. These can put huge pressure on developers as in the case of the strategy game Anno 1404 shows. After many customers filed complaints about the DRM protection, this security measure was deactivated with patch 1.1.

Customers in fact don’t really profit from those DRM security measures. Volume licenses, forced online activation and a permanent internet connection are the reasons why an increasing amount of gamers starts to ignore DRM protected software. It almost became a game itself to rate DRM protected games negatively at online stores. „Whoever wants to play the game for free will still be able to do so“ is one of the most valid arguments against the DRM system. But what are the alternatives?

The Alternatives to DRM

Specially the entertainment sector could protect their property from being traded online by digital watermarks like the one developed by the Frauenhofer SIT. Music files, containing such a digital watermark, can be found on file sharing networks through a specially designed search algorithm. Given the music was bought online, a personalized watermark is attached and allows to identify the original owner.

British scientists work on a different method to encourage customers to pay for products. Free demo downloads are supposed to allow a first glimpse at the product. Supply and demand of the demo downloads will then determine the price for the full version of the product. This means old and not often downloaded software will become much cheaper than new products. Maybe this will attract a whole new form of customers, those who can’t afford new and expensive titles.

Blizzard trys a completely different approach. Players of the upcoming title Starcraft 2 have to register the game at the Blizzard owned Battle.Net before they are allowed to play the solo campaign offline. According to Frank Pearce, co-founder of Blizzard, developers don’t stand a chance against software piracy. The community will always find ways to deactivate protection measures and they outnumber the professional developers by far. Instead of fighting a war they cannot win, Blizzard is trying to encourage players to buy their games by offering features only honest customers can receive. In combination with an original license and a Battle.Net account players have access to statistics, achievements and several other goodies.

Eventually only the future will tell which copy protection measures will prevail and if there will be a change of mind within the companies regarding the way to fight piracy. As mentioned before communities have a huge influence on the development of a game. So it is imaginable that software developers think twice which and how many protection measures they implement in their product. No one wants to lose paying customers and it’s the community that provides the funding for upcoming projects.