Hatin’ on DRM (and other things)

I was reading a blog when I started thinking on the whole DRM issue. Initially it was just my irritation at having drivers installed in the system, and the fact that we’re being treated as criminals that bothered me, but it’s starting to become clear that it goes deeper than that.

Lately (i.e. last 3-5 years) a concept called “casual piracy” has been gathering pace. This is what the record labels calls copying CDs for or from your friends. In some circles, this is called “fair use”, as long as it isn’t taken too far. I should for example be able to make my own backup copy of music, but record labels are trying to stop us from doing that. Cue Sony’s failed attempt.

Likewise, in the gaming industry, there have been various ways of making sure the games are only played by the ones that buy them. Up until a year or two ago, however, even after Sony’s miserable failure where they got thrashed for installing software without authorization, things have deteriorated with the use of StarForce, SecuROM, etc etc etc, which all install drivers without your consent. This is something I would in normal terms called “trespassing”. Or it’s something I would associate with viruses, botnets, spam, etc, things which gets the author/cracker some quality time behind bars with Bubba the Friendly Giant.

And now they’re infringing on “fair use” as well, saying how we don’t own the games, we license it, and that they say what we can and cannot do with it (false, it flies straight in the face of “first-sale doctrine”), and how we can’t install a game on more than 3, 5, x computers. Same goes for music (see iTunes etc). This is going to end up alienating consumers more and more, and with today’s gaming being what it is, I see it as counter-productive.

In today’s gaming environment, the focus is shifting towards more and more casual games, where you pick it up for 30 minutes of fluffy fun for relaxation. I.e. you have less mental investment in the game, and the game naturally lends itself more and more to being lent to other people so they can have their 30 minutes of fluffy fun. Or you can bring the game along to a party for a collective 30 minutes of fluffy fun.

Now, however, games publishers mean that’s not something you can do, at least those who utilize SecuROM on their titles seem to mean that exact thing. They’d rather everyone bought a copy, since of course that means more money for them. In and of itself this isn’t a bad thing, since by buying it you would support the developer and publisher etc, which is a good thing. They’ve spent years on making a product, and you enjoy it, it’s only fair that you give a little back to them. But they should not infringe on fair use, i.e. deny me from taking my game over to another computer and play from there, sell it to someone else, or even lend it to someone else. Hell, what they’re going to end up doing is singlehandedly kill off the videogame rental market. I shudder to think when they’ll kill off the DVD/bluray rental market as well.

I wish all the entertainment industries would stop infringing on copyright laws themselves to “protect their property”, the only thing they’re doing is making it worse. The stricter they make it, the further away from the copyright laws they get. Both in letter and in spirit.

Another blogger wrote this in 2005, and basically is saying the same thing, except for music. Apparently this wasn’t enough of a warning for them that some things you just don’t do because it’s against the law etc, but oh well. Yes, pirates are a problem, but that does not give publishers license to act like assholes themselves. I hope EA loses badly in their lawsuit. Since apparently Sony wasn’t enough of a warning, maybe EA can be.