Gameguru Mania

ggrobot · Elite Member Joined: 28 May 2004 Posts: 53575

Here\'s  John Gunn, the GM for Aladdin USA and
marketing specialist, ripping apart Gabe Newell\'s DICE speech.
In his speech, Newell discusses the world of DRM and its cost-benefits
to combating piracy. Mr. Gunn didn\'t much care for Mr. Newell\'s take on
the subject and calls out three particular quotes i

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Source: GGMania headlines
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poster55 · Contributor Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 8

There are a few things he fails to realize or at least acknowledge. DRM alienates the legit customers who would otherwise not have any issues with a product. As such DRM has earned a very bad rep among gamers who have no issue spending money and while his statement might have been true at the time DRM was first introduced, it has since -declined- in productivity -over time-.

One thing he fails to mention is, aside from Starforce, every DRM has been cracked, and every DRM protected game released either on or even before official release, to pirates.

DRM is a safety blanket that does little to nothing to protect the software. It has become so easy to bypass it, that it is obsolete these days, and Starforce was a perfect example of what happens when a company takes a more aggressive approach to a DRM that 'works.'

Starforce DRM was -so- aggressive, that it actually worked, but it didn't give just the pirates a headache, it frustrated the legit customers as well. The community spoke with their wallets, and boycotted games using the software to the point that even a major label like Ubisoft had to rethink their approach to using that DRM.

Sadly, no one will ever read this post because most people won't get past the article caption, but frankly said, this guy is a dumbass and his arguments are flawed and riddled with holes.

nb411 · Elite Member Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 497

I think in some ways, John Gunn is comparing apples with figs. He is talking about software piracy in general and Gabe is talking about games only. I think this distinction needs to be made clear and considered. Anything Valve does with DRM tends to generate a huge amount of attention, where as if an antivirus software company takes some steps to make their software harder to rip off, how many people notice?

Jelster · Junior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2005 Posts: 115

LOL that guy has a vested interest in perpetuating the belief that DRM prevents piracy. He's flipping company sells DRM!

http://www.aladdin.com/hasp/default.aspx

Gabe on the otherhand stands to lose money if what he is saying is untrue. He also shows that he's actually making plenty of money thanks by doing as he preaches. I wonder if he could match or surpass this bullshiter's supposed 13%, I wager yes.

What's sad is that you hear the like of Epic repeat these same things preferring to believe half arsed baseless statistics and monkeys like Gunn over simple logical examination.

If Gunn's inaccurate and inappropriate response is any reflection on his company's capability people should steer well clear. Cheap publicity for some two bit bullshitting company.