Digital Rights Management is probably one of the most hotly discussed topics in relation to the gaming industry in today’s world. More often than not the consumer is against DRM such as Games for Windows Live or EA’s Origin, Admittedly, attitudes towards Valve’s DRM platform Steam are usually a lot more positive which proves that not all DRM is perceived negatively and that acceptance of DRM is a matter of whether the benefits (like the Steam sales) outweigh the negatives.
In a stark contrast to Ubisoft speaking in favour of DLC the CEO of Paradox Interactive, who are responsible for such games as Magicka and the Europa Universalis series, Fredrik Wester spoke negatively about DRM in a recent interview with Gamespot. Wester speaks about how limiting he finds DRM, telling an anecdote of when he was unable to use his free copy of Peggle because he was stuck without any internet and without the internet EA’s DRM platform Origin would not allow him to access his game.
Wester’s key problem with DRM is that “It can punish players who actually bought the game” and he goes on to say that these punishments could actually encourage piracy as he claims that navigating DRM is often more fiddly, time-consuming and less convenient than simply obtaining the game illegally. When asked what Paradox would do to combat piracy if they are against DRM, Wester responded by saying “What we want to do is provide people who bought the game legally a better service. With frequent updates; good and convenient services; that’s how we fight piracy. I hope it works. I keep my fingers crossed.”
Wester certainly has a commendable attitude and he is obviously committed to providing a quality product with regular updates to dissuade pirates instead of locking their game behind DRM. I don’t think it is an understatement to say that gamers as a whole wish that more companies had the same attitude to DRM as Paradox.
