sterckxe
Posts: 4605
Joined: 3/30/2004 From: Flanders Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: mgarnett Out of interest, and I'm not trolling here, are there any instances of a company going "belly-up" that had games requiring internet activation that can no longer be activated (i am only really interested in wargames but any genre examples would be good)? Sure, in the tabletop world there was this tabletop/computer hybrid game - you input the battle parameters on the computer which would then tell you the result to apply on the tabletop. The name escapes me right now but it was something like Illyrium or such. Last I heard it went belly-up and customers where left hanging. Could probably find you the name if I googled it - Neil Schuck of the Meeples & Miniatures podcast was a big fan of that game so it'll show up in the shownotes. Talonsoft's Conflict Middle East is another good example : it employs a kind of Starforce DRM protection that simply will not work on a modern day OS. The funny thing here is that Talonsoft's owner is now the guy behind Storm Eagle Studios who employ server activiation and also pinky swears they'll remove that when they go out of business. Yeah, right, that promise and a $10 bill will get you a free meal at Fat Tony's All You Can Eat for $9.99 pizza place. A final point : I've been wargaming on the pc for a long time. Here's a list of pc wargame companies which aren't around anymore : Empire Interactive, AH, SSI, Broderbund, CSS, MicroProse, DataSoft, General Quarters, RAW, SDJ Enterprises, Sirius Software, Sierra, 360 Pacific, QQP, Interactive Magic, IPCO and of course Talonsoft. Do you really think all current pc wargame publishers will still be around by 2020 and then imagine they all employed DRM ... quote:
ORIGINAL: mgarnett The way I see it, you have two choices, don't buy the games because of what "might" happen (but may never happen) and deprive yourself of the enjoymeny or, buy the games knowing the risk but you consider it acceptable. Either way is just as "right" as the other. Agreed. What gets on my nerves is those "whistling in the dark" guys proclaiming there's no problem with DRM when someone, like the OP, asks a straight-up question. That's acting dishonestly, almost like trying to trick someone into buying a game they maybe wouldn't have bought if they had known the full facts. Be open about the facts, then everyone can make a decision for themselves. Greetz, Eddy Sterckx
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