The Witcher 2 already proved DRM matters little to the average consumer. They heavily promoted and discussed the DRM version on GOG and yet the Steam version outsold it like 10 to 1, or more.

No one gives a shit.

That's so disappointing...

I'm proud to say that I contributed to GoG with a pre-order of The Witcher 2 even though I knew my computer would't run it properly.

Not that I under estimate the magical ability of not giving a shit about anything that isn't actively biting off their face of the average gamer, but Kickstarter games are not exactly aimed at the "average" gamer, it's a slightly a more niche market.

Hmm, Linux port for $2.2M. While I do understand that the OS X market is probably a lot larger than GNU/Linux, I'd have hoped that those goals would be closer to each other. Granted, there's 30 days left to go and just over 900k to that goal so it might very well be reached, but it seems a little unsure at this point, also, I'm waiting for a confirmed DRM-free edition (preferably on disc) before pledging.

To be fair you're massively under estimating the advertising and market control Steam has over the PC game market itself. Furthermore DRM is a term which has been abused so much that, the average gamer, really hasn't got much idea what DRM actually is. More over DRM isn't just a single type of management, there are many forms of it and for those already on Steam the control that Steam already has over the digital goods is something they are willing to accept - more extreme DRM like that used by UBISoft is another ball game.

So eh - DRM free is important to some, heck to some its a crazed addiction that they MUST have it - to others they are willing to have some degree of it without it invading their life.

The only way to fairly test it is to offer the game on only one distribution network and to offer both DRM and DRM free on that network and then see which people go for - otherwise you've way too many other variables which can affect the results.

And that distribution network must already be big enough that people trust it and are willing to create an account there if they do not already have one, and that the community can act as a reasonable estimate of the average gamer.

Steam or Gamersgate might be big enough (though even if the game itself doesn't require Steam in any way and can be copied away, you don't get the installer files - and Gamersgate's downloader is a slight hurdle to get through as well, though you do get the actual installer).

I found those stretch goals as a cheap and heavyhanded way to draw more money in. Especially the difference between Mac and Linux, since the *nix users have shown to be quite generous in order to create incentive for the developers. So, hey why not take advantage of that?

Whenever someone say that Steam DRM is really light, nice and overall hassle-free I wanna cry. When I was vising different country I was unable to launch any of my Steamwork game because as Steam told me "This game was activated with a product code that is valid only in a specific geographic region". So yeah, when I move to other country some of my games will become useless because I bought them in different country. I wonder if it isn't against EU law about the free movement of products within the European market.

Sorry, but this is absolutely not true.

"For the first six months following launch CD Projekt shifted 35,000 copies of the game digitally through GOG.com, which it owns. GOG.com sold the second most units across all platforms.

Top was, of course, Steam. More than 195,000 units were sold through Valve's digital platform. All other digital distribution outlets combined sold approximately ten thousand units. "

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-10-cd-projekt-witcher-2-gog-com-sales-vindicate-drm-free-decision

So it's only 5,5 times more on Steam than here. And that's when Steam is so much bigger than GOG (in terms of sales per day, daily users logged in, etc.).

If Witcher 2 proved something, is that there are many people (about 20%) who buy their games in digital distribution, who care about the DRMfree.

You should also be aware of the fact that according to that data, only 1/5 of the people who bought The Witcher 2 chose Steam. 800k chose retail over Steam, which was also DRM-free right after the release.

So please don't make simple assumptions, The Witcher 2 showed that DRM-fee crowd is important part of the market. Just important, as "No Steam - no buy".

But of course, most important part is "give me a good game".

A lot of people bought the game on GOG because it was

a) the best price for many EU customers due to the "promo offer"
b) it had plenty of really got bonus stuff void in the Steam version
c) people try to support the devs and buy directly from the source (my reason to pre-order it)

And the retail was packed with goodies, which made it worthwhile to get on top off Steam. Also, many simply like boxes.

You have to cut all those out of the 20% that assumedly went directly for DRM free. After that, not much is left standing. And TW2 was the "flagship" of the DRM free revolution.

DRM free started when Sony was using rootkits and Disc-checks where interfering hardware. People stopped buying those because they actually interfered with hardware and brought a whole bag of problems. When the gaming sector went digital the "DRM free" tag became nothing more that another marketing stunt that tries to build a positive corporate image. And it is surprising how many fall for it.

I believe you're missing the point entirely.

This is a no-brainer if there ever was one.. Also for the steam whiners, they're looking into a DRM-free version.

Obsidian + No publisher = RPG brilliance guaranteed.

Can't wait..
Only problem is I'll likely be starting a family by the time this comes out.. April 2014 *_*

Still it'll no doubt be worth the wait.

Are you sure about this ?

Exactly what I have been saying. Cheeky monkeys. Hopefully it will encourage other developers to the point where supporting Linux becomes a standard feature and not one used to milk.