Bethesda doesn't need DRM in the age of Steam Workshop, honestly. Their sales are assured. As far as their old IPs, it's in their best interest to get them on as many distribution services as possible.

All good points. As much as it's nice to see the old classics on GoG it's hyperbolic to say these companies are moving away from supporting DRM - obviously they still do. It's a bit of Cinderella-thinking to believe the carriage is not a pumpkin.

(On a side note Paradox has no plans of going DRM free for Cities: Skylines according to their people - Steam is where it lives for the foreseeable future.)

What's interesting to me is the way game companies consciously or unconsciously (probably unconsciously) have rejected the windowed business model Hollywood follows. Hollywood makes a product, it goes to theater at top dollar prices, then VOD, then DVD/Bluray, and finally cable and Netflix. Each window contributes to recovering investment and turning a profit over the approximate 3-5yr lifecycle of a film. Game companies already discount heavily after 6-12months of a game's release but apparently don't see the 6-12month mark as a new opportunity to market a DRM free version. At that point anyone who wanted to steal the game already has meanwhile paying customers wanting DRM free versions simply get left out in the cold.

Steam Workshop, when used as Valve intend IS DRM. It chooses when the game lunches or not. Thats DRM.

Has anyone noticed that this thread which was started as a joke has actually turned into a serious debate? Seriously guys, let it go!

Not to disagree with you, but i sorta think of it more like a Swiss Army Knife. The Swiss Army Knife has a knife... and a can opener, a screw driver, scissors, etc, none of which are by themselves the Swiss Army Knife. But once they've been added to the package, you can't say 'The Swiss Army Knife is just a knife' anymore, because you KNOW it has other features to it, and those features can't be discounted from it's namesake since they've been there so long.

Since DRM is a main feature (although not it's only feature), DRM is in fact part of the package, whether it's utilized, or not. Look at two games side by side, one has DRM and one doesn't, both bought on steam... Even if it clearly labels if it uses DRM in the description, it's not easy to separate even at a glance and it's in fact much easier to assume there's DRM than not.


Heh... you know... i look at my Leatherman i bought while i was in the army, and it has a ton of tools on it. Only recently did i learn what the awl was (or even how to use it). Most Leathermans include an awl to my knowledge, along with a few knifes and several every day tools. Learned how to use the Awl, and it's great feature/tool! But the leather-man (like the Swiss Army Knife and Steam) is the entire product; It may not be useless to never have/use some of those features, but you can't really discount that they are in fact there.

Unlike a tool which you can modify and remove a useless feature or replace it, you can't just clip off the big can opener labeled DRM because you'll never get or use canned items, it's there... and it's not your choice.

But this half rant isn't really important, just a side thought... a view from another angle.

I have to say, that was a very well written post. A fairly unique comparison, well done. :P

I mostly just let my hands type what i was thinking, then revised it before finally posting it.

I'm not calling death to DRM (although i have in the past when i had a lot more pent up anger), and i'm not trying to spread hate for Valve; But the big wart/troll that seems to give us so much trouble is there while the potential of it not being used i constantly see as debunks for if 'Steam is DRM' or not because somehow Steamworks (that requires Steam) makes Steam not DRM.

This makes me scratch my head, It's like saying a truck is still a truck if you take away all the wheels. In theory they are technically correct, but there's too many obvious cases where you don't run the truck without wheels (or steam without steamworks/DRM).

I guess i want everyone to agree to a point of view and move on, so only the trolls will troll eachother... maybe then, they will finally go away...

Moving on is something this lot does not do.

Sorry :(

There is finality to wrongness. Admittance means the chase is over, and the journey that has honed your beliefs comes to an end. For what would you be without the naysayers, the pessimists, and the detractors? For who now is your father if not me? I am the well spring, from which you flow. When I am gone, you will have never been. What would your world be, without me, my son?

Happier? ;)
and so you should be! :P

I do hope they do release more current titles.

If titles were released 2 years later sans DRM, i'd happly wait until then to buy them. Mind you not at original RRP though.

Yes they are. Cut them no slack. Like you said, until they release previous games that have DRM without said DRM, they haven't done anything that hasn't already happened.

Patience young padawan. Those will come as well.

I know, Bethesda's prices are on par with Blizzard. Newer games are about right, but classics are way too high. Want to have a go at Fallout but will wait till the next sale on either Steam or GOG, preferably GOG.