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DRM-free approach in games has been at the heart of GOG.COM from day one. We strongly believe that if you buy a game, it should be yours, and you can play it the way it’s convenient for you, and not how others want you to use it.

The landscape has changed since 2008, and today many people don’t realize what DRM even means. And still the DRM issue in games remains – you’re never sure when and why you can be blocked from accessing them. And it’s not only games that are affected, but your favourite books, music, movies and apps as well.

To help understand what DRM means, how it influences your games and other digital media, and what benefits come with DRM-free approach, we’re launching the FCK DRM initiative. The goal is to educate people and ignite a discussion about DRM. To learn more visit https://fckdrm.com, and share your opinions and stories about DRM and how it affects you.
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Kanashe: Wanna tell that to all the retards who equate Cloud Saves stuff with DRM? Because, yeah there are people like that and they are in your DRM-Free camp. So yeah, you gathering of retards are the ones who started this bullshit in the 1st place. Listen, I get that mofos like you only exist so you can keep going with that DRM-Free crap, in hopes that something will change one day and all companies will stop doing it. But, well it ain't gonna happen, I mean you guys can keep dreaming that companies will suddenly take GOG's initiative (which they won't), but at some point you'll just have to accept it and live with it. But hey, until then enjoys sucking up to GOG or whatever is you sad mistakes of nature do.
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squid830: I have yet to ever encounter someone who is in the DRM-free camp and equates cloud saves with DRM. So far I've only ever encountered one being who believes that cloud saves == DRM, and that is you. And you obviously enjoy being raped by large corporations, because with DRM you get fucked hard by Uncle EA and his filthy ilk.

I will never, ever accept DRM. There are a number of companies that don't do DRM, and (hopefully) never will. Any game that comes with DRM is a game I will not buy. There will always be alternatives.

In some countries, people said the same thing about discriminating against people based on the colour of their skin, or giving women the vote... "It'll never happen". Never say never - the anti-DRM movement is already much larger than it was when that crap first started appearing - most likely helped by all the people screwed over by always-on DRM shit - and unless large corporations buy out or exterminate all anti-DRM companies, it will continue to grow.
Yeah, there are such people in your pwecious Anti-DRM, but sure keep thinking that I'm the only one who thinks that. Since you're also the naive idiot who assumes your silly anti-DRM movement is huge, when its actually a small paper tiger facing a collosal storm.

Okay, I understand, you're a special snowflake who considers himself awesome because he stands the so called DRM overloards or whatever the fuck you picture yourself. Do enjoy your lil special fantasy of how you'll change the whole DRM thing. An boy I do hope they will exterminate the whole anti-DRM thing so I can laugh at all you losers even more, honestly to compare your pathetic crusade with civil liberties or something is hilarious. Compared to those guys, you people are a gathering of either tumblr users or SJW types in terms of being taken seriously.
Post edited August 23, 2018 by Kanashe
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DontPay4Digital: I would like to educate people on DRM and how GOG bounces back and forth between standards for their own gain as a marketing tactic and how GOG/CDPR have proven they cannot be trusted. Don't mistake me for a Valve drone, I do not give money to any of these worse than rent seeking disgusting digital distribution "services" such as Steam, GOG, uplay, origin, etc. I did buy the physical Complete Editions of the Witcher games though.
I find this hilarious considering GOG itself is DRM using GOG's own standard on DRM for old physical copies. GOG is DRM and if you described GOG to me before paid digital distribution took off, I would have immediately considered it to be DRM and still do, and rightfully so.
GOG themselves consider offline CD keys found on old physical copies of PC games to be DRM, and rightfully so. Offline CD keys that I have experienced required the key once before the game is fully installed but do not require an official account nor do they require you to connect to a server for authorization at any point.
GOG requires you to have an official account with them and you have to be authorized by their servers to access the games you paid for. I consider that to be more and worse DRM than offline CD keys which don't require an account or server authentication at any point, yet for some reason GOG gets a pass. GOG should be considered DRM using GOG's own standards which consider offline CD keys to be DRM.
It does not matter if it is only required once before the game is fully installed and it doesn't matter if you can copy and paste it once you get past it, offline CD keys do not get a pass so neither should GOG. Funnily enough, years ago a friend of mine took his laptop into Walmart, opened a Warcraft 3 battlechest then installed it on his laptop. Warcraft 3 uses an offline CD key DRM, (we have never played online but I assume that key might be used if you want to play online, I'm not sure), yet once it was installed he copy and pasted to a flash drive and let me and my other friends install it on our computers, we never had to use the CD key. If someone bought that opened Warcraft 3 battlechest, they would be able to do the same.
It does not matter that it is inherent with paid digital distribution, it should not get a pass. The original source for the games I installed from physical copies is the disc or flash drive, the original source for the games you get from GOG is from their servers.
My argument here is not anti or pro-DRM, I'm just proving that GOG is not DRM free like they falsely advertise.

How about some disgusting things the founders of CDPR did. The founders claim they used to sell pirated games before they founded CDPR, they exonerate themselves by stating that it wasn't illegal.
CDPR sent legals threats to Germans who pirated Witcher 2 to either pay 1000 euro or go to court, but I bet not a single one of those Germans made any money from pirating Witcher 2 unlike the founders of CDPR.
The only reason CDPR gave to pay for the game was to "support the developer" which has nothing to do with the legality of it, but the founders sure weren't supporting the developers when they were selling their pirated games.
They couldn't say to buy the physical copy either, since the vanilla physical copies of Witcher 2 had Securom on it. They intentionally sabotaged the physical copy of Witcher 2 with Securom to get people to pay for it digitally instead so they can make more money which is hypocritical since Marcin said they "beat pirates" by selling nice physical copies with the entire game with them but they haven't done that for any of the Witcher games at release, only when they released the Complete Editions.

The only sites that fckdrm gave for DRM free media that are actually DRM free are project gutenberg, openlibra, and moving image archive, which all offer public domain works and don't charge for it which is completely different from the others. Conveniently enough, the website doesn't mention you can always buy a physical book or a physical CD which are truly DRM free and let you actually get something in return for your money, which makes sense since physical products goes against GOG's business model and some people might question the double standards on promoting physical copies of other forms of media but not games. GOG twitter blocked me for calling them out on posting a picture of old big box physical games and me telling them that giving money to GOG is a vote against physical games, so why post a picture of them?

Cue the GOG/CDPR drones stepping in and trying (and failing) to defend their favorite company. by providing no counter arguments and grasping for straws You aren't bad people for doing it, you are just too kind and nice to the point of being altruistic and I feel bad for you for letting yourself get manipulated by GOG and other companies.

If GOG were serious about this then they would be promoting truly DRM free media such as physical books or truly DRM free games such as the physical Complete Editions of the Witcher games that is not only truly DRM free, but lets you actually get something in return for your money. But that doesn't make as much money as people giving money to GOG so they don't do that.
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squid830: You do realise, that you only need the GOG account to PURCHASE, and thereafter DOWNLOAD, the game you paid for, right?

Once you've downloaded it, that game IS YOURS FOREVER. You can make thousands of backups and stash them in secret bunkers throughout the world, so that when the apocalypse hits and your gaming rig is caught in the initial nuclear blasts that wipe out humanity (including GOG's servers and personnel and even the Internet itself), you can reinstall your game to any other compatible computer (if you can find any after all the nuking).

And why the hell would I want to order physical copies of stuff? I then have to put them somewhere. The CDs/DVSs will eventually die (possibly faster than HDs, especially if you move your stuff around when you upgrade HDs, or you have a cloud storage for your stuff, or any other solutions). Someone then has to expend resources to produce the media, copy to the media, ship the media - all that is passed on to the customer, it's more of a pain in the ass for everyone involved, and to top it off even with my really inferior third-world Internet, it's still faster to download almost anything than it is to get it shipped via premium express post.

Wow and I thought that Kanashe was retarded, but you have just taken it up a notch. Actually you've taken it up so many notches, that I'm not sure when the Universe will manage to generate someone as amazingly retarded. If it wasn't a total pain in the ass, I would personally design, produce and ship a Retarded Moron of the Year statue to you. Well done.
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gamesfreak64: i dont do ratings , i always decide for myself so ratings are down the drain for me.
My main issues are money................. cashflow is extremely low (never been high tbh) and hardware is quite expensive
when 400 to 600 guilders were enough ( yuo could reuse old windows on new hardware) today it will cost > 600 euros ,
exchange rate of 2.20371 guilders = 1 Euro , so the new setup will be 2.2 times as expensive.

Unaffordable unless your willing to wait and save 2 years or more .....

I like the movement thing you mentioned :D a nice green shirt with GOG on it would be nice, then again i'm too old for that, but 20 years ago it would have been fun to have.
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squid830: That's actually a great (albeit potentially cheesy and cringeworthy) idea - FCK DRM T-SHIRTS!

People will do a triple-take for these. First because FCK, then they'll go "French Connection - people still wearing those?", then they'll look again for the third time.

Probably needs some subtitle or something on the back - website address will probably suffice. Keep it mysterious enough that people will feel compelled to look into it.
i'm glad you like it , and the things you mentioned would make it even better.
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einexile: In the US it also reeks of Trump hysteria. There's a broad coalition of fine people who oppose our new president, and then there are the folks who put kids in front of the camera and instruct them to display their middle fingers and recite potty mouth. It's not hyperbole to say that this petulant attitude and style of presentation helped get him elected.

Was there something wrong with IDK DRM or did you just not think of it?

I'll add that as long as GOG sells games that require account creation for participation in multiplayer, the site should also list Humble, Steam, and any other service that sells a significant number of DRM-free titles.
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squid830: Nah, DRM is so evil it deserves this kind of abuse.

After all, do people go "Homicide isn't very nice. We think it would be great if murder got punished".

OK not a great example because murder has been illegal for some time - however DRM is so fucked up it needs to be purged from society, there are no benefits whatsoever for the consumer, it takes away consumer's freedoms, and can be abused. It is pure evil, and it must be destroyed.
Gotta quote this little gem as this is the quintessential example of what kind of person this lil marketting stunt appeals to.
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squid830: Nah, DRM is so evil it deserves this kind of abuse.

After all, do people go "Homicide isn't very nice. We think it would be great if murder got punished".

OK not a great example because murder has been illegal for some time - however DRM is so fucked up it needs to be purged from society, there are no benefits whatsoever for the consumer, it takes away consumer's freedoms, and can be abused. It is pure evil, and it must be destroyed.
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Mr.Caine: Gotta quote this little gem as this is the quintessential example of what kind of person this lil marketting stunt appeals to.
Someone who sees and calls things as they are, you mean?
Granted, bit of an exaggeration there with the "pure evil" part, but... how about "indefensible"?
And is it surprising that the marketing campaign started in time for GOG's 10 year anniversary is meant to appeal to those who care about the one thing GOG still stands for?
... I just wish they'd do something aimed at those caring for their second original value too, you know, that thing they gave up on in 2014, about not treating customers differently according to where they're from...
Post edited August 23, 2018 by Cavalary
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Magmarock: Oh right the platforms have DRM. Yeah that can't really be helped I think.
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Lifthrasil: Yes, it could be helped. Release The Witcher 3 for Linux!
You know there's a reason they haven't done that right. Also saying Linux doesn't have DRM is like saying Wine is not an emulator.

It looks like an emulator, walks like an emulator and talks like an emulator, but it's not because we don't like using that term.

Without a consistent internet connection no Linux distros can't install software or do much of anything. Also there's no future proofing with it either.
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Magmarock: You know there's a reason they haven't done that right. Also saying Linux doesn't have DRM is like saying Wine is not an emulator.

It looks like an emulator, walks like an emulator and talks like an emulator, but it's not because we don't like using that term.

Without a consistent internet connection no Linux distros can't install software or do much of anything. Also there's no future proofing with it either.
Huh?

Do you need an account to download Linux distros?
Do you need to pay money for Linux distros?
Can the distributer of the Linux distro take it away from you in any way, once you have it?

DRM means someone else has power over stuff on my machine... Can't see that with Linux.
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Kanashe: Yeah, there are such people in your pwecious Anti-DRM, but sure keep thinking that I'm the only one who thinks that. Since you're also the naive idiot who assumes your silly anti-DRM movement is huge, when its actually a small paper tiger facing a collosal storm.
Well... DRM'd music died when people just stopped buying (both mp3 and crippled CDs). Today no mp3 off Amazon or iTunes or wherever has DRM and CDs have no copy protected anymore...
Post edited August 23, 2018 by toxicTom
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Kanashe: Yeah, there are such people in your pwecious Anti-DRM, but sure keep thinking that I'm the only one who thinks that. Since you're also the naive idiot who assumes your silly anti-DRM movement is huge, when its actually a small paper tiger facing a collosal storm.

Okay, I understand, you're a special snowflake who considers himself awesome because he stands the so called DRM overloards or whatever the fuck you picture yourself. Do enjoy your lil special fantasy of how you'll change the whole DRM thing. An boy I do hope they will exterminate the whole anti-DRM thing so I can laugh at all you losers even more, honestly to compare your pathetic crusade with civil liberties or something is hilarious. Compared to those guys, you people are a gathering of either tumblr users or SJW types in terms of being taken seriously.
Serious question - why are you so adamantly against people disliking DRM? What do you have to gain from (as you put it) "the whole anti-DRM thing" failing? I really don't understand where you're coming from.
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Engerek01: Did anyone else notice that people who dislike GOG's DRM view are also the people who promote Piracy?
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Pheace: On this forum I'd say there's plenty of people who are simply ideologically against DRM, but yes there's definitely a lot of cheering on piracy forums about this particular topic so there's no doubt pirates among the fans as well.
There probably are. But for me it's exactly the other way round. DRM-free takes the biggest excuse away from pirates. For me GOG's mutual trust philosophy was the biggest argument against piracy! Which makes it all the more sad that GOG abandoned that step by step. I totally understand if someone prefers to install a cracked version of a game over infecting his PC with DRM 'services'. But if a DRM-free version of a game is available, then there is no reason to download a cracked version of that, because there is nothing to crack. So the only reason to pirate a DRM-free game is, that you are too stingy to pay for it. Or in other words, pirates who like to claim to be fighters against DRM should never upload or download DRM-free games. Otherwise they are just hypocrites.
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Lifthrasil: Which makes it all the more sad that GOG abandoned that step by step.
How did they abandon anything and how are the games less DRM-free than they were, say, 2 years ago?
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toxicTom: Do you need an account to download Linux distros?
Do you need to pay money for Linux distros?
Can the distributer of the Linux distro take it away from you in any way, once you have it?

DRM means someone else has power over stuff on my machine... Can't see that with Linux.
That right there is the problem. You can't see it despite it staring at you in the face, and it's really frustrating. Also what the hell is wrong with paying for stuff. Why do many Linux people hate capitalism, are you guys super poor or just massive cheapskates
Post edited August 24, 2018 by Magmarock
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GOG.com: DRM-free approach in games has been at the heart of GOG.COM from day one. We strongly believe that if you buy a game, it should be yours, and you can play it the way it’s convenient for you, and not how others want you to use it.

The landscape has changed since 2008, and today many people don’t realize what DRM even means. And still the DRM issue in games remains – you’re never sure when and why you can be blocked from accessing them. And it’s not only games that are affected, but your favourite books, music, movies and apps as well.

To help understand what DRM means, how it influences your games and other digital media, and what benefits come with DRM-free approach, we’re launching the FCK DRM initiative. The goal is to educate people and ignite a discussion about DRM. To learn more visit https://fckdrm.com, and share your opinions and stories about DRM and how it affects you.
You might want to include a "FCK CENSORSHIP" initiative with that.

Having spent the last two weeks watching the government of China along with Google, YouTube, Facebook, Apple, Spotify, Twitter, Vimeo and several other Big Tech groups work in tandem to censor just one man off of the Internet in an act of what I can only define as "weaponized deplatforming"... it made me look at Gog.com.

Regardless of what you think of that censored individual, proponents of DRM could use that incident to justify banding together to deplatform Gog.com if they deemed Gog.com "too dangerous for the Internet" or "too dangerous for video games". It is a sobering thought. The truth is that DRM means MONEY and a literal ball-and-chain binding gamers to endless monitized in-game microtransactions dependent on DRM to force an always-on Internet connection. The only thing standing in the way of this being the industry standard is... Gog.com.

First they came for just one man. Gog.com will be next.

Yes, FCK DRM...

But also FCK CENSORSHIP.

#IAmAlexJones
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Magmarock: Also what the hell is wrong with paying for stuff.
Nobody said it's wrong to pay.

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Magmarock: That right is the problem. You can't see it despite it staring at you in the face, and it's really frustrating.
Linux distributions doesn't include DRM and there is no requirement for Internet connection. If you assume otherwise then educate yourself before rising false point in dispute.
Post edited August 23, 2018 by RusNeuroMancer
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Lifthrasil: There probably are. But for me it's exactly the other way round. DRM-free takes the biggest excuse away from pirates. For me GOG's mutual trust philosophy was the biggest argument against piracy! Which makes it all the more sad that GOG abandoned that step by step. I totally understand if someone prefers to install a cracked version of a game over infecting his PC with DRM 'services'. But if a DRM-free version of a game is available, then there is no reason to download a cracked version of that, because there is nothing to crack. So the only reason to pirate a DRM-free game is, that you are too stingy to pay for it. Or in other words, pirates who like to claim to be fighters against DRM should never upload or download DRM-free games. Otherwise they are just hypocrites.
Takes away the biggest excuse, absolutely, but not the only one. They still have every excuse to "pirate" something blocked in their country, or modified to appease censors. Or something for which they're charged more than others, though it's the same string of bits transferred over a connection. Or something published by someone they want to take a stand against for other reasons. To a lesser extent (since huge sales are a thing and prices of games usually drop a lot in a few years), also if something is just overpriced (this becomes somewhat... less of a lesser extent for those publishers who don't reduce prices accordingly in time).
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Magmarock: Why do many Linux people hate capitalism
Not a Linux person (would want to be, Windows going the way it's going, but primary issue is not seeing anything offering what Comodo Firewall does on Linux, and security options are limited too, and as long as that'll not only remain the case but you also smash into a wall of "that's not needed on Linux" if you ask for it, that's absolutely no go for me) but... where do I begin? This is not the topic here though.
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ShawnHopscotch:
Can back that. Find the stuff the individual in question spews quite horrifying - or not as much that he spews it, plenty of crazies out there, but what's really horrifying is the fact that he has a sizable audience. But that's censorship and it's wrong. Still, to get back on topic, can't quite compare that with DRM (and there are some others who do DRM free, even at least as notable, if not even more so, when it comes to other kinds of content, GOG are just the banner bearers when it comes to PC games specifically), but can compare censorship with censorship and talk about regional blocks or games getting different, censored/altered, versions for some regions, or maybe even in case of GOG's choices specifically, games rejected for, shall we say, ideological reasons instead of actual product quality or contractual issues.

PS: Another follow up, Fireflower replied as well, they had actually tried using that listed e-mail address to get listed right away but the e-mail bounced, will try again. So hey GOG, when you ask for entries, make sure you can actually receive them!
Post edited August 23, 2018 by Cavalary
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GOG.com: DRM-free approach in games has been at the heart of GOG.COM from day one. We strongly believe that if you buy a game, it should be yours, and you can play it the way it’s convenient for you, and not how others want you to use it.

The landscape has changed since 2008, and today many people don’t realize what DRM even means. And still the DRM issue in games remains – you’re never sure when and why you can be blocked from accessing them. And it’s not only games that are affected, but your favourite books, music, movies and apps as well.

To help understand what DRM means, how it influences your games and other digital media, and what benefits come with DRM-free approach, we’re launching the FCK DRM initiative. The goal is to educate people and ignite a discussion about DRM. To learn more visit https://fckdrm.com, and share your opinions and stories about DRM and how it affects you.
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ShawnHopscotch: You might want to include a "FCK CENSORSHIP" initiative with that.

Having spent the last two weeks watching the government of China along with Google, YouTube, Facebook, Apple, Spotify, Twitter, Vimeo and several other Big Tech groups work in tandem to censor just one man off of the Internet in an act of what I can only define as "weaponized deplatforming"... it made me look at Gog.com.

Regardless of what you think of that censored individual, proponents of DRM could use that incident to justify banding together to deplatform Gog.com if they deemed Gog.com "too dangerous for the Internet" or "too dangerous for video games". It is a sobering thought. The truth is that DRM means MONEY and a literal ball-and-chain binding gamers to endless monitized in-game microtransactions dependent on DRM to force an always-on Internet connection. The only thing standing in the way of this being the industry standard is... Gog.com.

First they came for just one man. Gog.com will be next.

Yes, FCK DRM...

But also FCK CENSORSHIP.

#IAmAlexJones
????? its sad but there is nothing more left to say ...................
Personal opinion is that Valve's Steam itself is already DRM - you cannot freely download the game and install it without Steam client. Also if you would like to keep specific version from game (e.g. older version due changes of game or issues iwth new version) this is not possible with Steam. If you take backup copy from game and restore it Steam will automatically download the latest version and you cannot deny that.

Because of these idiotic decisions by Valve I have decided to buy REAL DRM-free games from GOG. Thanks to their way to offer offline installers from games. With them I can keep older version of game and play it if want.

If same game exist in Steam (or requires Steam or other client like Origin) and in GOG I most probably choose GOG if price is near same. I'm ready to pay 1-2$/€ more to get DRM-free option.

So thank you GOG and keep up getting more developers and publishers to sell their games in here! As that will benefit them at the end when more customers are willing to buy their products.