Well... The problem is that Steam (Origin, UPlay, etc.) doesn't advertize itself as a "DRM'd store". If you're just gamer who doesn't care for teh interwebz dramaz or who doesn't want to install his game more than 5 times in 24 hours, there's a good chance that you never even heard of the term "DRM".

Now imagine such a person finds GOG, sees some babble about "DRM-free" on the front page, googles DRM and finds out that it is additional software that prevents you from making copies of your games to give them to other people... What could DRM-free mean then? That you're allowed to share the game with your friends? Why else would a shop explicitly mention this DRM-free-thingie on its front page? ;)

I disagree.

The majority usually think that Steam doesn't include DRM (with the exception of those where a third party DRM is explicitly mentioned) because you don't have to "activate" your games (i.e. no big activation popup Securom-style), most seems to think that if you make a backup of a Steam game (using Steam backup feature) you will be able to restore and play the game without Steam, and I have even seen a lot who apparently think that, once your are in offline mode, you can simply copy and paste your steam folder to any computer and be able to play your games without ever needing to connect to Steam.

So no, while I agree that the majority doesn't care about DRM (or DRM-free by extension), I disagree that they are "aware" about what DRM or DRM-free means means or what it implies.

DRM is complicated, so DRM free cannot be that easy right. At least when you go into detail

But no need to go into detail: DRM is all kind of external control after purchase which is not strictly necessary for playing the game. DRM free is the absence of this control. From this everything else follows.

Now that was a two line explanation of DRM and everyone should be able to understand the concept easily. To really reach and educate people... this is a herculian task and likely you will get old before you finish it. I do it in discussions sometimes but it takes much time to explain why this is all risky and evil in the long run.

I think since GOG wants to conquer the world with DRM free they could more actively promote the virtues of DRM free (but without too much ethical superiority, just by pointing out the inherent risks and losses associated with DRM).

Otherwise, nothing one can do. :/

The answer is simple really, the average Joe is lazy and easily controlled.

It's the same as how the average Joe doesn't know the difference between good and bad music because they are bombarded and brainwashed by radio crap, they only hear one side. Steam now has a monopolizing control, much like the music industry does, they dilute the choices and variety and modern people in their infinite search for total, lazy convenience eventually become complacent to and never challenge it.

People hear about Steam due to its popularity, see it as easy (and trendy) convenience and never put any more thought into it than that. And when someone does bring up DRM free to said Joe, the response is almost always "Well I haven't had any problems on Steam, and it's too convenient to have all my games in one location, so why do I need this?"

People may also not appear to care about DRM because they think they can easily circumvent it later if they have to. I've seen users post that if Steam ever goes down, they'll simply pirate the games they paid for.

I suppose it boils down to different personality types. My type doesn't like to dedicate time to a game unless they know they can ensure they can keep playing it... which means either buying DRM-free or making sure there's a crack BEFORE buying the game. And I don't bother with the latter anymore because it's a hassle as well as risky.

Hence DRM-free should be regarded as the "lazy" way of buying games!

Some nice responses in this thread, thank you all for your thoughts. Reading through them has helped me churn a few ideas in my head and see a few things more clearly.

So I do think that the average consumer probably isn't going to care about DRM until it directly negatively affects them in some way. This is the platform that Valve uses to assuage people that their DRM is unobtrusive and worth it for the added benefits of their vast community and industry pull.

One potential way for DRM-free to instantly become a known and cared about topic, even amongst those who couldn't be bothered to even know what the acronym stands for? If Steam implodes and millions of people lose access to the games which they thought they "owned". The outcry and media sensationalism would be so incredibly strong, that any hint of DRM in a future game would cause incredible backlash.

Barring that, I'm not really sure that average Joe consumer would be willing to sacrifice convenience and comfort for rights and security until they have first-hand experience with the actual cost of their complacency. One recent development is that Joe consumer is starting to get some real-life experience with this as evidenced by Steam's recent region locking policies.

I do agree that most people just do not care, I've seen it in person. During my senior year, we had to write a paper on any topic in order to graduate and do a Powerpoint presentation.

The topic I picked was DRM, and I didn't just talk about DRM in the gaming industry, but DRM in general. One example was the government monitoring what you watch, so if they think you're watching a pirated movie or tv show, they would shut down your tv and you no longer have access to it. Another one was a potential raid on your house if you were suspected of pirating anything.

Now, I know these are extreme cases of DRM being ways of government control of your life (like they don't already do that), but want to know the reaction of people in class? Nothing, there was no reaction at all. No questions at end, nothing.

(and maybe my bread does have DRM on it, when that bag gets tied in a knot and I can't access it with out ripping the bag open, exposing the rest of the bread to the air causing it to go stale quicker :x)

How sad... And then, some people get offended, when they are called sheeple. HOW could anyone be so indifferent to something so serious as being monitored, or having choices that affect him/her being done by others??

Yes, along with varying acceptance of each of those among the individual purchasers. While I claim to play DRM-free, clearly I do "put up with" the whole having-an-account part of buying from gOg. So there's that.

A number key doesn't particularly bother me unless installation needs to 'phone home' in order to verify that key; if the key-checker is built into the installer / game and can verify things locally then it doesn't cause concern for me. CD key is a middle ground, since physical media can and do fail over time.

Runtime? Nope, I can't do it. Obviously, multiplayer would be a different story, depending on the game.

People get offended when they are called sheeple because being called sheeple is offensive. I'm going to call my asshole neighbour an asshole and then I'm going to ask him why he's offended, after all, he's an asshole.

Those seems to be best accurate answers. I feel like I should print it out, framed and hung on the wall.

One has to be aware of the pitfall of people simply being on the DRM-free bandwagon so they can feel cool about being "free" and "not stupid" and "not average" (if you ever wanted to insult anyone, just call them average. For some reason that always works). But when way more important and actually crucial freedoms like freedom of speech are on the line, those same people will crawl back into the holes from whence they came. Too many people out there who only fight for things when it's easy and it can be done within politically correct safe limits because as we all (should) know, activism is mostly about how the activists wants to feel, to be part of something and look good, not about the actual cause. I'll believe someone is in it for the cause when they are making sacrifices and real compromises.

To me, DRM-free is just the choice of preference, not an absolute criteria and nothing I will expend my limited energy for because it's not a matter of life and death. DRM games are simple rentals and if the price fits, some games are ok as rentals. If a game is both on Steam and on here on GOG, I'll virtually always go for the GOG version but that's not because I'm on a anti-DRM crusade , it's simply because GOG is more sympathetic as a company (customer service etc). DRM/DRM-free is only one part of the total equation as far as I see it.

There is definitely DRM on delivery. You have to enter your user name and password to access your account. Games purchased are tied to your account. It's not s big deal, and really it has to be there. The only other alternative would for GOG allow all their files to be downloaded anonymously, and rely on an honor system that we would only download what we've paid for. How well do you think that would work out?

Like I say, the only truly DRM free software is open source.

They could also do what Humble does; offer the downloads in a link to your e-mail, with an account being optional to better manage your purchases.