Posted January 28, 2010
high rated
Today GOG announced that Activision has joined the team of publishers that releases games through GOG’s DRM-free service. While I’m excited for the gradual release of the long list of great games that Activision owns the rights to, I am more excited for what this could potentially mean for the future of DRM-free products. Activision’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, is known for being all about the money and there have been numerous online-nerd-rants™ in regards to his business practices. The fact that someone as financially driven as Kotick believes there is money to be made through a site as adamantly anti-DRM as GOG is a big deal. It means GOG is successful enough to draw in the big boys and it means that we the consumers have shown that we put our money in the businesses that trust us. It seems most business assume you are a pirate (record industry/games industry), a terrorist (airline industry), or an imbecile (too many industries to list). GOG doesn’t make that assumption and this is why so many of us are not only just buying games from GOG, but are invested in seeing the company succeed and want to show our support.
Activision is a leader in the videogame industry. Others will follow their example. If Activision finds there is good money to be made through selling older games through GOG and consumers continue to choose GOG because it is the only real DRM free option, then publishers will start to take that chance and trust us, at least with their older games. As time goes by and awareness grows of the advantages of having DRM free games, it will seem unfair that we have to wait for a game to be considered old enough to become DRM Free in addition to the wait for a price drop. When people begin holding out on new release purchases because they are waiting for a game to gain DRM free status, then the whole industry could change. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I think GOG took a big step today not only as a company, but as leaders of the DRM-free revolution and the belief that costumers can be trusted.
Activision is a leader in the videogame industry. Others will follow their example. If Activision finds there is good money to be made through selling older games through GOG and consumers continue to choose GOG because it is the only real DRM free option, then publishers will start to take that chance and trust us, at least with their older games. As time goes by and awareness grows of the advantages of having DRM free games, it will seem unfair that we have to wait for a game to be considered old enough to become DRM Free in addition to the wait for a price drop. When people begin holding out on new release purchases because they are waiting for a game to gain DRM free status, then the whole industry could change. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I think GOG took a big step today not only as a company, but as leaders of the DRM-free revolution and the belief that costumers can be trusted.