How would you feel if next gen consoles had always-online DRM?
- Thread starter NANA
- Start date
A huge chunk of my gaming time is spent playing old games, which would be at a high risk of becoming useless once the authentication servers go down, so that's a hard pass.
People who say "My internet is rarely, if ever, down!" don't seem to understand the myriad of other ways always online DRM can fuck you over.
People who say "My internet is rarely, if ever, down!" don't seem to understand the myriad of other ways always online DRM can fuck you over.
I would be pissed, it isn't about whether I have internet or not, I don't like the dependence on company servers going down being updated or shutting down after time, plus this will only lead to more online games that suck. You can't even pause in the new NFS game for fucks sake.
My gut reaction is fuck no.
You have to make a VERY compelling case for online only to me as a consumer.
Not some bullshit used games problem or whatever.
You have to make a VERY compelling case for online only to me as a consumer.
Not some bullshit used games problem or whatever.
The correct answer. I don't believe for a fraction of a second that this policy change would meaningfully affect anyone outside of a rounding error of a minority. Sure, it's a nice sentiment, but it's generally overblown, especially among this crowd. Also:
Judging by how many people screamed about PS3 at launch only to turn around and buy one as soon as there were a couple of notable exclusives, I'm gonna go with "yyyyyyyup."
Yup. If all the console makers were stupid enough to go all for online DRM, I would find other alternatives.
Absolutely would not buy. I refused to buy an Xbox One until MS changed their stance and removed the online requirement. I'd do the same this next gen to whoever pulled the same shit.
If they offer a compelling reason as a trade off I wouldn't mind.
Maybe selling digital licenses, sharing digital games (officially) or something like that.
They won't do it without offering a compelling advantage so I'm not worried about it.
Maybe selling digital licenses, sharing digital games (officially) or something like that.
They won't do it without offering a compelling advantage so I'm not worried about it.
I care about being able to play my games indefinitely without needing to worry about whether I'll lose access to them in the future so no, I wouldn't be on board for that. It's bad enough that so many games have already gone that route.
DRM doesn't benefit the consumer. End of story.
Although my internet is fast and reliable, 99.99999% of the time, I still don't want that risk of a publisher (or ISP) basically having control over how it when I can play a game I paid for.
A lot of people still have shitty internet too. So no, fuck that.
Although my internet is fast and reliable, 99.99999% of the time, I still don't want that risk of a publisher (or ISP) basically having control over how it when I can play a game I paid for.
A lot of people still have shitty internet too. So no, fuck that.
A big hell no to any online only console. My internet will sometimes randomly go down at night from unplanned outages and I have a big provider in one of the largest cities in the US... I would like to be able to still play games even if it won't be the latest GaaS title (although I avoid most GaaS other than Destiny 2).
The inevitable "authorization servers are down/overloaded" preventing me from playing my games at any point means this is a non starter. Just like an all digital console as soon as it happens I'm strictly a retro-gamer.
I don't think "plenty" has changed and I also don't see what Stadia launching has to do with DRM focused hardware. There is still no benefit to not being allowed to play your games offline. No one is stopping these publishers from allowing digital benefits on digital purchases, but they haven't done it yet which tells me they were never committed to the idea. It was just fluff and an idea they floated around to try and strip away consumer rights. The whole idea is flawed and the people who support it are morons.
Gaming is moving this way unfortunately. In 2013 it was a joke to have always online DRM, but tons of games now require an always online connection. So a console needing it as well is not as shocking as people think.
Wouldn't really care. I can't think of any time I game when I'm not also connected to the internet.
I already have always online DRM. I game share within my family. My primary Xbox is the one my son uses. That means I need to be logged into Xbox Live in order to access my downloaded games on my personal console. It just hasn't been an issue.
That said, an always online console simply isn't going to happen. There is no need for it. DRM for consoles is a solved problem. The world is marching towards downloadable games. Used game sales are going the way of the dodo. They can just let that die on its own.
Put me down for a "don't care" vote.
That said, an always online console simply isn't going to happen. There is no need for it. DRM for consoles is a solved problem. The world is marching towards downloadable games. Used game sales are going the way of the dodo. They can just let that die on its own.
Put me down for a "don't care" vote.
I would accept it if it is implemented in a way that tolerates failure cases.
Let's say the DRM phones home once a week and renews the certificate/cookies etc. for two weeks. If the weekly check-in fails, the system should give a heads-up to the user that they should go online in a week or they'll temporarily lose access. This heads-up should never interrupt a running game, only when the user goes to dashboard they see this message. The interface should allow the users to manually initiate the renew process as well.
Of course, they have to provide an upside. Lending the digital license to a friend for a week or two should definitely be a feature if this DRM is implemented.
Let's say the DRM phones home once a week and renews the certificate/cookies etc. for two weeks. If the weekly check-in fails, the system should give a heads-up to the user that they should go online in a week or they'll temporarily lose access. This heads-up should never interrupt a running game, only when the user goes to dashboard they see this message. The interface should allow the users to manually initiate the renew process as well.
Of course, they have to provide an upside. Lending the digital license to a friend for a week or two should definitely be a feature if this DRM is implemented.