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Braidedheadman · 11-05-2008, 10:44 PM

It's a strange twist of irony that the Lawless and the Miscreants of society should have more freedoms to do as they wish with products they patently didn't purchase than the Lawful and the Scrupulous who did. What is the world coming to when the paying customer is prosecuted before the pirating thieves, where one's guilt is assumed before proven innocent has become the norm? The efforts that the entertainment industry puts into "protecting" their intellectual properties through DRMs have become truly draconian. And just who are they protecting these IPs against? As it turns out, its us: their loyal and paying, law-abiding customers.

While I support the rights of industry to free enterprise and profits, the story of Robin Hood comes forcefully to mind when I consider the end-game that this storied conflict must inevitably have, when our rights to products - and even ideas - that used to be protected and enshrined in law as part of the commons[1][2][3] are finally usurped by the corporate bottom line and the currency of goodwill has been spent in exchange for antagonism and oppression.

I was looking forward to Spore - one of only 2 EA branded products on my list; Crysis was the other, and what a disappointment it turned out to be - but now that light has been shone on the extent to which the DRMs will cripple the game, I'm very reluctant to pick this up at all. Things like limited installations and aggressive license authentications have really got me on edge, especially when you consider just how these can become soured when a company finally stops supporting its DRM authentication services.

I have 20-year old games that I still play today, even at this very moment. But where will EA and Spore be in another 20 years from now? When I wax nostalgic, will my only options to play these games include relying on the old cracks that the so-called pirates create today? If that's the case, these people are starting to sound increasingly like freedom fighters rather than the brigands that the entertainment industry make them out to be. (Note: I do not condone piracy!)

11-05-2008, 10:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
Braidedheadman Forum Guru Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2,112	It's a strange twist of irony that the Lawless and the Miscreants of society should have more freedoms to do as they wish with products they patently didn't purchase than the Lawful and the Scrupulous who did. What is the world coming to when the paying customer is prosecuted before the pirating thieves, where one's guilt is assumed before proven innocent has become the norm? The efforts that the entertainment industry puts into "protecting" their intellectual properties through DRMs have become truly draconian. And just who are they protecting these IPs against? As it turns out, its us: their loyal and paying, law-abiding customers. While I support the rights of industry to free enterprise and profits, the story of Robin Hood comes forcefully to mind when I consider the end-game that this storied conflict must inevitably have, when our rights to products - and even ideas - that used to be protected and enshrined in law as part of the commons[1][2][3] are finally usurped by the corporate bottom line and the currency of goodwill has been spent in exchange for antagonism and oppression. I was looking forward to Spore - one of only 2 EA branded products on my list; Crysis was the other, and what a disappointment it turned out to be - but now that light has been shone on the extent to which the DRMs will cripple the game, I'm very reluctant to pick this up at all. Things like limited installations and aggressive license authentications have really got me on edge, especially when you consider just how these can become soured when a company finally stops supporting its DRM authentication services. I have 20-year old games that I still play today, even at this very moment. But where will EA and Spore be in another 20 years from now? When I wax nostalgic, will my only options to play these games include relying on the old cracks that the so-called pirates create today? If that's the case, these people are starting to sound increasingly like freedom fighters rather than the brigands that the entertainment industry make them out to be. (Note: I do not condone piracy!) __________________ Last edited by Braidedheadman; 16-05-2008 at 12:58 AM.. Reason: The Spelling & Grammar Nazi was here.