Originally posted by: Nightmare225
They could release a patch that disables it when the servers go down. This copy protection is meant to slow down "day one" piracy, which is when games are at the most risk of being hurt by piracy.
But we're trusting them to do that, aren't we? In essence, hoping they do?
Will they really do that if they're in financial trouble?
I really do like that some studios have removed the copy protection in later patches. I do respect them greatly, but that's not the norm in the industry.
Originally posted by: Modeps
Every time you want to play a game on Steam, it validates. So how is this much different?
That remains to be seen......Steam is active....what happens if they decide to just stop (for example, they go bankrupt)?
I don't really think Steam is a good comparison for this argument (at least not yet), as they *DO* have trust in the community, and they *ARE* committed to being there on-line...that's (part of) their business model.
I don't mean to negate that very valid point, but Steam is still in business.
Relevant points would be developers and/or publishers that are no longer in business...that means almost ANY game they created would no longer work (exluding those that removed copy protection in a patch in the point metioned above by
Nightmare225).
I still like games like Caesar III, Pharaoh, Descent 3, Railroad Tycoon III....there are many older games that I occasionally play because I like them....this protection scheme means I can no longer play them?
Games I (or anyone else) purchased?
I guess that statement brings up the argument of are you *purchasing* the game, or just a *temporary license* to run it? I want to stay away from that argument as I think the fiscal situation should change if you really *only* have a license to run it at their will (i.e. not purchasing a game outright, just paying to play it).
MMO's are a bit different because you're paying for the online experience.....imagine the backlash if Blizzard decided to shut off the WOW servers just because they introduce their new product and want people to buy that (stupid idea, but remotely possible).
Of course, in our generic computer industry, you can't rule out stupid ideas (imo Yahoo refusing Microsoft's offer?).