EA's Gibeau: 'DRM is a failed dead-end strategy'

[mindcycle]

In the case of SimCity, if it truly used the online requirement and created the environment of interaction between cities and regions similar to real world cities, it wouldn't be DRM. Sure, if you played without a connection, your city wouldn't have access to certain things and couldn't build things or it took longer to achieve some technologies because of your isolationism, people would be upset. However, if the idea that your city was connected to the internet and could spread information and ideas to other parts of the world allowed technology to be shared and goods to be imported / exported, this would be a great thing.

Exactly. That's a bit too much forward thinking for EA though..

 

[smackababy]

Unfortunately, this didn't happen at all with SimCity as it's clear from the offline hack that almost all of the functionality remained intact in "offline mode". So in that respect, and from pretty much every angle you look at it, they were using the always online "feature" as DRM first and foremost. I don't care what the EA dude says, I see no valid reason there couldn't have been an offline mode in the game. IMO, they we're just trying to force that into the game for their own purposes and not to make the game more enjoyable as a whole.

But, yes, if a company can develop a game like SimCity, or any game for that matter, to hugely benefit from being constantly online, I could see that as a valid selling point. So far though, EA has not developed that game.

I agree EA did that in SimCity as a DRM requirement. Regardless of what they say, the fact is always being online doesn't change the game at all. I wish they had done something like I describer.

 

[pathos]

But, yes, if a company can develop a game like SimCity, or any game for that matter, to hugely benefit from being constantly online, I could see that as a valid selling point. So far though, EA has not developed that game.

I wonder, will they ever make a "single player" game, force it online all the time, and add enough features to please everyone? I mean, I personally would be a pretty hard sell.

 

[mindcycle]

I wonder, will they ever make a "single player" game, force it online all the time, and add enough features to please everyone? I mean, I personally would be a pretty hard sell.

I have my doubts about it but it would only really take one company to do it successfully and start a trend. Probably won't be EA though.

 

[smackababy]

Obviously nobody can make a game that pleases everyone, but I think a few companies have ideas that are moving in the right direction. Demon's Souls and Dark Souls did a good job at incorporating some online aspects into the game that offline you couldn't do, however the features weren't fundamental aspects of the game. They did help create a dynamic environment where you didn't know when someone would invade you.

 

[mindcycle]

Obviously nobody can make a game that pleases everyone, but I think a few companies have ideas that are moving in the right direction. Demon's Souls and Dark Souls did a good job at incorporating some online aspects into the game that offline you couldn't do, however the features weren't fundamental aspects of the game. They did help create a dynamic environment where you didn't know when someone would invade you.

Yeah, that was a great game that was fun to play online, but I also liked having the option of playing offline as well when I didn't feel like being invaded every 5 seconds while in human form. However, it would take something a lot different than Dark Souls type gameplay to justify "always online" without an offline option to IMO. Most single player style games being developed today just don't need that option, thus, everyone shouting "DRM!" since ultimately that's what it amounts to for most of these games that have it tacked on as an afterthought.

 

[blastingcap]

Fixed the thread title for you:

EA: is a failed dead-end company