Sim City: A Lesson in Failure (DRM Problems and Bad Reviews)

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first problem gamers have had with the implementation of DRM. Perhaps equally disconcerting to gamers is the fact that by using these applications, we don’t actually own the games. By agreeing to the subscriber agreement, the individual is acknowledging that he/she doesn’t actually own the game; they’re simply licensing the game. Check the wording from Steam’s user licensing agreement:

Womp womp. In other words, if Valve or EA were to be wiped off the planet tomorrow, there are no assurances whatsoever that any game you have paid for and played in the past would work. And this is to say nothing of the possibility of companies gathering user-data (not to be unexpected by most, but it may still come as a surprise to some users).

It’s unlikely DRM is going to disappear any time soon, just as it’s unlikely people will be working to find ways around them (it should go without saying that we here at ReviewSTL in no way condone piracy). Publishers obviously have the right to protect their products from privacy, but by tightening the leash, they risk alienating the very market that keeps them afloat. I can clench my fist around something, but the tighter my grip, the less I can hold.

I wish I had a solution for all this, but unfortunately, I don’t, otherwise I’d be selling my idea for millions to the gaming industry. Somehow, publishers and gamers have to find a happy median recognizing both the need to prevent piracy as well as the freedom for gamers to play as they please. I won’t blow smoke about an apocryphal downfall of the gaming industry, but ignoring the requests of the consumer is a great way for a company to win a bankruptcy race. In the meantime, if you’re hankering for some Sim City action, you might wanna bust out your old CD-ROMs.