DaveC posted on Apr 13 2006 at 07:53 PM said:
But then what happens if a year or two from now your GP2X breaks and you have to replace it? What happens if the ones that made the games have moved on to something else and can't be contacted? I would be real pissed if I spent alot of money on games only to have them stop working because I had to replace my system. That seems real unfair to users to have the thought of potentially loosing all of their games. Even if the game makers can be contacted imagine the hassle of e-mailing a bunch of places and begging them to let you use the game that you already paid for. Too many ways for the user to get screwed. DRM bad.
Who said anything about locking the game to your machine? .. I didn't imply that in any way shape or form, and I'd probably never use such a form of DRM since it would impede on the user's ability to play the game the way they want, on the machine they want, their friend's machine if he has a '2x as well .. and so forth. A simple means of protecting the program to force it to prove you bought it is perfectly reasonable. It's more as a deterrant for piracy than an attempt to stick your nose where it does not belong; onto your customers' machines.
Would you say that the game you downloaded back in '96 for your PC that asks for $5 when you start it up or that you input a key to unlock it evil and unacceptable? If you invested months developing a game engine for the '2x and your graphic artist pulled his hair out drawing sprites, and your composer knocked himself out writing music for a game, and only 6 people buy it to have 500 download it for free from some jerk's FTP server and never see a dime, how would you take that? .. Sure, piracy of mainstream games for the PC, consoles and PocketPC are justifiable and considerable as victimless crimes, but their audiences are large enough that they are able to make a profit, and not have to care if some people bootleg it here or there. The '2x's audience is enormously smaller and one prick setting up a warez site for commercial '2x games could lose authors hundreds of potential dollars.
Granted, there are other reasons to buy a real commercial copy of a game like the one we're currently developing ... like getting a CD In a proper case along with your copy of the ame (on a proper SD card) with bonus features. Music, concept art, wallpapers, a version for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X ... I'm of the belief someone should get a little more for their money than just being able to say 'I supported the author'.
.. although a little altruism is a nicety that's become all too rare these days.
