Topic: EA CEO John Riccitiello Hates DRM, Respects Protesters, Tackles Controversies

[Pugnate]

Click for the interview:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20655

I personally hate DRM,” EA CEO John Riccitiello tells Gamasutra.

“I don’t like the whole concept; it can be a little bit cumbersome. But I don’t like locks on my door, and I don’t like to use keys in my car… I’d like to live in a world where there are no passports. Unfortunately, we don’t – and I think the vast majority of people voted with their wallets and went out and bought Spore.”

[idolminds]

I knew those fucking casuals would screw us by buying spore in droves. EA took it as a green light that restrictive DRM is ok.

I am almost regretting upgrading my PC if this is the shit I'll have to deal with.

Oh man, I just read the interview. In reference to the Amazon thing:

“‘I'm guessing that half of them were pirates, and the other half were people caught up in something that they didn’t understand,” he says. “If I’d had a chance to have a conversation with them, they’d have gotten it.”

Or theres a 3rd option, which is people that have a legitimate beef with DRM. Looks like he might be the one that hasn't "gotten it."

[Pugnate]

I knew those fucking casuals would screw us by buying spore in droves. EA took it as a green light that restrictive DRM is ok.

haha yea...

Once the stats for the more hardcore titles like Far Cry 2 and Crysis:Warhead come in, we will get a better indication of what sort of impact this DRM is having on sales.

Or theres a 3rd option, which is people that have a legitimate beef with DRM. Looks like he might be the one that hasn't "gotten it."

I agree with a bit of what he says. In terms of protesters, there were definitely a significant bunch who were just there for the ride, and didn't care either way. I saw a dozen threads across the popular internet forums with links to protests on Amazon, and plenty of posters said stuff like,"Well, I wasn't going to buy the game anyway, but yea, why not?"

And I did not see a comment on Amazon that came from someone who actually bought the game, and then found the DRM a problem. Most of the protesters were guys who saw "Protest Invitation" threads across the net.

I am not saying you are wrong though... Obviously a significant bunch of those protesters were potential customers who didn't buy the game because of the DRM, but at the same time, there were just as many who just wanted to be part of the mob.

But yes, I am worried that EA are looking at this as some sort of validation for their DRM.

Also, I am one of those people who canceled their preorder because of the DRM. I live in a part of the world where it isn't easy to just pick up the phone and call EA.
And while the DRM might be very seamless (as GPW reported), it just makes me feel very uneasy. I suppose once I find out easy it is for myself, I'll start buying these games again... but I just can't bring myself to. It is just something my mind can't get used to.

[Cobra951]

I knew those fucking casuals would screw us by buying spore in droves. EA took it as a green light that restrictive DRM is ok.

I am almost regretting upgrading my PC if this is the shit I'll have to deal with.

I have much more compelling reasons why I'm stuck with an old PC, but I feel the same way.  The rewards for keeping your system current are being diminished by stuff like this, not to mention devs moving to consoles in droves.

[Xessive]

I don’t like the whole concept; it can be a little bit cumbersome. But I don’t like locks on my door, and I don’t like to use keys in my car… I’d like to live in a world where there are no passports.

That just sounds like sarcasm.

I think what he's really trying to say is "I don't give a flying fuck because people are buying this shit. Shut the fuck up."

Edit:
This will affect the PC hardware market and I think they will inevitably find a way to work it out.

[idolminds]

Heh, there was a funny comment to that story. Its not a "key to a door" (that would be a CD key or a disc check), its more like airport security. An annoying series of hoops to jump through that probably don't have as much effect as they say.

I think the vast majority of people voted with their wallets and went out and bought Spore.

See, this is the problem with trying to boycott games. There are no alternatives, you can't truly vote with your wallet. There is no "Spore without DRM" next to the "Spore with DRM" for you to make that choice. Its just "Spore or no Spore", and most people would rather buy it than not. The people that don't buy it simply aren't a statistic. They can be classified the same as pirates, who also didn't buy it. So...how do you win?

[Xessive]

Do they actually take into consideration the stats of sales of games that have no DRM? How well is The Witcher EE selling?

[Pugnate]

Well the Witcher took a year to sell 600,000 copies, while Sins of a Solar Empire finally reached 500,000. Both took 20 times as long as titles like Spore, Crysis, COD4 etc to sell as many units...

But it isn't a fair comparison... games that are DRM free are also typically on smaller budget with tinier audiences. While hard stats can tell you how many games were pirated, there is just no way to tell what impact (positive or negative), DRM has on sales.

The only way hardcore DRM can work is if it proves itself impregnable for at least a month, and results in those hellbent on pirating, to actually buy the game. Something that happened with Mass Effect in droves apparently -- but we still haven't seen any sales figures.

The game that took the longest to crack was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. I think it took years before it finally had a working crack. Unfortunately it was a pain in the ass to run for even those who owned legal copies (like myself).

The only way people will consider putting up with hardcore DRM is when the DRM is an actual problem for the pirates. While Mass Effect took a month to crack and even then not properly, Spore's DRM cracking became a legendary joke.

It is like walking up to the immigration booth at the airport, having your anus checked for contraband, and then watching a known terrorist float past on a cloud.

See, this is the problem with trying to boycott games. There are no alternatives, you can't truly vote with your wallet. There is no "Spore without DRM" next to the "Spore with DRM" for you to make that choice. Its just "Spore or no Spore", and most people would rather buy it than not. The people that don't buy it simply aren't a statistic. They can be classified the same as pirates, who also didn't buy it. So...how do you win?

Yup, good points.

[MysterD]

So basically, John R is trying to do some poor attempt at clean up here with some lame as can be PR damage response here, right?

[Quemaqua]

Good points all around, except, of course, from the idiot running EA, who obviously still doesn't understand even on a basic level what people's problem is with this stuff.

But yeah, it's unfortunately very hard to really figure out specifics with this stuff.  I mean, the games Pug listed are all very different, and who knows why people buy or don't buy them.  You can't compare The Witcher to CoD4 in any realistic way because the games are entirely different, not to mention one had an advertising budget of about 8 bajillion dollars more and was unreservedly praised by pretty much every person who ever touched it.  I couldn't give less of a shit because it isn't a game I'm interested in on a fundamental level, but your average person is heavily, heavily swayed by advertising and critical opinion.  The Witcher was well received critically, but still with some reservations, it's a more niche genre to begin with, and there was practically no advertising over here for it.  Sins is also a super, super small-scale project, nothing like CoD4 in any respect, and it's pretty nichey even where strategy games are concerned.  Not even remotely comparable.

[MysterD]

I knew those fucking casuals would screw us by buying spore in droves. EA took it as a green light that restrictive DRM is ok.

And now, you got other companies also using this same DRM for their PC games -- Ascaron for Sacred 2, Atari for Alone in the Dark 2008, and now UbiSoft with Far Cry 2.

I am almost regretting upgrading my PC if this is the shit I'll have to deal with.

Oh man, I just read the interview. In reference to the Amazon thing:  Or theres a 3rd option, which is people that have a legitimate beef with DRM. Looks like he might be the one that hasn't "gotten it."

I agree

A bunch of games I basically upgraded for, I ain't buying anytime soon b/c of namely DRM concerns. I was ripped when Mass Effect PC was announced with its DRM with no revokes, as it causes me to basically take this stance of "wait until its a bargain bin or lower price" stance for now any of these games w/ nasty and restrictive DRM.

And you know what? It's the people paying $40-50 who DEAL with ALL of the nasty concerns; especially on the week of release -- like I did with Bioshock PC, where I had trouble connecting to activation servers, even when inputting the CD key correctly and retrying a few times before I could get my game unlocked. The person who freaking waits to buy the game doesn't suffer, b/c he'll buy Bioshock PC for $20 in the Bargain Bin (or maybe less if it on sale), when the servers are going to be easy to hit to activate the game AND when the DRM install limits might have been completely removed by then.

Gamers who spend $50 on a new game should be treated like GOLD for buying the game early, not Beta-testers for every new even more restrictive DRM-scheme invented to mankind.

[Quemaqua]

And let us not forget that Bethesda, who are huge gaming vets and sell bajillions of copies of their games on PCs and consoles, have always done very well for themselves even without having significant restrictions on their games.  They use a CD check and that's it, as far as I know, and Oblivion accounted for 13% of all PC game sales by itself in its first week of release.

[MysterD]

And let us not forget that Bethesda, who are huge gaming vets and sell bajillions of copies of their games on PCs and consoles, have always done very well for themselves even without having significant restrictions on their games.  They use a CD check and that's it, as far as I know, and Oblivion accounted for 13% of all PC game sales by itself in its first week of release.

BethSoft gets it.

Even if I'm disappointed with Fallout 3 PC, I won't care -- b/c I just supported a company who doesn't want to get into this DRM-fuckery.

[Xessive]

I generally go out and support such companies as BethSoft and CDProjekt by buying their products and praising them. I really appreciate their efforts and respect them for thinking of the consumers. Not to mention their support of the community is exemplary.

[MysterD]

I agree 100% with you, Xessive.

I can't name many other companies I'd probably go out and spend full price for (if I had to) on their game's week of release.

CD Projekt and BethSoft top that list for me easily.

[MysterD]

Eurogamer discusses how useless DRM is in this editorial and has some solutions on how to get people to purchase legit copies.

He's pretty much on the money, if you ask me.

There are ways to stop pirates in their tracks, but they're all business solutions, not technical solutions. World of Warcraft is correctly fingered by Riccitiello as a perfect example (although he inaccurately describes it as "DRM", which it isn't - in fact, WOW notably contains no DRM worth a damn, and you can happily copy the game client around, install it on multiple PCs, lend the discs to your friends and so on). Relying on subscriptions for your income, with upfront sales being little more than padding on the numbers, is a perfect business strategy to minimise piracy - although of course, it only works for very specific types of product.

You could also try increasing the value of your retail product to make it worthwhile to buy it, rather than stealing it. Include one-time use codes which download in-game extras, perhaps (although they'll get pirated too, you're now loading the dice in your own favour - pirates will have extra hassle to access the new content, your users will get it with ease).

Create limited editions with genuinely worthwhile product in them, and watch your pre-orders soar. Hell, simply engage your community and build loyalty - consumers who like your brand and find your developers personable are a lot more likely to open their wallets than those who think you're the Evil Empire.

Agreed.

But before you do any of that, there's a Step One to this reform programme. It's pretty damned obvious. First, you stop selling your legitimate customers crippled, encumbered versions of your media, versions which are notably inferior to the versions they're being offered by the pirates.

Media companies can whinge and moan about pirates until the cows come home, but the simple reality is that while your paid-for version of a product is less functional and more annoying than the free pirate version, you're driving your customers into the welcoming arms of Bittorrent.

If we're really going to make inroads into converting pirate downloads into retail sales, then the industry's executives need to start thinking with those rational business heads they're meant to have - rather than with with their impotent sense of outrage and injustice - and drop this defective, useless technology.