Wow! Being a gamer is becoming a part time job. You almost have to spend 24 hours on the internet so that you can stay up on all the twist and turns that continue to develop in the gaming world. When you really stop and take a second to think about the gaming community you really forget about the millions of people who play videos games. You forget that diversity between the many people that spend a lot of the free time playing their favorite game titles. There is a huge world of gamers out there and there come in different sizes, shapes, ages, and color. That is why video games are so popular, they give you the ability to escape the world that we live in. While playing Call of duty you can put yourself in the game and visualize you running into a room of opponents and killing them all. When you play sports game you can see yourself doing some of the moves you see on the game (not the dunks, cause some of those are impossible). It’s the reason we have so many titles and so many different genres of video games. In the end you have the choice to play the games you want the way you want to play them.
Microsoft retracted the originally purposed DRM restriction on used games and the 24 hour check. We all know they did that to save their bottom line. Many people were very elated by this decision because gaming as we know it is kept in tack for the most part. That’s what I want to discuss here in this blog. I want to talk about how this move sent a ripple effect through the gaming community, but I want to talk about it from both sides of the argument.
One side of this argument was happy that the DRM restrictions were lifted. That is because gaming is still very much the way you want it to be. It is care free and it feels right. I’m not saying that the DRM restrictions change that, but we will get into that later. I can completely understand why gamers don’t want the DRM restrictions. We want the ability to play the games that we love and then if we want, trade the game in for another game. We also want the ability to go to a GameStop and purchase a game that has been out for a few months at a reduced price. Most games are only played for 3-4 months. In that period you have either beat the game (sometimes 2-3 times) or you just got bored with the game. You should have the right to take that game to the GameStop trade it in and get you a new game. It is the reason we play games. It is the reason we may try a new title because a friend says he likes it. Most gamers want to be able to accomplish these simple tasks without some insane restriction or a 24 hr check in affecting their ability to play that used game. This is how gamers have been gaming for years and this is what is comfortable for gamers. This will eventually come to an end because technology is constantly evolving and we will have to do away with gaming disc eventually. This is also were the other side of the argument comes in to place.
The other side of the argument is “keep the gaming restriction in place on used games; proceed with the 24 hr check in”. From a technical standpoint I can really appreciate this point of the argument. I think that it is really cool that Microsoft will run a 24 hour system check to ensure the licenses match up with the digitally downloaded games that are on the system. I think that it would be really cool for people to have their favorite release downloaded to their Xbox once it is release without having to stand in a line that day. I also think that it would benefit everyone for the Family Game Sharing feature to be put in place. I really do agree that this will be the future in gaming but this future has to operate better than we all see it now. I don’t think people on this side of the argument are looking at the entire picture.
The big picture is that this is all about money. Microsoft wants to make money. They want to make the most money they can and to do that you have to appeal to the majority of their customers. The majority has to be the people that were against the DRM restrictions. Some say that because of used game retailers like GameStop, game developer are losing money. They’re not losing money they are just not getting a cut on the resell of that game title. Why should they? GameStop came up with the business model to make money by giving the gamer the ability to trade in a game and use the money toward the game they want. If the game developers don’t like it come up with a solution that will allow you to recoup some of this money, maybe a buyback program or something like that. Right now gamers are caught in between the money and the politics or video gaming, when the only thing we want to do is play our video games.
To the people that want the DRM restriction I say to you, “not now”. Let the game developers, console creators, and used game retailers iron out all the winkles first and then roll out a plan that will make everyone happy. We shouldn’t have to suffer because the powers that be are squabbling about the money and the politics. All we want to do is play the videos games. In the end it’s our choice and right now it should be left up to us to make. We didn’t like the new restrictions and we force Microsoft to go back to the drawing board to get it right. Relax this isn’t the end of an all digital gaming environment, Microsoft will get it right, they have to. They understand just like we do… We have the choice to either play their way or play our way.
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