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What Modern Games Are DRM-Free?

IceDiver writes "I used to be an avid PC gamer. However, I have only bought 1 game in the last 18 months because I am sick and tired of the problems caused by the various intrusive, and sometimes damaging DRM schemes game publishers insist on forcing upon their customers. Once burned, twice shy! The EA announcement that upcoming releases will include SecuROM, along with verification requirements and major restrictions on installations left me wondering which recently released or upcoming games (particularly major titles) are being released without DRM? Are there any? How has DRM affected your game purchasing? Will EA be negatively affected by their DRM decision?" The ongoing DRM controversy was stirred by the recent launch of Spore. We discussed the public outcry from Amazon's reviews (which were subsequently taken down and then re-posted). EA's response to the outcry was to say that only one percent of accounts tried to activate the game more than three times, which is the limit without help from their customer service. Meanwhile, their efforts to find a "balance" between preventing piracy and not hampering legal users may not have been as successful as they hoped. According to Forbes, a P2P research firm found that illegal copies of Spore had been downloaded over 170,000 times already. So, is it time to create a whitelist for game publishers and developers?

8 of 630 comments (clear)

  1. Checkers by davidwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now listen here Sonny, just yesterday I took my scooter down to the game store and bought me a brand new box of checkers for my grandson.

    Now sure, it doesn't have any of that D-R-whachamacalit that today's young'uns want but it's brand new and that's what counts!

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:Checkers by jfmiller · · Score: 2, Funny

      You grandparents are all alike. You buy a stripped down game that kinda copies the real thing but without all the violent elements. It ends up being boring. You should have bought Chess. So what if it is simulated warfare, its what all the kids want these days. Even better Check out Goban now theres a game that has some great replay value.

      Old folks just don`t do their research.

      --
      Strive to make your client happy, not necessarly give them what they ask for
  2. Re:The answer... by JebusIsLord · · Score: 2, Funny

    The gaming community has been suing thieves? I demand linkage.

    --
    Jeremy
  3. The greatest game of all time is DRM-free... by afabbro · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...it's even open source.

    --
    Advice: on VPS providers
  4. Re:Windows XP Activation made me a Linux user by PapaBoojum · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a single childless guy...

    This is Slashdot. Mod parent Redundant.

  5. Re:Windows XP Activation made me a Linux user by Hurricane78 · · Score: 4, Funny

    > I took a snapshot of the discs, with the manual key in view (and reciept) and emailed it to Valve. It was fixed in an hour.

    Can I get a link to where you downloaded that image? ;)

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  6. Re:GOG.com by Griffon26 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dude, these games are 10 years old!

  7. Re:Windows XP Activation made me a Linux user by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm a single childless guy...

    This is Slashdot. Mod parent Redundant.

    He said he was childless, you insensitive clod!

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    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).