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Gabe Newell: Most DRM Plans Are "Dumb"

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News Room Contributor
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Joined: 19 Aug 2006

Gabe Newell: Most DRM Plans Are "Dumb"

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In speaking with a blogger, Valve Co-founder Gabe Newell confirmed that he is still hating "most DRM strategies" and hopes publishers will continue to "abandon" bad approaches to beating pirates.

Blogger Paul Reisinger, concerned about Electronic Arts' involvement with Left 4 Dead and the publisher's issues during the Spore DRM disaster, emailed Newell, who has been very vocal against abusive digital rights management, for answers to his questions.

"Left 4 Dead is developed entirely by Valve. Steam revenue for our games is not shared with third parties," explained Newell, addressing Reisinger's worries that EA had played a part of the game's creation. "Around the world we have a number of distribution partners to handle retail distribution of our games (i.e. make discs and boxes). EA is one of those partners."

His company's partnership with EA didn't restrain him from commenting on some of its anti-piracy ideas, though: "As far as DRM goes, most DRM strategies are just dumb. The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I'll be able to play my game and maybe I won't)."

He is hoping that he can "discourage other developers and publishes from using the broken DRM offerings," and believes he is succeeding due to "a groundswell to abandon those approaches."

Source: Tech in Hiding via GamePolitics

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Time Lord
Posts: 9984
Joined: 13 Feb 2008

You know what? I really like him.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1850
Joined: 31 Oct 2007

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2770
Joined: 13 Feb 2008

Well. He certainly knows what's what, doesn't he?

On the Record
Posts: 5967
Joined: 7 Feb 2008

Hooray for sanity!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1928
Joined: 9 Sep 2008

I miss the days when DRM was little more than a text file telling the game where to find the CD.

Thanks to that, I was able to play MoO2 on two laptops me and a mate salvaged back in the day, with only one CD drive and an ad-hoc wireless network between them. It also means that despite the original disc long since having vanished from the material plane, I'm still able to play the game, thanks to that MoO2 directory sitting on my hard drive, being carefully transferred from one incarnation of my PC to the next, just incase I feel like a game.

Man, I love MoO2. I hope Stardock do manage to pick up the rights to make a proper sequel.

Press Junketeer
Posts: 411
Joined: 8 Jun 2008

That's why Valve is much better than EA.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1615
Joined: 16 Jan 2008

On a side note, how many of you are called Logan? I'm counting two.

But I suspect you have an office full of Logans, and that even Russ and Susan have Logan as their middle name.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3920
Joined: 7 Nov 2007

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

Ditto of your ditto.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1928
Joined: 9 Sep 2008

Would the collective noun for Logans be a Run or a Berserk?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1684
Joined: 7 Feb 2008

Hurray for Gabe Newell!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2770
Joined: 13 Feb 2008

Aardvark:
Would the collective noun for Logans be a Run or a Berserk?

A Hive or an Overmind, most likely.

Beat Writer
Posts: 210
Joined: 2 Jan 2008

sirdanrhodes:

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

Ditto of your ditto.

Oh yeh? I'd turn gay for Gabe.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1670
Joined: 31 Mar 2008

I admire this man more every time I hear him speak...

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1166
Joined: 23 Jul 2008

rougeknife:

sirdanrhodes:

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

Ditto of your ditto.

Oh yeh? I'd turn gay for Gabe.

I wouldn't do that ,but something equally life changing.

P.S. A little off topic but congrats to Root on the news room thing.

Beat Writer
Posts: 171
Joined: 4 Nov 2008

Good on ya, Gabe.

Anonymous Source
Posts: 3
Joined: 9 Sep 2008

What you've got to remember is that in a way steam is a form of DRM. You need an account, and it stops the game from being played by more than one person at a time.
On the other hand steam is ace. It does what it does very well, plus it's a social networking client as well. As DRM goes it's incredibly unrestrictive and does manage to combat piracy. That is why I love valve. That and their games are totally awesome.

BANNED
Posts: 814
Joined: 23 Apr 2008

Viva Newell! Viva Stardock! Death to DRM! Viva Revolution! ;)

User was banned for: Ballad (?) of an ex-goth. (Permanent)
On the Record
Posts: 5162
Joined: 21 Aug 2008

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

double ditto? can you even double ditto? feck yeah I, i just did!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1477
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

Out of interest (& I have no idea on this) can you resell/swap Steam games with other people?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 4563
Joined: 25 Feb 2008

Cousin_IT:
Out of interest (& I have no idea on this) can you resell/swap Steam games with other people?

Sadly no, you can buy a game as a gift for another account. But you can't actually give your games to other people, you have to decide who it's for when you pay.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1598
Joined: 13 Oct 2008

Vanguard1219:
I admire this man more every time I hear him speak...

Agreed, totally agreed!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2440
Joined: 11 Oct 2008

It seems that if there was ever a war of the video game companies, EA would be the evil empire, and Valve would be Luke Skywalker. He would, of course, opt out his lightsaber for a crowbar.

This just shows how amazing of a company Valve really is (not that I needed further proof). They're pretty much the best there is. I never had a serious problem with EA until the whole anti-piracy bull they made. They're probably gonna stop soon, though. It's impossible to ignore all the negativity people have thrown at them about it. At least... I seriously hope so. ::crosses fingers for no f**k-ups with Mass Effect 2::

BANNED
Posts: 39
Joined: 2 Dec 2008

Sweet game designers are taking a stand against DRM, and it being Valve just makes it even more awesome.

User was banned for: How much do you hate me?. (Permanent)
Copy Clerk
Posts: 63
Joined: 5 Sep 2008

Apart from the general "BigBrother-feel" regular DRM at least lets you sell used games... Funny how people ignore that and praise Steam, probably the most restrictive kind of protection out there -.-

Press Junketeer
Posts: 432
Joined: 24 Dec 2007

ChromeAlchemist:

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

double ditto? can you even double ditto? feck yeah I, i just did!

ditto^3

Video Producer
Posts: 1106
Joined: 19 Feb 2006

eldpollard:
What you've got to remember is that in a way steam is a form of DRM. You need an account, and it stops the game from being played by more than one person at a time. On the other hand steam is ace. It does what it does very well, plus it's a social networking client as well. As DRM goes it's incredibly unrestrictive and does manage to combat piracy. That is why I love valve. That and their games are totally awesome.

That's Gabe's point. He is calling most forms of DRM dumb. A smart DRM would be one that protects the developers intellectual property, is unobtrusive as possible and offers added benefits to the consumer for using it.

Games Editor
Posts: 4259
Joined: 20 Dec 2005

ZeroMachine:
It seems that if there was ever a war of the video game companies, EA would be the evil empire, and Valve would be Luke Skywalker. He would, of course, opt out his lightsaber for a crowbar.

This just shows how amazing of a company Valve really is (not that I needed further proof). They're pretty much the best there is. I never had a serious problem with EA until the whole anti-piracy bull they made. They're probably gonna stop soon, though. It's impossible to ignore all the negativity people have thrown at them about it. At least... I seriously hope so. ::crosses fingers for no f**k-ups with Mass Effect 2::

Does that make Blizzard Han Solo?

On the Record
Posts: 6096
Joined: 25 Jan 2008

Words are cheap. I should know, I use more of them than most people.

If Gabe wants my adoration, he'll have to do more than just say DRM is retarded. Does the EA disc-released copy of Left4Dead have EA's typical SecuROM DRM on it? If it does, has he taken action against EA to have it removed? If it's there, and he hasn't fought it, his words are hollow and not worth wiping one's ass with. But if he has actively done things to eliminate DRM, more than just words, then I salute him.

Beat Writer
Posts: 195
Joined: 25 Nov 2008

Khell_Sennet:
Words are cheap. I should know, I use more of them than most people.

If Gabe wants my adoration, he'll have to do more than just say DRM is retarded. Does the EA disc-released copy of Left4Dead have EA's typical SecuROM DRM on it? If it does, has he taken action against EA to have it removed? If it's there, and he hasn't fought it, his words are hollow and not worth wiping one's ass with. But if he has actively done things to eliminate DRM, more than just words, then I salute him.

Yes. Action, then words!

Video Producer
Posts: 1106
Joined: 19 Feb 2006

Khell_Sennet:
Words are cheap. I should know, I use more of them than most people.

If Gabe wants my adoration, he'll have to do more than just say DRM is retarded. Does the EA disc-released copy of Left4Dead have EA's typical SecuROM DRM on it? If it does, has he taken action against EA to have it removed? If it's there, and he hasn't fought it, his words are hollow and not worth wiping one's ass with. But if he has actively done things to eliminate DRM, more than just words, then I salute him.

I bought it through Steam, but I am guessing that the retail copies have no further DRM beyond Steam itself.

Paperboy
Posts: 28
Joined: 25 Nov 2008

CantFaketheFunk:

ZeroMachine:
It seems that if there was ever a war of the video game companies, EA would be the evil empire, and Valve would be Luke Skywalker. He would, of course, opt out his lightsaber for a crowbar.

This just shows how amazing of a company Valve really is (not that I needed further proof). They're pretty much the best there is. I never had a serious problem with EA until the whole anti-piracy bull they made. They're probably gonna stop soon, though. It's impossible to ignore all the negativity people have thrown at them about it. At least... I seriously hope so. ::crosses fingers for no f**k-ups with Mass Effect 2::

Does that make Blizzard Han Solo?

I think that makes Epic Han Solo

On the Record
Posts: 6209
Joined: 10 Mar 2008

He's got the thinking right, but like Khell said, put your money where you're mouth is.

It's all good and well to say that most DRM plans are dumb, but if you don't have a suggestion for a DRM plan that isn't dumb then be quite until you do.

That being said, he still has the right idea of this bullshit of DRM, but I'd just like to see some action or something other than "I'm a big-time developer of a big-time studio, and I know what's what!"

On the Record
Posts: 5743
Joined: 9 Jul 2008

fluffylandmine:

rougeknife:

sirdanrhodes:

runtheplacered:

The_root_of_all_evil:
You know what? I really like him.

Ditto.

Ditto of your ditto.

Oh yeh? I'd turn gay for Gabe.

I wouldn't do that ,but something equally life changing.

P.S. A little off topic but congrats to Root on the news room thing.

Second on both parts.

EDIT:

flood juices:

CantFaketheFunk:

ZeroMachine:
It seems that if there was ever a war of the video game companies, EA would be the evil empire, and Valve would be Luke Skywalker. He would, of course, opt out his lightsaber for a crowbar.

This just shows how amazing of a company Valve really is (not that I needed further proof). They're pretty much the best there is. I never had a serious problem with EA until the whole anti-piracy bull they made. They're probably gonna stop soon, though. It's impossible to ignore all the negativity people have thrown at them about it. At least... I seriously hope so. ::crosses fingers for no f**k-ups with Mass Effect 2::

Does that make Blizzard Han Solo?

I think that makes Epic Han Solo

What about the indie developers? The Rebel Alliance?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2440
Joined: 11 Oct 2008

orannis62:

flood juices:

CantFaketheFunk:

ZeroMachine:
It seems that if there was ever a war of the video game companies, EA would be the evil empire, and Valve would be Luke Skywalker. He would, of course, opt out his lightsaber for a crowbar.

Does that make Blizzard Han Solo?

I think that makes Epic Han Solo

What about the indie developers? The Rebel Alliance?

And I guess Bethesda would be Chewbacca, maybe? As long as Square is C-3P0. They never shut up.

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