*Sarcasim Mode ON*

Oh Miss Parr, I am glad you have educated yourself on the situation rather than be a souless reitteration of the ESA's stand in the United States. DRM's are such an advantage to the consumer. I will blindly follow you as the millions of sheep will follow you into re-engineering our laws into an Industry policed haven.

*Sarcasim Mode OFF*

Ugh the stupidy of this woman makes me want to vomit. The sheer arrogance... yes I have to agree with Vake, some of the best arguments are already in the article itself.

Mod chips that allow a player to buy and play Japanese games on home consoles is one thing, I've never thought that people should be punished for that. Heck I've always thought that they should've released regionless systems from the beginning since it would only help game sales in some circumstances.

A chip that installs a ton of games or modding of a similair note, however, I do have a problem with since it is a form of stealing the product of those companies.

Now as to TPM, if a company can develop a TPM that doesn't screw up your computer/game system then that wouldn't be so bad really. Companies DO have the right to protect their intellectual properties. In point of fact several people on this site have openly declared that they pirate games and the like so complaining that you're being treated like a criminal when you actually do steal games/movies or what have you is more than a little disengenuous.

DRM was a bad idea because it limited installs and messed with your computer, so in practice it was a bad idea; but to say that companies have no right to protect their product when people knowingly and openly admit to stealing it is just asenine.

We put together an action for people to speak out on Canadian copyright laws.  You can speak out and send your thoughts to the Canadian government at http://action.theeca.com/t/2858/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2896.

Brett Schenker

Online Advocacy Manager

the ECA

www.theeca.com

Well, I guess it's Parr for the course that an industry group would make up whatever lies they can think up to excuse stricter and stricter DRM. I heard the new version of Starforce will not only turn every dvd-r and cd-r into a coaster, it will also kill your cat. 

Strange how 'TPM's will let you do everything you can already do without it. What sort of adventage is that?

Other than that, the woman could write for the Daily Mirror...

Strange how the ESA's behaviour is actually starting to promote an attitude among consumers that a huge collapse of the current member organistions would be preferable to the way ESA is dealing with the computer market. That's quite telling in and of itself.

Steam isn't a half bad DRM system. I don't mind using that. But we don't need stardock.

Could someone answer me this question? What is the point of regional lock-outs? No one benefits at all with it. In Japan, they have a game where they drive around and kill zombies with modified vehicles and stuff, but it was never released in America. What is the business incentive for that company to both not release in America (which, would gather many many sales, being about zombies and cars and shooting) and not allow American systems to play it?

If they didn't have regional lock-outs, I would purchase the game and the company would get money and everyone wins, but because of lock-outs I don't buy the game and that company is losing out on money. This makes no sense to me.

-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-

DRM is less about piracy protection and preventing resale. And by no longer allowing demos, you HAVE t obuy it to try it, and are then stuck with it.

QUOTE: "For the video-game industry, TPMs are not only used to prevent piracy and cheating (e.g. “modding” game code to give an unfair advantage over other players); they also enable access to a greater range of features and options that would otherwise be unavailable. Things like parental controls... “trial” or “demo” versions of games, and new digital distribution platforms like Valve’s Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, or the PlayStation Network, all provide greater choice and access for consumers..."

I am confused by this entire statement (aside from the obvious fact that TPM's do not prevent piracy at all). Is she implying that demos, parental controls, Steam, and even anti-cheat services can't (or don't work) with a lack of TPM's. Last I checked, all of these do exist without it:

1. Game Demos: I can already access and download any available demo for any game. Demos typically strip away large chunks of the game data giving you a minimal version. They aren't encrypted as far as I can tell so I don't know where TPM comes into play here.

2. Parental Controls: Turning on parental controls on any modern console is just a setting accompanied by a password. Where is TPM involved here?

3. Steam: The only time TPM may be necessary with steam is when a game is unreleased. It MUST be encrypted to prevent people from accessing it before the release date. This lets you pre-load but not use the game. Other than that, steam versions have no DRM/TPM unless requested by the publisher

4. Cheating: Cheating online just gets you banned from the service in most cases anyway so why bother? TPM would make it harder to cheat but "rules" and loss of your privledge to play online gets the point accross a lot better. Cheating offline should not be anybody else's business but the gamer. They should be free to play a game by themselves the way they want.