Ballo: Casual gamers, beware: New rules will making playing harder

Whether you’re a hardcore gamer who spends hours racking up Call of Duty kill streaks or just a casual player who uses Angry Birds to kill time, you should be very concerned about the future of digital rights management.

DRM refers to any technology that limits the use of digital content and devices after sale. It’s the reason why you can’t easily make copies of DVD movies or play multiplayer modes with a pirated game. The intent of DRM is to combat copyright infringement and protect profits, but its implementation often punishes the honest consumer. And if early reports are any indication of what to expect, DRM is going to mercilessly dish out punishment with the next generation of home consoles.

Though there has been no official confirmation, various online publications report that Microsoft’s next Xbox console will use “always-on” DRM. This means it will require an Internet connection just to function, since the device will constantly have to authenticate itself to Microsoft’s servers. This idea isn’t entirely new: Some current titles, including Blizzard Entertainment’s popular Diablo 3, require an Internet connection even for solo play.

The radical new idea includes another rumored DRM feature of the next Xbox: a single-use activation code for games. Activation will tie a copy of a game to one account or system, effectively eliminating the entire market of used games. And Microsoft isn’t alone on this. On Jan. 3, it was revealed that Sony, the company behind the PlayStation, patented RFID tags for game discs that would prevent a game from working on any console but that of the original buyer.

Video game publishers and developers have long complained that piracy diminishes profits and that they don’t see any revenue from the continual resale of used games. Both grievances are valid. Always-on DRM is an inept approach to combating piracy, yet it’s tolerable so long as you’re not gaming on the go. But DRM that restricts the use of a game disc to one physical device is completely outrageous. It’s a measure not aimed at pirates — who are guilty of actually breaking the law — but at honest consumers who make legal purchases. DRM of this kind prevents individuals from being able to resell their property and drastically reduces purchase options for consumers. And purchase options mean more than just price differences between new and pre-owned; the used market is a home for obscure and older games no longer carried by traditional retailers.

Although DRM of this type might increase profits for publishers and developers, it would kill businesses that rely on used-game sales or game rentals. GameStop, a popular video game retailer, made the majority of its 2011 revenue from used-game and used-hardware sales. Following the announcement of Sony’s RFID patent, the price of GameStop shares fell to $1.67 over a single day, shortly after reaching a high of $25.67 earlier in January.

Even without considering the larger consequences for consumers or businesses, DRM this restrictive is wrong on principle alone: It cripples the core functions of a device. Computers can copy files, consoles can play game discs. Adding arbitrary process complications that restrict which files can be copied or which discs can be played is just an attempt to gimp a perfectly functional device. Breaking usable systems is a backward and ineffective approach to protecting data.

And this is where the final problem with DRM comes into play: It won’t really work. People will hack their devices to recover basic native functions. Tech-savvy gamers will find a way to share their games with friends, even if it voids a warranty. Pirates will still use modified consoles to play pirated game discs. Third-party digital distribution services will replace the used-game market. There will be enough backlash against DRM to render it ineffective. The only person to pay the price — quite literally — for DRM in games will be the average consumer.

Write to Tiemoko at tib14@pitt.edu.