GOG releases FCKDRM website to explain the pitfalls of DRM technology

Do you buy your digital media from DRM-free sources?

| Source: FCKDRM Author: Mark Campbell

GOG releases FCKDRM website to explain the pitfalls of DRM technology

DRM technology is an inherently controversial subject, especially within the PC gaming community. Almost every PC game with performance issues has at least one person shouting from the rooftops that DRM is the cause regardless of whether or not there is any truth to the statement.



GOG, formerly Good Old Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt Red, has created a new website called FCKDRM, which is designed to highlight the pitfalls of DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems, especially within the gaming market.



Perhaps the biggest gripe with DRM is that it often only impacts paying customers, treating them like would-be criminals in the process, requiring software to check in with online servers every time a user tries to use their product. In gaming, this is often seen through an online requirement, with DRM calling home to off-site servers whenever a game launches or sporadically as files are accessed during gameplay.



While we can all see why developers want to protect their products from piracy, paying consumers would also like to access their products with a greater degree of trust, without running layers of additional software or the prospect of losing access to their media thanks to server outages or company closures.



GOG's point is clear, why should the burden of proof be on paying customers? Why should the customers trust companies who don't trust them? This is why the FCKDRM website was created, to inform consumers and recommend storefronts that sell DRM-Free media, with GOG being the only recommended storefront within the gaming market.



Regardless of your opinions on DRM, there are merits for both sides of the argument; developers deserve to get paid for their work and consumers shouldn't be burdened with additional software layers and online requirements for media usage. GOG believes that consumers want to pay for products, and that modern DRM systems are an overreaction to software piracy, the driving force behind the development of increasingly sophisticated DRM software solutions.

You can visit GOG's FCKDRM Initiative website here.



You can join the discussion on GOG's FCKDRM website on the OC3D Forums.

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