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Diablo III style DRM could lose “a chunk of gaming history”: GOG.com

Discuss
28 May 2012

Speaking to games™ in an exclusive interview Trevor Longino, Head of Marketing and PR at GOG.com explains why Diablo III style constantly online DRM carries with it the potential danger of gaming history being lost.

Diablo III style DRM could lose

“I would say one of the downsides that is going to be really bad for games that have an always online requirement is that unless at some future date the person who made that game removes that constantly online requirement you won’t be able to have a service like GOG selling that game”, Trevor Longino has told games™ talking about how part of GOG.com’s mission is to preserve gaming history. Games like Diablo III with bespoke constantly online DRM, Longino goes on to explain, could be lost to gaming culture at large if for any reason the games publisher or developer stops supporting that infrastructure. “So when you lose that online connection, “ explains Longino,” you lose a chunk of gaming history.”

 

 

While GOG.com is currently diversifying and has started to release high quality Indie games in addition to classic games, according to Longino the GOG.com team is very dedicated to promoting gaming culture by making as many historically important games as possible available to gamers in the future.” Part of what GOG does is we preserve some of that history, “ explains Longino before going on outline how if more publishers decide to use this sort of DRM it could see some games slip through the cracks, with serivices like GOG.com and their ilk unable to provide them to future gamers. “In ten years will the GOG of 2020 have a hard time trying to release games from 2012 simply because so many of them have an integral built in DRM in their structure?”, he asks. “That would be a shame I think.”

For more on Diablo III and an in depth disscussion on the whole issue of online DRM,  pick up games ™ Issue 124 on sale July the 5th

 

Further Reading:

Diablo III: out of touch games industry to blame for always-online DRM

Diablo III Review

Diablo III Developer Jay Wilson,” I don’t think its a bad thing to want to make money.”

 

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  • Maxx Kilbride

    Ok…and GoG, which will be gone long before Diablo III’s servers ever even talk of going down, thinks it’s opinion matters?

    It’s a “neat” site, that’s all it is, it won’t be around long. People like it, because it’s different, but that’s all it has, once that fades…it’s gone. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=512356548 Adam Davidson

    Blizzard is the type of company that will remove the always online DRM before they turn off the servers. I don’t think we have much to worry about there.

  • John

    And you seem to think that YOUR opinion matters? How ironic.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Garfgarog-Goragfrag/578431393 Garfgarog Goragfrag

    It’s like you think you have a point, but you don’t and can’t see how wrong you are. Fascinating. Tell me Maxx, how do you manage to live your life without knowing you’re wrong about literally everything you ever think?

  • Tombom_52

    Protip: if you say someone’s wrong, at least have the facts to back it up.

  • PlantViolence

    Perhaps, but if Blizzard sets the precedent, it’s going to be easier for companies that don’t give a damn to get away with it. Which would be most other companies.

  • Solistus

    It’s not just a DRM switch Blizzard can flip to ‘remove the always online DRM’.  The game code itself is split into a client-server architecture.  They’d have to rewrite it as a fully client-based game.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ljo.engann Ljo Engann

    I know one person who uses GOG. He has no friends.

    On the other hand, this article has some valid points.

  • Nyger

    Maxx is wrong because you can play GOG’s games without the company’s servers. They sell only DRM-free stuff.

  • http://twitter.com/zanzabar4ky7 zanzabar

     diablo 2 was also split that way and in single player mode/open battle net (that very few people played without cheating in open.)

    diablo 3 dose not really have always on drm though, the game is based on loot and trade. so, even though you have to be online all the time it is the only way to have drops that mean anything.  sure they could have added single player into the launch game but it would not be popular.

  • http://twitter.com/Jamiedj99 Jamie Johnson

    thats what a cracked exe is for 

  • Guest

     Single player may not be as popular, but it would allow players to play without connecting to Blizzard’s servers, which is the issue here.  If you don’t have a strong internet connection (or any connection at all) or if Blizzard loses their servers / gets DDOS’d, then no one can play Diablo 3 

  • HawnSolo

    Except, of course, for the fact that Diablo 3 is split into a client/server architecture which cannot be replaced for singleplayer by simply “cracking” the game’s primary executable.

    Kids these days have no idea what they’re talking about or doing.

  • Benjamin Eugene NElson

    Thank you for providing that insightful comment.

    Judging by the picture you’re not over 20 and don’t like the old games, but believe it or not, some of us grew up with them and we are the market for GOG..

  • Benjamin Eugene NElson

     except that diablo 3 isn’t set up like that.

  • Nic Foster

    Blizzard is (or was), but what about Activision? The last couple of titles give me the impression that Blizzard is under the thumb of Activision, and I don’t trust Activision whatsoever.

  • Nic Foster

    This.

    Unless someone writes a server for Diablo III, and a client to connect to it, there will be no Diablo III when Blizzard shuts it down.

  • Mabans

    Then maybe the game isn’t for you. Amazing idea right? This is a risk just about every MMORPG paid or free subscriber has to deal with. We are well aware of the risks, just like you are. We have made the choice to accept these conditions, that were already in place, D2 playing online was pretty much the best way to get the best items.  (though that argument is hinging on the idea of good itemization which is another conversation all together)

  • Retard_hunter

     Fucking 20 year old retards…

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  • Akis4president

    Who gives a fack? Diablo 3 is a shitty game who ruined the franchise ‘s history and destroyed its potential and legacy. The MMO-ization of its core mechanics, the stupidifcation of raising your character (not spending points to stats as you want to develop it, absense of old detailed skill trees), the abolishment of pots and rejuvanation pots, and so on. You want legendary game that wrote history and won everyone? Go play Diablo 2 LoD! “COMPETE FREE OVER THE INTERNET”, single, multi, open multi, lan, AND battlenet, each one seperate and functional by its own. in 2000 they could do that, now in 2012 and they cannot manage 5 different game type modes?!?

    Theses were the days and the respect towards customers and their well spent bucks. Now you pay 60 euros as a ripoff, because that is not the same as 60 dollars, you own NOT the game, you cannot even play single if you are not 24/7 on, and like any other MMO, if blizzard shuts down, game goes to hell and vanishes forever (which honestly i wish). Because the way it is made, if it is to abolish always on, it has to be recreated anew.

    The destruction of such a good old game, was because blizzard was blinded by WoW ‘s success, and sold out artwork, artistic uniqueness and old fans alike. They wanted money, and 7.000.000 rich wowkids join their new game, which HAD to be chopped down to that level of sit, in order for this type of people to flood it. To hell with it! GoG deserves a LOT better games! Long live CDProject Red! Long live the masterpiece known as The Witcher! Want legendary RPG? Play that and compare it to the moronic diablo 3. And if you want diablo like lore but gore, blood and creepiness, just stick with darksiders. Blizzard is now a messed up kindergarden.

  • Flipo

    diablo 3 will end in the same bin than world of warcraft.
    So be it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1176523808 Leo Wang

    as the reason why blizzard made diablo 3 no stats req, it’s all cuz of Money$$$.
    in this way they made, all people need is better items. 
    people who farm, for people who doesn’t farm n can’t even MF on items, so they need to spend real dollars for it.
    n this is why they had real money auction for game items. n they had a big cut from seller. that’s the way they made money.
    it’s all about money man~~~~

  • Name

    If/when the makers of always-online DRM stop supporting the game & offer no patch to play offline, I wonder if you can sue them since you’d be left with a game that is deliberately unplayable?

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