Moscow-headquartered Akella, developer of Disciples III, Age of Sail 2 and other titles, said Thursday it signed a deal with Byteshield to provide DRM for its PC games in order to counter piracy.
While many gamers object to the use of DRM, Byteshield has made efforts to reach out to gamers for input on creating the technology. DRM watchdogs Reclaim Your Game approve of the DRM, calling Byteshield "safe, transparent, and non-invasive on your PC."
Byteshield describes its technology as an account-based copy protection model that "enables users to run games on multiple computers without limiting their ability to use the product they purchased."
In 2008, Stockholm-based PC game distribution platform GamersGate said it selected Byteshield for its catalog of digital PC titles.
"We are glad to work with ByteShield and hope for a long and successful partnership," said Vladimir Koudr, VP Publishing at Akella. Byteshield chief exec Jan Samzelius added, "Akella’s strong position in Russia along with their focus on user experience makes it a perfect fit."
It's nice to see that DRM companies and publishers/developers are starting to accept their accountability when DRM interferes with customer satisfaction. The whole 'ends justifies the means' argument has never sat well with me. Games and other software have stood alone as the only products sold to consumers where the customer is told that they should take responsibility for the failings of the product 'just to ensure sales.'
Of course, as ever, actions speak louder than words, and so I'll be interested to see what the reaction is to this new consumer-focused DRM.
I still think that the best strategy for preventing piracy is rewarding paying customers with an improved experience, such as games with multiplayer components, or additional content offered with legitimate serials, like Sims 3 and Dragon Age offered, as examples. But obviously most publishers and developers would never publish a game without some form of DRM, so this consumer-focused approach to DRM(as opposed to pirate-focused approach) is a nice compromise, presuming they keep their word.
Of course, as ever, actions speak louder than words, and so I'll be interested to see what the reaction is to this new consumer-focused DRM.
I still think that the best strategy for preventing piracy is rewarding paying customers with an improved experience, such as games with multiplayer components, or additional content offered with legitimate serials, like Sims 3 and Dragon Age offered, as examples. But obviously most publishers and developers would never publish a game without some form of DRM, so this consumer-focused approach to DRM(as opposed to pirate-focused approach) is a nice compromise, presuming they keep their word.