Such peoples also worry over what others believe and do too much. 'The google's data harvesting is going to eat my brains! If you using google you support the brain eating!' 'If you use steam you support everyone never playing a game again!' Peoples should stop worrying over others and focus on themselves. Play games and be happy.

Thanks for the quote, I guess? I also stated in this very thread:

"The only main difference is that with Steam you'll have to research and/or hope <insert game> works without Steam installed, which of course I can see as being annoying/stupid for the average person to do."

It's impossible to know who is "smarter" here. You don't know shit about me, but I do have experience going through the Steamworks developer process, i.e. compiling and uploading games, and know several others who have as well. Quite often, the build on Steam and the build on say, Humble or GOG for "DRM-free" are the exact same.

if you really want to go full rainman and avoid any data collection, spying, or "experiments" as you call it, GOG is still not for you.

The only real option you have right now is the following:

-get the original model of the PS5 with the disc drive;
-buy games on local stores, paid in cash only. better option would be to buy them used from craigslist/whatever resellers.
-keep your PS5 offline at all times
-grab a game disc, pop it in, wait to install, and play.
-DONE.

no account, or one time connection is needed at all.

this is the only way to play games 100% privately nowadays. with GOG, they'll still get data from you when you buy a game.

enjoy this while it lasts, because big corpo and its legion of brainlets are killing physical media.

inb4 paid shill accusations

Those damn dirty apes better be keeping their mits off my games!

I agree with that, sadly.

I think the cognitive dissonance between wanting to play Steam games but at the same time wanting to pass as a "DRM-free cool kid" is what leads to this. But that’s a false problem: there is nothing uncool with playing DRMed games. It’s a personal choice, that can be based on technical or political reasons, but in the end a choice that I have never seen lead to any kind of judgement.

It’s only when one tries to pass their acceptance of some layers of DRM as "DRM-free gaming" that they start sounding silly. All of that because it’s too hard to admit (to themselves?) that in their view, not all DRM should be rejected.

I still love GOG tho! I wouldnt have 200+ games here otherwise :P
real.

Yawn, strawman arguments are lame. Go outside.

I still buy games that I want to play on Steam if they aren't on GOG, unless I literally just can't (like GTA V nowadays). I've never denied this.

:P Also, if one of OP's concerns actually is DRM and not their EULA (don't feel like going back in the thread to check, and if you actually read and _abide_ by a EULA you're a fucking loser and your opinion should be discarded anyway), then modern physical media probably isn't for them either, as that ACTUALLY has quite a bit of DRM.

You just have to keep the disc inside the console while playing the game. Thats it. While yes, it technically is DRM, a disc check is in my opinion the most inoffensive form of DRM in existence. I own my copy, and as long as I own it, I can put it inside the console and play it. My rights aren't really getting revoked here are they?

True (but don't let the extremists in this thread hear that), however there's quite a bit of protection against ripping/copying/decrypting, and in some cases the drive could block the disc. It's possible to break in most cases provided you have the correct hardware (and possibly firmware), but it's still there. Just wanted to give fair warning.

The sad truth is that, by now, partly thanks to mindless zealots like you, I no longer care about DRM-free ideals as i did before, i have become rather jagged. After countless discussions with people like you, who lack consistency in their beliefs and fail to recognize that they are just beliefs, I’ve come to realize that it’s simply not worth caring anymore.

You do realize that I could create a website right now stating, 'DRM is the attempt to control and manage your use of a piece of software after it has been delivered to you.' And within that, I could include something like, 'When someone argues that dependencies are DRM, this is a fallacy. The best way to counter this fallacy is through an argumentum ad absurdum - if that logic were extended, even electricity would be considered DRM.'

Then, when you link to your website, I could link to mine, and we’d be right back where we started. Just because you publish your arguments on a website doesn’t make them any more valid.

So this troll thread for some reason turned into an aimless back and forth about GOG is not truly being DRM free, just 99% and you have to log in to your account to download your offline installer anyway (facepalm) vs Steam is not that bad, since some games actually work without the Steam client which is a common knowledge (facepalm, only this time with greater force). I guess it's better if I go to bed early today.

Welcome to the Internet.

To be fair, you'd be surprised how many people don't actually know this.

Welcome to the GOG forum.